When a makeover expert makes a space his own.
In his late 20s, Antoni Porowski dreamed about having a family and a dog and owning a Brooklyn brownstone with a backyard, but then “life really changed”. That change came in the form of fame and a bigger bank account
Porowski, 41, is a member of the show’s “Fab Five,” a group of subject experts who, over the course of an episode, help make over the life of an individual, called a “hero”. In his role as the show’s food and wine expert, Porowski won over fans with his charisma and accessible tips for fuss-free cooking. Years into his tenure on the show, which released its ninth season in December, Porowski’s business manager called to say that he should consider purchasing a home. Porowski hesitated. “I didn’t want the pressure and the stress of owning a home,” he said. “It gave me a bit of angst. I just didn’t want to grow up.”
But in 2021, during the release of the sixth season of Queer Eye, Porowski caved and bought a 1600sq ft, three-bedroom apartment in Manhattan’s NoHo neighbourhood for US$4.4 million ($7.3m). His apartment building is a new construction that includes a doorman, an indoor pool, a gym, a yoga studio and a cold plunge. “The light was perfect in the three-bedroom apartments here, which is important to me because I need to have real trees,” said Porowski. “I can’t do artificial.”
Before moving into his new abode, Porowski turned his three-bedroom unit into a two-bedroom apartment with a dining room. “I knew that I needed to have a large dining room, but I’ve also always dreamed of having a sectional,” he said. “Sectionals are like cilantro. People either love them or hate them, but I wanted one.”
Overlooking his dining room is Erwin Olaf’s 2018 photograph American Dream, Self Portrait with Alex. Porowski bought the piece after watching Tom Ford’s film A Single Man (2009), about a middle-aged gay man. “There was something about this photograph and the man being aware of his own mortality while looking at his youth,” Porowski said. “My gay friends make fun of me because they are like, ‘Dude, this is like the queerest piece of art that you have. It’s clearly homoerotic.’ I genuinely didn’t see it when I got it.”
Across from the painting on a shelf sits an MTV Moonman trophy, delivered to Porowski after Taylor Swift won the video of the year award at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards for You Need to Calm Down, in which Porowski made a cameo.
Before the release of Queer Eye, Porowski auditioned for Swift’s Blank Space music video. “I made it to the second round of casting but didn’t get it. Then I met her in Los Angeles at a pre-Oscar event, and we chatted it up. We had a couple of mutual friends, so we had heard of each other but never really fully met. Then about six to eight months later, I got invited to shoot You Need to Calm Down.”
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Just above the Moonman is an Emmy that Porowski and his fellow Queer Eye cast members won in 2024 after becoming producers on the show during its seventh season.
A pair of vintage Everlast boxing gloves are a reminder of another one of Porowski’s other obsessions: Clifford Odets’ play Golden Boy (1937).
“When I was taking acting classes and studying theatre, one of the scene studies I did was a scene from Golden Boy. Someone in a previous relationship got me the gloves as a gift, I think, because he knew how much I am obsessed with Golden Boy.” Boxing is also an activity that Porowski said he enjoys.
Born in Montreal to Polish parents, Porowski moved to New York City in 2009 to pursue acting. A self-taught cook, he took food service jobs to make rent while auditioning for acting gigs with limited success. After meeting Ted Allen, the original Queer Eye foodie, at Fort Greene’s Greenlight Bookstore, he became Allen’s assistant.
It was Allen who encouraged Porowski to audition for Queer Eye. At that time, Porowski lived in a cosy studio apartment in Brooklyn. He longed to cook in a large kitchen that featured a beautiful stone island, a huge refrigerator and a restaurant-style vent. Porowski still longs for that kitchen.
“I like an industrial oven. This oven makes beautiful noises. The fan is fine, but it’s not a high-powered fan,” Porowski said referring to his Miele electric convection oven.
“The smoke alarm still goes off if I’m high-searing meat or if I’m braising it. But listen, this is a beautiful kitchen, and for the life that I actually have, it’s perfect.”
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.Porowski’s life involves frequent travel. Last year, he went on a multicity press tour for his new National Geographic six-episode series No Taste Like Home, which premiered in February. On the show, Porowski takes celebrity guests, including Issa Rae, Florence Pugh and Justin Theroux, to a foreign country where they explore their culinary roots via their ancestral origins. In November, after filming in Senegal with Rae, the United Nations World Food Programme named Porowski a Goodwill Ambassador.
He also recently put his acting background to work in an episode of Hacks, a Max Original series starring Jean Smart as Deborah Vance, a seasoned comedian who reinvents her career with the help of an aspiring comedy writer played by Hannah Einbinder. Series co-creator Paul Downs is a friend of Porowski’s. Porowski plays himself, appearing as a guest on Deborah’s late-night show, and the pair make a hempseed peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich. “The script overall and the sandwich idea were all production, though Paul let Jean and me play around with the lines to have a little fun,” he said.
The apartment’s second bedroom is an office and guest room.
A framed photo of Porowski and Jimmy Kimmel stands on a 1950s Guillerme et Chambron desk. Nearby on the desk is a moulding of Porowski’s teeth.
“I had to have a 3D print made of my teeth, and I decided to keep it because of how much the dentist charged me,” said Porowski before he quipped, “It’s also proof to my dad that he was cheap when I was young and refused to let me get braces even though he is a physician, and I have gaps in between all my lower teeth.”
In the office, Porowski’s bookshelves are stacked with cookbooks, including the first one he ever owned: Nigella Lawson’s Feast.
“I’m a bit of a hoarder, so those shelves only hold about a 10th of the cookbooks I own,” said Porowski. “I like to switch them up, but Feast always stays. I love it because of the way that Nigella wrote about food. It was so beautiful and sensual, but she also doesn’t take herself too seriously.”
The bookshelves also hold the two cookbooks Porowski has written, Antoni in the Kitchen and Antoni: Let’s Do Dinner.
One of his favourite recipes from Antoni in the Kitchen is goat cheese and sun-dried tomato canapes. “When my parents had cocktail parties or would go to the opera or the theatre and have friends come over before, they would serve these every single time,” said Porowski. “I would smell the warm goat cheese from my bedroom, and I would run down and try to sneak as many of these as I could.”
Hanging above the sofa in the office is a picture of Elton John and Bernie Taupin, which was sent to Porowski as a gift after he and the “Fab Five” hosted the Elton John Aids Foundation Academy Awards viewing party in 2020.
Porowski previously met John’s husband, David Furnish, at an event. “He came up to me because he’s a fellow Canadian,” Porowski said. “We Canadians find each other in rooms. We tend to gravitate toward each other because we are a small bunch and are very much our own country and forever will be.” Furnish eventually introduced Porowski to John, and they stayed in touch.
Although Porowski’s dreams of owning a Brooklyn brownstone and having a family have yet to come to fruition, he has become a dog owner, thanks in part to Theroux.
“It was early in 2020, and we were one day shy of finishing our first episode of Queer Eye Seasons 6 and 7 in Austin, and the pandemic hit and I decided not to go back to New York,” said Porowski. “Justin and I were FaceTiming, and he was like, ‘Dude. You are in Austin? You have to go to Austin Pets Alive.’ It turns out it was right down the block from me, and it’s where I found Neon.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Written by: Addie Morfoot
Photographs by: Winnie Au
©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
More home truths
From homeware to expert advice.
Tray Chic! These Charming Platters & Plates Are The Ultimate In Summer Entertaining. Beautiful trays and platter to elegantly balance everything from cocktails to a collection of amuse-bouches.
10 Chic Wine & Cocktail Glasses Perfect For A Toast. Seeking a refresh for your occasion wares? These wine glasses are available to buy right now.
Vintage Maximalism & The Return Of Valance. Rooted in nostalgia, bedrooms are going back to the 1980s.
Interior Designer Tricks For Creating Showers As Luxurious As A Bathtub. Here’s how to make your morning shower more luxurious.
