It takes a special apartment to make Barbara Corcoran outbid herself. But when a broker showed her an Upper East Side penthouse seven months before it officially hit the market, she did just that—twice—and even offered to cover the flip tax. “There was no way I was going to lose this apartment,” says Corcoran of the aerie, with a wraparound terrace and megawatt views of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Central Park. “I just knew it was special, because I’d seen and sold every apartment in New York, and I knew I’d never see this one again.”
For all her enthusiasm, Corcoran insists she might never have left her nearby apartment—a sunny prewar duplex with a greenhouse-like kitchen familiar to followers of her popular Instagram account—had she not discovered AD PRO Directory designer Allegra O. Eifler. The stairs had become untenable for Corcoran’s husband, but the prospect of another renovation was daunting. Then, on a transatlantic flight, she spotted Eifler’s work in a magazine feature on rising talents. “I moved because I had [found] a designer, honestly,” says the founder of the Corcoran Group and costar of ABC’s Shark Tank. “I renovated everything else I’ve had and loved every minute of it, but I didn’t picture myself doing it again at my age.”
A circa 1960s Italian bronze spiral chandelier from Carlos de la Puente Antiques makes a striking statement in the stone entry hall, complemented by Plato Design sconces from Artemest. A custom lacquered table by Liz O’Brien is topped with a handblown glass vase designed by Soffieria Parise, from The Oblist.
ART: Anna Costa. Harold Haydon.
In the living room, slipcovered sofas by Luther Quintana Upholstery are upholstered in a Fabricut textile and piled with pillows in Schumacher fabrics. A pair of Hector Finch reading lamps accompanies circa 1950s Edward Wormley cube tables from 20c Modern in Troy, Michigan. Corcoran’s beloved 1960s Italian rocking chair, sourced on Chairish, has a seat pad covered in a Bennison fabric. In the corner, a circa 1930s Danish white earthenware table lamp by Michael Anderson & Sons is from Gallery BAC in NYC.
DIANA HASKELL PHOTOGRAPHY
In a corner of the living room, whose Venetian plaster walls are finished in Benjamin Moore’s Pensacola Pink and Love & Happiness, sits one of two circa 1970s chalkware owl lamps that Eifler sourced on 1stDibs and that have become favorites of Corcoran. “Sourcing antiques is my love language, and I think it’s my secret power,” says the designer. An antique French library table from Fireside Antiques in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, stands above a mahogany bench from Black Rock Galleries in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The midcentury Louis Philippe–style mirror, one of a pair flanking the fireplace, is from Country French Interiors in Dallas, while Bonacina armchairs upholstered in a Claremont fabric offer a fireside perch.
DIANA HASKELL PHOTOGRAPHY. ART: Gideon Borje
“I definitely wanted a Scrabble table,” says Corcoran of the games table in her living room. “I know that sounds silly, but it was very important to me that you could sit, play, and be very comfortable.” The custom glass-topped design by Bonacina Rattan is surrounded by custom chairs from Luther Quintana Upholstery, covered in Fabricut and Otis Textiles fabrics. A circa 1930s Swedish floor lamp is from PRB Collection in High Point, North Carolina; the custom sheer drapery is also by Luther Quintana Upholstery. A framed painting by Anna Costa hangs above an abstract work by Harold Haydon.
DIANA HASKELL PHOTOGRAPHY. ART: Anna Costa. Harold Haydon.
Corcoran relaxes with Max in the library on a circa 1900 French iron daybed settee from Fireside Antiques in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Its custom Charles H. Beckley mattress is covered in a Casa Branca ticking. Nearby, a late-19th-century English pine cricket table from William Word Antiques in Atlanta stands beside a 1960s Danish teak floor lamp found on Chairish. “To make something look effortless, I find you have to put a lot of work in,” says Corcoran of Eifler. “She puts a lot of work in but, in the end, makes it look effortless every time.”
DIANA HASKELL PHOTOGRAPHY
A view from the entry hall into the jewel-box powder room reveals Clarence House wallpaper, a circa 1930s Moroccan bronze mirror from Chairish, and Corcoran’s beloved rabbit sconces. A pendant from Chez Pluie in Provence is covered in vintage French fabric.
With walls clad in a cheerful Farrow & Ball wallpaper, the dining room can accommodate up to 24 guests. “She is very casual, and her apartment is a revolving door of friends and family,” says Eifler of her client. Bonacina chairs surround a round Time & Style table beneath a silk pendant by Fortuny. A custom bench wears a Schumacher linen, and a console from R.T. Facts in Kent, Connecticut, and handmade sconces by India Mahdavi complete the space. Corcoran hired Larry Cohn and Rachel Newton of Shadow Architect along with RCC Cabinetry & Restoration LLC to assist with the renovation.
DIANA HASKELL PHOTOGRAPHYCorcoran recognized a kindred sensibility in Eifler’s “comfortable spaces that balance American optimism with European refinement.” The homeowner describes her own style as “shabby-chic sort of, Swedish, warm, and worn-out in a simple way,” and could imagine herself inhabiting every room she saw. “Each was a little stage welcoming someone to come in, sit, and be happy,” she says. “I had looked at a hundred designers in a year, but there was no space in their rooms for me. With Allegra’s rooms, they weren’t to be looked at, they were to welcome you.”
Their first meeting confirmed Corcoran’s instinct. She wanted an ambitious nine-month turnaround, which Eifler, working with Shadow Architect and RCC Cabinetry & Restoration LLC, delivered. “She runs a business the way I used to run mine,” Corcoran says. “You can’t question her talent.”
Eifler enlivened the windowless hallway leading to the bedrooms with a ceiling painted in Benjamin Moore’s Blue Allure and pendant lights dressed in a punchy Josef Frank linen from Svenskt Tenn. An amulet wool runner by Sophie Cooney adds another layer of pattern to the pass-through space.
DIANA HASKELL PHOTOGRAPHY. ART: Elizabeth Wedel.
In the garden room, where Corcoran often begins her day with a cup of coffee, the walls are clad in Linnaeus wallpaper by Soane. A custom teak daybed by The Raj Company, topped with a Charles H. Beckley mattress upholstered in a Cowtan & Tout fabric, is flanked by circa 1950s Austrian floor lamps from Kica Jugendstil. Josef Frank armchairs from Svenskt Tenn stand on a rug from Pom Rugs beneath a rattan suspension light by Atelier Vime.
DIANA HASKELL PHOTOGRAPHYWithin the two-bedroom, 3,100-square-foot residence, Eifler set out to create a succession of intimate, personal moments. Each room centers on at least one meaningful possession of Corcoran’s, surrounded by custom seating, cheerful window treatments and wall coverings, warm pools of lamplight, and an artful mix of antiques. “She’s a casual person, but she’s also very aware of her surroundings and understands it’s [an Uptown] penthouse,” says Eifler, who served as Ralph Lauren’s global director of antiques and vintage before founding her namesake firm in 2018. “So the concept was really a beach house on Fifth Avenue.”
Playfulness keeps the level of refinement from becoming precious. In the primary bedroom, Eifler answered Corcoran’s request for a swing with a pink velvet–lined egg chair, which its owner now likens to a quiet Catholic confessional. Artwork from Corcoran’s former conference room hangs in the dark-paneled library alongside a vintage golden-yellow Scandinavian rug. Her beloved bunny collection inhabits the powder room, while a newly acquired pair of owl lamps has become a living room favorite. Overhead in the soaring stone entry hall, a circa 1960s Italian bronze spiral chandelier adds a final sculptural flourish.
A circa 1920s American bronze lantern from Avery & Dash Collections in Stamford, Connecticut, illuminates the sunny kitchen, where blue-and-white tiles from Mosaic House cover the backsplash and border the hood. Corcoran’s existing stools are topped with cushions in a Schumacher fabric, while the Roman shade, crafted by Luther Quintana Upholstery, wears a Heather Chadduck textile.
Corcoran’s serene primary bedroom features a hanging egg chair by Modern Designs, which she likens to the quiet of a Catholic confessional. “She had two serious requests that I’d say were curveballs as a designer,” notes Eifler: a rocking chair, now in the living room, and a swing. Nearby, a custom Niermann Weeks bed has a canopy in a Rogers and Goffigon fabric and bedding from Fine Linens in NYC. The sectional, where Corcoran and members of her team can gather while she gets ready, is upholstered in a Bennison fabric and illuminated by Ann-Morris sconces. The wallpaper is by Farrow & Ball.
ART: Florence HelfmanThese days, Corcoran jokes that her hardest decision is where to drink her morning coffee. She migrates among the den sofa, kitchen island, dining room armchairs, and living room Scrabble table—trying not to spill—but the serene garden room invariably wins. “When I’m in that beautiful room, with its flowered wallpaper and simplicity and my favorite desk, I’m so happy,” she says. Beyond it, the terrace blooms with 12 trees, aromatic roses, and clematis. “I feel like I’ve accomplished everything in life. I feel content—and content is not something I feel so easily.”
Corcoran poses with her shih tzu, Max—the third in a line of shih tzu Maxes—amid terrace plantings inherited in part from the previous owner. The real estate mogul added her own climbing roses and clematis, joking, “It’ll take probably three years before it’s the secret garden that I see in my head, so I'll take full credit for that garden when it’s fully developed.” The armchair in the distance is by Rose Tarlow.
DIANA HASKELL PHOTOGRAPHY
Facing south, west, and north, the penthouse boasts a wraparound terrace, 40 yards per side, lush with Corcoran’s beloved plantings. The furniture cushions wear a Perennials fabric, with contrasting welt in another Perennials textile. “It has a spectacular view of Central Park, so I fell in love with the disposition of the apartment,” says Corcoran of her home. “Then I fell in love with the bones of the apartment.”
DIANA HASKELL PHOTOGRAPHY