Inside Lauren Ezersky’s Chic and Collected Manhattan Home | House Tour

Hey, Homeworthy. I'm Lauren. Welcome to my fabulous mini apartment in New York. Come on in. You're watching Homeworthy, where we believe every home has a story. My name is Lauren Azerski. We are in New York City in my little apartment. And what do I do? I'm kind of doing some ancient citizen modeling when it comes up. I was working in a jewelry shop. I'm always doing something. This home is really special. I've been living in the city since I moved here, maybe 40 years ago. You know, I was in my 20s, whatever. And, you know, my first apartment, I remember, was a fifth floor walk-up, and it was on 75th Street, between 2nd and 3rd, right off 2nd. And it was the funkiest apartment. It was fifth floor. I had to walk up five flights. So I'd go out and get drunk, and then I'd have to, like, rest on one level, then rest on another level. So I always loved the city. And I think the rent at that point was maybe $575, which for me was a lot at the time. I mean, that doesn't even exist anymore. So I've always just kind of moved on up. Like, when I did a little better, I got a little better apartment. And I love where I am now, because I'm near Central Park. It's a great area. It's a great apartment. I have a view of the park. And I love my building. It's really great. I did this show called Behind the Velvet Ropes, which actually I just put up now on, wow, World of Wonder. So they have 198 episodes. And it was just this crazy show where it was just me and my cameraman. And we ran around, and we talked to designers, hairstylists, makeup people. We went to parties. And it was very much easier access, because there wasn't so many different outlets. So I don't know. I just got to interview amazing people. And then I also had a job for a paper magazine. And I remember the lady, Kim, said to me, go do Donna Karan. I said, OK. And somehow I said, I'm shooting for paper, you know, whatever. I want to interview Miss Karan. Can I come up? And they just said yes. And I got this great interview with her. So, you know, things just kind of fell through. I don't know if it's that easy anymore, but I guess you just have to pursue. And don't take no for an answer. You didn't even ask for my advice, but I'm giving it to you anyway. Don't take no for an answer. Just keep doing what you're doing and do what you love. Also, when you're young, you have to do a lot of stuff for free. You know, you have to be interning and just go out and shoot stuff. Just go out and, you know, write something and then post it, because it's easier now because there's more outlets. You can just put your own stuff up. You don't need to have a platform. You make your own. So when I did it, it was harder. I started on public access, which anybody could just go on. I think you just pay for the time. I had two other partners besides myself. I did fashion. Somebody did music and somebody else did actors and directors. So I was one third of the show. So and we just did it. You know, no one made any money. We just went out and shot what we wanted and aired it and people liked it. Hey there. Welcome to my studio apartment. And I have to put my coffee down. Boo hoo. But anyway, here is my gallery wall. I love paintings and most of the paintings that I have are of scenes with no people in them, just like animals or I'll have someone or like a baby. I don't know. Whatever intrigues me, I just have to get. And they've been collected from France, Europe, all around the world. You know, antique centers, vintage shows, flea markets, whatever. So it's real special. And I've had a lot of these for many, many, many years. This I just got. How fabulous is this guy? He's wearing a silver crown. I got this in Florence and I don't know. He just looked really good. The thing is, I don't know how to put him. Like if I put him this way, you can see him. He's looking at you. But if I put him this way, he's not. So I don't know. I have to figure that out. I change it every time. This is a very old vase that I have some dead flowers in. I actually meant to buy new flowers today, but I just didn't have the time. And I love it. I got that in St. Louis at an antique shop. I just love all the colors of it. This is a fabulous dresser, which really I need twice the size of because it's just not big enough. And I can't hardly fit anything in here, really. But because as you see, it's a small space and I need more space. This is new. This is I got this from the same shop. It's supposed to be a poison bottle. So if my husband pisses me off, I can just give him some of that. I'm going to the square footage I'm going to say is probably maybe 400 square feet. Not very big, but there's a lot of stuff in it. I love stuff. So here I have this old chair. Italian. Love my chair. Beautiful pillow that I just got at the Greenbrier Hotel, stayed with a girlfriend. This is Dorothy Draper did this. And I love she actually did the building that the hallways and and the lobby in my building. She's really talented. I got to stay in this crazy hotel that she actually, you know, designed my bed. My bed is where everything gets done. This is my bed. I sleep here. I eat here. I hang out with my dogs here and sometimes I don't leave the bed. This is Isadora. Love her. I can't put her down. She's going to bite your pants. I don't know. She has this thing. She loves men's pants or whatever. I don't really get it, but it's her thing. So I let her do it. My bed. This is where all the action happens. I sleep here. I like to eat here sometimes. I watch my iPad here. Sometimes I don't leave it. Sometimes I order food and I just bring it into bed. There are days that I don't leave my bed because it's so cozy, comfy. It's very feminine. It's French. And I got it in New York City maybe 40 years ago. And it's been with me three or four or five different apartments. So it's real special. I love it. Those are angels. I think these guys are like angels and they're in the tree. I know I've had this for a really long time and I think it's a piece of fabric. It's on fabric. But I just find really interesting things wherever, you know, I mean, it could be a dollar or a hundred dollars, whatever. It's just whatever I like. And there's a picture of two previous chihuahuas that I had. That's Harpo and Gomez. Harpo and Gomez. And there's a picture over there that both gang Yoke did. We went out to dinner and he just drew on the restaurant on tablecloth, whatever. So I took it. I'm not a model. Never have been. But I've been asked a few times for Betsy Johnson. I've modeled and Cynthia Rowley. I've modeled and John Bartlett. I've walked the runway. So I've done a few little things here or there. And now it seems to me that mostly they're about using senior citizens as like at least one of us in a shoot. So they send me out to things. And if I get it, I get it. And if I don't, I don't. Where did all this creativity come from? Well, I grew up in Yonkers, which I knew like I had to get out of there. The best view in Yonkers or of Yonkers is in the rearview mirror. You're leaving. It was great. It was I was young and, you know, I had friends, whatever. But it was just even though it's 20 minutes out of New York City, it was a whole nother world like a suburb. And nobody there really was ever really interested in fashion or clothing. You know, I always had that interest. And I used to come to the village. I remember when I was a kid on 8th Street, they had these really cool stores and I would shop and buy velvet coats and Landlubber low rise jeans. So I always loved fashion. It was always in my blood, you know, and I always did love the city because you can just walk around and look at people and just be inspired by everything you see on the street. It's a real exciting city. I love New York that I can. The most about New York, I can leave my apartment and I can go see a movie. I can see the New York Philharmonic. I can go see Broadway. You know, I can go downtown. I can just sightsee everywhere. I can go to Harlem. I can go to the Metropolitan Opera and the museum. You have everything really at your fingertips. And it's the best of everything, because anyone who really is talented wants to come to New York and because it's the place to be. You know, you can really hone your skills here. So I love New York. Love it. My perfect day. Oh, just going out, getting a coffee, walking around, maybe meeting a friend, going to the park, taking a little shopping trip, go to Bergdorf, look around, see what's there. Just like wandering. You know, you can just walk for miles and there's just so much to see. You don't even have to have a destination. You can just walk and just enjoy it. It's really fun. It's a fun city. I love disco. That was the heyday. And I was young and I went out and I danced the night away. And I went to Studio 54. I was there opening night, which was amazing. When I tell people that, they just, oh, my God, what's it? What was it like? Well, it was everything that you heard and then some. I mean, it was amazing. So but I just was there to dance and I just had a really good time. So that's a really high point. I guess then when I met my first husband, we were at Nell's. It was a club downtown and it was very hip club. They had dinner and dancing. And I saw this guy across the room and my friend said, oh, you should just smile at him. And I know you're not going to believe this, but I'm really shy. But I did. I smiled and he walked over and then we just started dating. That was it. He was a good guy. So but now I'm on number four, my fourth husband. He's good, too. I think I'll keep him. Do I have any rules that I live by? No, I have no rules and no regrets. You can't have rules. Just do what you feel like doing. And if you feel like changing something, just do it. You know, when you live somewhere, you can't have a hard and fast rule unless you're like then you need to go to the container store and your anal and you need to like put everything in a box or whatever. So I'm always changing things up, you know, doing different things. Here is a little library. I don't know if you could see. I have a lot of fabulous books here. And some stife animals. That's a picture that, oh, Bill Cunningham took a long time ago. It's really fabulous. I was actually outside Barney's. I never even saw him. He used to sneak up on you. He's just an amazing, amazingly sweet, talented guy. He always wore the same outfit. And he was just in love with street style. And whoever walked by him, whether you were wearing a T-shirt or jeans or a ballgown, he would photograph you, whatever he felt like doing. He's just an amazing guy. So that's when I framed that picture. These are some books. One of my friends did this. Ruben Afadador, he's an amazing photographer. Then I have some things that I actually did in Florida. This is my titty cup. I don't know if you could show that. So I made a cup with titties on it. I actually made this myself. I've yet to use it. But I just think it's kind of cool. The boobs are a little uneven, but I don't care. Here is another bunch of paintings that I love in the corner. And unfortunately, I had two of these. This is my little wardrobe. And it's just jammed up because I do not have enough closet space because I love clothes. And I'm sure you guys know that I have so much stuff. It's hard to find to find things to put them in that look good. So anyway, how about my fabulous fireplace that doesn't work? It doesn't work, but it looks good. This I got. I don't know what this guy is, a chimora. I think it's good luck. I'm not sure, but I like him and I like his attitude. He's got like a New York attitude. I love pillows. I have a thing for pillows. So these were all I got these online. I believe they're French and they're all hand done. Look at look at how gorgeous this is. I love love, love, love. And even on my bed, I mean, I have so many pillows. People like think it's weird, but then I have this fabulous rack, which I really don't put anything on it. I just like the way it looks. And then before I go out, I'm checking myself. I can like look in this mirror, which I really like. These these beautiful lamps I've had forever. I found them in a shop on Lexington Avenue many, many years ago. So I just love stuff. I like the house to be filled and cozy. And the more things you have, the more cozy it looks. This is one of my favorite tables. This is actually an outdoor table, but I put it indoors. And I've been using this also for about 30, 40 years. I've had this table and I just love it. Sometimes I'll sit and have coffee, but I kind of like my bed. My bed's really fun to hang out in. I love antique shops like wherever there's there's a street. I think it's New York 11th Street between 5th and 6th. Anyway, it's like an antique market over there, a lot of stores. And that's where I got my bed and a few other things. And so every now and then I'll go wander around. I love flea markets, antique shows. I love antique jewelry. So I just find stuff everywhere. You know, this apartment is really great. And it's it's in a nicer building. The apartment's nicer and my view is nicer and the neighborhood's really cool. But my other apartment was kind of fabulous, too. I had a working fireplace, but it was, again, really small, like almost smaller than this. So I wanted to do a little upgrade. So I think this is a great location. It's in the middle of everything where I am. I can't tell you because I'll have to kill you if I tell you. But it's a great location. And it's it's a cute size. And I do have closet space. Let me show you this. It's a mess in my closet. OK, you can't look too deep in this. But anyway, whatever. Look at this. Look at this. It's shoved in there. Whoa. Look, my shoes are on the bottom. I mean, I must have like 150 pair of shoes. And I just don't know where to do everything. I'm trying to like get rid of things. I'm selling things. And I'm trying to cut back because the older you get, the less you need. That's really hard. Well, the craziest thing was when I lived in this first apartment, I lived there for five years. This fifth floor walk up. I never, ever, ever saw any of my neighbors. Never. OK, I lived. I smelled food being cooked. Never saw a neighbor. Five years I was there. And there were 20 apartments. So like four on each floor. Never saw anybody. So that's that's kind of very New York here. I actually know a lot of people. There's older people. Everybody's really friendly in the building. So that's a good story. And then, oh, recently I was just at the Carlisle for drinks and I was with a friend and he had to leave and do something. So there was this woman sitting at the bar. We just started talking. She's like, oh, come here. I'm going to buy you a drink and chit chat with me. And I did that. And we exchanged numbers. And the next day I had lunch with her. So you can just meet crazy people. You can just do anything you want in New York. It's pretty amazing. It's pretty fabulous. And it's pretty friendly. People give us a bad rap. But really, New Yorkers are really amazing. Don't waste our time. Like it drives me nuts when you're walking on the sidewalk and there's a million people and they're all looking, oohing and aahing and you've got to get somewhere. You know, and the sidewalk is pretty big in New York, like on Fifth Avenue or whatever. And you've got to go around all these people. That's really annoying. So if you're a tourist, we love you. But just keep going and go straight and walk fast. This I love this painting, because this was given to me and my first husband at our wedding. And I just love it because they swear the two artists swear that it's not them, that it's me and my husband. But it looks exactly like them. They're a couple. But I love it. It's kind of wacky. So that's beautiful. Oh, let's see my entryway. I love chandeliers, love chandeliers. I have actually three in the house, which is a lot for a small apartment. But I love this lady. I've had her for a really long time also. And she just makes me happy when I come in. I have umbrellas, my umbrella stand, which I have two. I don't know why I need two, but two is better than one. So let's see. Here is the kitchen. I mean, there's not much to see. It's just tiny. I don't really cook in here. So you know what? I'm not even going to show you that. It's like I'm not close. This is also one of my favorite pictures. David Seidner did it. He's no longer with us, but it was so intense. And I had to not wear any makeup, which for me is the hardest thing ever because I love makeup. Anyway, I just love the whole beautiful the way it is and my pose and everything. It took forever to get that. Well, if someone could play me. Whoa. Well, I could tell you who it would have to be because I get this all the time. Lady Gaga. Everybody asks me if like I'm her mother or they all tell me that I look like her. And one woman actually came up to me and didn't believe that I wasn't her. She's like, oh, my daughter went to school with you, blah, blah, blah. And I said, I don't think that you you've got the wrong person. I'm telling you. And I had to run away because this woman would not believe that I wasn't her. So anyway, this is a great little mirror. I just like stuff everywhere. And this is Boris. I love my little bat. Boris is fabulous. He's been with me for a long time. So there's just a lot of stuff that means things. Little drawers. Just I love stuff, things, beautiful, beautiful things. And I also have an obsession with footstools. I don't know if you got this. This is a phone on this one. There's a lot of footstools. There's one under this chair, which my dog ate. You'll see it's not very nice. And then I have another one under here. Where is this one? I know I collect them. I find a lot in Paris. I actually took it on the plane, took it home. I didn't want to check it. So I don't have a thing with that. I like this hamper. It's supposed to be for towels and stuff. Look at how cool this is. But I have shoes in here. Look at all these fabulous shoes. Maison Margiela. I know there's a lot of good stuff in here. I have shoes everywhere. Shoes everywhere. I'm a size 10. If anybody wants to buy any, let me know. Or size 11 now. You know, the older you get, your feet just get big. You know, I'm ever changing my clothing. And you just asked me what a special piece of mine would be. You know what? As I get older or change my look, whatever, it's ever changing. So I don't have a special piece of clothing, really. Probably jewelry. That would be more my cup of tea. I'm ever changing clothing, but my jewelry pretty much stays the same. I wear a lot of big pieces. So I do love this necklace. It's really fabulous. And I like this bracelet. It's Dior. Old. So I don't know, I just love anything that's beautiful. You know? I think I'm like a lot of women. Everybody likes to be looking good, dressed beautiful, feel good about themselves. And looking good makes you feel good. Wearing nice things makes you feel good. Even perfume, I like perfume. Try not to leave the house without it. This specific home is probably like my last stop. I don't see myself moving again. I probably moved five or six times while I lived in New York. And I'm pretty much done. I don't really wanna move. I like the neighborhood. I like my apartment. And I think it's fun. And it's just cozy and desirable. And I just like it. So unless something dramatic happens, like I make a billion dollars from this little interview here, whatever, and I can buy like a one or two bedroom, I'm staying put right here. The word home is everything. And I think more so now that I'm a little bit older and more so now that people are going out less, I think. I think they go for dinner. But in my day, we used to go out clubbing. There was discos. You were out all day and all night. There's not great places anymore. There's dinner, like nice dinner restaurants, wherever you can go. But then you get home by like nine, 10 o'clock. So we used to start early and just stay out the whole night. And now home is more important because you are here much more. And you want it to be a place of refuge because sometimes you go out in the street and the sirens, like the noise in New York is pretty intense. So I like to come here and it's really quiet and I can read and I can just meditate and just think. And that's what I love about my home. And it's decorated the way I want. You know, I found things throughout many years in different flea markets and antique shows. So it's all a little bit of everything. I wish I had more room for more stuff, but unfortunately, you know, it's a studio, but I'm pretty happy. I like it. Thanks for watching. Be sure to go to homeworthy.com for exclusive content, shopping guides, and so much more.