A Prop Stylist’s Apartment, Without the Clutter

Design editor Wendy Goodman takes you inside the city’s most exciting homes and design studios. [Design Hunting]( A visual diary by Design Editor Wendy Goodman [How Prop Stylist John Dittrick Decorated His Carroll Gardens Railroad Flat]( “I was very influenced by the taste my mom had,” he says. Photo: David Land Growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, prop stylist John Dittrick, loved all things design from an early age. “I had this Playmobil doll house and my cousins had one, too, and I remember going to my cousin’s house and looking at the way they set theirs up and going, Oh no, they’ve got it wrong.” [Laughs.] “That’s not where I would put that couch.”His interests also included acting and set design, which he studied in college, and months after his move to New York in 2017, he landed a job at West Elm. After many moves, all involving sharing with roommates, Dittrick was ready to go out on his own and found this Carroll Gardens railroad apartment last year. Settling in he realized that as much as he loved his childhood home, he needed to create a more serene oasis than what he had known growing up. “Our house was beautiful, but it was very cluttered,” he says. “And I have inherited a lot of those sentimental sensibilities. I tend to hold on to things, but all that gives me anxiety, too, so sometimes I feel very burdened by stuff.” His new apartment has been designed with a sense of order and calm with just the right stuff. — Wendy Goodman [TAKE A TOUR]( Want more on design, real estate, and city life? [Subscribe now]( to save over 40% on unlimited access to Curbed and everything New York. This Week in Design 1. [A David Lynch–Inspired Nightclub, Fantasy Coffins, and More Design Finds Plus a new salon-style gallery in Soho.]( 2. [This Is What Streeteries Are Going to Look Like New York City’s transportation agency has revealed four designs for four curb scenarios.]( 3. [Artist Meghan Boody Is Selling Her Wild Tribeca Loft It looks like an off-kilter Victorian dollhouse.]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Read More on Curbed]( [Sign up to get The Listings Edit](, a weekly digest of the most worth-it apartments in New York. [GET THE NEWSLETTER]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe]( | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1701 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2024, All rights reserved