Carrie Bradshaw, the iconic character played by Sarah Jessica Parker, will grace the small screen for the final time on Thursday night in the series finale of “And Just Like That…”, and while it’s looking like she may not find her man, she found her dream home.
From the “jewel box” studio on the Upper East Side to the dreamy, even if impractical for a single person, Gramercy townhouse, Carrie’s homes are as familiar to most fans as their own. The real estate has always served as more of a scene partner than a backdrop in HBO’s “Sex and the City” franchise.
In honor of the final episode of “And Just Like That…”, here is a look back at the apartments that helped form Carrie Bradshaw in two TV shows and two movies.
Carrie’s Jewel Box
In Season 1 of “And Just Like That…,” which premiered in 2023, Carrie refers to her apartment as her “jewel box.” This is the same apartment she called home in the first season of “Sex and the City,” which premiered in 1998.
The set for her studio apartment has a living room that frames Carrie’s writing window, an alcove that branches into the bedroom, and a closet that connects the bed to the bath. The cozy circular layout, which was created by the set designer, Jeremy Conway, and the decorator, Karin Wiesel Holmes, serves as a respite for Carrie and viewers alike.
In the show, Carrie’s apartment is set on the Upper East Side, but the facade of her building is really at 66 Perry Street in the West Village, which has caused trouble for the building’s owners because fans must see it in person.
Sharing the Studio with Aidan
In Season 4 of “Sex and the City,” which premiered in 2001, Carrie’s building turns into a co-op, meaning she’ll either need $30,000 for a down payment to purchase her space or she’ll need to move out.
Carrie’s fiancé, Aidan Shaw, played by John Corbett, sees her love for this little apartment and offers to buy it and the place next door so they can expand it when he moves in. As the walls between the two spaces begin to crumble, the metaphorical walls of Carrie’s character are torn down as well, a catalyst for the end of one of the show’s defining story arcs: the couple’s breakup.
Aidan offers Carrie the chance to buy her apartment back at the price he paid for it, which she can’t afford. Carrie fails to find a comparable space anywhere near the $750 per month she pays for her rent-controlled studio, so Chris Noth’s character, Mr. Big, offers her the money for a down payment. Instead, Carrie ends up accepting an engagement ring from Kristin Davis’s Charlotte York to help her buy back her space.
Keeping the Jewel Box
The movie, “Sex and the City 2” was released in 2010 and welcomed the set designer, Miguel Lopez-Castillo, who updated Carrie’s apartment with blue paint and subtle modern touches, but left the layout largely untouched. In the movie, and in “And Just Like That…”, the studio apartment is always in the background.
Mr. Lopez-Castillo said the director of “Sex and the City” and the co-creator of its sequel, Michael Patrick King, knew Carrie would keep her old studio even with another big purchase looming.
The Fifth Avenue Dream House
During Mr. Big and Carrie’s search for a home, a Fifth Avenue apartment in the Upper East Side appears as though it’s been plucked from a dream and dropped on the screen. The scenes were shot at the Academy Mansion on the Upper East Side. As the couple walks in the door, giant arched windows cast soft light across the massive living room and Carrie declares that she has “died and gone to real estate heaven.” The only element of the apartment that needs help is the closet, which Mr. Big renovates. This is also the only part of the home that was shot on a soundstage.
A lot happens between the closet reveal and Mr. Big ending up down on one knee inside it, clutching a blue Manolo Blahnik as he proposes, a scene etched in fans’ minds. The proposal follows their break up and time apart, a period in which they sell the apartment.
The TriBeCa Loft
The franchise is so tied to real estate that “And Just Like That …” featured New York City real estate broker, Ryan Serhant, founder and chief executive of the brokerage firm, Serhant.
Mr. Serhant told The Times that “buying real estate in Manhattan is not a process of selection, it’s a process of elimination.” That certainly felt true for Carrie, unfortunately, and part of her process of elimination included her buying and hating an ultramodern, all-glass loft in TriBeCa that was filmed at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn.
“To me, it’s like the worst of postmodern luxury lifestyle these days,” Mr. Lopez-Castillo said of the loft. “It has so much glass that Michael Patrick turned it into the gag — she has to cook in her sunglasses and a hat.”
Carrie quickly decides to resell the space and, once again, move back into the studio.
The Gramercy Townhouse
For the final season, Mr. Lopez-Castillo was tasked with finding Carrie Bradshaw’s ultimate dream home. He knew where to start: 3 Gramercy Park West, which most recently rented for $22,000 per month.
“I used to have a girlfriend who was an art historian and a real fantasist — and one day she’s like, ‘I found a place that I want us to buy when we can,’” Mr. Lopez-Castillo said.
Thirty years later, the place came to Mr. Lopez-Castillo’s mind as Mr. King described his vision for Carrie’s dream apartment. “He described it as the most beautiful apartment in New York, full of plaster moldings, French doors, wooden floors, fireplaces, high ceilings and a view of the park.”
They were able to capture park views from the property, but the time needed to film and potential damages to the interior restricted their ability to film inside. Mr. Lopez-Castillo built a version of the home on a set, replicating the exterior and choosing every detail of the interior.
Aidan is back in Carrie’s life when she is apartment hunting and she has a vision of grand accommodations that befit Aidan and his three sons. In reality, she ends up spending most of her time alone in the vast space. Mr. Lopez-Castillo says Mr. King wanted it to feel like Carrie was “caught in a doll’s house that was too big for her,” so he ended up building exaggerated set pieces, including the hallway, spiral staircase that led down to the garden and the indoor staircase, that made Carrie look truly tiny.
During the final season, Carrie slowly begins to fill up the apartment after initially waiting for Aidan’s approval on furniture and design pieces. During this time, Carrie begins to really inhabit the space and while it’s never explicitly stated, a new round table appears in the background in place of the one Aidan bought for her.
“She’s not tied to a relationship with a man anymore, and she’s making the space her own,” said Mr. Lopez-Castillo. “It’s a circle of friends — that’s what her house is for.”
The post Carrie Bradshaw’s Life in N.Y.C. Apartments (and That Townhouse) appeared first on New York Times.
