Anthony Carrino's Dream Loft

As soon as Cousins Undercover star Anthony Carrino saw the brick building in Jersey City, NJ, he knew he had to have it. Constructed in 1892 as a telephone switching station, it “was a huge blank canvas,” says Anthony, who owns Brunelleschi Construction with his dad and his cousin, fellow HGTV star John Colaneri. Enamored of the structure’s arched windows and historic location, Anthony wrote the city a 60-page proposal on why he should get to renovate it. “I’ve lived in Jersey City for almost a decade and really respect the area’s history,” he says. “I told them I didn’t want to change the building but would make it an anchor for the neighborhood.”

Anthony won the bid. He gutted the dilapidated interior, then designed two restaurants for the ground floor and 16 apartments above. All the units showcase the original brick walls and steel beams. At 1,200 square feet, the apartment he chose for himself isn’t the biggest, but it has 19-foot ceilings and gets incredible light. To take full advantage, Anthony kept the space open, walling in just two bathrooms and an office. “Even before my boxes were unpacked, this felt like home.”

Although he didn’t want a formal dining room, Anthony did need a designated spot for nice dinners. A Restoration Hardware farm table teamed with Timothy Oulton seats fit the bill. A layered pair of overdyed rugs from Wayfair define the space. “Most people put color on their walls, but here I wanted the energy to come from the ground,” he says.

With its soaring ceiling and concrete floor, the loft could have felt chilly. To warm it up—literally—Anthony installed a hanging Fire Orb fireplace. He then added honey-toned woods and a mix of textures: another overdyed rug from Wayfair, a leather Timothy Oulton sofa, floor-to-ceiling curtains made from Sunbrella fabric, and tweedy mid-century-modern armchairs from Dot & Bo. The Restoration Hardware TV stand looks like an easel.