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For mere mortals, the apartments of our single gal years, once shed, disappear into time immemorial: after you hang up the keys, you’ll never quite find yourself in that same interior ever again. For Carrie Bradshaw, resident of one of history’s most iconic one-bedrooms, it’s an apartment that has not only lived on for 23 years, uh, rent-free (sorry) in the public imagination and on the HBO catalogue, but also—for Nov. 12 and 13—it’ll also be available on Airbnb.
Starting November 8, at noon ET, fans of Sex and the City can request to book a one-night stay in “Carrie’s apartment,” AKA, a replica created by Airbnb and Warner Bros inside a real-life New York brownstone (though it’s technically in Chelsea, not the Upper East). It’s an SATC revival stunt, of course, designed to celebrate the debut of And Just Like That… on HBO Max this December: two lucky guests will get to eat, sleep, and breathe their best Carrie Bradshaw life under a $23 “nightly rate,” in keeping with both the show’s longevity and generally fantastical conception of Manhattan lodging.
The real fun, of course, is in the generously Instagrammable Easter eggs sprinkled throughout the apartment for the true diehards: that bedside cordless phone, some recognizable gems in the closet, a certain leather chair, a winking stack of Post-It notes next to Carrie’s writing desk, next to her Rolodex. Over email, Sarah Jessica Parker—who will be virtually greeting guests as the Airbnb “host”—told Vanity Fair that being in the recreation was a serious throwback moment, even for her. “I felt like I had transported back 23 years,” Parker said.
The last time we all saw Carrie’s apartment onscreen, of course, was the second movie, where she lives with Big but still visits her old place to do some writing and get some space from married life. Photos from set thus far do seem to place Parker next to that old telltale stoop—so does this mean Bradshaw is back (or at least, still hasn’t moved out?)?
“Yes, Carrie will be back in her beloved brownstone,” Parker confirmed. “It remains a home away from home. More I cannot say!”
When asked what she thinks is the reason for the apartment’s staying power in our collective imagination, Parker mused over how—despite the nonsensical economics of her character’s columnist lifestyle—the apartment itself is actually fairly realistic in terms of size and proportion. “The size, the layers of paint, the phone lines painted into walls and molding, the radiator—it feels very true to New York City,” she said. “There is an undeniable charm to apartments like that. Carrie is wise to have held onto it!”
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