Apartment Envy: Sneak Peek Faves

I’ve spent several days mining through Design Sponge’s sneak peeks and found several inspirational images of parts of other people’s houses that I am coveting.This quirky collection of boxes.

A floor to ceiling bookshelf that divides 2 rooms.

A white room with an accent.

A kitchen sink that looks out the window into the woods has always been a dream.

Wide wooden slated floors.

This crazy inspiration wall.

or this inspiration wall.

A big L-shaped desk space is SUPER important for me to have at home.

This Murphy bed Ikea hack.

Or an vintage iron post bed. So that I can grab the poles…while I….sleep…

A giant kitchen with an island that opens out to the dining room and living room.

Peeking into Artist Studios

I just discovered my new favorite website: Studio Sweet Studio.

Growing up I’ve always been a fanatic about having a teacher-perfect desk: fully stocked office supplies (I especially swooned over the pens and stationary dept) piled and organized in neat and orderly fashion, both a chalkboard AND a dry erase board filling up my walls to jot down to-do lists and map out schedules for the week (I kept myself very busy even as a 5th grader) and let’s not forget the stack of giant backpacks drowning in lanyard stitches and keychains, emptied out at night to only be packed again in the morning for school.

Being a stickler for organizing and playing within my “work” space has certainly influenced my nosy curiosity when interviewing artists and visiting them at their studios, hence organizing open studios the last three years. With that in mind Studio Sweet Studio will be my new daily fix with a first glance into studios of prolific artists in addition to profiling their process and sharing their how-tos with readers.

Some highlights I’ve found so far:

I’d die for a sun-drenched studio…

Inspiration boards and desk lamps are key to any creative endeavor.

It also helps to have colorful comfy chairs.

Chalkboard shelves? Yes please.

A multi-functional table is muy importante when your work space is also your tiny home.

An Apt of My Own

old room in gnpt that i loved.

FINALLY.

The time has come when I get to pack my shit and move into an apartment to live all by myself. I’ve been waiting for this moment for years and it’s finally happening. I made the decision to move out of a gigantic, beautiful loft in Greenpoint for various different reasons, most pressing excuse being I couldn’t tolerate living with other people any longer. NO MORE. DONE. No personal grudges against my roommate or anything (ahem), I’ve just come to a point in my life where I’m working/dealing/collaborating/meeting with people 24/7 that when I am home I do not want to consider anyone else but me and my dog. I want to run around naked fist pumping to crystal castles, not washing anyone else’s dirty dishes, and not compensating space in the fridge or closet for no one else’s possessions but my own. Everything is where I left them last and ultimately, most importantly, I have COMPLETE control over my environment. That’s what happens as you age, you become a neurotic control freak. Interesting.

So the last couple weeks I’ve been bustin’ my balls looking for apartments in Greenpoint, LES and EV and have been pullin’ my hair, stressin’ my shit and freakin’ out that I would never be able to afford a decent sized apt to live alone. I came close at many moments. There was the jr. 1br on 6th St btw 1st and 2nd ave for $1300 where the bath tub was in the living room next to the kitchen sink and the tiny toilet stall had a heat pipe that made the room a sauna. Good location though. There was the perfect 1br on Franklin and India that was on the ground floor with full access to the communal backyard. Tiny kitchen but spacious rooms. It was taken right under my nose, those bastards. After many nights tossin’ n’ turnin’, shedding tears of frustration, helplessness, and fatigue, I FINALLY confirmed the cutest most PERFECTEST apartment ever. It’s a small studio (I’m guessing 550 sq ft) at the corner of McGorlick Park (20 steps to dog run), behind Variety Cafe (walk into the building to the scent of coffee), across the street from supermarket and pet shop. Original details abound, with walls layered with paint, built in kitchen cabinets and closet, fold out ironing board, and the best, most fantastically charming part, a staircase leading out the window to my very own grassy private back yard. STOKED.

I’ve been OBSESSING about this apt the last couple days. The lack of sleep, the abundance of stress, and that special time of the month, not to mention not having cooked or baked in over a month, all combined to plague me with a cold. Nonetheless I’ve been studying websites and books on how to live in and create the most beautiful, functional, charming, quirky, colorful, welcoming small apartment ever. Here’s where I’m looking:

– I drool over sneak peeks at design sponge for hours. HOURS. This is my favorite.

– Apartment Therapy features tiny apartment contests every year and there are LOADS of pictures there. This is my favorite.

– My co-worker brought this amazing book that I’ve been diligently studying.  It’s in Japanese and features tiny apartments in Paris. I can’t find any links to it, but publisher is Shufunotomosha. You can get it at the Japanese book store on 42nd St. I’m being vague, but I haven’t been there yet, just explore and find it.

– Here’s a bunch of links about tiny spaces under 400 sq ft.

– Here are some tips on making your small apt bigger.

– Here’s a 25 year old’s tiny apartment that’s been making its round on the interweb.

– And here’s a blog called tiny ass apartment. Pretty self-explanatory.

I’ll be spending the next couple weeks painting my walls (not all, just one or two in deep orange and marigold) as well as my cabinet and closet. I’ll be buying more plants to hang and place on my fireplace sill as well as veggie seeds for the backyard. I’ll be shopping for a coat rack, desk chair, step stool, kitchenware, curtains, frames, pillows, and functional, beautiful tchotchkes to aestheticize my place with. I never ever grew up in a decent looking home and it means so much to me, having the opportunity to make my home, MY HOME. Look out for finished product soon.