Love the floor plan!

Now this is a shoestring budget. $100 sq/ft is great.

That is the most bizarre floor plan I have ever seen.

I love the calm, quiet vibe in both bedrooms.

There are some serious lamp cord situations happening here.

I love the furniture choices, but the dark paint in the windowless areas is looking gloomy in these pics, and that doesn't make me think of kids. I would have looked at F&B "Borrowed Light" with maybe a kick of "Churlish Green".

The blue ceiling in the bedroom is fabulous. The nursery is lovely too. Overall it's a little gloomy though.

I like the layout but I think the LR/DR is really tiny (considering it is two rooms in one).

This is not a smack-down of the designers, who had a real challenge on their hands here--hat's off, gals!; but I would be so depressed in this space.

Eh...not as great as I thought it was going to be. It's a little cave like. I like the chains on the wall..Interesting floor plan.

Not for me, although I do like how the designers have worked with such a challenging space. I'm sure it wasn't easy to make that place look as great as it does, but I just can't get past the floor-plan. Too much of the space was wasted on hallways, yes the general shape is awkward but I feel like there cold have been other options. Also, I could never be trusted to carry food all the way from the kitchen to the living/dining room without spilling (no one's fault but my own). Also, the closet in the master bedroom looks tiny. If I lived there I think I would sacrifice one of the bathrooms just to have some space - with only two small bedrooms this apartment doesn't look very family friendly so you could totally get away with 1 1/2 baths.

The color choices don't exactly say "family", maybe because they weren't quite sure if that was the right choice after all? I love the curtains and some of the furniture though.
They should have found a way to incorporate seating and maybe a small table in the kitchen - one of those fold-down tables from IKEA, anything, in case you want to quickly eat something or have somebody hang out with you while cooking.
That floor plan is crazy - I can think of a quite a few ways to reconfigure the apartment to make it flow better.....

They did a good job of making it seem like a real family's organically accumulated set of tastes, rather than a designer's autocratically imposed decor theory. There are a lot of styles happening here -- Chinoiserie, MidMod, indigenous culture, Arts and Crafts, baroque, kooky Zooey Deschanel -- but they're coexisting instead of fighting. Whereas some designers would say "Let's make a statement and do this in head-to-toe MidCentury Modern," this design is more subtle and realistic and psychologically accurate. I see a client who is drawn (like me) to lattices and screens and pierced things, picking them up in whatever style or substance: the folding hatrack, the chains, the cane seat, the textile patterns, the lampshades... This feels authentic and unforced and relaxed.

Agree that the kitchen is too far from the living/dining room! I really like the look of the chains on the wall in that specific picture, and I like the effect that the shadows create, but I wonder if it would look as good in real life.

i love the fabric used for the drapes

I think these designers did a great job. It manages to be sleek and urban but realistic and warm at the same time - no small feat. I think the layout does look challenging but also fun , you can't see the whole space at once like so many apartments. Great job, can't wait to see more of these posts...

I pretty much agree with Thorndale, except that I don't like the mirrors flanking the bed. The idea, yes, but they look completely unsecured, just resting on top of tables that are on casters. Also, it looks like there are a lot of breakables on low shelves, in reach of the kids. And that bench by the door would be more useful as a console table to drop keys and bags and stuff. Who walks in the door and immediately thinks "I'm just going to hang out on this bench with a beautiful view of... a wall. And a hallway."

The chains on the wall are just silly, as are the hanging pom poms. But the dark taupe paint was a smart move. I like darker colors in a small, dark space. If you need to use artificial lighting anyway, go for a color that will lend atmosphere. The bad part of that is you can end up with a boutique hotel feel.

Humina Humina Humina. The livingroom curtains! The blue bar thing under the mirror, the chains. I want it all. Wonderful!

Sabrinathedestroyer--

I know a lot of people, and have many clients, who have a no-shoes-inside policy, and that bench by the door makes perfect sense.

i like the blue ceiling and the drapes in the living room.

I actually quite liked the way so many items are so "sculptural".

I agree that the a kitchen without even a shelf and a barstool to sit and nosh at is very unfriendly.

There are so many things I like (nursery, bedding, leopard print pillows). But I sort of feel like I was walking down a hallway the entire time. Cute space though!

Not a fan. Dark and gloomy... and no offense to them (or anyone) meant, but it looks like they've rarely seen a tour on AT themselves judging by their responses to the questions..? Am I confused?

What an awful floorplan.

There's a lot of great design elements here, but it's still not a very usable space.

I felt depressed looking at the space but good for you for figuring out what to do with this strange place.

<I>I know a lot of people, and have many clients, who have a no-shoes-inside policy, and that bench by the door makes perfect sense.</I>

OK, valid. Is there some way to delete your own posts? I feel mean.

Or, um, edit your posts to fix the error.

Must have those living room curtains. Source?

the hanging pom-poms on the window seem like a hazard to small child. easily choked on or strangled by. i'm scared.

Ok, it's official the Gray(grey?) thing is OVER! I now add it to my boring beige, all white,
turquoise and brown "played out" file! I agree with most everyone else the place looks
drab & gloomy, especially the battleship gray room! I did like the chains on the wall (but
I would have used something colorful for a header, maybe an upholstered board, maybe
even a ribbon covered board?) and the bench is just cool. Bedroom furniture is nice but
the boring beige?? Sad drab little cell, perfect for a monk though. Love the wallpaper in
the nursery but it is in NEED of some color to stimulate baby! Space really could have
used some oomph!

I don't understand the kitchen. It's dark, which would be fine if there was enough lighting, but that doesn't seem to be the case. And I don't see much counter space. A home designed for a family should include a kitchen that was actually efficient for cooking. It doesn't need to have room for someone to sit and talk, but one can't really cook in that kitchen.

Some really great ideas here, however the colour isnt my favourite in this case. I love that sofa!

Metroloft, what were you thinking? Barely any natural light in this place and so many sharp corners, it's a Feng Shui nightmare.

Did I miss the bathroom?

Too dark and gloomy for me. I can't imagine living there during the dull, dreary rainy days. Why such colors on the walls that get no direct sunlight? Not my style at all sorry.

Didn't shoot the bathroom in this unit, Lyonstill, since there was only minimal designer-styling, and all the bathrooms in these five (this is the second) units were basically the same. Some shots of one of the baths coming up before month's end.

One of the poorest examples I’ve seen. Describing the paint design in the entry, kitchen, etc. as ‘moody’ is absurd. It’s gloomy and depressing. Without a window in or near these areas, what were they thinking?
Surely, it would have been better design to have invested some of the 10K on an electrician to hardwire wall sconces. The cords are not only unattractive, but horribly unsafe for children.
The ribbon/tack treatment is weakly finished, but more importantly, a parent would never hang loose ribbon with tacks that could easily pop out of the wall at a child’s eye level. Nor would they hang pom-pom window trim in a child’s room or place what appears to be a concrete/plaster bunny on the floor next to a crib… ridiculous. For the same reason, why would you hang chains on a wall behind a bench adjacent to a telephone with a long cord? Sensing a theme? Beside the chain display being altogether unattractive, once more no parent would ever place a bench under such ‘art;’ a child could climb on the bench and pinch their fingers in the chains or become caught-up in the phone cord.
Next, the taupe-brown floating shelves with glassware leading into the kitchen… have you never been around children? Children play, have toss toys, love to hang from things. Yet another disappointing design element. The row of bookshelves along the wall in the living room shouldn’t be accessorized in such a manner. I do realize that adults will live in the space as well and deserve to enjoy the space, but wouldn’t it have been better to place a row of lovely baskets along the bottom shelf sections for children’s books, ‘blankies’? The child(ren) has its own room with storage obviously, but having a few of their things in the living room makes them feel comfortable.
The dining table is quite small for family living. As there doesn’t appear to be a coffee table, where does homework, crafts, or coloring happen? Where does a family dinner take place?
As I happen to be relocating to Manhattan sometime in the next twelve months and am also a young parent with a very small budget, I was excited when I came across a link to this family home tour. There are attractive still shots of various areas of the apartment, but almost no pragmatic real-world ideas to utilize.
Before designing an actual space for a client with young children, you should really do some research.
P.S.: The headboard is not proportional to the space – simple math solves that problem.

Bizarre floor plan. Toilet and bath door facing the main entrance? And I think kitchen is too far from the living/dining.

But, overall design is nice - great color scheme, nice furniture choices, fabrics, wall treatments, etc.

Just that I dont like the chains/linings on the wall and the exposed wall lamp cord. Not so nice.

Elegant.

While not exactly an abusive environment, I think the kid raised here would have serious emotional problems. On the other hand, I'm single and childless and ready to move in.

I pretty much agree with everyone who wrote abou how gloomy this looks. With so few windows in the apartment I feel like that battleship grey was such a disappointing color choice. The various accessories that are obviously dangerous for kids was a poor decision. And I'm really hating on the blue ceiling/ paint trim in the bedroom, at first I thought it was blue painter's tape that got left behind.

The furniture is nice overall and I feel like they did a good job with working into that awkward floor plan, but the color scheme... I cannot believe such depressing colors were chosen for an already dim dull space. :(

Can't get into it to save my life. Soulless tour. And hanging ball fringe in a child's room?
Besides being ridiculous, it's not even a great decorative solution.

I'm glad a real baby doesn't have to live in that grim nursery. I don't know if it's the lighting or what, but I felt very sad the whole time I was looking at the photos, despite liking many of the individual pieces in the rooms. Jessica's aforementioned smile and laugh didn't infect this place she helped design, unfortunately.

My first reaction was to question the designers' judgment, but then I realized that aside from the Helen Keller-engineered layout, they were probably also limited in what they could do to the structure (e.g., no hardwiring or knocking down walls)--this being a model apt. and all.

This space has two inherent problems: 1.) aesthetically bankrupt, greedy developers who want to cram 2 bedrooms into this hovel in order to charge more & 2.) ugliness. Period.

(PS I'm a native Manhattanite, so if I think the space is too small...)

Yes, where did those curtains come from!?!!!??

Amazing curtains - where are those from??