Name: Amy Feezor
Location: Brooklyn — New york, NY
Size: 575 square feet
Years lived in: 5 — rented
When you are as busy of a writer as Amy Feezor is, you want to come home to a joyful abode that let's you be exactly who you are. Luckily, we were able to take in some of the bliss that seems to emanate from the design details in Amy's Brooklyn studio.
Amy Feezor is the epitome of a busy bee. As copy director for Real Simple magazine, a contributor to Herman Miller's Lifework blog, and the brains behind one of our favorite design sites M-Dashing.com, it's safe to say that Amy is one incredibly diligent writer - as well as a talented miner of design gems on the internet. That's why we felt so lucky that she took some time out of her active schedule to give us a peek into her cheery apartment in Brooklyn.
By keeping her walls white and furniture simple, Amy has allowed her love of "little surprises" to take precedence. Throughout the studio, small charmers such as an unexpected, tiny picture frame near the terrace and a bright, yellow stool in the bathroom demonstrate Amy's careful dedication to keeping her space as individual and blissful as she is. We fell in love with her thoughtfully arranged artwork and the color coordination of her book collection - every element of Amy's design seems to perfectly match her optimistic attitude and reflects her M—Dashing manifesto of appreciating the wonderful details personalized design elements can bring into one's home.
Although Amy admits to having a lot of "things", her studio maintains an open and airy feel - and from creating her own artwork above the bed, to surprising guests with quirky messages on her kitchen menu board (ahem, we LOVED the twitter shoutouts!), she has successfully created a lovely, inviting space that not only showcases her most prized treasures, but also truly reflects her wonderfully sunny personality.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My Style: Eclectic (but not cluttered) and colorful injected with a little bit of humor.
Inspiration: Illustrations by M. Sasek and Maira Kalman. Growing up surrounded by antiques. Independent artists in Brooklyn.
Favorite Element: It sounds totally self-involved, but I love the three portraits of myself that hang above my desk. (Read about that here.)
Biggest Challenge: Making everything I have fit into my small space. To reach anything, it always seems to end up involving a step ladder (or the occasional "I'll just climb up on the counter" episode, which I always regret).
What Friends Say: "It's so cute!"
Biggest Embarrassment: The sisal rug in my living space. It's a constant dust-creator (and stress-creator). Don't ever buy one.
Proudest DIY: Either the fabric art I hung over my bed or the wooden stool I painted "yellow rain coat" (that's as fancy as I get).
Biggest Indulgence: The Eames Molded Plywood Coffee Table in my living space. I treated myself to it after a freelance gig a few years ago. It's the one piece of furniture I know I'll always keep.
Best Advice: Don't be afraid to paint something. And don't climb up on the counter.
Dream Sources: BDDW, Bonluxat, Normann Copenhagen, and SCP.
Resources of Note:
KITCHEN
- • Menu Board with Letters: Pottery Barn
• Copper Kettle: Simplex Beehive 1.75 Qt Whistling Tea Kettle
• Bar Stools: Target
• Pillows on Bar Stools: West Elm
LIVING ROOM
- • Couch: ABC Carpet and Home
• Coffee Table- Eames Molded Table
• Chair: ABC Carpet and Home
• Mirror Side Table: City Foundry in Brooklyn
• Orange Pillow on Couch: Thomas Paul
• Brown Pillows on Couch: ABC Carpet and Home
• Lamp on Side Table: West Elm
• Framed Print on Wall (Aqua Sea Urchins) is by Superdeluxe
• Orange "A" Tray on Coffee Table: Superdeluxe
• Subway seats Print: By JamieLatendresse at Etsy
BEDROOM
- • Bedding: Dwell
• Monogrammed Pillows: Custom
• Artwork Above the Bed: Made by Amy with Material From ABC Carpet and Home
• Art Next to Bedside Table (Rainbow Colors) is Called "Periodic Table - Original Art on Antique Book Paper" by kipi at Etsy
• Desk: Ballard Designs
• Silver Lamp Sitting on Chair: Jonathan Adler
BATHROOM
- • Paint Color: Baby Green by Benjamin Moore
• Napoleon and Josephine Silhouettes: Ebay
• Print of "Young Man Reading Collette on the Train" (a poem by Patrick Donnelly): The Center for Book Arts
• Little Yellow Stool: Pottery Barn (Painted by Amy)
• Shower Curtain: Crate and Barrel
Enter House Tour
Must-See Small Cool Homes: Week Two
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Shaw's Original Fir...
How to Make Easy 3-Ingredient Energy Bars at Home
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
Cute place! I like your Theibaud poster - yummm! :)
it's cute!
i like the bookcases that fit perfectly in that space and the artwork above it.
Cute :) I love the bar stools!
I haven't actually looked at the tour yet, but that might be the best advice from a house tour ever!
I love this apartment! It looks so cozy and comfy to live in. I'm obsessed with the menu board in the kitchen, and all the art on the walls. I think it's time to get all of the prints I have floating around framed and hung up. Thanks for the inspiration!
Exactly what I would imagine a Real Simple staffer's apartment to look like :) Design-forward, modern and totally welcoming. Love it!
Great house tour...loving all the art work!
Love Amy's space! Such great style. Wish she'd come decorate my house for me!
Thanks, folks! Much appreciated. (-:
I still like that kind of bathroom sink, with the piping for a towelbar. :)
I love all the artwork and how the books are all color coordinated. Nice place!
HA! I'm 5'1 so I'm always climbing up on the counter to reach the top shelf. Maybe I should get a stool.
where did that brooklyn map print come from? I've seen comparable ones, but the type is so much nicer on that one!
@ jlb999: It is cool, no? It's from Ork Posters. Check 'em at http://www.orkposters.com/. They've got tons of other cities, too.
I intend to copy (sincerest form of flattery).
Great place! I love your artwork.
~Tanya
dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.com
I find I enjoy a lot of different designs, but your's is the only one I feel I could really live in without wanting to change it up too soon. I too intend to copy! However, as an obsessive planner and a true devotee of practicality, I have to ask - where are your clothes?!
I love that couch and the whole living area.
I picked up a wooden step stool from ikea and use it almost every day ... and I'm 5'7.
Great place Amy! As soon as I saw the photos, I realized I live in your building and actually have the same exact studio. It's interesting to see what someone else did with the same floor space. Congrats on having it look so spacious, I always feel like mine looks cluttered. Ditto on standing on the counter. I stood on mine, grabbed the door of the cabinets for balance and the hinge came off.
All that light coming from those giant windows is begging for some plants to soak it up :)
I'm clearly not getting something.
But I will say - what a HUGE fridge and cooker for a small apartment with 1 person in it. Is that the smallest you get over there - you could feed a family of 8 with the size of those things!
@ urbantree123 - I don't actually have a ton of clothes, but I do have two closets with a dresser inside one of them. I'm a neat freak myself, so that helps!
@ HongKonger - Agreed on the huge appliances. They intimidate me every day.
@ KristinaDv - Hey neighbor! Too funny. Wonder if we've passed each other in the hall?
@ AnnaBot - Including plants in my pad would unfortunately be a death sentence for them.
Great place. It looks airy and comfy--and functional! Brava!
I second the admonition against sisal rugs. I used to have one and it was a total dirt-o-saurus. You might like having a nice kilim in your living room.
the restaurant menu board in the kitchen is so fun
I love everything about this space. It is what I shoot for in my home. I still get frustrated with all the paper and where to put it. I would love to get by with that small tidy desk. Love your art and wall collections, and books by colored covers.
Sweet and petite. Very adorable.
Everyhting seems to have a "home". Very clean and clutter free. Love it!
Lovely.
Love it-stylish, liveable and great color. I think my favorite part is how you tucked your desk (nice mix there with something a bit more rustic) into the little hallway. Clever use of what would probably wasted space.
@ MDashing Ha! I am sure we have. I'm on the north side, third floor. Btw, love your blog! I will add it to my list of regulars!
You really did a great job with the space. My apartment is similar, so I am inspired to make some changes. And I also have a sisal rug. A big knotty sisal and it is such a pain in the neck. I agree - do not buy one!
could i ask where you bought the theater signage next to your blender?
Hi @ gatoneko--I actually got it from Pottery Barn a 7 - 8 years ago, if you can believe it. It was on sale in the back of a catalog--I am probably the only person on earth who bought it! Perhaps Google "restaurant menu board"? Good luck!
i dig it. my only suggestion is to find a way to hide the bed.
maybe a cool room divider screen or hanging screen...something.
Those bookcases are exactly what I've been looking for. Where did you get them?
@ShaSha!! Got them a while back at Crate & Barrel
Fab. Awesome art pieces and placement.
We must have a lot in common. Your apartment is so similar to mine in color and mood. I love all the letter A's in your place (I'm a fan of the old MTM show)! Can you recommend where I can find a good letter?
Amy- great apartment! What's the paint color in the living room?
As someone who loves to cook and bake I would be so excited to have an apartment with a full sized fridge and stove. I rented a house years back and fell in love with it instantly, but did not notice until I moved in that it had an apartment sized stove. Boo. The jacuzzi bath tub almost made up for it though.
Charming!
Is that a picture of the Salisbury NC Bell Tower?! I grew up there : )
months later, i still love this space - lucky Amy
@Leigh Hubbard - That IS the Salisbury bell tower! My grandparents got married there. (-:
@JulianneMay - Thank you so much!
Dear MDashing - you are MOST welcome! But I didnt do much, just spoke honestly, really. =)
Trudge on fellow-Interior-respector!
Love your place! And I'm also very jealous of your M. Sasek book collection!