Name: Debbie Millman
Location: Chelsea
Size: 1,600 square feet — 2 bedroom with backyard
Years lived in: 16
For over a dozen years, Debbie lived in a home full of floral upholstered, overstuffed furniture. In her own words, it was more "grandma kitsch," than anything else. When her friend Susan visited from out of town, Debbie asked if she'd like to help her pick out some new furniture for the living room.
Debbie was in the mood for a change but wasn't sure how to go about it. As Debbie recalls, Susan replied, "Well, if we are going to get new furniture, maybe we should get new floors, and if we get new floors maybe we should get...an entire new everything!" When Debbie asked what she should do with all her old furniture, Susan replied, "Curbside!"
After the initial shock at how little Susan cared for Debbie's belongings, Debbie was able to move on and go shopping with Susan to acquire a whole new look. The only thing Debbie insisted upon, and the one thing Susan was dead set against, was the brown Eames lounge in the living room. Debbie thought of this chair as the ultimate status acquisition, paving the way for her new mid-century decor. Susan saw it as a cliche and overkill. Debbie didn't understand this latter perspective until it was too late. Nowadays, it's relegated to a side room but is the cat's favorite spot in the house.
A very accomplished graphic designer, Debbie has always collected great art — some homemade, some from friends, and still others sought after and bought. The arrangement and breadth of these provocative and beautiful pieces makes her mid-century upgrade feel balanced and a natural progression for her home.
Apartment Therapy Survey
Style: What I like to call modern-sexy
Inspiration: Old-school 1950s glamorama
Favorite Element: I have three: the centerpiece of the living room — Aura — is a 6 foot high, 2-tiered Murano glass chandelier from Eurofase which took 9 hours, a rented scaffold and three electricians to install; the floor to ceiling white iridescent Ann Sacks bisazza tiles in the upstairs bathroom; and the rebuilt, reupholstered, vintage, circular three piece sofa upholstered by CJ Delatore using Plush Chenille fabric from Schumacher.
Biggest Challenge: The décor of my apartment before the reno: painted black slate flooring, 4 foot brown shutters, (which, when closed, didn’t let any light in), an ugly door leading to a non-code fire escape smack in the middle of the main living room wall, a Jennifer Convertible sofa my movers had to break to get through the front door in 1994, and a ponderosa-style wooden banister covered in “crackle” paint.
What Friends Say: "Can I live here with you?"
Biggest Embarrassment: My “before” pictures, and the fact that I seriously considered paying to store all my old furniture.
Proudest DIY: My two needlepoint pillows that took me one year each to make.
Biggest Indulgence: Dreamy, totally glamorous custom designed Silk Trading Company drapes in the bedroom.
Best Advice: Buy the best you can afford so that you can buy it once and keep it forever.
Dream Source: Susan Benjamin, my childhood best friend, my inspiration and lifetime decorator.
Resources:
- • Living Room/Dining Room:
Celador 24x24 beige terrazzo-like tiles dappled with flecks of seashells from Stone Source
Rebuilt, reupholstered, vintage, circular three piece sofa upholstered by CJ Delatore using Plush Chenille fabric from Schumacher
Spectrum area rug designed by Christopher Sharp, from the Rug Company.
Small coffee table from ABC Carpet and Home
Gilded standing ashtray from the 1950’s that I found at the 26th street flea market
Custom designed Eames lounge in cherry wood with “Sahara Sand” leather from the David Allen Gallery
Vintage Florence Knoll credenza
Aura glass chandelier from Eurofase
Pottery Barn Dining Table
Vintage Walter Cherner Chairs
Miranda Thomas Simon Pearce Pottery
Eames Side Tables
Bookshelves in library area custom-made
• The Upstairs Bathroom:
Floor to ceiling white iridescent Ann Sacks bisazza tiles
Mediterranean Crema 12x12 limestone floor tiles
Duravit Happy D toilet bowl and sink
Dornbracht sink faucet and exposed tub/shower system with the sunflower showerhead
• Master Bedroom:
Schiffmann King Size Bed
Custom designed Silk Trading Company drapes
Wide knot sisal carpet from ABC Carpet & Home
All furniture besides the bed are Flea Market finds
Restoration Hardware Lamps
• Second Bedroom:
Bo Concept Book Shelves
Vintage Desk from ABC Carpet & Home outlet factory
Cristal Cab Hardware throughout house from Simon Hardware
For more details on the kitchen and dining room, check out Debbie's Subversive Traditional Comfort.
Images: Jill Slater
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My mouth is still hanging open. I wouldn't even know where to begin.
How can you ever thank Susan???????
It's stunning.
The landing over the living room terrified me, though, until I noticed the plexiglass.
Aww...
Holy crap I'm jealous :)
And I too pictured visitors falling to their death until I noticed the plexiglass...
www.myaliya.com
How does every profiled person not have a TV?
Limestone is one of my favorite materials, this place is gorgeous!
I love the living room...however, I NEED the be nice or leave pillow!! Anyone know where that came from??
I must say, this is amazing. I don't care for MCM but I'll be daggoned if I don't love everything in this house. Perhaps because everything isn't MCM. "Sumptuous" is the word that comes to mind. I really like that she kept one area as an ode to her former "Granny Rose" style! It lends so much to the overall home's feel. Every room looks like a space to sink into and spend time appreciating.
About Debbie wearing all black, all the time: Why? Is everything ok?
well I hadn't noticed the plexi untill you mentioned it... The house looks really niceand so not mid century cliche. I love the sofa... Debbie's advice sounds as a threat to me though: "Buy the best you can afford so that you can buy it once and keep it forever." I hate the idea that I will live all my life surrounded by the same furniture.. and I hate good old solid furniture that I don't like anymore and that refuse to fall apart...
@evetr - I agree. I thought it was weird that was her advice because she clearly didn't heed it - her old home was definitely horrific grandma kitsch and she threw out nearly all of it (thank goodness). She obviously isn't keeping it forever. Who says you have to?
This is truly a beautiful space! I love everything about it. Midcentury, but also fresh! I'm also wondering why someone with such an aesthetic appreciation would wear so much black. I guess it makes it easy to get dressed...kinda like being Amish. :)
I love it!! What a wonderful transformation-my favorite thing was the rug with the birds and the tree. Its all such a great mix of pieces and I love the artwork as well.
I need a library and garden STAT! Lovely home...
Nice. I love a home with a two-story atrium.
Who is Edmond?
As a person who wear mostly black I loved peeking into her closets.
So why black? It's neutral, elegant, mysterious, basic and it's easier to dress why you wear one color as it extends your wardobe.
Here in Europe when you go into the department stores or shops for uniformity the sale people all wear variations of something black for uniformity.
When I shopped on North Michigan avenue in Chicago recently the shop girls at Nordstroms wore black.
@crazydoglady: you can find the "Be Nice Or Leave" pillow at this Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/alexandraferguson
I'm not sure if this person is the originator of the idea but that's where I've seen them before.
Maybe she wears so much black is because she is a graphic artist that is surrounded by lots of color all day and she lives in NY.
Were the brick walls changed at all? I'm wanting to add a little spackling and white paint to my brick porch as explained on AT here: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/painting-fixing-repair/good-questions-painting-brick-walls-002419
Her walls are perfect. (for me)
This is a space I would enjoy to be in. As a color consultant I can see so many interesting choices you could make with color because of the room's amazing architecture. Love what you have done though and playful uses of color.
Thank you for sharing!
www.colorinspace.com
Smart move choosing chenille upholstery in a shade similar to the cocker spaniel - those little buggers shed like crazy!
And Susan was right about the Eames lounge.
This is stunning. The architecture of this space blows my mind, and Debbie has made all of the right choices. My only constructive feedback is regarding the rug in the living room: I think it is too colorful, too graphic and draws the attention away from the other gorgeous elements of the room. In my humble opinion, something more neutral and rectangular or round and patterned would be more well suited to the space. But truly, it's beautiful. Thanks for sharing
Love it - great job your friend did !
Very nice living place - congratulation !!!
Just enough colors and emotions .... beatiful ...
... by the way - photographs are allways more vivid then "real life" - because of the SIZE - you have to fit whole room into 8"x10"!!!
Xandra
How does a successful graphic artist have grandma floral taste--anyways, good on you for listening to your friend and going for it!
@kessicajelly Thanks!! :))
Be Nice or Leave originated with Dr. Bob, a folk artist from New Orleans.
http://www.drbobart.net/
Beautiful home - This is the type of space most folks can only dream of...
...and I love many of her choices - particularly the new sectional, the library shelves beneath the mezzanine and the closet doors in the bedroom.
"About Debbie wearing all black, all the time: Why? Is everything ok?"
You haven't ever lived in Manhattan, have you?
"Buy the best you can afford so that you can buy it once and keep it forever."
Best advice ever.
@bepsf- No, I have never lived in Manhattan. But I have visited often over the years because friends who lives there and they only wear all black to funerals and themed parties. My only other regular exposure is Sex and the City, and they are a colorful bunch. Do you mean to say that Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte aren't consumate "Manhattan-ites"?!
yes girls, black is cool and so easy to wear and just fits every woman well, that's why! debbie, don't worry about your eames lounge chair being "cliche or overkill", it's the most wonderfull lounge I know, so who cares as long as you love it! infomofo-- tv is in the corner, between sofa and library! bravo debbie and susan !!
"Do you mean to say that Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte aren't consumate "Manhattan-ites"?!"
Not really - They're from Hollywood...
"Creatives" in Manhattan are pretty easy to pick out in a crown - They're frequently the ones wearing all black.
I'm in Manhattan, I'm a creative, and I don't always wear black,....oops, black slacks today, nevermind....
I'm from NYC and I wear black all the time because I take the subway and the bus and everything not black eventually turns black because of it.
I love the circular couch. I.LOVE.IT it really resolves what might be somewhat of an awkward furniture arrangement with the arches and doors and stairway etc.
the artwork collection is enviable.
the pets are todiefor awww...kitty kitty.
the backyard needs some help. plant some ferns, hostas and shade loving plants to liven it up a bit.
definitely--the sex & the city gals are NOT NYC.
From glimmer to glamour!
Love it.
Lovely! Wish I had the coin to go out and drop on a stack of Cherner chairs. I like the tiles in the bathroom.
Now that is a dramatic home. Beautiful. I think I drooled over the tiled bathroom.
It's an amazing transformation, and the result is much more in keeping with the slightly eccentric layout of the building. I like the way that the spectrum rug grounds and ties the living room together, and the circular couch was an inspired choice. I also covet those Walter Cherner chairs. Susan and Debbie are both geniuses.
I think this is a really interesting space. That having been said, am I the only one that isn't feeling the living room rug at all? I think it's too much line going on with the grout in the tile. Maybe something more solid? What about a really great silk tibetan rug that reflected light in an interesting way but didn't offer so much pattern? Just my 2 cents. Still like the space.
So depressing that people in other parts of the country might actually think NYC women are like Sex & the City chicks?
The before pics are priceless. "Grandma kitsch" is being kind - I think just plain old "Granny" might have been more appropriate. ; )
This may be my favorite living room to date!!! Debbie and Susan, thank you for sharing! Thank goodness for lifelong friends.
Oops! Didn't mean to put the question mark at the end of my comment. Just to clarify, I don't like the Sex & the City characters being seen as real NYC women.
Also, love the bathroom tile!
What a dramatic change from the old decor! I do like most of the new stuff and arrangements but I must be taking crazy pills because this just doesn't read as MCM to me at all. I mean, I see touches of it, sure. But most of it is not MCM.
That's not to say I don't like it. I really do. Keith Haring dogs made me smile, as did the real doggie!
And I absolutely love the bathroom. Sleek, clean and beautiful tile.
Nicely done.
The sound you hear is my jaw striking the floor.
love the cherner arm chair against the white painted brick wall.. it's just so gorgeous.
WOW I cannot believe that is 1600 sq feet WHAT great use of space!
O and love the pillow " Be nice or Leave"
I love that it`s so light...and the colors. I love the graphics. I`m used to be surrounded with paintings but I never know how to organize them. I love this house, like it`s made for me!
I really like the carpet with the tree....
Overall, I like this house tour, but if it was my living I would have a regular size sofa. The massiveness of her sofa swallows and over shadows everything else in the living, especially the art on the walls and distract from the mantle and fireplace.
The first picture is just stunning. Exceptionally beautiful home. A cat on the lounger looks familiar.
i LOVE the art!! where did all these pieces come from?!
I love mid-century but I gotta say that I am sick of seeing the cliche eames rocking chair/lounge chair and the profile art. These things are wonderful- they are just EVERYWHERE. It's like hearing a great song OVER & OVER again to the point where you can't listen to it anymore.
She wears black because she lives in lower Manhattan. Everyone, especially people in the arts, wears black.
To live in an apartment like that in Manhattan and to buy the amount of stuff she did, at the places she's bought it, translates to serious money. Just having 3 electricians hang a chandelier for 9 hours cost her thousands of dollars.
So much for "small space, affordable" AT.
That being said, I'd love to find a sofa that shape - although my designer friend would kill me if I did.
nice outdoor space, think the interior still seems a little grandma to me.....maybe it's the pillows...not my favorite
love it, amazing space and wonderful 'bones', the tree rug in the book room was beautiful. I'd love to see a different type of rug in the main room, maybe a seagrass, or something with different colors altogether, or no rug at all. the dessert colored stripes just doesn't work here.
I love the picture hanging in the bathroom of the man and woman standing in the bathtub. Does anyone have any idea who the artist is?
I hope by "curbside" you meant you gave away and thrifted your stuff rather than sent it all to the landfill.
Also, I am sort of appalled that in a time when it's pretty obvious that we should all be conserving water, I still see these giant water-wasting showerheads in many of the tours.
(warning, this is a bit of a rant) I'm not sure what the theme here at AT is supposed to be, but echo the comment about "so much for small, affordable". There seem to be two worlds here - people throwing tons of money at making a spread worthy of an interior design magazine, and those of us trying to get by comfortably and organized with what we have plus some choice additions.
Don't get me wrong, this place is BEAUTIFUL, but my place would be too if I could afford to throw out everything I own on an whim and buy all those expensive pieces of furniture to display in a mind-blowing loft like this one. I guess I'm on the wrong site. I would rather live in a home rather than an art/furniture museum.
the after is so much better than the before...but i am not fond of that little round coffee table at all...it feels out of place!
AND...if she no longer likes the Eames chair & ottoman, I will gladly give her my address in California and pay for the shipping! I don't care how cliche anyone thinks they are...they are beautiful and so comfortable and I would LOVE to have one!
I enjoyed this house tour and the after is certainly much better than the before!! Without a doubt! The only thing I'm not fond of is the sofa and the teeny tiny coffee table. A long, streamlined sofa would've served the style she was going for better, I think. But, that's just what I would have done. It really just comes down to who lives there and what makes THEM feel awesome when they walk through the door. So... overall... great job!! : )
This is even better than the kitchen tour. Beautiful. 16 years in one NYC apartment. Impressive. If my math is right, that means Debbie bought the apartment in the last New York real estate downturn. Nicely done.
I agree that this does not seem midcentury to me at all. The only thing midcentury I see is the lounge chair, and maybe the clock. Am I missing something? Nice space though!
I just love the energy of this place. Beautiful design aside, it FEELS like NYC. Well done.
Debbie, your apartment is beautiful. I lived in NYC 30 years ago (yikes) and to this day wear black almost exclusively. So tasteful. My question to you... I love the creamy white color of your walls and would love to know what color and brand you chose for walls, ceiling and trim. Thank you.
I used to look only at the pictures, but now I'm having almost more fun with the comments.
M O D E R N M O N K E Y, if you happen to see this comment, could you make it more clear to me why "grandma kitsch" is better than "plain old granny"?
Can someone Pleeeeease tell me who the artist is that made the piece with the man and woman that is hanging in the bathroom? I have googled everything I can think of and can't find it. Any ideas? Anyone?