Here's Laura's final post! Comment away.
Name: Matthew Kowles and Joseph Runfola
Location: New York, NY
Size: 1 bedroom, approx. 750 square feet
Years lived in: 3 years
R or O: Rent
Who else lives here? Just two and a dog, Mijo
Upon entering Matthew and Joseph’s apartment, you experience the instant calm of a boutique hotel room: Light fills the space, there’s no clutter in sight and the palette is comprised of soft tones and shades of grey.
But this clean-lined space contains the punches of personality and touches of life that hotel rooms lack. It’s no surprise the two have such a well-dressed home: Joseph is the store manager and visual merchandiser for Carolina Herrera Madison Avenue, while Matthew worked for a New York-based interior design firm for several years before joining the staff at Charlotte Moss’ gilded interior design emporium, the Charlotte Moss Townhouse...
The space was a blank canvas when the two moved in three years ago. The midtown rental was blessed with simple, tasteful bath and kitchen fixtures, and they added texture to the space with washed, glazed walls and crisp, white trim in the living spaces and a dramatic shade of blue-grey in the bathroom.
The furniture is neutral and classic, which leaves the couple free to incorporate new, colorful accessories when the mood strikes. Their uptown jobs don’t prevent the couple from shopping for affordable furnishings—Ikea and West Elm are frequent resources. However, the mix of old and new—like an architectural fragment atop a West Elm shelf—keeps the space looking anything but off-the-shelf.
The real secret to this space is their organization. This is a home where everything truly has a place. (Opening a perfectly organized kitchen drawer, we were instantly inspired to go home and tackle our own “junk drawer.”) The lack of clutter gives the space its relaxing atmosphere. As Matthew says, “It's the perfect Manhattan pied a terre—we just happen to live here all the time.”
AT Survey
Your style? Clean lines, but luxurious.
Greatest inspiration? Light, space and Vincent Wolf.
Favorite element? We like the calmness we feel very quickly after entering a space where we are comfortable, surrounded by things we have chosen, rid of the outside.
Biggest challenge? Dust. (It could be worse.)
What do friends say? They wonder where we put our stuff, but it's just organized. (Joseph sees to that.) We entertain constantly and people are able to relax here and enjoy the simplicity of it.
Biggest embarrassment? The dog's wee-wee pad and Matthew’s closet. (Yes, it's a tie.) But we work and the dog is very well trained.
Proudest DIY? Joseph did the wall finish (washed with a tinted Benjamin Moore glaze). Matthew did the trim: high gloss white.
Biggest Indulgence? Besides the piano, which isn't such an indulgence if one actually plays it (which we do), it would be the Carlyle sofa. We figure it will outlast pretty much everything else (except the piano), and it is the central location for lounging, entertaining, overnight guests, the dog's permanent look out, etc. It ought to be nice!
Best Advice? The most important factor to making a space livable is good light. Windows yes, but also understanding how to get the right type of light where you need it, and obviously its source should be attractive as well.
Dream Source? Poltrona Frau
Other Inspiration? Peace, Excellent craftsmanship
Resources
Kitchen: Appliances, GE.
Dining area: Table, Ikea; shelving, West Elm; chairs, “Ghost” by Kartell.
Living area: Piano, Yamaha; vase (with palm leaves), Jonathan Adler; couch, Carlyle; dresser, West Elm, stump, West Elm.
Bedroom: Armoire, Ikea.
Bathroom: Shower curtain, Gracious Home.
- Laura Fenton
(This is the last of four posts by Laura, with all previous posts listed below)
• Huggable Hangers in the Test Lab
• Billy's Antiques & Props
• Quick Trick: Little Leafy Arrangements
Veronica & Keith's Handmade Chic 
Before & After: A Bathroom Goes From Pinky Peach to Sleek and Chic
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Hunslet Dinner Plate
A Beginner's Guide to Superb Stir-Fry: Quick, Healthy Meals from a Wok
Easy Pitcher Cocktail Recipe: Strawberry Basil Margaritas
Comments (30)
Is it my eyes, or were a lot of these shots out of focus?
I might need some real therapy after the apartment envy this article inspired!
Anybody have a source for the mirrors in the entry, or something similar?
I like, but the only thing I didn't really care for was the cheap white Ikea dining chair in the bedroom. Maybe it's because I have the same chairs in my kitchen but it just looks a little out of place.
How does anyone keep from getting fingerprints all over those ghost chairs? I marvel....
It's stark for my tastes, but it shows tremendous dedication to its mission statement of light and airy.
just lovely
Matthew tells me the mirrors are from Crate & Barrel. Here's a link to the Dubois mirror:
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1420&f=3134&q=mirror&fromLocation=Search&DIMID=400001&SearchPage=1
amazing how much warmth the patterned shower curtain brings to the powder room.
I want the dog!
The attention to detail is impressive, but I can't help but think it's a lovely canvas waiting for color to make it pop. Not too much, but something.
Are all of the walls really sponge-painted, or is that just an illusion created by low-quality jpegs?
(I'm not trying to be mean, I honestly can't tell.)
What I really like about the monochromatic color is how it allows texture, surface areas and materials to show. A splash of color is easy, but it makes a dramatic impact to see curved vases arching into ornate frames. The lack of color lays bare the beauty of wood, glass, polymer, shag or suede. I like it--I don't think it's for everyone--but it inspires me to clean up my cubicle, my room, my life.
I freakin LOVE the dog, though.
Great looking place, and I especially like the way they incorporate "the old" in an otherwise very modern design. Are they really that neat?
I would be afraid to visit this place for fear that I might soil something. Do they have a no-shoes-in-the-house rule?
It's beautiful, but it makes me feel like I need to clean. Immediately.
I've never been so enamored by the Ghost chairs. They are lovely in this setting. I love the bathroom as well. What is the package in the last shot?
I feel like this is a nice apartment, but the photography has done it NO favors. Sorry.
I love that they mixed gold and silver accents. I've been thinking about using a glaze paint finish on some furniture pieces - anyone know of a 'how to' link and how difficult it is?
I've always been more brico-bobo myself, and have snubbed anything with the "m" word as sterile and uninventive, but the notion that thier pared down basics leaves them "free to incorporate new, colorful accessories when the mood strikes" makes me rethink my prejudice.
One recommendation: lose the Louis Stark. It's played, Lucite feels cheap, and the "concept" comes off less as a conceit than a simple gimmick. That said, I really dig the stump - could do with a few of those myself, and the wall piano is pure class. Bonus points if they can play it.
Thanks Laura and Matthew for tip on the mirrors!
The interior designer's name that they're referring to as inspiration is not Vincent - but Vicente.
http://vicentewolf.com/index_.html
Beautiful Place. I have a similar esthetic. I disagree with some of the comments about the quality of the photos. This site is about apartments and inspiration not about photographic how-to. I do agree about the Ikea Chair in the room. I love a chair in the room, just not that one. Kudos to a lite and airy atmosphere in a city full of dark and lifeless apts.
Dreary. I felt a cold chill going through this appartment. I hope the floor is heated.
where did the art (picture of the chandelier) come from? I dig.
Very clean and simple design. I like. I enjoy the neutral tones too, but I feel a splash of color somewhere like a throw or pillows or something would be somewhat of a relief. the writer mentions the neutrality allows the couple to be "free to incorporate new, colorful accessories when the mood strikes", but I don't see any evidence of colorful accessories anywhere.
Wish the pictures weren't blurry.
I love that sofa. I want to curl up on it and take a nap.
Ohh, I want that sofa
nowstarter seems to like Myperfectcolor. All your posts are about that. Its like a record on repeat.
lovely space-can you source the set of nesting tables next to their bed?
i ask because i picked up the very same set at Housing Works and have been wondering their origin...west elm? IKEA?
thanks!
What colors are those grays? Awesome!