Name: Meredith
Location: Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
Size: 600 sqft. 1 bdrm co-op
Years lived in: 8.5
Meredith, of BlondeInBrooklyn House Call fame claims that almost everything in her house arrived by mail to her doorstep! Even though she lives in New York, she finds that shopping on the internet yields the best deals. Her colors and collections work together seamlessly and make for an immediately soothing yet scintillating home.
Meredith lived in her loft-like one-bedroom in a former ring-buoy factory for over 7 years before deciding to engage in a major overhaul. By making strategic chain store purchases and then complementing them with ardent eBay research and bidding (see below for full resource list), Meredith was able to put together a very impressive home on a strict budget. She is the first to admit she has a soft spot for pottery. And it shows! Not only are the pieces beautiful in and of themselves, but they inspire and bring together the color scheme for the entire apartment.
Rather than use a contractor for the kitchen, Meredith primarily sourced and purchased her own materials and had them installed. She had a little advice from the installer about what would work in terms of hardware but lead the charge throughout the process. As a result, she saved a ton of money!
We should all have such troubles... but Meredith gets "blinding sun" spilling into her living room. As a result she knew she wanted warmer, less reflective colors on the walls. And even though the apartment can get very hot in the summer, Meredith sacrificed her ceiling fan for a beautiful hanging light fixture. Now that's a serious commitment to aesthetics over pragmatism!
AT Survey
Style: Swedish modern with hints of shabby chic
Inspiration: My childhood friend’s living room. Growing up in a preppy neighborhood, her house stood out in a sea of Ralph Lauren inspired design. I realize now that the simple classic wood furniture was Swedish modern in style. It just seemed so chic and simple.
Favorite Element: The high ceilings and large, southern facing windows that bathe the apartment in sunlight make my small apartment appear much larger. And although the apartment is so bright that I only need to use the chandelier lighting in the evenings, the lighting fixtures are among my favorite design elements.
Biggest Challenge: The floor plan is a huge rectangle so the options are limited as to furniture placement. I long for the smallest of vestibules that would make for a better transition from the front door into the living space.
What Friends Say: That the apartment is “so you”. I can’t really paint or draw so designing my living space was a way to express myself creatively.
Biggest Embarrassment: My closet! When I purchased the apartment, the walk in closet was designed with very cheap built-ins. Add to that my large wardrobe and lack of storage... the shelves are practically coming off the wall from the weight. Rebuilding the closet will be my next project.
Proudest DIY: When I was redesigning my bedroom I became obsessed with wallpaper. After looking into the cost I realized it was way outside of my budget and with 12 ft ceilings it was way beyond my DIY abilities. As a substitute, I decided to frame the two large sections of wallpaper that now hang over my bed. In retrospect, this is a much better option because I’m not committed to the wallpaper.
Biggest Indulgence: I really didn’t splurge on any one item. I guess my biggest indulgence was to do so much at once. Instead of just tackling one room at a time, I gut renovated the kitchen, redid my entire bedroom, replaced many of the largest pieces in the living room, painted throughout and upgraded my TV and computer all at once.
Best Advice: Don’t buy too many matching pieces. You want to stay within the same family of woods, fabrics and styles but a whole set looks too fabricated and sterile. I like it when the overall effect looks pulled together but its clear that you choose each piece because it spoke to you personally.
Dream Source: I love the design of the Viceroy hotel in Santa Monica. It has a funky take on the “Hollywood Regency” style. I came across a site BurkeDecor.com that produces a great line of moderately priced pieces that have this same aesthetic. I particularly love the Waverly Desk and Bench set. Since I just bought a new desk I keep trying to get a friend to buy it so I can live vicariously through them.
Resources:
Living Room:
Couch - Macy's Online - Style = Corona
Wall Hanging - Chiasso.com
TV Credenza - eBay (search Eames, Retro or Swedish Modern + Credenza or Sideboard)
Pottery:
On window sill - McCoy Scandia Planters & Vases (eBay)
On phone table - McCoy Floraline vases (eBay)
On console by kitchen - West Elm + Anthropologie
Chandelier - George Kovacs "Kimono" chandelier - Lumens.com
Console by Kitchen - Company Store.com
Vintage Travel Posters - AllPosters.com
Kitchen:
Cabinets - IKEA
Silestone countertop - Swan Tile in Chinatown (GREAT PRICE AND EXCELLENT SERVICE)
Tile - Crossville Tile - Colorblox Too line in Chocolate Candy (floor) and Chopsticks (backsplash). Purchased at Nemo Tile in NYC.
Bowls - Catherine Holm Lotus bowls & plates - eBay
Shelves - West Elm
Baskets - Target
Appliances - AJ Madison.com
Art Print (eBay) in IKEA Frame
Bathroom:
Storage Cabinet - Brocade Home
Wall fixtures (glass shelf & hooks) - Pottery Barn
Mosaic Hanger - Salvaged the wooden hanger that had been put out for garbage collection, painted it and crazy glued broken plates (which I'd held on to) on to it myself
Bedroom:
Desk, Bed Frame and shelving unti - West Elm
Dresser - imitation Heywood Wakefield — still vintage - eBay
Vintage Asian Paint by Numbers - eBay (search Vintage Oriental Paint by Numbers or PBN - not PC but gets the best results)
Artwork over bed - framed wallpaper - style is Georgina Trail Retro Floral Wallcovering (purchased 1 roll) from www.creativewallcovering.com
Bedspread - produced by WestElm but purchased new on eBay.
Decorative pillows - square pillows were produced by WestElm but purchased new on eBay, rectangular "cherry blossom" pillow from Crate & Barrel
Shelves - West Elm
Faux Leather storage unit - Z Gallerie
White Pottery - Assorted sources - IKEA, eBay, Anthropologie, Z Gallerie, Target, German white pottery from eBay (search Kaiser German White Pottery)
Birdcage - Room Service Home.com
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Awesome!
I really love this apartment. There's a lot of lot and it's a really fresh and modern color palete. I hope you will share your closet re-do!
gorgeous. really great job on the kitchen.
love it!! there are a lot of "knick knacks" but without looking cluttered, its all pulled together so well!
Fabulous!
One of the best house tours ever!
AB-FAB!!!
I like the wallpaper framed in the bedroom, but I gotta say, I think it would have looked smashing on the entire wall.
Lovely apartment!
I love this apartment!
The color scheme works so well, and makes the apartment feel so warm.
Nice work.
Really nice color palette. And I love that it's carried throughout the entire space. Nice example of cohesion without matching. Sweet Catherineholm collection!
Seeing your cheerful, welcoming home makes this blond formerly from Brooklyn miss NYC all the more. Charming details: framed wallpaper (beautiful, and in some ways, more so framed and highlighted as art), the pops of turquoise on the white bookshelf, the paint-by-numbers pieces, the contrast between linear and curvy shapes. Energizing, yet soothing. It figures that someone who would take on the full renovation at once would have an extraordinary sense of the place as a whole, and the vision to create a space that's truly inviting, balanced and aesthetically coherent. Not sure when the photos were taken, but if this is your place during a dreary NY winter, what a haven! This is "design within reach"--not expensive or museum-like, but a place a real person with confidence in her taste can create. Lovely!
Wow, it really looks bigger than 600sqft. Pretty and bright!!
What a great place! I love the colors and I usually hate pastels.
That's a great soft table the faces your dining room! Where did you get it?
Love CatherineHolm. But it's enamelware. Pretty sure it's not made on a pottery wheel or anything..
I really like the place. I could totally see myself living there.
All around beautiful!
I too tend to fall in love with the concept of wallpaper.
The reality if really horrible once you put it on the walls and stuck with it beyond it's expiration date! I've steamed and scraped paper wallpaper off walls, NOT FUN!
Great idea framing it and living with it for as temporarily as you like, without the hassle of being stuck with this years favorite wallpaper. Brilliant!
I heart that lampshade with the ruffles.
Again, great colors! The kitchen looks great and feels cozy with the way you've redone it.
Resource list says couch is from Macy's Corona line, but it doesn't have a button-tufted back like the Corona.
I have a 74" sofa I inherited from my family that looks very similar -- it's some kind of mass-produced Danish modern piece, maybe from the 60s or 70s, but I can't figure out what it is. I'm trying to figure out whether my old sofa is worth re-uphostering.
Beautiful apartment and you have to be so proud of your accomplishment! It looks much larger, too, with those wonderful high ceilings.
Great job, thanks for sharing.
INCREDIBLE
REALLY lovely! Colors are yummy and love the upholstery on the Saarinen chairs.
Yea, the Saarinen chairs are gorgeous.
Beautiful! Love this house tour.
this place is way more mellow in color tone than my place but i love it just the same. love the kitchen wall treatment in particular. congrats!
Fantastic! I'm so jealous of this apartment and the location... I live in Cobble Hill, but my rental apartment is gross.
-------
"Resource list says couch is from Macy's Corona line, but it doesn't have a button-tufted back like the Corona."
I think the buttons are covered by the pillows.
Almost perfect!!
Very refreshing. I love that no space is wasted, yet it's not cluttered or overstuffed. Well done.
What a completely wonderful, intelligent yet not obnoxious place you've got :) (I lived on Court Street for a while...WAY long ago)
A question: what is the light fixture in the first picture? Did I miss where you identified it? TIA.
A beautiful home !
I really love your home! It is put together beautifully, and I love the little details (the tiles, the curtains to let in light, the fixture, etc). The only critique--and I hate to even use that word--but the only thing that I didn't like was the table cloth. In addition to not being the right size, it really had a "southwestern feel." After looking at it closer, I notice that it wasn't southwestern, but that was my initial impression. I guess it just looked out of place and maybe to "heavy" for the table. I would try something lighter, and maybe oval, although I wouldn't know what size cloth to use on it either.
To All - Thank you so much for all your positive feedback!
Clajr & Haley - Haley is correct - the back of the sofa is button tufted (pillows obscure that detail) and it is indeed the Corona.
Diyordie - The chandelier George Kovacs "Kimono" chandelier - Lumens.com - its listed in the resources but is mistakenly classified under the Pottery header. ;-)
Love the colour and feel for your home - even better knowing that it was done predominantly online.
As a person who works for an online furniture company (we sell through both a website and eBay) I certainly agree with your online philosophy. It's not only cheaper, but often gives a larger range than what you could find in your local geographical area!
Orla Kiely, eat your heart out!
What wonderful colour, texture and pattern harmony. Excellent job - and with such a joyous feel.
Atrunnell - The sofa table was purchased on Overstock.com - they have a truly amazing selection and great prices. I got this table for $250 with $2 shipping! I must admit the assembly was a chore but in the end I am very happy with it!
Totally successful. Soft, clean, smart, sexy. Thanks for the share.
Really love your place. Great pottery. I really love the kitchen and that tile backsplash. I would love to use it in my upcoming kitchen renovation. Congrats on all of your hard work!
PS: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RETRO-CATHRINEHOLM-KETTLE-UNUSED-V-G-C_W0QQitemZ320341902476QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Collectables_Vintage_RL?hash=item320341902476&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A3%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318
nice yellow-green kettle on sale from Scotland...
Beautiful space, very serene. I love that it's so feminine without being girlie or frou-frou.
Your home is absolutely beautiful! I'm glad that AT decided on a full House Tour.
I really like the apartment, but I'm most impressed with the kitchen! Great use of space, color and details, looks so functional and pretty! I'd like to know if you had your IKEA cabinets spray painted beige and where. Thanks.
P.S. I have the same Haywood Wakefield (is that the right name?) dresser in my bedroom! Now I'm inspired to clear off all the crap I have piled on top of it...
Ndvheller - No, the Ikea cabinets came in the beige color - I believe they've been since discontinued - silly Ikea!
Plain Jane - I find your comment very offensive and hurtful. I'm curious to know why you would make such a leap. Because I put effort into my apartment and take good care of it I must not have a life? You are extremely wrong about that. Keep your opinions to yourself.
You've created a lovely atmosphere! I enjoy your pottery collection!
Clicking on plain jane, I'm struck by the snarkiness of the majority of her comments. Her "I'm a single young woman who doesn't get out much" nothing-to-do-with-interior-design opinion sounds like a major case of "projection".
Back to the real topic, BlondeinBrooklyn's apartment: I especially like your color palette -- you selected a lovely, warm yet sophisticated, shade of green.
I've been lurking on AT forever but I signed up just to say how much I love your place. All of the places featured on AT have such unique style but yours is the closest to what I would do with my own place. Thanks for sharing.
Hey Blonde, don't let trolls like Plain Jane get you down. Apt. Therapy is crawling with bitter people just waiting for a chance to criticize. Your home is gorgeous and it takes balls to offer it up to the unwashed masses for dissection like you have. I did a blog post about Apt. Therapy commenters ripping Michael Stipe's loft here: http://theruralmodernist.blogspot.com/2009/01/michael-stipes-messy-loft-inflames.html
You're in good company :)
Wow this is a beautiful space and looks much larger than 600 SF.
To the general AT community, how much would something like this cost to buy in Brooklyn?
The specifics I love?
...the backsplash tile in the kitchen,
...the framed wallpaper accents over the bed,
...the burgundy/magenta (?) chairs in the Living Room (they go so well with the green)
...the yummy green walls
...your clusters of lotus bowls and plates
How personal!
1. Awesome
2. Ditto on the comments by LiliZ and mangotango; my sentiments exactly.
3. PlainJane has a plain brain. You, one the other hand, have a creative one.
4. Are the Saarinen chairs from Ebay? And what about the console table BEHIND the sofa? And the big neutral-colored chair near the TV?
5. I do agree w/ the comment about the table cloth looking out of place. Could you be hiding something under it while you take the great photos?
6. AT Management: The photos of the bedroom can't be seen in the Gallery. Wassup?
Oh yeah... great color palette in the kitchen, especially love the choice of tile for backsplash. Unsual, but it fits the scale of the kitchen perfectly.
no large photos of the bedroom? Or am I missing it?
a big ol' brooklyn raspberry to plain jane, who's just jealous. never you mind, meredith. you've done a lovely job.
All - Thanks for your support around the comment from Plain Jane - that one really riled me up!
Plasticorange - There seems to be some technical difficulties with this tour - about 1/2 the pictures - including the bedroom shots - are unavailable right now. I've emailed AP to let them know.
Bemyescape - Cobble Hill is a great neighborhood that is less expensive than Brooklyn Heights and much of Carroll Gardens but pricer than some other BKLN neighborhoods (Boreum Hill, Ft. Greene). 1 bedrooms in this neighborhood range from the high $200ks to $500k . I'd estimate this apt to be valued around $375-$400k based on sales of similar units in the building.
KushKush - Yes, the Saarinen chairs (or imitation Saarinen more like) were purchased as a set on eBay. The fabric is the original and in amazing condition for their age. I admit that I spent about 6 months scanning eBay and bidding (and loosing) until I scored these. Re: sofa table - purchased that at Overstock.com which has a great selection and $2 shipping (or they did when I bought it last year).
Lordy, this is a beautiful place. The kitchen in particular has a very spa-like feel. I like how you split the main living space into two distinct areas.
Beautiful home.
one of the best house tour. I love this very much, simply gorgeous apartment!
Stunning! You've done an amazing job. Do you remember where you got the couch pillows? The one with circles would match my couch perfectly (sadly, the rest of my house pales compared to yours!).
The colors are so calming and beautiful. I love what you did with your bed linens. I love the mixture of clean and puffy soft.
The apartment would really be stunning with a major painting in the livingroom and in the bedroom. Trust your instincts!
Beautiful apartment!
I esp. love the green color on the walls. What color did you use, if I may ask?
Also, i noticed we have similar taste in perfumes (I.E. green tea scents). What Jo Malone did you choose? (I can't read the label).
Thanks for a wonderful House Tour!
BM
Meredith:
You have a lovely place. What color and paint brand did you use in your living room?
Thanks.
Beautiful tour!
What color Silestone is that? We're about to purchase ours (Blanco City) and just curious is yours is the same? And thanks for the tip on Swan Tile, I'm def. going to check their prices out vs. HD. Thanks again!
I love love love this! Just perfect. I have been eye-ing that Macy's sofa for a while, i am not trying to convince my hubby to throw out our old one and get that. I need to have it! :)
Great tour, loved it. And such an insperation.
Woops mean to say i am now trying to convice hubby to throw out old one.
Toniannette - The kitchen paint is Benjamin Moore - Pale Sea Mist.
Fraugirl - The Silestone is Capri Limestone.
Iviox - that sofa is on sale now (from $899 to $699)!!!
Think I might grab one too!
Meredith:
Thanks...one more...the living room paint???
Again thanks and I love your place.
Toniannette - No prob - it's also Benjamin Moore - color is Straw. In case anyone is interested the bedroom is Sherwood Tan. And THANKS!
After at least twenty tours of your home, your longing for "an entry" has been on my mind and on the pages of my journal continuously. I am sure that you have thought and tried every one of my ideas, but, just in case, have you considered:
1. Switching dining and living rooms so that the sofa table would be the first piece of furniture as you enter? It could be a landing strip and, with both magenta chairs facing your new dining area, there would be a place for folks to put their shoes (under it) as well as sit down to take them off. The basket of slippers (what a lovely way to ask us to take off our shoes!) might fit at the near end of the table, along with a simple coat rack??
2. A la Sarah Susanka's Not So Big ideas on varying ceiling heights to define areas, could there be a door width, lowered lattice-like ceiling from above the door to above the window?? If it were a light weight white wooden one, it could probably hang by fishing line from cup hooks in the ceiling and not detract from the ceiling! (Though I can't quite tell how it would line up with your special ceiling lamp.)
3. Or, would one of the rugs fit under the sofa table and the two chairs to delineate them as the third, albeit small, part of the living area?
4. If tv/art work were where dining table is now, they would be a major focal point upon entering, after, of course, your wonderful pottery display in front of the sunny wide window and window sill.
Would love to hear your feedback on what you have tried so far. Am a verizon gal (judexn@) who just loves what you have done in your south facing home!
This is simply lovely.
love love love it!
Love the colors. Every room made me smile, the colors were just soothing and happy.
love everything! my fav is the white buffet table on the wall next to the couch....where did you find it?! i have the same wallpaper!
Love your place! The colors are just perfect, you've got an eye for how many items a surface should have without being overwhelming.
I too have a big ol' rectangular space with high ceilings so I'm printing out your photos for inspiration. Thank you!!
Lovely!