Name: Josh
Location: Williamsburg — Brooklyn, New York
Hi, Apartment Therapy! As a big fan of the site, I’m excited to introduce my new space. Two month ago I moved into a pre-war 2 bedroom in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I love the location and the building’s vintage charms, but the interior presented all the normal NYC apartment problems — size, lack of storage, poor condition — plus there's no bathroom. There is a toilet-only water closet and the shower stall has migrated to the kitchen. Creating a separate space around the shower and making the kitchen sink an appealing place for both toothbrushing and dishwashing were challenges.
I was really lucky to have a friend — Ryuhei Minami, an architect now practicing interior design — agree to help. His professional eyes saw layout solutions for the oddly configured space that mine didn’t. He also challenged some pre-conceived notions I had about paint treatments — the dark wall color and accent stripe makes the living feel really open.
Also, I’d previously had roommates, so I needed a lot of furniture on a budget. We addressed that by mixing inexpensive IKEA pieces, secondhand finds and a few pieces I pulled off the street. I spent more than I expected but the total was under $2,000! A great deal for finishing a 2 bedroom apartment.
Inspiration-wise, I'm really in love with rough-hewn textures (wood, horn, rope), maps/globes and vintage fabric. I just finished a patchwork installation in the bathroom inspired by old fashion cross stitch samplers.
I also love contradictions: contemporary versus vintage, masculine versus feminine, the play of opposing textures and playful twists. The one-of-a-kind, gilded driftwood kitchen lighting fixture — glam but utilitarian, rustic but sleek — is pretty emblematic of my aesthetic. The unexpected part of working with Ryuhei was that it actually exaggerated my point of view. I got more surprising moments that way. For example, the vintage suitcase repurposed as a wine rack and a deer head wearing a kerchief and rosary are the fruits of collaboration.
It’s still in process and I’ll continue to enjoy designing my space as my schedule and budget allow!
Thanks Josh!
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Bravo Josh!
Always great to see small spaces featured on AT. I agree that dark walls does not need to mean that a space will feel small.
Lovely! I also want to know what color paint color that dark blue is.
i would have loved to see the solution for the shower space in the kitchen. Do you have more pictures somewhere else? flickr? lovely apartment
I love the branch light fixture and those dark walls!
I love the cool light fixture in the kitchen. SUCH a cool idea... but cheap! Beautiful colors, too. Well done!
Pre-war usually means pre World War 2 -- I suspect your place is pre- Spanish-American War!!! And I msut ask -- from where did the shower migrate??? I suspect the unit probably had a tub in the kitchen at one time.
Looks great -- and yes, agree that the wall color is fantastic. Do tell.
COOO-KIIIES! Josh, this place is so charming, but that final shot of the midnight snack tol the whole place over the top for me. Great job on everything!
Love the living room and bit of the bedroom--what is that portal thing? Is it a mirror?
Well done Josh! Beautiful colors.
I love the branch with the lights, too. So great!
would like to see a floor plan. i dont quite understand what's going on here. but i like it.
Wow, what a place!
I like the cozy, pretty kitchen's mood and warm, glowing color. It seems that color's always the first thing that grabs me.
Fantastic! Great write up too - House Tour!
From what I see, I like. But I agree that I can't *quite* tell what's going on here. And I want to see this shower in the kitchen. :)
Seriously, I love the living room as you've shown it, but the twin-bed-as-couch makes it look like it's a studio. Now, it would be a very lovely studio if that was your only room. Do you not have a couch for budgetary constraints?
Anyway - full tour please!!
You have amazing style.
NO BATHROOM??!? man i must see this place! MUST!
Looks great! I'd love to see more.
very nicely styled for the photo shoot. Cookies in bed, anyone? Would have loved to have seen actual photos of the space, especially the kitchen with the shower. Oh well....
I like the paint scheme in the living room (inspired by menswear, perhaps?) with the white "picture rail" dropped just below the top of the dark blue walls, giving a more tailored look.
The bedroom is also very crisp with that draped wall.
However if there IS a proper House Tour (and I hope there will be), maybe ease back on the room dressing just a tad. It's distracting rather than illuminating.
WOW! beautiful job, and in a short time frame as well! I love the way you handled the walls in the living space by dropping the white of the ceilings down a foot and then painting the walls that stormy, brooding, blue gray color.
The branch/lighting fixture is genius.
I am so disappointed we didn't get a look at the shower-in-the-kitchen! I would have liked to see the whole layout.
Could we get a full tour in the future? Maybe with a floor plan for inspiration?
Thank you for taking the time and trouble to share your space with us!
I'd love to see a House Tour and a floor plan of this place - the layout sounds super-unique, and the pictures look amazing. It'd be waay helpful to visualize the space with a floor plan.
That, and I love floor plans.
Well done! Way to make it your own!
Beautiful! Just the right mix of classic and whimsical pieces, nice choice of coulours, great work kitchen...Bravo!
Please post your colors! AT should make this a requirement! Gorgeous.
Am I the only one who's disappointed about the lack of a shower-in-the-kitchen shot?
I'm jumping on the living room color bandwagon with both feet! Perfect color!
Shower shot please!
You've done a wonderful job! I love the placement of your furniture. You've got just the right amount of whimsy. I also adore the vignettes. There's a lot going on, but again it's not too much. Great job. I would have liked to see this in the small cool contest. Maybe next year.
Love the lighting idea in the kitchen, and also the blue/gray color on the walls in your bedroom.
John nicely done! Please, I agree with others, share the color of the rooms! Well, especially the color of the 1st photo? Living room?? And also, very curious, as others, where in the kitchen is that shower... Full house tour? Please?
Hey all, thanks so much for the kind words! The biggest payoff is getting to live in this space, but the great feedback is really gratifying.
The living room wall color - and you might not believe me since it reads so blue - is Newburg Green from Benjamin Moore.
Also, the shower... With a 5 picture limit, it was tough to choose the right ones to share. And I couldn't manage to take a picture that included the shower well enough to make the cut.
Working on a plan to show the layout - will keep you posted :)
This is gorgeous! But I have to say as NYC bed-bug victim, the thought of taking stuff off the street makes me cringe. I really advise folks not to take used things off the street!
Fresh from the designer's AutoCAD:
http://twitpic.com/2sm2lm
There is a studio? This definitely calls for a House Tour.
josh, where did you get the shelves with a lip in the second photo? I've been looking for something clean and minimal like that with no luck...
Where did you get the ottman/floor pillow/wicker circular things that the book and glasses are sitting on in the living room picture? Love it!
hachiko_station and jpaugh, you can get them at Ikea. I don't know if that's where Josh got his but I have the shelves, great for little things and pictures.
I just looked at that Justin Shaulis Chelsea loft before this and wow, this is so much better. I love your style and warmth and innovation. I applaud your budget and use of second hand stuff.
awesome:) no more needs be said..well done!
@ hachiko_station, jpaugh - hillsbilly is absolutely correct, both the shelves and banana-leaf floor cushions are from Ikea.
Thanks again everyone for the great feedback - it's a major reason why I entered this room into the room color 2010 contest.
If you're interested, you can see more photos (and hopefully vote ;) there.
http://community.apartmenttherapy.com/contests/color/2010/entries/389
thanks for the inspiration! I just voted for your other color room! Where did you find that horn? I must have it! :)
@ Nomad - so glad to share! And thank you for the vote :) The horn is from Modern Anthology. Their website is great, but the store is even better in person. Amazing aesthetic and really good prices on small accessories :)
Wait!! The ram's horn I thought you were asking about isn't in these pictures. I got it a week after these photos were taken. Which object are you referring to, Nomad?
I voted for your room. It's totally a dream room, as in, I'm adding it to my tear sheets for my house inspirations. (we just bought a new place)
Josh! your apt is amazing! You inspire me! :)
This is an inspiration! I just spent a couple hundred bucks at Bed Bath and Beyond yesterday trying to bring my small space up to par. I have lived there for a year and everything is everywhere. I wish I could afford an interior designer to just help me with the layout. My apt is about 375 square feet. I have lots of clothes and shoes. I love your paint job and color scheme but I have to start by doing a full cleaning. I luckily just got a great deal on that: http://greenhouseecocleaning.com/deals/october-greenpon.html
so this will save me some time. But I will still need ideas of how to make the space work. I wonder if there are designers that just specialize in spaces under 500 sqft. Gotta look at their work and get some ideas! Thanks again Josh, this revives me. I might actually have a guest over for the first time :o!
Love it!!!! House tour please.... Adore the branch/light fixture :) Soooo fresh!