It's a bit severe, but like a David Lynch movie, I'm strangely drawn into it.

I really love that original architectural elements are kept, and in fact are celebrated in your style. Kudos.

A little sparse and cold for me. A few area rugs would help.

Weird, Mid-C Frank's comment was here a minute ago and now it is gone.

Anyway, beautiful home.

I would love love LOVE to style that living room!

That's not meant to offend... it's a great space with great pieces. It's just the kind of place I'd love to take to the next level!

I'm in NYC... one-day makeover?? I'll blog about it, I promise!! :)

My thoughts swung from dump to charming, the latter winning. The place makes me think of my grandparents, and feels sentimental. It is sparse, that's how they would have furnished, buying only necessities. The bathroom photo with the three mirrors especially grabs me; my grandmother had a similar set up in her kitchen back home, since the w/c was an out-house back then. The repaired walls look like hers too. Probably the most emotional response I've had to a house tour.

Spare is an apt word. It's definitely an aesthetic. It's something to ponder. But quite frankly it would be spooky to live in.

It looks spare, but is loaded with such great atmosphere -- while it's hard to imagine living there personally, it's the kind of place you might daydream about. Reminds me of a pretty girl's flat in an old movie or something.

I feel awful saying this but, it just feels like a place Anne Frank would be huddling away from the Nazis in.

I find it beautiful. It feels authentic.

I love this. It's almost as though the apartment walls whisper to her at night, and she's open enough to hear them and give them what the space most wants. There's something a little bit haunting about it all, but in a very very good way. It's a little like touring an historic place; every time I do so I want to come home and clear out 90% of the stuff I live with.

It reminds me of an Andrew Wyeth painting.

Personally, I need a little more to look at in my own place, but I think this is beautiful in its own way.

Ach, a little slice of serene European charm in Hoboken. I'm totally charmed and want to move in... like, immediately. Extra credit for the Mike Watt poster.

Very different tour than the usual seen here. It is beautiful and full of character. In my own home I would want to fix and update walls, kitchen, etc to look cleaner and newer, but as a tour (or even as a friend's house) I love it. The bedroom is my favorite. Although I would never want to go this far in my own space, I can definitely use this as a much needed inspiration to edit!

I sort of feel like OrangeLily. I was swinging back and forth from photo to photo to photo. This tour really does elicit an emotional response. It's very........ beautiful? I can't even find the right word. Years ago, when I was a teenager, I passed an open doorway in Amsterdam. It was like I was looking in on another world: stark white flakey walls, spare stylish furnishings, little pops of color. I asked someone about the building; I was told that squatters were in residence! I'll never forget that place. This is kind of like that. It reminds me of a very cool European....... something. It's like this book I have, The Well-Worn Interior, about the beauty of age. Not many people have the nerve to just let the bare bones shine through, there's always that tendency to "freshen up," fix every crack. This just shows that soap and water, and a few interesting pieces of furniture are all you need sometimes. But it takes guts to pull it off. Kudos, Karla.

By the way, I LOVE that bedding. What is that?

I love that a sink with rust stains was featured in a photo here...mine is the same way! More than that, this tour is a realistic peek into what so many of the apts in and around NYC look like and that we, me, my friends have lived in/do live in at one time or another. Not necessarily this aesthetic, but the reality of aging, cracking and sagging plaster, uneven floors, and inches of paint on woodwork from many previous tenants. This is too stark for me, but I can sense that this is really a space in which karla dwells, thoughtfully, creatively, purposely. Thanks for letting us see!

I'm guessing she eats takeout every day? There are no counters anywhere near the stove or cupboards that could store food in that kitchen! This place feels...monastic. Obviously it appeals to her, and I can appreciate creating a space that works for her completely. But I would not want to live there for even a day!

Hmm. That reads harsher than I meant it. By 'monastic' I mean remarkably free from any modern conveniences or distractions. I see one radio, and one tiny clock. No TV, no big stereo, computer equipment etc. Not much artwork, little evidence of the outside world at all. The refusal to "fix" things like cracks and stains is obviously a deliberate choice.

Not what I would want, but interesting.

I like this. I would enjoy a summer there, where I would feel comfortable walking around barefoot in the garden and then coming inside, dirty feet and all, and not washing my hair for a week, in worn-in sentimental clothing, eating fresh foods and having afternoon romps in the sac. Kind of like Stealing Beauty. And then MY virgo-ness would make me do a week-long scouring binge followed by a day-long home spa session :-)

It's pretty in its own way, but I fear I would get a heavy heart living there day after day. Everyone has different styles, but what's life without some whimsy surrounding you?

Tenement chic!

I love it, the space is great and what you've done with it is beautiful. However, it's a bit "distressed" for my taste, I just want to go in and give everything a really good scrub down. I do really admire it.

I, too, admire your ability to live free from lots of possessions. The palette is also quite relaxing and I love love loveee every piece of furniture. That being said, its far too dingy and lacks a practical kitchen region [where are the counters and chairs to that table?]

I find this lovely and simple. I wonder how this person uses this home, maybe they are not home much? It would be such a great place and already nice pieces to give a make over, nothing too much but just a bit more.

I do want to clean the rust off the sink, Bar Keeps Friend my friend.

I love this, but I would throw down some antique or vintage, worn and weathered area rugs and then it'd be perfect.

This is stunning. I would call this simple rather than "sparse." Sparse to me implies that something is lacking, and I think this just has a sense of restraint and simplicity instead of being unfinished in any way. I absolutely adore this aesthetic, and I think it is so inspiring. I love how every piece seems carefully selected and yet totally unpretentious. It's as though they were all inherited and carefully whittled down to be only the things that she really needs and uses. Nothing feels superfluous. The beauty comes from the simple arrangement of the objects and the light feel of everything. It hearkens back to a simpler time and lifestyle. I can't imagine being stressed about something silly while you were in this charming space. I love the use of antique mirrors, and the couch and chair in the living room are gorgeous. This is definitely one of my all time favorite tours and I am going to book mark it. Thank you Karla, for sharing your lovely home.

As to the comments about practicality/modern conveniences, I don't have a tv either and personally hate it when people center their rooms around a screen. Nor do I have a microwave. I use a laptop, which gets stored under my sofa, and I have an all in one record/cd/tape player with a radio built in. Perhaps Karla also finds that she doesn't need a lot of appliances. As to kitchen space, perhaps she uses the table as her main surface for cooking and pulls up a chair to eat. I love to cook, but my kitchen is tiny and I find that I can cook just fine without a lot of fancy gadgetry. A simple stove top and a couple pans will work wonders with a bit of creativity. :)

I found myself feeling kind of sad for this place and the mismatched doorknobs on the bathroom door almost made me cry. This place is hauntingly beautiful though and I find myself imagining all the lives the walls have witnessed.

The adjectives that come to me are "monastic" and "anti-consumerist". It's interesting that these words both have a moral element - this is almost decor as statement of ethical or spiritual intent.

Personally I'd like to see humanity's detritus balanced with nature's - bits of driftwood, vases of wildflowers, plants and interesting pebbles. But this home doesn't seem to invite suggestions.

i'm sorry...i love the antiques i do...they're tasteful and downright awesome...but as another post commented, i was also emotional looking at this...it brought me back to when i was literally stuck in post-soviet tbilisi for three years. i can imagine waking up cold and having to heat up water for my bath...cursing at the candle wax drippings on my best shirt as i squinted to make my eyeliner even...perhaps this is the look or lifestyle deliberately portrayed? i can see how it would have a romantic appeal to some...i think some cozy area rugs and tell tale signs of entertainment (maybe a cozy reading nook? a computer? puzzles?) would begin to lighten the mood...

This place creeps me out.

Everyone has their own tastes, but this is just a bit creepy. Does it remind anyone else of Grey Gardens? Large rooms with not enough furniture or decor. It just feels so sad.

Looks like a house that has been staged in order to be sold. It doesn't look like a place that has been lived in for 11 years.

I have experienced a few different feelings reading this house tour.....

Brava! for having restraint in decorating that most can never even imagine. Your home looks to me like it could pull off random art installations scattered throughout without coming across as just junk laying on the floor.It seems that it would be a very relaxing and calming place to live and that thought makes me smile......

The wood floors, plaster walls and general signs of age made me remember the types of homes my friends and I grew up in and moved into as young adults. At that time I was more concerned with living life and looking good than trying to make my small, old rental resemble something out of an overpriced decorator magazine.

I also thought about another time in my life that this style of living embodied for me, one that is very unnerving. I remember a time when I didn't matter, let alone the way my home looked to others. Sadness and loneliness were all that surrounded me.

Your home has brought out a flood of good and bad memories and it's not even 8 am! Thank you for sharing something as personal as your home for everyone to see and thank you for reminding me how far I've come and how far is still left to go........best

Wow. I read all the comments before looking at the tour and thought I would be depressed. But I'm not at all! I find this home to be beautiful and peaceful. There seems to be some good sized closets that must hide some of the things most might have out in the open. I'm also thinking there is a part of the kitchen that isn't fully shown. They have highlighted all the prettiest parts, which is fine with me! I wish I could whittle my STUFF down to what is the most beautiful and meaningful to me. I am very inspired by this beautiful home!

I love this space. I wish I possessed the inner peace to live in so "sparse" a manner. Alas, I need my stuff. Wonderful.

Funny that no one on this post is talking about how "1400 is NOT a small space, especially for one person, ESPECIALLY in/near Manhattan!!!"

I'm absolutely fascinated by the comments on this post. I'm shocked by the number of people who think Karla's home is "depressing." RachelOM says:

"I remember a time when I didn't matter, let alone the way my home looked to others."

OMG! Based on the appearance of her home, Karla appears to be the opposite of that description. I think that this is one of the most deliberately styled, curated, edited homes I've ever seen--hardly the habitat of someone who doesn't care about herself or her surroundings. Stop projecting, people.

Patrick, people aren't having the "big house" debate because this isn't new suburban construction. Instead, they're so busy feeling sorry for her, they haven't thought to actually ENVY her.

errr

I was trying to convey the different emotions her home brought out in me. I felt as though I was looking at different points of my own life simultaneously and I'm sorry it didn't come across that way.

And creative license....I never said HER house was depressing, I said quite the opposite in the beginning of my post which you must not have read. I would have rather you told me I was a rambling fool that take a piece of what I said and turn it into something that wasn't intended.

Point taken, Rachel. Sorry to make you "errr" before lunch. And who am I, really, to call anyone (else) a rambling fool.

wow i love this place. It makes me think of being in an old london or france home with a garden wild with spring flowers and a kitchen emitting the odours of dishes cooked with the herbs cultivated from the outdoors. Bravo! You have made a NJ apt look like something many miles away. It made me infinitely homesick! So much character, and inspriational spirit permeates this space. It's just the sort of place I look to go away to for a holiday. love it!!

saer
http://cravenmaven.wordpress.com

I love it. It reminds me of when I was a kid and I pretended to live in an old abandoned haunted house. That doesn't sound like a compliment, but it is.

I think alot of people are going on about the decorating, however I think alot, including myself, have forgotten about the actually apartment, which I adore. It's just the way it's presented that makes it very cold and sad in my eyes.

Interesting.. the bedroom reminds me of that story "The Yellow Wallpaper"

http://s3.amazonaws.com/atimg/1189617/10_rect640.jpg

Depressing is in the eye of the beholder.......she has lived here for 11 years.

I get the sparse aesthetic (because I lean that way myself) but I do think there is a coldness here that could quickly be addressed by a reader's earlier suggestion of some worn vintage area rugs thrown around. Then the place would still feel sparse and airy but cozier and warmer too. Now, of course, if she has constant leaks, maybe that's what's stopping her...

if she has constant leaks, she probably has mold - especially considering it's a basement apartment in Hoboken. What is that crud on the baseboards and on the kitchen sink. gross. her landlord is taking advantage of her. this apartment is clearly not up to code.

This house tour is unlike any I've seen before on AT. It's refreshing and thought-provoking to see something so different from the norm.

Karla clearly puts a lot of thought and love into her home. There's a poetic simplicity here that we rarely see on AT. (We often see contemporary/MCM-style minimalism on AT, but Karla's aesthetic is something else entirely.)

There's something about this home that stirs people's emotions. It makes me think of a Tennessee Williams play -- something delicately beautiful, ephemeral, and inward-looking. It's a perfect haven from the world.

Karla, thanks so much for sharing. Your home is exquisite and unique. AT, this is a great tour.

Some rooms are poetically sparse, others, depressingly so. This person lives very deliberately and intensely.

As the previous poster said about the post-soviet lifestyle, this space reminds me of everything that my friends in Eastern Europe spent decades desperately trying for their apartments NOT to look like. It's depressing.

i LOVE this home. it feels like a space to think, breathe, create, be quiet. i can't remember the last time i read such emotional reactions to a house tour - brava!! your home has tapped into some very poignant memories in us! most house tours just have have us talking about knick knacks

love it, a space you can really move around in and breathe deeply

I don't understand why anyone would find this home depressing. I love it! Everything is beautiful and has just the right amount of patina. I agree that the living room needs a beautiful vintage rug, and maybe a second chair. The kitchen table needs at least 2 chairs. I think it is clear by looking at the one picture that shows the kitchen sink, that the entire kitchen is not viewable in this tour. I am sure there is ample counter space and storage that we cannot see. There also appears to be a tall free standing cabinet of some sort in the kitchen. I am sure that some of the kitchen gear is neatly tucked away inside.

Only a small percentage of people can pull this look off. Bravo to Karla for creating such a simple and elegant home!

Ummmm. Reminds me of Hannibal Lecter's prison cell.

I think this really works in some rooms, like the entryway, bedroom and bathroom, but in the kitchen, the stove standing alone just looks weird to me. And there is no counter space! But I suppose she has what she needs. It feels like a beach house to me. I think the rooms with the white wooden floors look great, but where there seems to be linoleum tiling it just looks sort of dirty. Also, things like the lamp on the floor and the picture frames resting against the wall (no doubt a deliberate choice) combined with the spareness make it look like she just moved in and hasn't finished unpacking. But overall it looks very restful.

As a railroad inhabitant myself, I love the layout and the creative usefulness of windowless rooms. I dig the middle windowless bedroom, with the original door letting in light from the living room. There is something wonderful about railroad apts...... including my own. I think it has something to do with the ability to walk straight through one's apt. from front to back, without any turning. It's freeing, in a way. There are so many of them in the NYC/NJ area as well as the "shotgun" houses of New Orleans. I want to see more of them please!

My question is how? How did she pull it off? This is very beautiful to me, but if I tried to do something like this, my house would just appear dirty. What's the secret? I guess I'm missing a little something called talent. :)

It makes me feel lonely.

But I love that it is so different from the typical tours here, which sometimes strike me as new, modern, Eames chair cookie cutters.

I'm sure this home evokes whatever the owner wants it to evoke in her. Homes should be personal. It kinda bugs me when I read "I want to move in to this place" because what's most beautiful about a home is that it is entirely personal, a reflection of the person who created it.

This is by far my favorite apartment tour.

So many beautiful pieces, all clearly loved, and practically arranged.

Like others have said, it reminds me of some places I visited in Europe, that kind of serene luxurious feel that comes with only have beautiful and necessary things.

I got the sense that the ghosts of GREY GARDENS were forced to move out.

I like the idea of "less is more" especially when the pieces chosen are so purposeful and intentional. vintage pieces are wonderful. However, this feels less a home than a place for a very interesting photo shoot. There is a lot of beauty that can be better shown or enhanced with signs of life.

A few large plants would create warmth and a sense of tranquility. As it stands, my first impression is "Depression Era Foreclosure".

Maybe this does reflect the homeowner...and the need for change is unnecessary. I must point out that what's reflected is a sense of austerity, loneliness, and detachment.

I actually can appreciate the decor...but the walls and trim and "bones" of the place just look dirty...

I like that apartment therapy showcases a lot of different stuff that I wouldn't normally get to see, and helps me to appreciate many different styles...but when I picture my own home on an AT tour (someday) I assume I'd have to clean up all the grime first...

Everyone here has pretty much used words and thoughts to express exactly how I feel about this home. I like that it's been left untouched and not renovated. It's untouched and that what keeps me intrigued. I hope others share homes just like this I'm hoping more people leave beauties like these alone. Great home and lovely pieces add to the charm.

This place feels so sad.

I think because house is so sparse, has lots of old pieces, and is so ordered, it feels abandoned to me. Yes, that is it, it feels abandoned. Not abandoned in a hurried way, but as if people moved and left the basics. And now it is simply waiting for a gentle breeze to give it breath again.

It looks to me like the home of someone who has lost their house and many possessions early last century, but is hanging on to a few treasured pieces while living in a run-down apartment. A decayed gentlewoman kind of thing. Maybe it's not in real life, but I find it very depressing in those photographs. Clutter is bad, but this place looks like it's been stripped of life. And having big mirrors in the kitchen but just tiny mirrors in the bath is weird.

Looks like a study in entropy....there is a furniture/clothing store called Anthropologie that often does lines of furniture in this vain. I was once a fan of this style (more out of necessity as most of my furniture was found or given to me by friends and family). From there it evolved into almost a shabby chic look (again out of necessity since all of my hand-me-downs were, well shabby). I am no longer a fan of this style as it seemed to require more dusting (guess it was all that paint chipping off of it).
I admire the restraint in the sparseness and seemingly turning lemons into lemonade (and by lemons, I mean the decaying apartment). I can only hope that the rent is super cheap

VERY SPARE ALMOST AUSTERE HOME LOVE THE ORDER AND THE BOW TIES ON THE HANGING MIRORS AND THINK THAT WITH A LITTLE PAINT CAN BE REALLY BEAUTIFUL I FEEL THAT RUST IS NOT REALLY THE THING FOR ME .

finally, I wont have to post a negative review. This is totally not my own style ..but it is done in good taste. No clutter..not overdone. Simple..bravo!

I have to add another comment..lots of people are saying the apt looks to be in decay..well..it is a vintage place..not everyone wants a place that looks like it was decked out with HELOC funds! This place is simple...vintage..and has a good homey feel to it..unlike most of the other tours on here where you can clearly see the owners try way to hard to create a look thats on a magazine......

I really don't understand all the negative comments about this being depressing. The fact that she does not need a lot of things should be admired - it doesn't mean she's a lonely, sad person with a dingy home! Maybe she just doesn't go in for the consumer mentality of piling her home to the brim with stuff. About the apartment being "dirty," when you have rust stains and cracked walls, you can scrub all you want but it won't look perfectly freshly painted, because it's not. That doesn't make it dirty or unsanitary.

I for one find this to be inspiring and wonderfully beautiful. I love that she has only what she needs and uses. She obviously has spent lots of time finding the perfect pieces, and I think that shows. I'm always admiring the simple homes in old movies like this - The Bicycle Thief for example has some of the loveliest interiors to me because it is all well made, simple, and there is not an excess of anything. I think that should be admired.

As Americans we should wake up to the fact that we are using way too many of the world's resources - 25% to be exact, for 5% of the world's population. If you find the fact that Karla's home is not filled with things to be depressing, question why that is.

What a polarizing space this was, back in March!

Me - I think if every room was sun-filled, they wouldn't read as spare.

I suspect this style might be significantly about how it makes her FEEL, not just how it LOOKS. Maybe she had a grandma herself, you know?

I had two thoughts - this is not an inviting space for entertaining (that upright couch!), which she probably doesn't do anyway with that kitchen (someone give this artist a retrofitted stove!), and the art...is it waiting to be hung? If the placement is intentional, I can't see them all and that bugs me.

And is there an office?

She did a faithful spare-and-bare style, and seeing extremes helps me immensely with figuring out what to do with our own space. We love how our rooms feel when they are empty after painting, but they are so small a single bookcase gives them that 'full' feeling again.

I think that 'spare' is code for 'large space', personally, but that is a whole other topic!