I love everything about this home, especially the outdoor umbrella! There's a house by me that has a similar one and I always feel the desire to either sit under it or carry it away...

lovely eclectic apartment.

If that umbrella is black (not blue) and white, I love it too! Where can I find one?

I love that they put themselves into some of the pictures.

I love this little place. Bless you both for making that itty bitty kitchen area work.

I am guessing that the guy had no input on the decor/design? It's a bit too girly and saccharine for me, but I like the configuration of the space. The apartment appears larger than the 500 sq ft it's supposed to be.

What is the pale turquoise paint color throughout your home? It is perfect!

Dear AT: What's with this trend of including multiple pictures of residents in house tours? One or two, I get; but eight? Not only is it distracting, in a place this small they actually block the full view of some rooms.

cute place btw.

Looks great appears bigger but it is quite feminine for me BUT happy wife = happy life. I hope they can reface the cabinets in the kitchen otherwise good job

I really like your use of patterns and colors. I agree with 1treehugger the paint color is great although I'm not sure it qualifies as a turquoise? Robin's egg, perhaps? Whatever it is I love it too! Cheers to cozy colorful abode!

Cheerful and charming!

This is so terribly chic. This is obviously someone with a critical eye and a real sense of whimsy. I'd love to see what she could do with my NYC home.

That kitty is divine.

All my favorite colors. Just lovely.

I'm speechless :D I may have just cried a little.

I'm so jealous of the layout! I love the spiral staircase.

Well done!

Aw I don't think it's too girly at all. There was a house tour where nearly everything was pink, and looked like a dollhouse - THAT was too girly for me. This seems to be a very good mix of colors, both dark and light. It treads a good line between pastels and bold, vibrant colors like turquoise.

I love seeing the homeowners in the pics! It gives the place a bit of context. Anyway, loved it in the contest, love it now. So glad to have additional pics. Mike and Maddie, you did an awesome job!

I love the dog painting hidden under the desk.

That deck is a great asset to the house. I wonder if you can put some more of all that great color out there, too?

Never mind the awesome apartment -- the dachshund is adorable! Do all doxie owners have the same eclectic design sensibilities? Dog and apartment are both tiny with strong personality, quirky patterns and refusal to follow convention. Love it!

I love this place.

But most importantly, thank you for being teachers.

design aside, which i think is very chic by the way, i was like i hope these guys arent paying a lot for this small space. but the i saw the last pictures of the deck.

i get it.

absolutely darling!

Thanks everyone for the nice comments!

The paint color is Benjamin Moore icing on the cake.

I love the place!! I love that you're (also) teachers!! I love that you're on the Upper West Side!! It matches my world exactly- except for your perfect styling. I saved this house tour for inspiration on our next apartment (a spiral staircase duplex in the UWS)

love this sooo much. where did you get that blue pegboard for the pans?

Great use of small space for creative storage - necklaces above the toilet, knives on the wall....

I love this home!!! Makes me happy. And boy did you luck out with the outdoor space. Wicked!

Love it! Eclectic, comfortable and cool. Fantastic outdoor space. I can't tell you how much more I enjoy a tour when I can actually see who lives there. It makes a home come alive.

My comment is meant literally: it's inspirational. I go to our local antique fair a lot, and I've passed right by pieces similar to half the things you have in your home, not able to picture them in my space. You've made everything look so chic and natural, pulling together things from all different periods in the best possible way. It's perfect.

Not much cohesion, but that works in that it becomes very homey and comfortable. Familiar, but there's a ton of things to discover. Nice use of many items not getting that "collected" and bunched-up look. I see the shell chair rocker... it's surpassing the Poang chair in familiarity (I am a staunch Poang chair defender. In fact I own one not only because I love them... I want to tick-off anti-Poang snobs everywhere!)), but you use it IN CONJUNCTION with everything around, not just as a "hey look, it's a modern iconic piece dumped here" thing. Very nice! :-)

BTW, the opening picture of the two of you is g e n i u s.

I loved everything about this tour! I personally enjoy seeing the owners too. Home decor is a form of art and I like getting to know the artists through the interview as well as photos.

Thank you for sharing! The floor plan is so helpful for me. Your place is an inspiration since I am going to be downsizing soon. I also enjoy the pics of owners and furry family members. Great place!

So homey and full of love! I don't mind seeing the occupiers in the photos myself.

Very clever use of space, very charming!

Super cute but very girly. Sometimes I love floral prints but I respect that my husband would be overwhelmed by the femininity, and I keep my interior gender neutral.

I wonder how guys feel about this space?

Very feminine and girly...obviously the guy had no input into the decorating scheme.

A really sweet couple with a really sweet home.
There's a lot of love here.

lovely. adorable dog. and not too girly at all

Let me know when you're moving out :o)!

As a guy, I will lobby on Mike's behalf to make the bedroom less feminine. At the very least remove all flower motifs from the headboard and bedding.

The TV is too small as well but we will have to save that battle for another day.

On a positive note, that terrace is great.

does anyone know where the white rocking chair in the living room is from?

I'm a guy and this design would be too girly for me, though I know a lot of girly guys. Her guy is in the pictures so I guess he agrees. Nice colors, very cosy apartment. The rocking chair is Eames, isn't it?

He probably bought the barbecue ;-)

LOL. That barbecue grill is the only evidence he lives in that apartment.

too girly. poor guy...did he get to pick anything?

does the deck come off of the living room or do people have to get to it via your bedroom?

dear coletta: i would bet my bank acocunt that the BF does not care about picking anything and probably loves the way his GF styled the place, cause it looks AMAZING.

that, "poor guy" is super lucky.

What is the paint color? Its wonderful!

This is absolutely fantastic. Definitely marking this for future inspiration! What does the banner above the patio door read? I can't quite make it out.

Misshiccup. I'm guessing Sweet Nothings?
I love this place too.
Coletta. girly? ..don't say it like it's a bad thing.

so many things to love about this apt. the wall color, the art and how it's displayed, the button-tufted sofa (get that flowery cover offa there!). i agree with the decorator that she needs an edit button. way too cluttered for my taste -- though i get that it's easy to do in a tiny space.
also, with such a small space, i would think that they would do more with the terrace -- make it like another room to hang out in. it's very austere.

It is a cute apartment, and that outdoor area is fab, but there is no evidence that a guy lives there, hence all the girly comments. Look at the first photo, the picture tells the story...she is front and center, while he is merely part of the background. I would have thought that there would have been more of a balance of feminine and masculine styles.

Hi! This is the owner writing. THANK YOU for all of your nice comments :) It makes our day! Our school year just re-started two days ago, so it's a nice pick me during an intense heat wave up to read your kind words.

Your feedback is also appreciated- you are right... the apartment is probably too girly. Mike never complains, but I should definitely hold back on the flower-y prints. The TV, however, is his and not a battle... we aren't big tv people :)

The rocking chair is Eames and the pegboard is from Home Depot with some paint.

Thanks again.

oops- I meant " it's a nice pick me up during an intense heat wave..." My dog just sat on my computer, hence the typo.

Are people referring to the blue Suzani on the sofa as "girly"? It's definitely one of the largest "florals" in the space. I wonder what the Uzbekistan men would think about their trademark textiles being called "girly"?

I also love to see people in their homes, here and in other publications. Adds another layer of insight into how and why the space was created as it was.

Thank you for sharing your home. Masculine and feminine elements come through well.

oh, by the way, speaking of layering, I love how you used different intensities of the same color. The paler blue on the walls punched up with the deeper blue/turquoise pottery. This is a great way of giving your decor depth and interest. And mixing in just the right balance of red and yellow accents as well. Well done!

Your place is definitely not too "girly" (and this is coming from someone who lives in a place devoid of floral prints). Is there are law I'm unaware of that decrees that men must live in modern/industrial spaces without a decorative cushion or print in sight? What a restrictive view of life.

Maddie- I hope we didn't come off sounding too harsh about the "girly" comments. I actually really do like your apartment and you did an amazing job with such a small space. To put things in perspective, this is probably the best tour I've seen of a small NYC apartment in a very long time.

To answer Lotti, I think the only "rule" is an unspoken one regarding bedroom decor for couples. It's ok to make it warm and intimate, but it should always be gender-neutral. The rest of the home can have a feminine tone without any problems.

Love your dapple dachshund. I want one just like that, same coloring and everything. Where did you get him/her?

This apartment is great but could use some tweaking. Way to much stuff on the walls & too many prints for this tiny space. The cart next to the stairs would make me crazy. Also that piece of furniture by the ottoman is too dark & heavy, I'd rather see the white piece with the glass there or nothing at all, In a small space I always try to have furniture with doors that I can close so only the cool stuff I want to show will be seen. But then again, not everyone is minimalist. I love the colors.

Lovely space -- fresh and sweet but not cloying. Thanks for the heads-up on the paint colour (picked up a sample pot today to see if it will work in my place!).

Such a lovely apartment! The suzani is especially beautiful. Like many other posters, I also love the colors and how you have mixed shades of color and time periods of furniture.

Also, as someone who is also pretty girly, I guess, in that I love pale shades of blue, florals, plants, etc. and who is married to a man, I feel the need to defend Maddy. My husband loves living in the environment that I, mostly, put together, I think, because he loves the idea of living with a woman. I also have three sons and they have never had any complaints about pretty prints or pale colors. Actually, they all love it when I bring in flowers and my middle son asked me, in a concerned way, this spring, when are you going to start the garden? (We had recently moved to a place with a much smaller space for gardening.)

Not to harp on this, but I have never heard that a couple's bedroom is 'supposed' to be gender neutral either. I think a lot of men would think it somewhat romantic to sleep in a 'lady's boudoir'.

I love that mirror as well. I also enjoyed the beautiful blue walls and the outdoor space is amazing! Love those yellow deck chairs!

What a cute place!

it is a very whimsical place, but it's almost neurotic in way.

Great space! i love the combination of different styles.

Do you know if they own or rent the apartment? if they own it, i'd replace the spiral stair with a custom stair.

overall, very good work! congrats!

Love the blend of eclectic and modern. Great mix of looks and materials!

Girlie but cute. I have 2 wiener dogs:) Love the light open airy colors. Good job!

This is not at all my style but I do just love it and would even vacation there....great job!

Cute doggie! And good job with the small space. It's nice that you have the roof area for some openness and airiness. The wall colors and the white furniture pieces aren't quite my thing, but tasteful.

This is beautiful. I love the subtle use of pattern. When I looked closely, I saw there were patterned things all over the place and yet none of them are too in-your-face or clashing, which would have made the space seem smaller. What a lovely home.

Cute place but man, I couldn't live with that kitchen. I guess it's fine if you don't really cook.

Nice first apartment in the city. I wonder where you will be in ten years...

I love everything about this apartment. I have a thing for eclectic mismatched homes! I'm guessing the guy is just gonna have to tough this one out? haha

I'm kind of surprised that two schoolteachers don't own more books, even in a space this small. I've lived in studios this size and could get an entire wall of books in.

I love this place! The colors are great. I love the quilt on the bed - where did that come from?

Very efficient use of space. Loved your idea of spring cleaning every two months.

@malarkey above, said that kitchen would work if you didn't really cook. But from the looks of it, you guys DO cook! You have good tools out, and they're out where you can use them.

I think you deserve huge amounts of credit for living in an apartment that literally has <2 square feet of counter space. I'm dying to know how you do it.

Also, it's nice to see a place where the people who live there are making do with what they have. Something about the close-up in the bathroom reminded me of my own apartment. This is my favorite kind of house tour! :)

Very cool. Love the colors, the art on the walls, all the doxie stuff. And the Doxie. We have 2 Doxies, Louie and Lilli, and Lilli pees whenever certain people come over. It is awful!

wow I am almost positive that I have that exact same table in number 21, the one from the flea market..I got mine from an antique shop traveling through West Virginia. have you figured out what the folding wings on it are for?
love your home btw it is so relaxed and inviting

I don't think it's too girly I think it's beautiful.
My granddaughter has a mini dapple doxie too, named Roxie, when she comes to my place she runs laps from the bedroom to the living room and yes she pee's a little! Great job, I love everything about your home.

unlike some other posters, i really enjoy seeing the occupants in some of the pictures... but the crooked lampshades under the mirror are driving me crazy!

Sweet! Outdoor space is amazing but would love to have seen more colors outside with maybe an indoor outdoor rug and some flowering plants. Oh and your wall color is delicious.

Really unique space! And the apartment looks like it's actually lived in. One question- where is the kitty litter box? I'm moving into a much smaller apartment, and need some creative ideas for hiding the monstrosity that my cat poops in.