The chest you see here is an antique from the first Titanic — the one that did NOT sink! The couch is Ligne Roset.

Name: Meagan Cignoli
Location: Financial District - NYC

This space was a live/work space for me, there was a lot of free room and as a photographer I need studio space. The furniture comes from a variety of places (a list below!). Being a photographer, I love to use props and chairs and couches in my work, so I would get bored with the same pieces over and over. For that reason, I use craigslist a lot. I sell my furniture and buy new pieces all the time — constantly updating the look of the place.

There can be some wonderful contemporary or antique finds on craigslist. When I moved into the space I cried every day for a week — the loft I lived in for 5 years before that I had designed completely. I had gutted the space and mapped out every square foot of the space. It was very hard for me to move into this space where everything was already built out. I disliked the doors and layout, and was just having a hard time visualizing it. It came very slowly but in the end I loved the space and miss it so much!

Walls were painted and repainted and then painted again! I think you need to live in the space a little before you can really know how you want to set it up, you need to walk back and forth to the kitchen and bedroom and bathroom for weeks before things start to make sense.

Also I had someone come and perform reiki to cleanse the space. The apartment is 2 blocks from the World Trade Center, and a lot of the lofts over there had been abandoned and empty for some time, also, being so close to Wall Street, and so many economic pressures that we have been seeing the last few years, I thought it would be a nice thing to do upon moving in.

MEAGAN'S NOTES ABOUT THE SPACE
• The chest you see here is an antique from the first Titanic — the one that did NOT sink.
• The couch is Ligne Roset.
• The lamps and chandelier are Kovacs which I recommend because they are gorgeous and very affordable (but sometimes on crazy back order).
• The large cement pots and high table are the best quality, all from Studio Mix on Madison — they have unbelievable items imported from all over the world. The owner of Studio Mix, Lesly Zamor, designed many famous nyc restaurants and spaces and helped me a lot choosing pieces for this apartment. I felt blessed to have such an incredible designer working one on one with me.
• I used the large bookshelf/entertainment shelter as a sort of wall, to close the bedroom, without having a separate room. I love big open spaces and was glad to not have to break it up.
• The favorite pieces in the apartment were either the flower arrangements or in the bathroom the two large jars filled with cotton balls and Qtips.
• The flowers are fake, as I travel too much to have real grass and flowers. The garden district in NYC is incredible, there are many resources for great faux flowers that look real.

I lived here for two years — I recently moved because I would set up the backdrop and take it down every single time I would shoot. As my work load has gotten heavier, I realized I needed a larger space, or to get rid of some furniture. Since I don't want to feel like I live INSIDE of a photo studio, I ended up moving so my space now will have the studio in the back and the living area in the front.

Thanks Meagan!

Images: Meagan Cignoli, James Sheilds

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