apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Love it!

Jealous -- profoundly so! -- of the canvas you are working with.

My parents own a very similar home in Lefforts Manor, Brooklyn. The house's traditional structure and details offer the best canvas on which to design a more modern interior. Kudos. The living room is inspiring!!

Like the juxstaposition of Victorian woodwork with extreme modern furniture. Are you considering a large piece of artwork over the bed?

Nicole - what white paint have you used on walls, ceilings, trim?

Congrats on creating a modern home that works inside of a beautiful old shell. Thank you for sharing.

Wow I love love love the woodwork and floors and high ceilings. I think you did a good job of decorating in a way that looks great and does not compete with the elements that are really the star of the place.

Do you own the place or rent? I hope own! I just think that woodwork is so brilliant I would die to own it.

I know she said it was intentionally minimalist, but it looks like she just moved in, or like it's an office. it just looks lifeless to me... I couldn't imagine myself ever laughing in this space.

I think just a few more pieces, primarily some well-chosen art on the walls, would give the apartment a little more personality while maintaining the simplicity.

foodefafa - i couldn't imagine laughing with such a downer like you!

Wow, lucky you! What a wonderful space. I also like what you've done with it, though I would add some color to the bedroom with bedding and artwork. I am green with envy. :)

your wooden door frame is absolutely breath-taking!

but i have to say, sadly i feel you are working round it than working with it... it feels as if you are buying as simple as possible furniture to keep the attention on the original features instead of considering what would compliment it...

once you take away the woodwork, as in the photo of the bedroom, it looks like its from a totally different, much less inspiring, house tour.

sorry!!! i do love the space a great amount though.

The woodwork makes me want to cry--it's stunning. I have never seen anything like it. Good call on not making it compete with a lot of furniture and stuff.

Great floors and woodwork. A bit sparse for my taste- some pottery or sculpture mixed in with the books on the bookcase would help it feel a little less office like. I would love to have this apt.

BRILLIANT!!!!! This is perfection, Nicole.

not very homey but very beautiful

Are those confessionals on either side of the framed threshold between the living and dining rooms?

I like the combination. Love Love the woodwork!

http://www.makemineeclectic.wordpress.com

Ohhhh, please tell me where that long marble coffee table is from!

I do apologize. I didn't realize that offering a differing opinion that I qualified as my own would make me a 'downer'.

I was simply expressing that I feel the space to be stark, and I personally find that mood-dampening. I have seen many minimalist spaces that convey a bit more life and suggested some art to work towards that, (a suggestion that the owner can, of course, ignore if she is perfectly happy with her space), as a point of conversation. but perhaps house tours are only here for praise.

little chimp, I agree with you. it's a delicate balance between featuring an architectural detail by not competing with it and simply relying on it for all impact. the bedroom needs some oomph (from what is visible). the rest of the house just needs a few touches (again, in my opinion).

Woodwork, pocket door, high ceilings, molding wow. Such a beautiful apartment.

Hi everyone, its fun to have comments on my house!
Don't worry about the personal critique about feeling the space is sparse. My theory is that furniture should know its place, and support the activities going on. I have dinner parties at my house several times a week, and out come roasts, wine, books, you tube videos, and great conversations. I feel by turning down the visual noise, it allows for people to take the highlight. I would love to be able to add a few photos of how the place looks when it is being used. I invite you for a dinner sometime for a laugh or two, we might even break out in a dance!
The coffee table is by the way is by Jasper Morrison and can be found at Cappellini on Wooster, I adore this piece.
Carry on comments, thank you!

foodefafa - a difference of opinion is expected, but (i hope) when invited into someone's home, you would never say "I couldn't imagine myself ever laughing in this space" to the homeowner...so why would you say it here?

Stunning woodwork. I'm always happy when I see people preserve original features, rather than ripping them out or painting them glossy white. This is a great job of meshing a personal aesthetic while keeping the integrity of the shell.

WOW!!!! how very beautiful. i find it very calming that it is not crowded with things.

Nicole, your house is fabulous. I own a Victorian rowhouse furnished with (mostly) modern and contemporary furniture, and although it took me a while to figure out how to strike the right balance, I can no longer imagine living any other way.

I am in absolute AWE of your ability to edit. I'm taking notes!

You have a great eye and I think the juxtaposition works. The ornateness of the Victorian bones and the ascetic qualities of the furnishings can be cold on their own but together I think they are playful, if not exactly 'warm.' I'd laugh in your home (while, of course, plotting to take it for myself). The only area I would critique is that around the bed...It needs something. Large-scale art is rather predictable but would help define it better. The bed and bedding and little lamp just fade into the background a little too much for my eye. In any case, bravo. Really well done overall.

Living in brooklyn is looking better and better everyday. The amount of space and light that you get for the price is excellent.

Lovely space.

oooh! I do love a brownstone with gorgeous details furnished modernly. I wouldn't have chosen these exact furnishings, but this is just my style! Love!!

Wow, this is incredible! I've only seen a modern space like this with painted woodwork--a look I do love--but the way you've put this together makes it so dramatic.

It's the upper east-side in Brooklyn!

http://myexitrow.blogspot.com/

Wow!! Full house tour please!!! I want to see more.

aaron, I said it here because I was being honest and this is a forum where critque is expected, not a dinner party. I think you took that comment far too harshly and seriously (more than the owner did, herself). if, as she mentioned, I was present for a party where there was food, wine, books, and people (great people being the best accessories, after all), I'm sure I would laugh and have a great time. but from the pictures (in which I'm sure she cleaned up and cleared away some more 'human' touches-- and hey, since she even said that human presence is a huge part of her apartment, not showing that is kind of like taking a couch out of a photo, though it is certainly understandable not to show pics of your friends), it reminded me of a (very nice) office or museum/gallery-- spaces where one is generally quiet and serious rather than giddy with laughter. that is my personal association, and that fueled my reaction. we only judge these spaces by the photos made available, not by the people who created them, the lifes lived in them, the activities that take place, etc.

it was an honest, instant, emotional response of my personal feeling regarding that kind of space. maybe I put it a tad too harshly, (not my intention, it was hyperbole), but you must also realize that when reading written comments, you are projecting tone onto them and it is not always accurate (for example, here my intended tone is good-humoredly seeking clarification and peacekeeping, but one could read it as argumentitive and take further offense). but enough of this, back to design...

Lovely! Where oh where is that amazing desk from??

sorry, but i have to agree with foodefafa.

while i'm sure plenty of laughter goes on, i'm not really finding much that makes me want to gasp in awe here.

yes, you have a great palate to start from, but honestly...i'm pretty unimpressed with what you've done with it :/

i just wanted to add, that maintaining simplicity and finding complimentary pieces aren't mutually exclusive.. i think you can do both. i am not encouraging you to buy lots of antique looking junk to fill up the flat, but to make use of the architecture a lot better, and that is entirely possible with simple pieces.
There is so much you could do to the place and it has the potential to be stunning and one of a kind... right now it is resting on its potential...

i think that the "house call" vs. a true "house tour" division doesn't really help here and is responsible for a lot of the snark. photos 3-5 don't really show much. photos 1-2 promise a lot. please consider a real tour of what looks like a nice space.

I am impressed. Most people inclined toward minimalism would have started by ripping out that ornate woodwork. Instead, Nicole found a way to turn down the "visual noise," reconciling minimalist inclinations with the decorative elements of the space. Finding that balance is no easy trick.

Great job.

Love it!

I can only dream of having archways in my house that look like that. Such a wonderful canvas to work with!

love it - there's art, there's a dog, there's chic . . .
and there's a real life messy bookshelf and a computer etc

Do you have a larger photo set on flickr or elsewhere?
Thx for sharing your gorgeous place.

Love the Living room but I think the bedroom and living room could use a few more pieces to compliment the gorgeous woodwork. Would lvoe to see pics once more complete

meant love the workspace, living room and bedroom need more pieces to compliment the woodwork.

Like the contrast between old and modern, but could use some plants or something to green it up a bit.

Doggie is happy it is a home with love ;-)

Single word: "stunning".

Interesting on many levels.

Hi Again,
Happy to see everyone is still commenting. This weekend after some of the comments about adding some things, I played around, hung some new artwork, changed some lighting, added a few pillows. Within 24 hours I subtracted it all again! So funny, I am an interior designer and an artist, and I realize in my own home, considering I can have so many incarnations of this interior, I find that I have to keep the place quite austere, as my blank canvas, and I explore further my concepts with my clients. I recently launched my website, there are some other photos on there and I will add more in a week or two...
www.homeworkny.com

Another vote for not completely loving it. Maybe more pics might help. I like the poster and the space overall looks comfortable yet airy. It was the bedroom that made me say "grad. student."

I love the apt... so great to have architectural details. I am looking for a coffee table similar to the bedside tables pictured here. Where are they from?

Where is the square tall floor lamp from? The one in the corner of the dining room? I love it!!

Hey! When's the next dinner party? Count me in!!

Checked out your website.....the pictures were fabulous! It showed so much more than the pics on here did. Absolutely just loved the flow and elegance.