Name: Bradley
Location: Upper West Side
Size: 800 sqft. 1-bdrm co-op
Years lived in: 9 years
Bradley "feels at home as a foreigner" in New York City. That is why, after moving here five years ago from South Africa, Bradley believes he's here to stay. To compensate for lingering homesickness and South African pride, however, Bradley keeps importing mementos from his country of origin....
When Bradley first arrived in New York, he had just a suitcase of clothes in his possession. Since then, he's built a home for himself on the Upper West Side. Other than the furniture, most of his belongings are from South Africa. That is because, each time Bradley returns to South Africa for a visit, he says he "brings home back with me." Over the years, he's lugged back lamps, photography, home accessories, and chochkes both large and small.
In addition to the artwork, Bradley wanted to continue to push himself to create an environment that went beyond his comfort zone. So, he hired a stylist. She came in, and after interviewing Bradley, decided on all the paint colors for the apartment, as well as the fabric for his couch. These were not choices Bradley would have made on his own but he trusted the stylist and made the changes she suggested. He's very happy with them and is pleasantly surprised by the couch time and again. He just needed that little push and was brave enough to go out and ask for it!
After five good years and a major renovation to expand the kitchen and the main closet of the apartment, close off the extra closet doors and create a solid living room/dining room area, Bradley is moving on. He is trying to sell his apartment but wants to continue living on the Upper West Side. Surely, his next home will yield, again, a wonderful mix of his new home here and his old home back in South Africa.
AT Survey
Style: Mid Century Modern with an eclectic African bent. I love clean lines mixed in with interesting objects and furnishings for color and texture.
Inspiration: Eclectic styling of luxury boutique hotels that started to spring up in South Africa in the mid 90’s, mixing hip urban elements with local flavors.
Favorite Element: A few favorites - My Jonathan Adler Markham sofa and constructed lamps by Gregor Jenkin in the living room. (Unfortunately, JA no longer makes that sofa) Having the steel doorframes scraped down to their original base was a messy, expensive experience that was well worth the result.
Biggest Challenge: Designing a decent layout for the living room with a closet door in the middle of the longest wall. So I removed the closet door, closed the wall, and combined it to make a large walk-in closet next to the bedroom. Now the living area makes sense.
What Friends Say: You should be in www.apartmenttherapy.com
Biggest Embarrassment: The knock-off LEM Chairs, which everyone can tell are not the real McCoy.
Proudest DIY: Converting a room divider/bookshelf from West Elm into a dining consol by turning it on its side and screwing metal legs on the bottom.
Biggest Indulgence: My artwork – the William Kentridge lithograph, Michael Subotzky photo, Lolo Veleko photos and Robert Hodgins lithograph which I collected over the years through a great program called Artthrob Editions
Best Advice: I’m so glad that I took my time (a few years) to decorate my apartment. Each trip to South Africa, I brought something back with me, and by the time I felt I was done, I had created the perfect balance of objects from “back home” with items that I’d acquired in New York. I felt like a bird collecting scraps to build a nest.
Dream Source: I don’t think I can think of just one - I have a natural inclination to want to collect things from different places and put them together. But if I had an unlimited budget, I’d love to take a clever designer to a hotel in Johannesburg called The Saxon, and say: make my apartment look like this!
Resources:
Dining Room:
Carol Boyes Salad Bowl
Table from Door Store
Console from West Elm
Lithograph – Robert Hodgins, La Contessa Venamosa
Living Area:
Gregor Jenkin lamps
Club chair, round side tables and coffee tables – Room and Board
Cushions – covered in Kudu hide from Johannesburg
Sofa – Jonathan Adler
Photograph by Michael Subotzky
Lithograph by William Kentridge
Bedroom:
Bed – West Elm
Linen – Calvin Klein
Photographs opposite bed by Lolo Veleko
Photos above the bed by Bradley Silver
Sapporo bookshelves from Design Within reach
Bathroom:
Steel Frame Mirrors from Room and Board
Shower curtain from West Elm
Images: (Jill Slater)
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Love the sofa.
view anmar's profile
The whole apartment is just stunning! One of the best that has been featured here. I could (and would love to) move in there tomorrow.
view Marie's profile
Very nice place!
view LB783's profile
I love what Bradley has done with his place...
...He's adorable too.
view bepsf's profile
gorgeous
view terka27's profile
Can you please share the paint colour(s)?
view bananarama's profile
I love everything about it! It's so well put together. Ditto the paint color in the living and bedroom- please share.
view j_wild's profile
I adore that sofa! Pink doesn't have to be precious.
view dmh's profile
Calm, cool, clean and well put together. Fantastic space.
view HUNDREDS OF YEARS of oppression's profile
I'm loving all the SA love on the site as of late :) keep it up!!
Also, beautiful home you have there.
view kungfookimmie's profile
I'm totally in love with the ceiling fan in the bedroom! Great job updating the apartment in smart ways without losing its original appeal!
view michpc's profile
Paint colors: The living room is Silver Sage 506 Matt finish, and the bedroom is Springview Green 491 – Matte finish. The ceilings and walls above the picture rails are painted Meadow Mist OC-134 flat finish (all Benjamin Moore), and the stylist who helped choose them (as well as the fabric on the couch) is Mexx: mexx@verizon.net
view Brad10025's profile
Would never have thought of that sofa or those paint colors with African/ethnic stuff, but it works! It all looks so light and airy. Love the living room lamps - so creative - are they South African?
view bakema's profile
Awesome apartment !
view ggchi's profile
Lamps by Gregor Jenkin - http://www.gregorjenkin.com/landing_else.html
HIs work is carried by a NY gallery: http://www.amaridianusa.com/
view Brad10025's profile
Love it, love it, love it. The warmth. The calm. The textures. The colors. Thank you for sharing. And thank you for acknowledging your stylist--not enough people who use one, do.
view 1GH's profile
I would love to know where you got your ceiling fan.
view chrsjav's profile
Love it Bradley. I'm glad it's not overly South African - just the right blend. A big hey from a wet and chilly Cape Town!
view Shirlb's profile
I'm in love with the dining table and the chair - but overall very nice.
view ChrisGal's profile
the fan is Minka Aire, model ACERO.
i have the similar one in my bedroom and we love it.
we purchased ours from Lighting by Gregory.
view missmay's profile
Lovely
view Sylvia K's profile
Where is that entryway console table from? I am looking for something just like it but in white...Any ideas what it is called or how to go about to find it?
view yelena's profile
love the sofa, and the idea of using mud cloth as a table runner. great apt!
view greybreaks's profile
gorgeous!
view leadingedge's profile
You have a beautiful apartment. The color combinations are very serene. I especially love your kitchen with its combination of maple, stainless steel, and glass. I also like your nice, cushy living room chairs.
view John H's profile
Everything else is Gorgeous but that couch is bleth. Makes me think of a couch I once had out of necessity.
view Jeanialice's profile
Not that it's a bad choice...i think maybe that couch gives me bad deja vu.
view Jeanialice's profile
You and your stylist have done a great jo. I just do not feel that the couch fits in at all - there is just something about it that turns me off.
Everything else is great - when you move try to sell the couch.
view Betty14's profile
Great jpb that you and your stylist did - other than for the couch. I just do not get a happy feeling with it.
When you move sell the couch.
view Betty14's profile
Since you are nice enough to share sources, where did you find the wonderful paintings of the African women advertisements?
view zoo's profile
Beautifully done !!! So light and breezy it causes sweet daydreams. And, yes, where & how can I get a few of those colorful SA advertisement paintings? They're adorable !!!
view SoulSharon's profile
love the photography esp. above the sofa!
other things i LOVE are:
the bathroom-flawless
landing strip/entry table with starburst mirror-simple and stunning
sofa-one of a kind?
the s. african touches here and there-they take the edge out of the modern lines.
love it!
view Stephvixen's profile
LOVE the sofa - why don't they make that shape anymore???
view Bridget212323's profile
How long did the Kitchen renovation take and what challenges did you face?
view absOsteele's profile
Love the space! Ive been trying to find birch tree trunks. I asked a garden shop and all how to get them and they were no help. How did you find them?
view stephaniesays's profile
Bradley - very nice. I would like to move in tomorrow too ;)
view svensls's profile
great use of space and i love the hints of pink and red.
where did you get the awesome pink wine rack? i can only seem to find it in blue. thanks? ;D
view maggiepsf's profile
Bradley is officially my New York boyfriend. I will be staying his apartment next time I come to the city.
J/K, great apartment. I forgot how much I love the geometrics of African tribal prints.
view pollymagoo's profile
Wow, I really like that sofa.
view hooraydesign's profile
This is Bradley - I am moving and have a number of items for sale:
Hola y Adios entry way table: $350
Gansu Room and Board Bench/coffee table: $200
Starburst Mirror: $150
Dining Table and 6 chairs: $1000 (chairs for 150 each)
Copenhagen 55w media cabinet: $800
You can mail me on brad10025@gmail.com (Upper West Side NYC)
view Brad10025's profile