apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

That stuffed koala is *exactly* like the one my sis & I had as kids! Our aunt sent them from Australia. Unfortunately they smelled of koala too. They live in the attic now.

Lovely retro bathroom.... similar to the pink one we saw on AT a week or so ago.

Trish - that Koala came from Australia too. The reason they smell is that they are made from kangaroo fur. Isn't that terrible? I don't think they do that anymore. Thanks for the compliment on my bathroom. I love the tiles too. We recently removed an ugly 70's vanity and installed the pedestal sink.

My favorites: mirror in living room; crib tent; guitar art.

soooo many pictures. so much to process...

i love the bathroom tile! and the overall vibe of the place. cluttered but in a warm, lived in way, not a clausterphobic way. it's nice to see an apartment that looks like the home of living, breathing humans rather than a magazine-quality showpiece. i also like your use of affordable art that is not just that 'solid color block canvas' thing. the choices you've made give your space so much personality! and i didn't notice a single eames chair! though there were a lot of pictures...

if you don't mind my asking, matilda, can you tell me more about your building? the bones of your space remind me a lot of my le corbusier influenced highrise built in the 40's, especially the minimalist trim, big windows, horizontal emphasis, etc. it would be interesting if we had the same architect, or lived in sister buildings.

Hi opoponax,
I don't know much about my building except that it was built in 1950 and is very similar to other buildings in the neighborhood built in the same year (notably: the Congress Gardens complex in Cobble Hill where we used to live). There are also a couple of other buildings in the Heights that look the same to me from the outside. One interesting thing about my building is that it is a corner building, and the corner is rounded both on the exterior of the building and in the interior of the corner apartments. It's cute. Thanks for your feedback!

Love the baby curtains.

Your wall color is lovely - is it as buttery yellow in person as it is on camera? Where did you find it?

Which yellow - ha ha. If you mean in the hallway and living room, it is "Ambiance" by Benjamin Moore. It is a semi gloss finish. It looks different depending on the light in the room, but it's quite a versatile and creamy color wherever you use it. I don't remember which yellows are in the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom, but the baby's room is "You are my sunshine" by Benj. Moore.

Lovely! A 50s building with pleasing proportions is a joy on its own terms -- no need to justify not wanting a brownstone.

The yellows are perfect for giving it warmth and character without obtruding on its fundamental cleanness of line.

Is this a rebellion against decorating? This should be in the help section.

Matilda - I also live in the Heights. Is your building on Orange Street by any chance?

Yay! House tours! I can't get enough! I especially like it when I recognize someone's name from the blog. I like your "landing" strip, Matilda, and the koala's adorable even if it's made with Kangaroo (though someone told me once that they're like deer here in the northeast...whatever that means! Plentiful and without natural predators? Well, I'm no zoologist!)

ultrvioltx - we live on Henry Street, but I think I know the Orange Street building you are thinking of - is it the one across from Plymouth churchyard? Where you go down some stairs to get to the lobby? I looked at an apartment there many years ago and the building is very similar to the one we live in now. In fact most buildings built at that time seem to have the same sized living rooms (approx. 11x17) and bedrooms (approx. 10.5x13) and any difference in the square footage is accounted for by bigger/smaller kitchens and baths, and maybe a second bedroom or dining nook like we have.

Christine - that landing strip is new. I put it together while everyone else was doing the Cure, even though I didn't. The only thing that is missing for me is a place for keys; I might have to get a little wall mounted basket.

I love your bathroom tile, I think it would look fantastic with crisp white paint. I also really like your floating bedside tables paired with floor lamps... I might have to try that....

just wanted to say my roommate and i measured the living room and his bedroom (mine is converted from a dining alcove and doesn't count), and you're right. our building is a couple miles from yours and was built a decade earlier, but it works out perfectly. the living room is 11x18 and the bedroom is 11x13. only a foot different in each room.

i'm blaming this on Robert Moses. why? because I blame all the sort of poetically soulless aspects of New York on him.

i also noticed that the proportions of your living room are identical to mine, to the point that they could be the same room except for a couple of details (we only have a single exposure there, you don't seem to have as much of a soffit epidemic going on, etc.). which means i'm totally stealing your furniture layout, because it's way better than mine.

Jess, that is what I am thinking re: paint for the bathroom. I have a smalls square of 'naptime' on the wall right now (I think it is Pratt and Lambert) which I do really like, although I need to put a second coat to really get a sense.

opoponax - steal away. I rearranged the furniture in my living room literally 50 times before I arrived at the current set up, which seems to work. Also, what is a soffit?

Also - the cubes were built by my dad. They are basically 12x12 sheets of ply fixed together. I have to paint them, but I'm not sure what color. I am also thinking of repainting the bedroom a celadon green or maybe that sweet pear that was featured here. Does anyone have any good celadon green paint recommendations, or any suggestions for what color to paint my cubes?

Wow, I love your place. Thanks for making 50s era buildings seem so stylish and desirable. My home in suburban Maryland, originally a farmhouse built in 1956, bears many similarities to your apartment. I'm going to have to measure my living room now! I have the same style of bathroom tile, even the same ceramic soap dishes, toothbrush holders and towel racks, except mine is a pinky-beige field with brown trim. I like your idea of white for the bathroom walls, or, on my monitor your current color appears to be a very, very pale lime green, which I think would also look pretty good. Thanks again for sharing your place, you've given me a lot of inspiration!

Thanks Mary. I love all the feedback.

matilda-diego,

the apartment looks great! i love that you moved the dining table and desk...makes much more sense.
thanks for turing me on to apartmenttherapy.com...very cool site.

bri

Matilda - That is exactly the Orange Street building I was thinking of. My girlfriend and I both live in separate rentals in the Heights and we've been jointly scoping out new places (rent or buy) in the Heights for our imminent "move in together." Always interesting to see what the insides of other peoples' buildings look like.

Also, do you have outdoor space? It seems like the window of the baby's room may look out onto a patio/garden area...do you have use of that?

ultrvioltx- that is actually the front of the building and unfortunately we cannot use it, even though it is like a small terrace in front of our apartment. I WISH we had an outdoor space. 4 apartments in my building actually do have small terraces, they are one bedrooms on the first floor but as far as I know none of them are on the market.

click my name for the dictionary definition of a soffit.

in apartments like ours and in cheapo postwar construction in general, urban and suburban, soffits are those weird boxy pieces at the joint between wall and ceiling. they're generally built to conceal wiring, plumbing, ductwork, etc. rather than actually putting that stuff behind the walls as in normal construction. you see them a lot in kitchens, but for some reason my apartment has them in almost every room.

i think there was a Good Question about painting them back a few weeks or months ago.

"it's nice to see an apartment that looks like the home of living, breathing humans rather than a magazine-quality showpiece."

I SO AGREE!

I love your highchair in slide #5! Very cool!

I am just starting to think of redoing my kitchen, and love the red countertop -- which would go well since other parts of my apt are painted red and the kitchen is now an absolute boring white. What is the counter?

Hey kitchen remodeler-
It is plain old laminate. It's actually funny that this was reposed because in the next couple of months we are going to embark on a kitchen renovation - we are going to open up the wall between the kitchen and the living room and put a small counter there. We're also going to replace the counter tops and do some cabinet shifting. I'm excited, yet apprehensive.

When it's done, I'll post before and afters.

Your whole apartment is so welcoming! I also have yellow throughout most of my place.The bedside cubes look great - are they just attached with screws in the back and then to the wall? Also, where are your lamps from? I had some wall mounted lights and after a while they just drooped - couldn't hold their heads up! Are you finding yours sturdy to point and hold in any direction?
Looking forward to the kitchen redo pics.

JW

Hi JW, the cubes are actually attached with L brackets on the inside. If the cube was empty they would show, but since they are filled up with books the brackets are hidden. Those lamps are from Ikea. They are actually from the kids section, they have a small spider on the side with a web design on the grate that covers where the light bulb is. I think they were $7 each or something ridiculous like that. They are very sturdy.

I must know: where on earth did you get that huge Amphigorey poster?

I love the koala, I had one like it when I was a kid. As for kangaroos: yes, they are definitely plentiful and without major predators here in Oz. They taste good too! Seems like there's a few similarities to deer then.

I really enjoyed this house tour - it looks great but keeps a homey feel.

i'm confused. while it looks like there are some good bones and cute items. (i like the monkey bookshelf), i just didn't get why it's on here. i don't see much design or decorating to it. it's very cluttered, miss-matched and random. these look like "before"; i'm waiting for the after. but, it looks comfortable i guess.

Very nice place! You have created a very welcoming home. I really enjoyed the tour.

It's homey. I don't get what's rebellious about it. The older bathroom and kitchen are sweet.

I guess I'd rather see inspirational and aspirational tours than just places full of cute stuff.

I think if you are going to submit your home for a house tour it would be nice to tidy it up a bit before. I know like this it might be more real and lived in, but it's not very nice to look at.

Celebrate Mediocrity!!!!!!

I am surprised this place is on this site. I find it depressing and--from color to accessories to proportions--all of it. sorry.

I do not get why this "home tour" was even posted. Looks like any other ordinary, ugly and messy house. Realy was disapointed. And those ech closet mess just made me sick. Is it really necesary to make other people to stare at your master disaster?????

I'm, confused. Why is this apartment on apartmenttherapy? What am I suppose to be looking at?

I'm so happy this home tour is included. It's obviously decorated by someone with a good eye- even if it's not my style I can glean a lot of ideas to use my own way.

I'm becoming bored with photos of home outfitted completely with DWR. Give me imagination over faithful, cookie-cutter execution!