apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I love your style and am in awe of someone having such a vision since if you had to fumigate and put down flooring, it must have been in bad shape! I probably would have run the other way....
I love your Buddha and wonder where you got it?
Since the view is one of the reasons you live there, I would have liked to see it. I was wondering if you have a little table or cart that you use in the kitchen as it looks like you have minimal counter space.
thanks for sharing, I hope your kitty loves the space, too.

Ditto, sassydo. I wish this home had been photographed during the day so we we could see how nice I bet it looks with natural light.

Nicole, do you have plans for your kitchen??

Sweet space! I've been thinking of downsizing to a studio and I'm a little nervous. This place is very reassuring: it's just gorgeous. And the location...You're living one of my biggest dreams come true! I'm a teacher too, and I fantasize about teaching in Manahattan for a year.
If you're reading, Nicole, I'm wondering how many cats you have and where you store the litter box, and also if the lovely, brightly coloured dishes are the Acapulco pattern?

Hey Sassydo... I have almost exactly the same Buddha statue that is unfortunately not going to follow us into our new home (husband's not into Buddhas). Anywho, where are you located? I could send it to you if you want...

Email is anaskay@gmail.com if you're interested.

Very, Very Nice!

This seems huge for a studio (it also seems to have multiple rooms?). It's really lovely, though, and I love all your little groupings. Incidentally, I have the same brass perfume bottle, which I love and have displayed in my own (much more cluttered) studio.

Fantastic! An awesome blend of beauty and utility! I wish I could use space as effectively myself. Thanks AT for the peeks inside the closets and cabinets. Nicole is a master organizer and I learned a lot from this house tour!

Depressing.

I love the space, great taste in art!
I know it's a work in progress and with the size you have to be very careful, but I think it could use just a tad warming. Just a little more strategically placed color wouldn't hurt.

i think this is a great use of space -- i'm in love with those egg like holders for the silverware...where are they from? nice nice job. wish we could see the in-process binder!

I love the roller shade idea. Very peaceful. I must say though, as a left handed person I could never cook at that stove!

"Always avoid wearing shoes in your home."

Hmm... She's wearing boots...

two things
1) this apartment is fantastic and very serene. this is a perfect example of "less is more."
2) nicole is a babe.

ahickman, did you see the sq footage? 463. Not huge!

Your apartment is gorgeous! I think you, Nicole, are amazing. I appreciated how you brought in spirituality, magic, sensuality, creativity, efficiency and serenity into the design.

I am jealous! ;-)

Thank you for submitting your apartment to this really cool website and allowing us to see your home.

Hmmmm... questionable if the space is really only 463 square feet. Think about it, 463 square feet is a space 21 feet by 22 feet. Though the space isn't huge by any means, it certainly is considerably larger than 21 x 22 feet.

I'm sorry but all I saw was stuff. There's no defination of where the beding area and the living room seperate (or if they do). After 3 to 4 pics of the blasted couch I was to bored to look at anything else.

Where are the white wall cabinets from? IKEA? I need something exactly like that.

Daily Nuance: Are you familiar with how square footage is calculated in New York apartments? It includes entryways, bathroom, closets, kitchen, passageways, alcoves ... and in some cases, the walls themselves. The figure doesn't give you "x times y" in terms of room dimensions.

Nice, but too many vignettes and no floorplan.

This has so many lovely elements and the shrine is gorgeous. I think its inspiring to have dedicated such space to that when there's so little to go around in the studio.

That space under the white shelf is begging for something...a print? tapestry? very slim storage piece? I'm sure it will evolve nicely...

thanks for the peak!

It looks to be the same size as my apartment, approx. 450 square feet.

Nicole and everyone out there who is space starved!

Check out ME2design.net!
They have urban accent furniture specifically designed for our spacial needs. My friends who have lived in NYC forever, created this company out of a need to find items that actually fit into their small postage stamp-sized studios or items that coordinate for conversational ensembles for their open entertianment loft areas. Most of the designs are mutil-functional... storage, wheels, magazine holders. They have a good looking full service freestanding bar for small alcoves, cool bar stools for an open counter bar kitchen that are sooo comfy, benches for that space between your floor-ceiling windows, fabulous end tables with storage that look great with a sectional...on and on. They have something for everyone who has a casual contemporary lifestyle.

They really offer some great stylish creative solutions that are causal, not too trendy and just work nicely with your decor.
They are a def. must-see on your way to selecting compact furniture! :)

Excellent space planning. Good job, Nicole. I love what you did with the closets.

Thank you everyone for your insightful comments. I hope by sharing pics of my apt., I am sharing some useful ideas.
Yes, I wore shoes in the interview, however do like to keep a shoe-free home. It helps to maintain the cleanliness.
SAssydo-I wish I could fit a cart into kitchen, but no room. Buddha is heavy, and a great find from TJ Maxx!
Mavesse-I have one cat, and store the litter in the bathroom. Yes, my dishes are Villeroy and Boch Acapulco! They are from the 60's. The pattern was recently re-released but the style of chinaware is differnt.
Sofistiphunk- I agree, the place still a bit sterile and lacking in some warth. Been here just a month, hopefully over time, it will warm up.
Pugluv-Egg holders from Ikea, so is couch, green cushion, white cabinets. Wardrobe space is mostly Billy Bookcases from Ikea. Shoe shelf is simple shelving with l-brackets.
Joan 52-Shape of apt. is hard to tell from photos-it is a t-shaped studio-after entering long hallway, couch and tv to left, bed and table to the right. I have exact dimensions; basically 463 sq.ft, just cut up. Kitchen is attached to main room and is 5'x5', main room is aprox. 20 x 10, wardrobe 5x5 shrine room 3x3.

love, love, love it!

Great apartment. But it drives me nuts on this site to see small macro-vignettes, but no photos that show an overall sense of the layout.

Don't you ever bump your forhead when you reach into those white coabinets for your papers? They seem to me to be on an awkward level. I would either put them at my eye-level (with small chest or a bench underneath), or lower them so the top is level with a chair level, so you can use it to put down your cup of tea, or to even sit on it (only if it's not hung on a wall), when you have extra company.

cabinets

I thought this was pretty boring; I was rather disappointed. It looks very thrown together and really nothing special.

I would have liked to see some pages out of that 3-ring planner. And a floor plan of this place because as nice as it looks I have no sense of how the space is laid out from these photos. I admire her for paring down as much as she did (except for all those shoes!)

Does fumigating really solve roach problems? I fortunately don't have to deal with that anymore but all urban apartments I ever lived in had them and fumigating never helped. But that was a long time ago; maybe these things have improved.

I think Nicole did an impressive job; coping with small urban spaces is what AT was supposed to be about.

I never subscribed to shelter mags (so Domino's demise had no effect on me whatsoever) but always flip through them in doctors' offices and bookstores. Recently I read an article in Metropolitan Home about some guy who decided to downsize from a 1-bedroom in the Village to a studio because, after all, "I have a nice, big house on the Cape."

Ha!

Hey, I recognize Nicole! (Hi, it's Elizabeth from SAI.) Your place looks very inviting, and what a great organizer you are. I'm now in a 550sf co-op after years of living with roommates in very large 3 or 4 BR apartments here, so I understand the purging, though I'm nowhere near as pared-down as you. Congrats on the place.

Looks very Ikea.

I love that poster you are going to hang! Can you please tell me the artist/where it's from. I need it in my life! Thank you!

Hi Rebeldress-
It's a signed print called Peace Goddess by Shephard Fairey (he designed the now famous Obama poster). Happy searching- if you dont find that particular one, he has many other beautiful prints. Check online. If it's signed, make sure it's from a reputable dealer.

Congratulations on putting together such a great space in only a matter of a month! Truly inspiring!

Nicole,

How do you like having the track spotlighting in your living room? I'm considering installing something similar.

For having moved in just one month ago, this apartment looks amazing! I moved in my place more than a year ago and it is still a disaster area. :(

In Germany, Ikea uses the slogan "Wohnst du noch oder lebst du schon?" which translates roughly to "Are you still just inhabiting or are you living yet?" I think that slogan applies here, in a good way of course... :) Anyways, congratulations on getting things done so fast!

BSmeltz-Tracking lighting great option-especially if you have a dimmer. Can move the spots all around, so there is either downlighting or focal points.
Absolutmarie- Danke fur den Kompliment!!
nicole

Thank you Nicole! I am a bit ashamed for not recognizing the artist...eeek!

To K ran,

This clean and well designed space was put together with an ascetic sensibility that few people have. To each his own. You want excitement, great, but to bad mouth someone else's home because they choose a calm and soothing atmosphere is just plain fatuous.

Please submit your "exciting" home to us.

actually, that is quite impressive for just a month!

I wanted to address what i put in the three-ring binder, since they didnt get a chance to photograph it. It helped me ALOT when i was moving. Seems a little time-consuming, but helps in the end. I used a three-ring binder with those plastic page sheets.
Here's whats in there:
One page had photos and measurments of the furniture from the old apt.
A page of photos of furniture I was considering buying (with measurements) with prices.
Several pages of magazine tear-outs of inspirations-either furniture lay-outs, or paint colors, or just a picture that describes the 'feel' of a place.
A sketch of the floorplan (my management office could not provide me with one, but some do), with measurements.
With this i was able to also make mini scaled-down cut-outs of the furniture i was planning on putting in there. I would place them onto the to-scale floorplan, to play around with arrangement. This way i was able to edit what i would purchase, and what i could feasibly take with me from the old place. It saved me some money-especially sizing down on a new couch.
I kept all my receipts of purchases in an enevelope in the binder (as i wound up returning bulbs, lighting fixtures, etc.)
But, since I was moving to a whole new neighborhhod, I also wound up putting in a list of nearby post office, restaurants and coffee shop, natural markets, my bank, nearby pharmacy etc. I thought it would help orient me.

You've done a lot in 30 days. good job. The warmth will come with time.

What is the click-in hardwood floor you used?
You didn't need to built a subfloor of any kind?

nice...and only in one months time. Wow. Good job. Love it. Would also like to know about what hardwood flooring you used. Thanks

WHOA! NICOLE, I was stopped in my tracks when I saw your colorful tin can where you store your art supplies. I HAVE THE SAME ONE and got it in Germany more than 10 years ago.

where did you get yours? I'm very curious, as it's a very sentimental and special thing I've held on to, and never expected to see another one!

please let me know if you read this.

lovely apartment...

Andrea

Nicole, please tell me about your colorful tin can for art storage!

I got the same one more than 10 years ago in Germany and seeing that in your apartment stopped me dead in my tracks! I never expected to see another one and it has a huge amount of sentimental value to me... so weird...

After becoming an empty nester, I downsized into an apartment last year. After the first couple of months, I wondered why I hauled so much stuff around year after year when I could've gotten rid of so much of it a long time ago. It was like a burden lifted. I hope you end up with the same rewarding free feeling.

I just love your place. Neutral tones are so classy. I also like how you made the smaller kitchen work. It looks great.

Sorry for the late reply!! I used 1800-EMPIRE for the wood flooring-yes I needed a subflooring-basically there was stained linoleum on the floor when I got the pat. and the installers laid down a foam flooring and then the click-lock. Im happy with the results. People say you can do it yourself, but I wouldnt try it!
Dre in Brooklyn-I got the tin can from Germany-you can still buy them- they use it to store Lebkuchen, a round german ginger cookie-cake that comes out once a year during Christmas time.

Hi Nicole,

I love the little red robot guy in the white picture frame. Could you tell me who the artist it?
x

nevermind, i think i've figured it out - Mark Ryden?
(great print, btw)