Dept. of Reminders. As we come into the home stretch of this month, we wanted to say:
A. That we will be showing all the remaining entries this week
B. The final vote will take place next week after we have finely rephotographed the five finalists
C. It has been a hell of a lot of work keeping up with this wild group of submissions (our email box didn't know quite what to do with all the photos it recieved)
and...
D. We really want to know for our Stores Guide:
What is your recommendation for the smallest, coolest home/hardware/utility stores in NYC and why?
(It could either be a small, cool store or a store that sells small, cool things....) MGR
Although it's not trying to beat prices, Saifee on 1st Avenue and 7th Street has great small cool things for urban gardening. I bought a lightweight hose that connects to my bathroom sink (and has a great nozzle that locks open) for watering plants on the terrace off our bedroom. It's perfect for a Manhattan apartment.
I also like Saifee because they have a lot of unique items. The prices are not competitive, but the selection is, especially when you like to see something in person before purchasing.
Lancelotti on Ave A (somewhere between 4th St and 6th, east side of A) packs more desirable things of varing degrees of utility per square inch than any other homewares store I can think of. The style is colorful, fresh, mostly mod. They stock a good supply of Mrs. Meyer's great smelling, cutely packaged, all natural cleaning products, Dwell sheets, wood veneer lamps and tons more. Lots of affordable luxuries and small splurges packed in from floor to ceiling. Warning, the cornicopia effect of all this in such a small space makes you forget that these prices can add up.
Oops, cornucopia, oops again varying...hmm, time for that second cup of coffee.
I just moved to the West Village and have found myself spending a lot of time at Garber's on Greenwich Street - funky and small, yet they always seem to have just the right thing - plus the staff is knowledgable, friendly, and tons of fun too. They've never steered me wrong, never laughed at the silliest of my questions, just a great store.
Re - Rephotographing the apartments.
Can you-
1) Make it a surprise visit? I'm curious how these apartment are REALLY used as a living space vs. day of photoshoot (ie clearing all the clutter/mail/hairdresser/toothbrushes/books/clothes/electronics and dumping it in the hallway)
2) Also photograph external storage space used, if any? Be it mom's place in Queens, extra storage, whatever.
Okay, just slightly kidding. But I think it would interesting approaching these spaces as a actual viable living space vs. showrooms. And if our minimalists are living a true minimalist lifestyle vs. dumping everything in the hallways when the photogs comes (or storing everything beyond daily neccesities at mom's place in Jersey)
ANYONE'S apartment could look about 10x better if you "edited" out the daily living stuff(then immediately replaced if after the photographers leave).
I second Jenny on wanting to know if the finalists "cheat" by renting more storage space. We all leave boxes of crap with our moms, but I would want to know that someone stores their extra clothes or books off site.