Name: Jenny & Clove
Location: Astor Place, NY
Size: 442sq ft open studio (NYC loft meets LA Modern meets Zen temple)
Favorite resource:
What inspired you?
We were inspired to bring a California feel to our lives in New York. We missed the "indoor/outdoor lifestyle,” so when we saw the wall of casement windows leading out to the garden we flipped. Despite this vision, the apartment was a complete wreck & had no appliances. To open up the space, we demolished the galley kitchen walls.
...Because we live & work in our space, each piece of furniture & each closet serves a unique function. One walk-in closet is devoted to my artwork alone and I run a business, Video Studio 55, out of the space. I host clients in our living room & our dining table doubles as a worktable for meetings.
Design Tip:
Look for creative ways to express your own style in what otherwise might be a traditional practice or ordinary object. I knew when I designed our kitchen that we wanted to knock out the walls requiring us to reframe the kitchen space. Rather than doing a traditional steel header covered in dry wall & plaster, I chose a material that would enhance the room with a Zen temple flair.
Using timbers rescued from old New York buildings seemed fitting & became a focal point for the entire apartment, adding a sense of history & beauty only found in aged materials. We also re-purposed our old kitchen fixture into a skylight by pushing the light source up into the ceiling & laying glass across the old opening.
ADDITIONAL:
The previous owner chain-smoked for 45 years & had 12 cats! We had to invent a floor stain to cover the cat pee damage (Minwax Ebony & Jacobean, 50/50 mix, applied thickly & left on for 2 days) & it took 12 coats of primer (Gripper is best) to keep the peach nicotine at bay. Once we restored its shell, we discovered a warm, beautiful home for two working artists & two sleeping dogs.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
Absolutely love it, would like to see more pics. 2 questions: 1.what is the sofa? How is the upkeep with animals and black floors? Are there tumbleweeds since the floor is so dark? it is beautiful, and we are thinking about doing it.
where's the bedroom??
I'm glad they entered. Fell in love with this apartment when it was originally posted as a house tour! (chiclet: there's a murphy bed behind the patterned fabric "wall".)
I'm glad someone else loves reprodepot like i do! My kitchen and living room curtains (straight, plain cafe curtains) are the same mod fabric as your murphy wall, except in the green.
The orginal post of this house tour is what first turned me on to AT, to which I am now addicted. I still love the place, am terribly jealous, and love it even more because they are two women. My type of people!
That's so awesome. Beautiful. Only thing I would change is to move the computer and desk stuff into an armoire so you can close it up and keep it from spoiling the view.
My favorite. Best mix of personal style, innovation and .... coolness. More than decoration. More than money can buy. Love everything about it.
It's fantastic! But why no curtains in the living room/bedroom?
ahh.... Murphy! awesome :)Now i love it even more!
amazing window!!! Beautiful old modern one! Good decor too, tasty, functional. I'd love to live&work here too, I'd definetly be inspired! Smart to put kitchen and sink so that you look towards the living room AND your guests...
the whole place promotes conversation, finally no couch-in-front-of- a-TV set!
Absolutely beautiful. I love, love, love it. Especially you use of the recycled wood, the windows, and the fabric hiding the murphy bed.
In fact, I love it all except for the eery presence of the "ghost" from Three Men and a Baby. ; )
There are more pics on this space though, and you can find them if you backtrack.
I love this space! it's fabulous,and what great finds! I especially love the four white stools, and the colors used in this space.
FINALLY! THIS is what this contest is supposed to be about - a sense of DESIGN. An apartment's an apartment. We all have them. Most of us rent them. I like mine, but I'm not photographing it and putting it up on AT. That said, I might as well, cuz there's a shit ton of boring crap in this contest - NOT THE CASE WITH THIS ENTRY. These people put so much thought into the renovation of this space, from the exposed beams framing the kitchen, to the countertop choice, the fixtures, and even the placement of the furniture and the use of the murphy bed. BRAVO!
Luvit.
I do NOT get why people have to slam somebody (everybody?) else to praise another.
Jenny & Clove...
Please please PLEASE let me find you a painting for above the sofa?!? :)
also loved the house tour; what's the patio like in warm weather? have you considered tinting the concrete wall?
(just because art would be sooo fun to buy for this place... not because your space is really lacking anything!)
I love this place, and loved it when it was toured here on AT.
But, nick-
Tearing other apartments down. what does that say about you?? that you won't allow yourself to have the "audacity!!!" to enter yourself??
You don't need to rag on other entries to build this one up. It stands on its own.
What is it with these east coasters? So many of you have fantastic taste! And suck clean lines!
I adore that second photo.
I see so many people making big spaces look small. And then I see something like this space where the owner makes small look big.
Kudos!
Suck clean lines? Ugh. Sorry!
By the way, I love the blue patterned wall. I loved it before I realized it was a murphey bed. Love it ten times more now!
Love this apartment so much - it is really inspiring. Especially love the little key holder - so useful. They have such a clean look...to that end I don't think its necessary to hide away every single bit of evidence of humananity, like a laptop. I know I use mine for everything, stereo, email, etc.
Having to constantly put it away and take it out just wouldn't be comfortable. Same goes for certain appliances and magazines...
d
Lovely. An apartment I could see myself living in.
12 coats of primer? Wow!
It's great that ATers so often point out something I've missed -- like the keyholder.
great space. am in the midst of my own reno and used your floor stain formula of a 50/50 jaco/ebony mix. thanks for that.
where did you get the tres cool key holder?
Love it, too. Charmed by the use of reclaimed wood, the well-proportioned kitchen (don't see any stainless, oh joy!) with the lit up cabinets, and wonderful tuck-away white ottomon seating.
Agree with Patrick re Nick's slam.
I LOVE this place. Color, class everything.
I went so nuts at the ReproDepot table at the Bust Mag Craftacular last Dec. They had remnants being sold by the pound. Embarrassing how I was pawing through that pile.
i think this place is fabulous, but you should let P2 pick out some art for you. Just for the experience.
this is the best by far. personality, lived in, and LOVE the doggie. the patio area really adds to your space.
I love this space, BUT, I voted "no" because there have been so many other apartments so far that I want to see more of, and with only ten finalists, I'd like to see more of apartments that we haven't already seen a tour of. Unfair perhaps, but that's my rationale. Otherwise, I love, love, love this space.
Patrick 2, I am sorry, you have a knack for lecturing someone and then giving nasty backhanded compliments. This place is lovely and needs no art. get a life. You are annoying heck. get a job.
I love the insight, planning and materials that have gone into the design of this apartment. It is a piece of art all unto itself.
And a patio in NYC! What an awesome bonus! It must be a great place to hang out. Many Congrats on this fab space!
Ubetcha--
You soooo don't get me (or subtlety), do you?
There was nothing backhanded at all about my praise for this space.
And I have a job, thanks very much.
This place looks great. I love the kitchen. The view out the window wall gives plenty of color, but I also like the patterned wall, too. It's really just beautiful.
Patrick2-
I noticed the lack of the painting over the sofa too. Are others noticing more homes and apartments in the mags with nothing (or almost nothing) on the walls?
Walt in Very Upstate NY
Yeah! Here's the kind of space I rate high in this competition because it looks extremely handsome *and* it includes storage and multi-purpose ideas that make the home live larger than it is. (And though it's tidy, it's clearly lived-in.)
Jenny and Clove...love the space...I am curious what kind of wood your floors are...Pine, Maple, Birch etc...thanks and good luck!!!
Wow, this is an absolutely marvelous place! Somehow, that tiny bit of wall with phone makes it all.
patrick (the other one), since you mentioned finding paintings, do you have any reccomendations of places to find reasonably priced art? online, new york, boston locations perhaps?
hanifa--
Realizing "reasonably priced" is really subjective, here are the places I try not to miss...
I am a big fan of the big shows that come to New, with a slight bias toward photography... I like the AAF, the AIPAD Photo Show, Photo NY, and -scope. (Disappointed by Armory this year, and the prices were stratospheric.) Haven't made it to Pulse yet, but hear good things, in the -scope vein.
Online, I like Mixed Greens, eyestorm.com, and britart.com. I used to poke around nextmonet.com, but haven't in a while.
Favorite galleries of late are Daniel Cooney Fine Art (NYC), Paul Kopeikin (LA), Ewing Gallery (DC), Catharine Clark Gallery (San Fran), Thomas Werner Gallery (NYC), Wessel + O'Connoer (NYC), Winter Works on Paper (also NYC), Beth Urdang Gallery (Boston) and the gallery associated with PoerHouse Books (NYC). All of these galleries are run by GREAT people, all willing to make payment schedules, discuss pricing, etc.
Since you asked about Boston, perhaps you can get to Providence... so check out the annual show/sale of RISD student work.
Good luck, and happy art hunting!
whoops.. PowerHouse Books
Rich,
The sofa is a second hand Ligne Roset, found on Craigslist. It was purchased on the cheap, so many rich folks that are redecorating & just want stuff out of their spaces right away.
The dark floor will show white animal fur, though not in a "tumbleweed" fashion. We need to think brown or black for our future pets.
Patrick (the other one)
I would love for you to find us a painting. This has become the bane of my existence. That wall! That wall! It's blankness mocks me.
We are not anti-art on the walls. Being artists ourselves, we would love to have a beautiful painting there. Unfortunately, we just can't afford it (or haven't been able to find anything we could).
Friends keep saying I should paint something, but a videographer does not a painter make.
Few answers to questions-
(please excuse the length of this, but probably better to address
altogether).
Arlyn- the key holder is Design Within Reach floor sample. We can't really afford stuff there normally, but the floor sample sales offer great finds. Obviously, here in NYC we have more stores to pick & chose from.
Applelover- We seem to never get around to the window covering which leads me to believe we have some kind of mental block against covering the windows. We need to do it though for the sake of privacy. The plan is to get a long roller solarshade, probably from Janovic. That way we could retain the ability to see out & let light in a bit.
Layla-
The patio is glorious in warm weather. We had forgotten that & rediscovered it this week with the Springtime weather we've been enjoying. Tinting the back wall isn't something we had thought of, it is an interesting idea...
Grizzo-
I believe the our floors are pine which can be trickier & more difficult to get that deep rich color we were going for.
Phred--
Saving that sliver was one of the coolest accidents of the project.
Originally, the demo guys wanted to just knock everything out & then put back in some kind of column, then we realized that the intercom system for the entire building shot up & through that part of the wall. My solution was to save the corner as a makeshift column. I think it works so much better & feels really organic to the space.
Thanks for noticing it-- you must be a designer with an eye like that!
Wavybrains--
I'm afraid we weren't that strategic in planning for the contest. It seems to have hurt us that we shared the space earlier in the Inside Out tour with Jill. We clearly aren't banking the number of replies of some of the new entries.
Honestly, when AT asked to come out & photo our space, we weren't thinking about the small space contest, but rather just excited to share our space with like-minded folks.
Our interest in entering the contest was to try & represent what ordinary people could do on a very tight budget. Some of the entries feel to me like no one is living there. We could have given our space "the magazine look", but it isn't real for us.
Plus, we could really use some prize money to help with the outdoors. We really haven't developed the patio at all yet & we'll need to save up for that. Obviously, the contest isn't need based & we are well aware of that.
For my part, I'd like to see someone win who isn't a designer. It seems like two different contest to me- one for designers with unlimited funds & resources, & one for the rest of us doing the work ourselves.
Maybe there should be a thought given to this.
Hi, I would love to live in your apt! It's really beautiful, and inviting. I think it's got a great "feel" to it. If you are representing "what ordinary people could do on a very tight budget," there's hope for me as I face the daunting task of looking for a contractor to help me actually realize my vision. Would you be able to suggest how you found your contractor or if I might be so bold, as to whom you employed? Good Luck!!
"The plan is to get a long roller solarshade, probably from Janovic."
Before we bought blinds before we moved into our apartment, I priced out different places and found Janovic to be pretty expensive. The internet was quite a bit cheaper, maybe about 1/2 price or less. I'm not sure what the price difference would be with a solarshade, but it definitely is worthwhile shopping around on the internet. Also, there's quite a big range of prices on the internet, and you probably want to go with a place that has free shipping.
Don't assume designers have unlimited funds and/or resources.
For someone trying to avoid the magazine look, yours is one of the most magazine-ready entries. But I mean that in a good way.
Patrick (the other one),
What happened to finding us a painting?!
True not all designers have unlimited funds, resources, etc., but they definitely have access to materials, furnishings, & labor at wholesale & industry rates that the average person can't touch.
We initially looked into working with a designer, but couldn't afford it. In our research, the designer's access to these type of industry specials is one of the main benefits in using one.
I think it is obvious in this contest that there are different price points, the pictures alone will bear this out, but it is also in the way that some of the descriptions are written. Like language that describing "this project" rather than "our home".
Not that I'm against hiring someone to do design work for me, I just don't think I or the designer should get a prize for it. For my two cents, I think one of the smallest apartments should will.
The smaller the apartment the bigger the challenge.
Wonderful! Great mix of new and old, smart use of space. Well done!
Hi, I was wondering where the 4 white stools at your dining table are from?
Jenny--thanks for the thoughtful response! Wow. You make a lot of good points. Your place is truly amazing, and you are right about needing to represent what non-designers can do. Also I bow down to you in awe at the 12 coats of primer. You and Clove both rock. Best of luck!
every time i see this place i like it more...
i still think there needs to be *sumpin* over the couch - anything. but better to wait for something they love then just plunk down some crummy "art" to fill the space.
Hi Jenny and Clove,
I love it! Nice color scheme. However, I do not see a painting over the couch but more of a wooden flat sculpture! Check out Louise Nevelson- she made large wooden sculptures(but you could make yours on a small scale to fit the space nicely. It's easy and fun to do. Also, it's something about a telephone with a cord makes me happy! Good luck
VIVI
Thanks honey. You are so right on about the wooden sculpture, I've been seeing something like that or a twist on 70's wall art.
Lexi,
The stools were a cool find on Craigslist NYC from an antique dealer named Frank. He has the best stuff & pretty good prices. I think the stools are by the designer Paul McCobb, though there is no tag on them. We saw similar ones at ABC Carpet on the floor with the 60's & 70's stuff.
If you are in the NYC area, Frank uses the word "killer" a lot in his posts, or most of them can be found by typing in "mid-century" or "Danish".
Kit,
I wish I could recommend our contractor, unfortunately we can't.
We wouldn't want you to experience that kind of nightmare.
We ended up being our own foremen. Luckily one of us could be onsite. There are a couple of teams working in our building right now, I can ask around & see if other folks have had a better experience. A good contractor in NYC is a rare find.
We used a great install team, Traemond for the Ikea cabinetry who we would highly recommend if you are doing Ikea cabinets.
They were amazing & are one of the 3 teams recommended by Ikea in Elizabeth, NJ. I think they all over though.
We had California Closets do our closet install, Clove use to work for them so we got an employee price discount on that. Outfitting the closets, I think is the single most important upgrade you could do in a small space- IT MAKES SUCH A DIFFERENCE. (and I was a big skeptic on this topic before Clove got that job).
Our silestone counter was done by the Home Depot Expo, but it helps to get cheaper quotes first because they will match it. I am happy to share info with you to make your project a bit easier. Feel free to email me & Clove directly if you want. :)
jenny@tricksaddle.com
I find myself returning to your place again and again. It makes me happy. I couldn't be more jealous of your craigslist finds. Did you have those specific pieces in mind when you were trolling craiglist or did you just happen upon them? Perfection.
Okay, I'm not a vegetarian or member of PETA, but I'm still not fond of the animal skin rug. Hope the dog isn't next! And the tolet seat cover should be put down before the photo shoot. I LIKE the frosted glass cabinets, but how do people live with a single sink? Is that standard in NY??? My place is small, but I still fit in a "real" sink. I realize it's a rental so you don't have a choice, but I still wish builders would use adult sized sinks and not play ones. Sorry if I sound like Simon Cowell!!
Your space just makes me go "Aaaaaahhh". It's so relaxing, comfortable, uncluttered but also lived in.
I like the white walls with the black hardwood(?) floor. That patterned panel of wallpaper or fabric is a great accent, used in a way that's not too HGTB or Queer Eye.
There's a lot of non-arrogant confidence in this space.
i meant HGTV.
Looking forward to hearing what becomes of the outdoor space! That must make a world of difference in your daily habits.
veddy nice indeed. love the little touches, like making the kitchen light into a skylight. and you've even got a cute dog. when can i move in?
Thanks for your response regarding your dining table stools! You mentioned an antique dealer named Frank; does he have a store or how can I go about finding what he has to offer?
Thanks!
~ Lexi
A sunny spring day must be the best time of year; i'd love that kind of sun access. I still would want some way to block it out, maybe a white/cream linen? -t
WOW!
My spouse had the fortunate experience of seeing this amazing space in person. I heard it was fantastic but now I know for certain! SO very inspiring! I can't wait to own a place and make it home. Your design choices are not only beautiful but so thoughtful. And I really like that you don't have treatments on the windows to the garden as it makes me feel like I am not in the middle of downtown but some sunny secluded place! I look forward to seein gwhat you do with the garden space.
Best of luck - you have my vote.
Isn't Craigslist the greatest? And I love how you can get a ton of natural light in the living room.
i always find myself coming back to this posting and finding new details i like... Jenny & Clove, you guys have a beautiful home.
I am the most inspired by this apartment. I will be copying a lot of your ideas, I can't help myself.
Jenny and Clove,
Love how you made this into a great space. I am interested in possibly putting your apartment in my publication. You can contact me at elaine_w@mac.com
Elaine
hi i like your apartment. I have a question about your stain. you said you did not it wipe off. just wondering if the stain was still shiny when you applied the poly( ie totally dry ) Also what is the finish you used on your living room floor? was it a semigloss or a flat?
thanks in advance
Rc