Who Lives Here: Alexandra + husband Location: Park Slope — Brooklyn, NYC Size: 750 square feet
What is your favorite element of your Small & Cool home? When we purchased our pre-war coop in Park Slope, all the rooms felt really small and confined. The first thing we did was knock down a wall between the kitchen and living room and create a bar top/eating space. Doing that made the apartment feel twice as large and allowed so much light to flood around the space. I love my open plan kitchen and living room now and watching my husband cook for me while I have my feet up on the ottoman!
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What was one of the biggest challenges you faced in furnishing your Small Cool home? My husband and I moved to our new apartment around 5 months ago from a much smaller space and so we basically needed all new "regular size" furniture. The biggest challenge was agreeing on pieces and decor. I prefer patterns while my husband likes textured solids. We had to compromise on a lot of things and I think the final outcome represents both of our tastes. We decorated with a mix of new and vintage furniture. We got a bunch of pieces from an online mid-century modern dealer, eBay and a thrift store in the neighborhood and mixed in stuff from Crate & Barrel, West Elm and IKEA.
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I love all of the pops of blue throughout the apartment! (Especially drooling over that wallpaper...)
Hey, Alexandra ...
LOVE the SPACE !!!
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.... "and like YOUR NAME ... since I have the same !!!"
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Alexandra
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P.S. - Sent me a note .... become my "Pen-Pal" .... not too many of us are there to be "blessed" with such a regal name ....
I was called "Sasha" all my young years - did not like it al all - ... how happy I'm now to become: "Xandra", "Sandra", "Andra", "Al", "Ale" or "Alex" ...
See you ...
You did a beautiful job, especially in such a short time.
Haven't felt much like commenting on the entries so far, but this one is phenomenal. I love small spaces that aren't devoid of texture, pattern and rich, moody colors in an effort to look "airy". This is inviting and beautiful. The purple chair and the orange lamp cinched it for me. Thanks for sharing this with us!
love love love the shades of blue, green and plum. At first I was wary of the swirly wallpaper in the bedroom, but have warmed to it considerably; it's good that it seems to be only on one wall. this flat is one of my favorites so far and i would love to live in it.
just great. greatest.
very lovely. excellent color sense.
I love the bedroom wallpaper.
The whole place makes me happy, but that wallpaper especially!
new favorite! just amazing. i love EVERY single thing about this apartment. pretty amazing that you did it all in 5 months...
the bathroom is really lovely. and the whole apartment is, but again, it's a shame that it doesn't seem to get that much light.
Giant Air poster above the bed and awesome purple chair under one roof? Hello, awesome!
yeah this is great!
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Amazong wallpaper! Jealousy setting in . . . would love to see the rest of the bedroom painted in one of the blues in the wallpaper though. Big thumbs up.
Amaz-I-ng . . . lord help me when I type fast
do love the wallpaper. and i always like to see what people have done w/ tiny bathrooms as i have a tiny one myself--though i'm not the biggest fan of the busy shower curtain in that tiny space.
SRSLY! the wallpaper makes my heart go pitter-pat. who makes it?
I really liked the furniture choices, everything fits together in a small space without looking crowded. I wonder who their online mid-century modern dealer was.
my favorite so far.
I love the shower curtain. Anyone have a source for it? Thanks!
This is beautiful.
I'm so jealous of your bathroom -- the colours are gorgeous.
I absolutely love it! <3
Lovely, and I think that two-sided breakfast bar dividing the kitchen and the living area is perfectly judged.
This is just fantastic. I love the bold wallpaper (and the guts it took for a small place), and the bathroom with the beautiful tiles in the shower, with the shower curtain. Well done.
Hi all-
Thanks for the comments. The wallpaper is Graham and Brown. You can order it online. My husband and I did it ourselves and it is surprisingly forgiving bc it's dark and the attention is drawn to the pattern- not the imperfections!
The shower curtain is maremeko at Crate and Barrel. I think they still have it there.
-Alex
Amazing job Alex! I haven't done anything to my new apartment but it's pretty much due to the fact that you decorated it ;-)
Really nice.
I love that purple chair so much.
I love this entry... lots of other entries I've admired, but this one I'd actually love to live in.
I love the breakfast bar, the partial blue wall in the kitchen, the wallpaper in the bedroom, the orange lamp, so many things....
congrats alex!! glad you are loving the bar! your place looks great. best,
jb
Good job.
I like the breakfast bar thingy, but can't help but think a swiveling single pedestal stool would look more streamlined.
Good Luck in the contest.
Alex,
Amazing. I love it. Where did you get that awesome purple chair?
Ditto above comments on wallpaper, vintage pieces, and bar. And it looks so organically pulled together in only 5 months -- like you've lived there for a couple of years! Great job.
can't vote. i'm only seeing words, no thumb icon.
great place, one of my favorites thus far. not very original to say by now, but that wallpaper is awesome. is it only on one wall of the bedroom or all the walls? also, where did you get those shelves above the desk?
haha, never mind my question as to the wallpaper being on one wall or all walls. i just saw the reflection in the bedroom mirror, which answers my question. still interested in those shelves though...
I've seen two serious contenders now for the title -- and this is one of 'em.
very nice - just do something with those speakers - hide baskets?
Nice apartment. I know the trend now is open plan living spaces, but I don't like older apartments that take down kitchen walls and leave awkward spaces. Walking in the front door you see into the kitchen, not a great transition, and the floor between the hall and kithen look like 2 different heights and materials, awkward.
@patrik: I had a bit of that reaction, too. So often people make changes in their homes with only an eye toward their own needs, forgetting that they likely won't remain there their whole lives...and I don't know that the way that wall was removed really adds any value. Future inhabitants will have to be picky about the chairs/stools they can use there, and the bar looks a little dorm-y. Leans toward a spot-re"muddle" for me. I don't doubt that it feels bigger and brighter, but...you do need to do it right, and it'd look much nicer if it had been done properly.
Wow. Those blues - in the wallpaper and the paint color in the first picture - are just magical.
Moon Safari!!
You have great taste :)
where is that couch from?
Both but the grey one especially
love it! especially the bathroom. would love to know where the wall shelves are from.
I'm gonna have a wet dream about that wall paper.
love it! you guys did a wonderful job mixing both patterns and solids. I think it turned out great! question, where is your bedding from?
Brown couch is Crate and Barrel
shelves in bathroom are U-turn shelves from CB2
Please...very interested in learning where the shelves above the desk were bought.
paint color in the desk area? it's really lovely...