Who Lives Here: Melissa + 1 Location: Upper East Side — NYC Size: 772 square feet
What is your favorite element of your Small & Cool home? My favorite element is the exposed brick and the exposed piping.
Give Melissa a THUMBS UP if you think this home belongs in the finals!
Thumbs Up Voting is only activated for 48 Hours — so don't delay!
Thumbs Up Voting is only activated for 48 Hours — so don't delay!
What was one of the biggest challenges you faced in furnishing your Small Cool home? Although I love the brick, it was hard to coordinate with it. Since we rent, we aren't allowed to put holes in the brick — only in the mortar. Also, the brick is such a strong color and statement, we wanted to complement it as opposed to detract from it. We chose bold, complementary colors and simple artwork to go with it.
Give Melissa a THUMBS UP if you think this home belongs in the finals!
Thumbs Up Voting is only activated for 48 Hours — so don't delay!
Thumbs Up Voting is only activated for 48 Hours — so don't delay!
Want more Small Cool?
Check out all the entries on our contest page.
Check out all the entries on our contest page.
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i think you made the right choice about the artwork and the brick, and not to fight with it. but i love the industrial vibe of the pipping. i really like it. also, the color is an unexpected element. that headboard is cool! is that home made?
So put together with fun colors! I love the string lights around the lamp! I may have to copy :)
melissa...maybe you can pop by and tell me the paint colors in the last two images! LOVE the sorta dark and stormy hues...please share the deets, if you don't mind! LOVE your style and decor! cheers - CC
The photography is weird, but the apartment is cool. So thumbs up. (Great colors!)
These photos are trippy. And I wish we'd gotten a better view of what looks like a fur person in the bedroom shot. I love your library, and its dinosaur.
3 bedrooms?? really? thats amazing... i love small houses with lots of books!
(1) The photos are with a fisheye, to try and get as much of the room as possible in.
(2) The headboard is homemade. That was a $115 project, actually!
(3) The paint colors in the bedroom photos are Benjamin Moore "pewter".
Oh, and thanks for the kind words. :)
Yeah, the fisheye lens distracts people (ok, ME) from looking at the coolness of the apartment. Instead, we're looking at the coolness of the shot/lens.
LOVE the upholstered wood chair in the pic with all the bookshelves. Great job!
The fisheye is awful.
One pill makes you larger....
And one pill makes you small...
Ok, despite the fish eye you’ve got a great place and my vote!
If you used a regular lens I could actually tell what I am looking at - ruined the tour. Post again with normal pix since it looks like it could really be nice.
the fisheye doesn't seem that distracting to me, and it certainly doesnt ruin your tour. i think your eclectic mix of colors/styles, etc. really make your place look unique. good luck and great job.
Perhaps it was the only other option to get in as much as possible but I agree, not the best choice, if using a DSLR, try to get a hold of a wide angle lens, such as a 10mm-24mm from somewhere to shoot the interiors, otherwise, get as far back as you can with the widest angle lens you have would work.
That being said, a very cute apt indeed. I like that you didn't try to fight the brick but ran with it in your decorating scheme and it works.
Good job! BTW, a little surprised it's actually a 3 bedroom place for the size. Nice use of the space if you ask me.
Three bedrooms and two baths in 772 sq. ft? That is awesome! I like the layout of your home. It looks like you turned one of the bedrooms into a library...very jealous ;)
The fisheye is fine with me! Would you be willing to tell us how you made the headboard? The brick walls look like they've been lacquered. Is that my imagination?
@ omnidora - The brick walls have been treated with something, I'm not sure what. As far as the headboard, I don't know if it's allowed to post links to external sites because it has more picture of my apartment! But basically, we got a large piece of MDF and cut it to the shape we wanted. We cut a 4" piece of foam to the same shape and stuck it to the MDF with some spray adhesive, then stapled it with upholstery staples all around the edge of the MDF on the front side. We got some bonded polyester and stretched it over the foam and around to the back and stapled it around the back. Then we found that upholstery fabric at Joann fabrics and we pulled it tights and stapled it around the back. The legs we just did with bonded poly and the fabric, separately. The back is done with a piece of white muslin.
Thank you, Melissa - how thick is the MDF? I really need a headboard...
And I love the way your apt looks - very Upper East Side boho :)
I am so interested in the red armchair! Who is it made by?
@omnidora - it is three quarter inch MDF framed in three quarter ply. If you go to chickens.what-now.org and click the interior design category you can see the process pictures.
@CSD - the red armchair is an original Milo Baughman scoop chair. I had it recovered as the previous fabric was not the original and was in terrible condition.