Who Lives Here: Nicole Location: Hamilton Heights — NYC Size: 650 square feet
What is your favorite element of your Small & Cool home? I absolutely love my living room. I designed it to be super cozy since it's where I spend a majority of the time and I also tried to create as much seating as possible in a small space since I like to entertain a lot. I can seat 12 comfortably here!…
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…I also spent a lot of time sourcing many of my furnishings from places like eBay, craigslist and flea markets and put lots of effort into re-vamping many of the pieces which weren't all perfect when I got them. The Louis XV style chair for example was purchased on eBay and was all beat up and worn. I painted the frame myself and then had the upholstery re-done professionally. My X benches were also pretty beat up when I found them at the Brimfield antiques show and I had them reupholstered in a textured cotton velvet fabric. I definitely put a lot of heart into finding the perfect pieces and making every piece special.
What was one of the biggest challenges you faced in furnishing your Small Cool home? The biggest challenge was not being able to really do some of the things I would have liked to since I rent! My apartment is extremely boxy and I would have loved to install new baseboards and moldings to give the space a bit more architecture but it wouldn't have been a practical thing to do in a rental. So instead I tried to personalize my apartment as much as possible by painting the walls and adding lots of texture to give the space more character, and hanging lots of artwork, mirrors, etc to focus the eye on other elements which makes the lack of architecture less noticeable.
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Check out all the entries on our contest page.
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Adorable!
bravo and beautiful.
pure, simple, very beautiful and nice design...Congrats!
wish you very wonderful times in this flat :)
LOVELY! Elegant, beautifully styled, grown-up.
Totally magazine worthy.
And *I* say that as a compliment!
Very Pretty - Lots of Personality!
It feels like a much larger home than 650 Square Feet...
...you should be proud of yourself and your resourcefullness!
This has got to be my favourite so far. Beautiful styled and elegant.
This looks like the perfect gray. Please can you share the color?
Could you share the gray wall color?
Wow - really nicely done. It's comfy and well-designed at the same time, which isn't always the easiest thing to do. I love your couch - where did you get it?
FAVORITE! This looks like it belongs in Elle Decor. Best of luck!
Yes, I'm very interested in this paint color as well...
I love this one. :)
Really lovely!
Beautiful, everything is so well put together! Everything is something you put heart and soul into and shows - exquisite. Again, I have another favorite. This one definitely comes in first!
perfection
I love your elephant! Where did you get it?
My first thumbs up of the contest!
Rather than ask the name of the paint color, could you share your process for choosing it? Gray can be so hard--how did you make sure that it wouldn't make the space look dark?
Beautiful! The pink lamps are amazing and that is the perfect grey. Another request for the paint color!
One of the best so far. Love the color scheme.
GORGEOUS! So well edited, not too much and not too little.
I love the bedroom. Omg!!! Two thumbs up.
i'm a fan too
love the colors here
Perfect. Everything about it. But not "catalog" perfect. This looks like a very personal space. Really, really well done.
Beautiful!
I love that coffee table can someone tell me the style, Hollywood Regency Style??
Anyone.
I love the coffe table too. Where did you get it?
Love the living room. Where did you find the couch? It's perfect.
@LoriSF--
If you're looking on eBay, "Hollywood Regency" would be your safest bet for finding a table like this.
Otherwise, look for "Brass and Glass" and "LaBarge" - the name of a famous manufacturer of these types of table.
www.labargeinc.com
LOVE IT!! Where did you find those beautiful bird pillows on sofa?
So beautifully done, thank you for sharing it with us. Inspires me to up my search efforts on ebay and Craigslist.
where have i seen this before? looks very familiar....
i like your place. like the blue and white vase collection you have to add interest in the rooms. i'm curious to know what is hidden under that covered cabinet under the TV tho. does it have to be covered in such a way?
Love the use of stools in front of the TV stand and opposite the sofa - prevents the composition from feeling too focused on the TV and lends a really conversational feel, while still allowing a clear line of sight to the TV. Wish my living room was wide enough to pull this off! I bet it's a great space to entertain in.
I absolutely LOVE this, and also think I recognize it from somewhere . . . were you featured in any blogs?
Nicole is one of my favourite bloggers! She has such great style - as evidenced in her home. Love it all...and the headboard *drool*
Stunning job -- no boxiness here!
Will someone please share the name of Nicoles blog?? Please?
very luxurious!!! Love it
I think I have that sofa! That's funny. I looked at the first picture and thought, "I could live here!" I wonder if that's why.
I would also love to get the blog name.
I love how the dining chairs and the pillows on the sofa coordinate! Nice touch. Everything here is really really well done.
Yay! So great!! :) :)
Definitely my favorite so far. Her blog is called So Haute!
http://sohaute.typepad.com/
i love the coziness of this place! the gray walls are surprisingly warm and i love the small bursts of bright color scattered throughout the place (the red lamps, pink flowers, light blue pillows). a definite favorite!
I love this space. Well done. But, did I really count at least eight fresh flower arrangements in five photos? That's some serious styling!
I like the attention to detail. Thumbs up!
bepsf- "LaBarge" thanks interesting and never heard of them.
You rock!
Lovely. Obviously well edited, but still comfortable and sexy. Great job!
Love, love, love!
I'm thinking of moving to Hamilton Heights soon...how do you like it up there?
Lovely home, what size is your dining table, and where did it come from. I'm looking for a small one.
Hi Everyone! Thank you so much for all of your comments! I really appreciate all of your kind words and positive feedback! Below are answers to some of your questions. Thanks for the support! Xo Nicole
PAINT COLOR: Forde Abbey from Ralph Lauren Paints…I LOVE this gray!
enmnm – to answered your question about my process of choosing it….
I knew I wanted a soothing light gray color that also had some warmth to it so this narrowed down the choices of gray because it eliminated all of the “cool” feeling gray options. I actually saw this gray color in a room featured in Domino magazine right around the time I moved into my apartment and I saved the tear sheet because I loved it so much. Coincidentally around the same time I went to visit a friend of a friend who had a lovely gray on her walls and when I asked her the color it was also Forde Abbey! So after seeing it in the magazine and loving it, and then seeing it in person and loving it even more, that sealed the deal for me!
LAMPS: They’re the “Genie” lamp from Robert Abbey in Plum purchased from Lamp’s Plus online!
SOFA: It’s the LUC sleeper sofa from Mitchell Gold Bob Williams
christinalouise – I found the elephant at the Hell’s Kitchen flea market here in New York. It’s one of my favorite flea market finds!
Coffee table: An ebay find! As bepsf suggested, I used the “brass and glass” keywords in a many of my searches. It took me a couple of months to finally find a table that I loved at a price I could swallow. Luckily I found this one and the good thing is that it happened to be located in New York so I saved a lot on the shipping!
Pillows – My upholsterer whipped up those pillows for me using a fabric I picked out called “Eleria” from Robert Allen. The welting is in a solid teal blue linen from Kravet which is the same blue linen used to make the larger pillows that you see.
Hiwelder – underneath that slipcover is a bunch of stuff that should remain out of sight;) There’s actually an Ikea expedit bookcase under the slipcover and I store a variety of random things in there… magazines, books, my scanner, my wireless modem, other random electronics, etc.
As3087 – I’ve been in the Harlem & Hamilton heights area for about 7 years. The neighborhood is changing rapidly. Some blocks are nicer than others but overall I like it because it’s more spacious and affordable than living downtown and for me that far outweighs the fact that it may not be the city's trendiest neighborhood. I also like the community feeling that Harlem offers. I know all of my neighbors and I find that people are much friendlier here. Hope this helps!
happyinny – My dining table is around 42 inches in diameter. It’s the Docksta table from Ikea!
Thumbs up, babe.
It shows that you love your living room. Heck, I love your living room! So you got my vote. Something about the bedroom seems off though...the combination of the headboard and the rug?
Amazing apartment design, Nicole! I may be moving to that area from Los Angeles so I appreciate your responses to everyone's questions. :) This gets me so anxious to move and start decorating!
You get my vote! Good luck!
And nary a complaint about the cowhide in the living room! Yay!
Does anyone know the paint brand and color name used in the living room? Sorry if there are any typos. The BlackBerry ad is blocking the type box lol.
Love, the soothing color combination and delicate details. Looks like a peaceful place to relax at the end of the day!
Your main picture totally reminds me of Melissa Warner's place in this month's House Beautiful. This is gorgeous, lady! :)
What brand and paint color did you use for your living room? I think it would look great in my new home!