The Inside Out: Amy's Micro Palace in Detail!

Name: Amy
Location: Village
Apartment Size: 350 sqft.
Favorite: "I think my favorite element is the mix of textures and materials - that, and living my childhood dream of a clawfoot tub."

Slideshow

Amy looked great when she greeted me at the door of her apartment. I took it to be the glow of accomplishment. Apartment Therapy first exposed Amy’s Micro Palace to its readers in late January 2005 and listed all of her hard won resources....

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See all pics at once!

Since then, Amy has been scouting and cutting, hemming, and pounding—to reach what is truly a manifestation of the original micro palace vision.

As Amy says in her own words, “I feel like a crazy person when I explain all that I have done to you. I now understand why apartment therapy means so much to me”.

We stand on the back of her custom built convertible couch to examine the little pockets she has sewn into the hem to house each of the clips that attach to the rings that hang from the rods to hold up her raw silk yellow/red thread—warped and woofed respectively—orange-appearing floor to ceiling curtains.

We talk about the stencil clearing house she found online where she was able to buy out-of-production vintage Ralph Lauren stencils that might be used to accent the walls in her “sleeping cupboard” otherwise known as her bedroom. These are just a few examples of the level of detail that Amy has achieved over the past 9 months to make her apartment her home.

“I was never a neat person”, admits Amy. But now that the apartment is all hers—full of objects and arrangements that were all the result of her personal style decisions—she says she feels inspired to maintain order.

When Amy first met with her architects, the Thread Collective, they asked her to imagine the kind of life she wanted to live in this apartment. Now, Amy says, “it feels possible in a way that with the chaos it never did.”

Because she doesn’t want to succumb to the “just for now” approach to apartment building, there have been interminable periods of time where things just weren’t the way Amy wanted them to be. In facing the challenges head on, she has been forced to follow through with each excruciating detail. Having a deadline, such as this column, incited her to do “one of these hemorrhages” wherein she will work uninterrupted for a couple of hours and finally “feel like I am making progress.”

Near the final lap, Amy has some questions for her attentive and opinionated audience:
1. What to do with the storage space over the bar? (some of Amy’s ideas include clustering different colored glass; mounting a series of stop animation—photographs of a series; fresh flowers
2. How to further define the bedroom to reduce the overwhelming yellow? (Amy might put a white curtain over the existing gold one; do some stenciling along the edge of the walls; put up shelves/catwals just below the ceiling on which the cat can walk
3. How to eliminate the echo in the bedroom?
4. What to do about lighting in the living room?

In all, it is unquestionably impressive.

Sources:
Piscopo Iron Works: Metal Shelves in kitchen (Brooklyn)
Twenty Gauge: Pantry--1930’s Lawyer Shelves restored
ISS Shelving: Brackets for bookshelves
Michael Anchin Glass (Elizabeth St): Pendant Lamp over dining table
SchoolHouseElectric Ceiling light fixture in kitchen--This company restores and stocks school related stuff
Carlyle Sofas They will custom size and upholster any couch and are known for their convertibles.

To see the initial phases in the makeover and to get a better sense of the layout of the apartment, checkout:
House Tour: Mott Street Micro Palace Before
House Tour: Mott Street 1Br Palace
House Tour: Mott Street Micro Palace Week #2
House Tour: Mott Street Micro Palace Week #3
The Inside Out: Mott Street Micro Palace Week...Whatever
Guest Post: How (Not) To Build a Copper Table by MicroPalace Amy #3

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Originally Posted on September 13th, 2005

Comments (11)

Why on earth would someone live in a 350 square ft apartment?

The post is called "Amy's Micro Palace in Detail!", but I think we're getting too much detail to really appreciate the apartment overall. Perhaps "Amy's Micro Palace: the Big Picture!" would offer a better view. It's hard to ignore the 'stuff' when that's the focal point of the shot...

I know it's tempting folks, but please don't feed the trolls.

Amy's kitchen looks more useable than mine. I think that I need to get off my behind and do something about the kitchen.

I previously lived in an apartment around this size, and as a "stuff person" it was a true challenge. Finding ingenious places to stash stuff was a huge part of the game, and I can see that Amy has come up with quite a few of them. She has also used some lovely colors and fabrics.

That being said, the apartment does have a bit of a cluttered/busy appearance. In a place of this size, sometimes grouping a lot of small objects/pictures, etc. can backfire: You may want to combine a bunch of different images into one large frame, for example, and throwing stuff in bins will also be a huge help. I also second the notion of covering as much of your storage as possible, and using doors rather than curtains.

In my old 350-s.f. studio I divided the room with three basic bookshelves but mounted sliding wood doors on the front and mirrors on the back. In a space of that size, even the backs of books were too much visual clutter. The cat door area is a great example of the spacious feeling you could attain.

Hey Edina-I live in a space smaller than Amy:)

My studio is 335 sq ft in downtown DC and I love it!!!!

Moving into my new smaller place has been the best thing for me. I have had to really evaluate what is important to me, what I need to have and how I want to decorate my space. This past weekend, I made $40 on things that I never used and was stored for almost 2 years. I love living in a studio, I love being able to walk to everything-work, tons of food places, park, coffee shops, cleaners, store. Friends stop by more often for a short chat, glass of water or to just say hello. I only use my car 3 times a week. It is great!

amy -- i really like those metal shelves across the window in your kitchen, and have been looking to do the same thing. where did you get them, and how did you attach them?

thanks.

i applaud amy for her handmade furniture and her ability to create a living space that she loves.

...that being said, this place is what i see in bad dreams. i am so anal and to see all that "storage" exposed would drive me crazy! i'm also not a 'fabric person' and have never been a fan of curtain panels, beaded curtains, throws, etc to cover up, separate, or liven up a room. its a weird personal thing, i just think that over-using fabric in a room makes it look messy and stuffy, like too many prom queens piled in a limo.

i also live in a teeny tiny apartment. i used to be a 'stuff person' too, but when i moved in, i cleansed HEAVILY. i know you love your books, but do you really need to hang onto all of them? go through all your kitchen stuff and decide what you really need...those shelves next to your stove look like they'd comfortably fit everything you'd ever want to cook with, spice rack and utensils included. i mean, how often do you really use those teapots and egg cups and shot glasses?

i think lots of people living in a small space are sometimes overcome with desire to make every available flat surface and blank wall space "useful". but in the end, the apartment ends up looking cluttered and messy. i mean, its great that Amy has designated a space to keeping her receipts tacked up......but maybe it'd look a little nicer if she kept those receipts in a file on her bookshelf and left that little nook open and clean?

i'd love to see this space after a very thorough cleansing...

ok did I miss something? no photo of the esteemed clawfoot?

Who would live in 350 sf? Lots of people, including me. Especially given the location of this apartment.

love the idea of the sticky dealies for the fridge! i have a conserve too and would love to put a couple photos up. thanks for sharing!