An Interior Decorator Completely Transformed Her 100-Year-Old Queens Rental Without Moving a Single Wall

When she and her partner, Joshua O’Reilly, moved into the roughly 700-square-foot rental, it was the light that caught their attention.

“When we first toured this apartment six years ago, it was a late afternoon in July and we were immediately drawn to the fabulous warm natural light in both the bedroom and the living room that time of day,” she writes.

“We also fell in love with the original parquet floors and picture-frame molding throughout. I also loved the openness of the living room and kitchen area, as I love to entertain guests,” Madeline continues. “Most pre-war apartments of this style have a quite small closed-in kitchen, which makes it hard to mingle with guests when having a dinner party. You can actually tell in some places that our apartment used to be that way and someone removed the wall at some point in time in the past 100 years since it was built.”

Madeline says the apartment was beautiful “since the beginning” but explains that it needed TLC to really make it shine. “The majority of upgrades I have made have been restorations more than anything,” she writes.

Madeline’s done a phenomenal amount of work, including painting the living room, painting the kitchen cabinets, painting the bathroom, repairing plaster in the bedroom (and painting it), replacing all the ceiling lights, adding shelving in the hallway closet, restoring brass sconces in the living room, IKEA hacking built-in-style cabinets and a dresser for the entryway, and building a built-in-style banquette storage bench and matching radiator cover in the dining area (to name only a few).

“My rule when it comes to ‘rental-friendly upgrades’ is ‘if it can be reversed when you move out — even if it takes a little bit of work to do so — it’s rental-friendly.’ The only thing on that list I don’t consider rental-friendly is painting the bathroom and kitchen cabinets, which we got permission from our landlord to do,” Madeline admits.

Madeline says she’s poured her “heart and soul into every corner of this space over the past six years.” And because of all that work, she’s been able to do her favorite thing in a space she loves: host people for dinner parties. “[W]hen I decorated for my holiday dinner party this past December, I felt like the apartment had really reached its peak. More recently, decorating for my colorful cake-themed birthday party a few weeks ago brought me so much joy!”

• Norsborg Sofa — IKEA
• Pointe – Red/Blue Rug — Nordic Knots
• Grifo Coffee Table in Color Natural — Lulu and Georgia 
• Trivoli Upholstered Ottoman/Stool, Camel, Velvet — Availiable from Cozy Home
• Whipstitch Shade — Target, Threshold Designed with Studio McGee
• Classic Cotton Velvet Pillow Cover, Dark Sandalwood — West Elm
• Agnes Linen Quilt (Twin) — Garnet Hill

• Velvet Disc Pillows in Color Canyon Blue — Lulu and Georgia 
• The Dreamers Sketch Print — Desenio 
• Custom Green Striped Cotton and Linen Cushions — Etsy
• Art — Thrifted at Housing Works and Others 

• Katherine Cordless Table Lamp — Pooky
• Chambray Blue Bobbin Salt or Pepper Mill — Addison Ross

• Agnes Linen Quilt (Queen)— Garnet Hill
• Arini Sand Wash 3-Drawer Nightstand with Dual USB Ports — The Home Depot
• 2 Premium Down Medium Warmth Comforter, White, Full/Queen — The Company Store
• Wooden Bed Frame — The Home Depot
• Oak Wood Trim Around Bed — The Home Depot
• Brass Light — The Home Depot (Spray-Painted Red)
• Ceiling Medallion — The Home Depot

This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
Share your style: House Tour & House Call Submission Form