A 300-Square-Foot NYC Studio Apartment Is Like a Glam Little Hotel Room

Name: Nicollette Starnella
Location: Upper East Side, NYC
Type of home: Studio Apartment
Size: 300ish square feet
Years lived in: 1 year, renting

Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: When I first moved to NYC from Boston, I knew I had to downsize from a one-bedroom to a studio to make it work. So, I came to the city with hope and lined up about 15 apartments to view all on one Sunday afternoon and took the bus to Manhattan to apartment hunt. This Upper East Side gem was the FIRST apartment I looked at. The exposed brick spoke to me, and I knew that since it was newly renovated and had a second closet (rare find!) I had to have it. I’ve honestly never been more comfortable in such a small living space before, but I wanted to be sure I made it homey so that I most of all, I can enjoy my time in my cute lil’ apartment.

Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Eclectic glam with rock and roll flair.

What is your favorite room and why? Well, since it is a studio and only one room, I will chose one area instead! For me, I really love my cabinet area in my “living room” with the gallery wall collage on top of my mirrored cabinet. This allowed me to have a space to show my personality and represent everything about me. The photos I chose are a perfect depiction of who I am and my type of style overall.

The mirrored cabinet itself is super eye catching (Pier 1 find) and I wanted to express through my gallery wall that I love plants (and that green is my favorite color) by having the largest photo be the mirrored succulent. The abstract piece is perfect to add a splash of color and softens things up, and my absolute favorite photo is the black photo of the money lips. To me it shows that women can have it all and don’t ever have to choose between being strong, independent, and successful or chic, glam, and girly.

What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? I actually just bought the gold plant pot for my monstera on H&M home. They have such cute and affordable stuff! I also love the statement emerald green chair that I got from Wayfair. I also recently found (pre quarantine) a photo of a custom New Yorker cover with a woman in chic sunglasses holding up the “rock on” hand gesture. I can’t link it because I literally bought it on the street across from Central Park; it’s currently hanging in between my windows.

Any advice for creating a home you love? I feel that I really made the most of this small space, choosing specific furniture for ample space. Storage for me is so important to loving where I live, so I need all of my storage to be covered up so that everything is packed away nicely and you can’t see any clutter or anything that may not be aesthetically pleasing. For me personally, that is exactly what was key for me in creating a home that I love. Searching for the perfect pieces that not only stored everything I needed; but looked inviting and went with my own personal vibe.

This submission’s responses were edited for length and clarity.