This Family of Four Makes 550 Square Feet Work Beautifully in a Manhattan Rental

When artist Emily Tarleton and set designer and art director Scott Davis were on the search for an apartment to rent, they had a toddler, two senior dogs (in need of a yard), and specific things they were looking for. They needed an apartment with two bedrooms, a private outdoor space, and to be near a good public school. And they needed to be able to afford it on their “modest artists’ budget.”

This 550-square-foot apartment on the Upper West Side was the “ONLY listing that fit these parameters, and we jumped on it before they had even finished cleaning it up. It is a strange apartment with a quirky layout (it’s a very old, small walkup building),” Emily describes of the home they moved into in March 2023.

“The funny thing was that the outdoor space is actually larger than the apartment itself; but for our growing family that heavily relies on needing to be outside every single day, I knew I could transform it into essentially another living space,” she continues.

“Because it’s a first-floor walk up, I loved that it wasn’t ground level (to avoid some city pests), but it wasn’t also a high floor — so it makes living with kids easier and safer,” she writes.

Emily describes the apartment, located in a 150-year-old building, as “fairly unremarkable” when they moved in, featuring “builder-grade finishes, some landlord specials, white walls, and some dated appliances.” But she liked the layout and knew she could “work with the neutrality of it and make it special” with renter-friendly ideas.

Emily has had many hats over the years, from printmaker and artist to costume and set designer for theatre to mom of 6-year-old Ginny and 2-year-old Ruby to sharing sneak peeks of her family’s life on TikTok as @mom.w.the.shark.tattoo.

After some wall paint, some smart layout choices, lots of added smart storage, and a ton of personal touches, Emily says their home now “feels like every corner has been touched and cared for; every space is thoughtfully arranged, treated, decorated, and painted. Although we have a lot of decor, everything has a specific spot; every item has its place.”

“The apartment now has a somewhat quiet, cottage-y ‘Secret Garden’ feel to it, where we leaned into the areas of cozy darks, and played into the areas of light with whimsy and color. I love antiques, photographs, art, and old family artifacts, so every room has a series of assemblages and gallery walls that feel deeply personal to us,” Emily continues.

“As our family has changed and we had a second baby, we have found the apartment to be wonderfully adaptable, and we have loved living in this small, cozy space together.” 

This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
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