Maya's Overwhelmingly personal Space
Name: Maya Martin-Udry
Size: 249 square feet
Home type: Apartment
Location: New York, NY
What you're looking at:
The south-facing windows make my tiny studio technicolor bright on a sunny day. (Image credit: Maya Martin-Udry)The south-facing windows make my tiny studio technicolor bright on a sunny day.
This dresser was originally a dark brown, which was just too heavy and dark for the room. I painted it light and bright, which could basically be the motto for my decorating style. All the color makes the small room feel bigger and more alive.
Years lived in: 1 year, rented
Household: It's just me and some unwelcome mice.
Have any design professionals worked on this space? No
Do you currently live in your Small/Cool space full-time? Yes
Describe your space:
I live inside a scrapbook. I started hanging anything and everything on my walls in college, and it just got out of hand! My tiny studio in Manhattan's Lower East Side just makes me smile. The bright colors on a sun-drenched afternoon, the faces of my friends, the keepsakes from adventures around the world, all of them just feel so much like me. After years of living with roommates, I was so ready to have a space that was all my own (no offense to my lovely ex-roommates).
Did you DIY anything in your space? And, if so, what's your favorite DIY?
I painted the dresser! I've done a lot of utilitarian DIY and I have a lot of my own crafts hanging on the walls, but the dresser was a real triumph. I spent days combing through antique stores all over Brooklyn looking for one with interesting bones. When I found this one with a curved face and spiral details, I thought, "Oh, I can make this funhouse mirror-y in a great way."
How do you make your small space work for you and feel bigger than it really is?
Don't look under my bed! Everything from Christmas ornaments (Would it shock you to hear that I have an enormous collection of Christmas decor? Probably not.) to crafting supplies to my air conditioner is under there. All it took were a few 15-inch bed risers and a cheap wire frame inherited from the previous tenant to give me enough space to hide every unpretty item I own.
How does your home reflect you?
Everything I care about is reflected on my walls. I have a photo from 1977 of my mom as a young woman on a family trip to China. I have a handmade puppet from my six months studying in New Delhi. I have posters from protests I've helped organize, art made by talented friends, notes I passed to my best friend during high school English, a postcard from the bar where I kissed my girlfriend for the first time.