Chyelle’s called this 900ish-square-foot home in Bushwick (which she shares with roommate, Euri, and two cats, Martin and Qadir) for four years now, and boy has it changed a lot. From the first moment she walked in, eyes watering, “because it reeked of rotting cat piss, frat-house boys, trash, and food so moldy it burned your eyes.” To her first Apartment Therapy tour, where we saw how she impressively scours Facebook Marketplace to find killer secondhand gems. To today, where the home has continued to evolve as finds come and go and Chyelle updates different spots in the space.

“I renovated several spaces in my apartment. Starting with the bathroom I added a new vanity, temporary sticky tiles, and a new paint job. In the shower room (it’s separate from the toilet) I pulled out the big plastic shower coffin and retiled the entire room and added a little wall, making a makeshift bathtub,” she explains.

“And one of the other most noticeable renovations was removing the third bedroom and turning it into a dining room, as well as the glass brick block room dividers I’ve added to the lofts! I’ve done smaller projects here and there, but those are the four biggest. Everything I’ve done was on a budget, and I try my best to buy things for cheap on Facebook Marketplace. I was even able to find glass brick blocks for free.” 

While there’s no doubt in my mind Chyelle’s home is incredibly cool, don’t call it trendy. “I want people to stop contributing to this idea of a trendy space,” she says in her video tour. “Do something that is true to yourself, and that will last you essentially a lifetime.”

• Everything is from Facebook Marketplace

Thanks, Chyelle!

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

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