Lauren’s Southwest-Inspired Union Square Condo

Name: Lauren Rogoff
Location: Union Square/Flatiron/Chelsea; New York City, New York
Size: 750 square feet
Years lived in: 2 years; Owned

Just beyond the bustling Union Square Farmer’s Market, the Flatiron’s shadow, and Chelsea’s world famous 5th Avenue shopping attractions, an attorney by day and fine artist by night strikes the perfect blend between urban and rustic. Born and raised in the beach town of Rockaway in Queens, Lauren decided to make this central neighborhood home—and not just for the obvious reasons already mentioned. The location allows her easy access to her family, from whom she draws significant design influences for her home.

Placed about Lauren’s home are her finely hand-drawn and water-colored prints of animal life. They are without a doubt gorgeous, but they also tell a story of renewal and survival. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, her father’s animal hospital in Rockaway was destroyed. But when it was rebuilt from the ground up, Lauren, who enjoyed drawing since high school, painted dogs and cats to adorn the walls in his new space. Since then, she’s been selling her work via her Etsy shop and at local events and also has acquired private commissions for special projects. Evidence of her talent is in no short supply around her home.

When Lauren is not working as an attorney for a small literary agency, she is curating Southwestern and Southwestern-inspired pieces for her home. Many of them are heirlooms from family complemented by custom pieces that she has had commissioned. An artist and illustrator herself, she understands and appreciates the craftsmanship of fellow artisans and will go out of her way both locally and internationally to get just the right piece from the right person. Lauren worked with an artisan in Turkey to find the perfect rug and pillows for her bedroom, and her radiator cover in the living room was crafted in a design virtually identical to her vintage credenza, thanks to her scouting prowess.

My Style: Bohemian / Southwest / eclectic / Mid-century modern

Inspiration: Partly family history—in many ways my home is a pared-down version of collections that were part of my family when I was growing up (horse and dog—especially Borzoi—figures, travel posters, geodes, shells, blankets, and books, to name a few). I’m also always inspired by my travels, vintage shopping, and blogs and Instagram.

Favorite Element: I love color and pattern, especially in textiles from around the world, so while each room feels true to my aesthetic, they have quite different color schemes. This way I get to use lots of textures, hues, and designs that I love in each space, without it being completely overwhelming.

Biggest Challenge: Finding room for painting and supplies that doesn’t totally take over the apartment. The credenza and coat closet store most of my art supplies, and my “studio” is currently my couch.

What Friends Say: That my home is very “me.”

Biggest Embarrassment: 1. The front closet (I’m lucky enough to have a closet this big in NYC but that means it stores WAY too much jumbled up stuff). No one look in there! 2. I used to hate walking in and seeing the ugly air conditioner and radiator front and center in my living room when I walked into the apartment. But this also led to my biggest indulgence…

Biggest Indulgence: The built-in radiator cover/shelves. Happily, I found a local woodworker who constructed incredible sliding doors to match my vintage credenza. No one can believe they weren’t part of an original matching set!

Proudest DIY: It’s not a true DIY, but I purchased that bar cart so my hefty professional printer (for greeting cards and art prints featuring my watercolors) fits perfectly on the bottom shelf and sewed a cover from fun fabric. This way I have easy access to the printer, which I use a lot, but all you really see is the pretty cart. Also, I’m very fond of the printer’s drawer in my bedroom, which I refashioned from one that my parents had put together as newlyweds (and that had been destroyed in Hurricane Sandy), incorporating shells from their original collection with tiny animals I’ve picked up all over the world when traveling.

Best Advice: Some things are practical to take care of when you’re first moving into a new place, to wait and see what fits into your life and budget as you settle into the space, and let your home evolve naturally—it doesn’t have to be “done” on day 1!

Dream Sources: All of the flea and craft markets, especially far-flung ones around the world.

• Living room: BEHR Desolate—the most terrible name for a paint color I’ve ever heard; I almost didn’t choose it because it sounds so grim.
• Kitchen walls: BEHR Stormy Monday
• Lower kitchen cabinets: Benjamin Moore Black Satin
• Bedroom: BEHR Mystical Sea

• Rug: Anthropologie
• Desk: vintage via Brimfield
• Chair: vintage via Brimfield
• Bar cart: West Elm
• Typewriter: vintage via garage sale
• Lights: Home Depot
• Art: vintage

• Built-in radiator cover/shelves: custom from Hammer Time Studios
• Sofa: West Elm
• Lamps: West Elm
• Coffee table: from the source
• Side tables: from the source
• Bookshelf: Home Decorators collection
• Statues, geodes, etc., on bookshelves: antiques from my parents and grandparents
• Credenza: vintage, previously my great aunt’s
• Rugs: eBay
• Goat hide: Brimfield
• Compass chair: vintage, recovered with Pendleton fabric
• Pillows: West Elm, Etsy, Grand Bazaar Turkey, handmade from fabric from the Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Market (similar by xNasozi)
• Blankets: vintage Pendleton and Beacon mostly “borrowed” from my family
• Antlers above TV: Etsy
• Travel posters: a mix of original vintage and eBay reproductions
• Ceramic skull on table: Beetle & Flor
• Foxes painting: Wandering Laur Fine Art
• Toucan painting: Wandering Laur Fine Art

• Table: from the source
• Chairs: vintage Thonet purchased at Brimfield for $10 a piece!

• Cactus towels: DIY
• Square drawers: DIY
• Wine periodic table: gift from a friend, originally from New Zealand

• Rug: Kaya Kilims
• Bedding: Anthropologie, Pendleton, Kaya Kilims
• Nightstands: West Elm
• Dressers: West Elm
• Curtains: Anthropologie
• Mini globe: vintage via a flea market
• Printer’s drawers: vintage, refashioned
• Lamps: Target
• Coral, shells, crystals, and statues: antique
• Art above bed: Wandering Laur Fine Art
• Bird painting: Wandering Laur Fine Art

• Wallpaper: Scalamandre
• Mason jars: DIY
• Handles: Anthropologie
• Towels: Pendleton
• Hand towels: Anthropologie
• Zebra head hook: Etsy
• Trinket dish: Anthropologie
• Arrows: Cave Creek, AZ

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