This 538-Square-Foot NYC Studio Has a Private Patio — And It Feels like a Secret Garden

published Jan 6, 2026

This 538-Square-Foot NYC Studio Has a Private Patio — And It Feels like a Secret Garden

published Jan 6, 2026

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About this tour

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Home Type

Studio Apartment

Location

Murray Hill, Manhattan, New York

Style

Glam

Modern

Bedrooms

Square feet

538

Sq ft

538

“Design has always been in my DNA,” begins Kate Ruberti, (@kateskindregards on TikTok). “My mom, Mari-Lou Nania, principal at Patdo Light Studio, and my grandparents, Mariann and Robert Durso, the studio’s founders and former principals, have incredible design instincts that shaped my own eye.”

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Credit: Kiritin

"I have always known I wanted to live on my own in New York, and after finishing my master’s at NYU, living with roommates, and landing my dream job, I was ready to take that next step," Kate admits. "I wanted a home that felt polished and bright, a space that could become my personal ‘dream girl’ sanctuary – welcoming quiet, reflective mornings with a London fog latte, yet lively enough for evenings spent hosting friends and celebrating the people I love, marking the beginning of this exciting new chapter in my life."

Patdo Light Studio is a lighting business her grandparents began in 1973, and Kate says her mom shared her expertise in interior and lighting design when designing this 538-square-foot Murray Hill studio apartment Kate’s rented for about a year.

Credit: Kiritin

Her favorite feature of the apartment — and what folks ask about the most — is the private outdoor patio, "an almost mythical luxury in New York City. In true Carrie Bradshaw fashion, I climb out through the window to reach it, but once outside, it feels worlds away from Manhattan. I’ve layered the space with greenery and slender trees to create a sense of serenity and escape, complemented by sun chairs and petite café tables perfect for morning coffee or late-afternoon lounging. It’s become a natural extension of my living space and one of the apartment’s most coveted features — a hidden retreat for summer brunches, evening cocktails, and countless memories shared with friends and family."

“She helped me create a space that feels bright, warm, open, clean, and cozy — exactly what I envisioned,” Kate writes. But it’s not just her mom’s side that’s full of design; Kate’s dad Anthony Ruberti is the owner of the custom painting firm Signature Paint and Paper and installed the grass-cloth peel-and-stick wallpaper in the studio. “With his incredible attention to detail and perfect sense of balance and layout, he helped give my studio dimension and create a visual separation between areas.”

Credit: Kiritin

"I was told I shouldn’t get a 90-inch couch — that it was too large and needed to be smaller in scale. But I went with my gut, and I’m so glad I did. It’s become the heart of the apartment: cozy enough for five friends to lounge across on Friday nights with aperol spritzes in hand, and perfect for out-of-town guests to sleep comfortably. Sometimes breaking the 'rules' just makes the space feel right," Kate admits.

Kate recalled how the small space looked before moving in (and getting help from talented family and friends): It was a “quietly impressive unfinished jewel — timeless, historic, elegant, with understated grandeur.” But now that she’s put her stamp on the space? She describes it as a light-filled, serene, chic, welcoming, bright, inviting, clean” home.

Credit: Kiritin

Kate says she also worked closely with interior designer Debbie Konner on the space, as well. "Debbie was an incredible sounding board — helping me balance styles, palettes, and proportions, and occasionally reining me in when my enthusiasm for a blank canvas got the best of me." And all the lighting from Patdo Light Studio was installed by Paul Ball Electric.

“I love blending high and low,” she admits. “You’ll find a designer bar table and a slightly-too-expensive New York needlepoint pillow paired with asymmetrical mirrors from The Home Depot and a coffee table from Wayfair. It’s proof that great style isn’t about the price tag; it’s about mixing personality and polish in a way that feels entirely your own.”