A New Yorker’s Done “Every Renter DIY Project” in This 450-Square-Foot Apartment
Adrienne BreauxHouse Tour Director
Adrienne BreauxHouse Tour Director
For more than 10 years, I've led Apartment Therapy's real home content, producing thousands of house tours from around the world. Currently, I live in my maximalist dream home in New Orleans, Louisiana, with my partner, a perfect dog, and a cute cat.
published Sep 10, 2024

A New Yorker’s Done “Every Renter DIY Project” in This 450-Square-Foot Apartment

Adrienne BreauxHouse Tour Director
Adrienne BreauxHouse Tour Director
For more than 10 years, I've led Apartment Therapy's real home content, producing thousands of house tours from around the world. Currently, I live in my maximalist dream home in New Orleans, Louisiana, with my partner, a perfect dog, and a cute cat.
published Sep 10, 2024
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Bedrooms
Square feet

450

Sq ft

450

“I prefer to wear more moody tones, secondhand, and vintage. My apartment is the same!” begins Jillian Marie Sayegh, who lived in this 450-square-foot apartment on the Upper East Side for three years. She says the space is furnished with 98% secondhand finds. “I love that all the items in my apartment have had a life before me, and I am continuing that life. I am a born and raised New Yorker, and I work in commercials and television.”

"I love using vintage trunks in the space; they give me so much storage and function. I have this setup under my Samsung Frame TV. I love the gallery wall around the TV of paintings I have thrifted and family photos," Jillian describes.

Jillian has added a lot of personalization to her home; she thinks she’s “done every renter DIY project available in the apartment. My kitchen has peel-and-stick tile, peel-and-stick backsplash, contact paper on cabinets, fresh pain, new (vintage) lighting. I’ve done it all!” she writes.

The paint in the bedroom is a collaboration with LICK "Green18. The most color I have ever used in a space, but I love the contrast with the brass and white accents. Everything expect the bedding is secondhand. The floor lamp is from a film set I worked on!" Jillian writes.

Jillian suggest that you should always shop secondhand. “You can be on a budget and find the most beautiful, well-made items for cheap. Facebook Marketplace, flea markets, estate sales, and local Goodwills are amazing!”

Thanks, Jillian!

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

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