This Toy Designer’s Small NYC Apartment Is Filled with Playful, Personal Design

published Nov 21, 2025

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About this tour

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Home Type

Apartment

Location

Koreatown, Manhattan, New York

Style

Eclectic

Vintage

Bedrooms

Square feet

646

Sq ft

646

“The style is what I call World Collective: Every corner holds a piece of my past, from antiques passed down by my grandparents to objects I’ve collected on travels, to one-of-a-kind pieces that are imperfect in ways I find beautiful. Nothing matches, and that’s the point — everything here has an emotion tied to it,” begins Jeffrey Men, a toy designer and creator of Fancy Teddy.

Credit: Jeffrey Men

"Much like my brand, I am all about imagination and wonder," Jeffery writes. "I appreciate all types of art and art styles but for something to make it in my home and design style it would have to invoke a lot of familiar emotion such as things I have seen in childhood (lots of vintage pieces from my grandparents home) to just one-of-a-kind things that are imperfect and might not make sense with other things I have, but because I love it."

This 646-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment in Koreatown has been both Jeffery’s home and home studio, where he hand-sews “each Fancy Teddy to fill with three different types of crystals for energy and calm. My home is filled with objects that carry meaning, memory, and imagination.”

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Credit: Jeffrey Men

"I would probably say I love my little Fancy Teddy toy studio because everyday when I work and see it, it reminds me of my whole life and where I am today. It’s something that's always been within me and now that it's come to life I have something that can possibly live with others and be a part of their homes," she writes.

The apartment that he’s rented for two years started out very blank and with no personality. But that meant he could add his own style to the space. Jeffery describes his home’s style with three words: “personal, playful and a little bit daring! I don’t follow any design “rules” because if it’s something you love, I say show it and display it. Someone’s home isn’t just a reflection on their style but ultimately a reflection of their whole life’s journey.”