A New York City Apartment

Home should be a place to relax and renew. Hopefully where you can enjoy quiet and calm after a long day. When you can’t finish at the office or if you’re a student, home has to be an office. The place we live in isn’t just a shelter anymore. It’s our workspace, our kitchen, and our oasis. Sometimes, it has to be able to accommodate guests. The challenge of an NYC apartment is how do you fit all of these things into a relatively small space.

On my recent visit to Manhattan, I stayed with my younger sister. I’m featuring her apartment because she has a great eye for design and decor. She and her roommate make excellent use of a small space in NYC. My sister works in real estate, which leaves her spending long hours at the office, and often she has to take work home. For her, it’s important that home be a place of relaxation and also a space where she can work.

Neutral & Open

Their two bedroom apartment in East Village is large by NYC standards, but still small for most people. It’s the picture of form and function, holding the necessities with style. The walnut colored hardwood floors and white walls offer a nice blank canvas to add furniture and decor. The neutral colors of their things help the apartment seem larger. The oversized standup mirror adds light and opens up the room. Its black frame matches the two tables and kitchen cabinets. The area rugs help create a sense of different rooms within the space. The grey and white color scheme flawlessly ties it all together.

Living Space

Everything in this room serves multiple purposes. The couch folds down into a bed for overnight guests. The coffee table holds magazines and remotes, and is also the dining table because there’s no spot for a full sized table. It’s a desk when the girls want to do some work while watching TV. It holds all the drinks when they have company. This Ikean coffee table accomplishes all these tasks while being aesthetically pleasing to look at. Its modern, light weight design make it easy to move when necessary.

Kitchen Window

Lucky for my sister her apartment faces south west giving her a great deal of light. Kitchen windows that have a southern exposure are an excellent place to grow culinary herbs. She keeps rosemary and basil. There’s space for a few more plants outside on the window sill. The view is quite beautiful, with quintessential NY bricks and fire escape, overlooking the building’s courtyard with tall trees and ivy growing over the walls.

Bedroom

She went with a classic black and white theme in the bedroom. You might recognize the picture from my post on fixing up an old poster. She likes these daffodils by George Auriol so much that she bought it again! I love the black velvet pillows on the bed. Velvet adds a bit of elegance and warmth to any room. You can see that there isn’t much space between the bed and walls. White was a wise choice for comforter and curtains because it makes the room appear larger and cleaner.

Bed Side Table

This table is functional and pretty. It’s a simple place to charge the phone or have a book. Besides the natural light flowing in the window, the lamp on this table is the only light source in the room. The only decoration is an item of purpose, a pretty marble coaster with modern gold embellishment. Read more about my ideas and tips on decorating side tables in your home.

Desk & Display

This is where my sister is able to get a little more personal and creative with her space. These floating shelves make it easy for her to switch up decor and pictures. She keeps it simple and elegant with just a few of her favorite things.

Memento Mori

This chrome skull is actually a piggy bank. Skulls in art serve as a reflection on morality, or a representation of memento mori (remember death). In home decor, items like this are good reminders to pause, think about the value of life and its fleeing nature.

Books

As far back as I can remember, my sister has loved to read. While I doubt she has time for leisure reading, looking at the books probably gives her a sense of comfort. These bighorn sheep bookends are beautiful. I found them on clearance at Target for around $7. I liked them so much that I bought two sets, one for myself and one for my sister. I keep mine on my fireplace mantel.

Notes on a NYC Apt.

No matter how small your living quarters, it’s important to make it practical, pretty, and personal. This can be achieved by choosing furniture and decor in neutral colors and using natural light as much as possible. I think my sister and her roommate have done an excellent job creating harmony in their home. It’s obvious we are sisters with our similar tastes in decoration and our shared cherished possessions.

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