So Haute's Profile

Thank you all for your great comments! Really appreciate all the positive feedback! Here are a few answers to your questions & comments:

@pier723 @lrobgreene - the paint is Forde Abbey by Ralph Lauren Paints

For everyone who commented about the before & after photos - I actually agree with you that before & after photos can be misleading! I never actually had the idea of posting a before and after when these photos were taken though! The before photo was from when I was looking at apartments so it was taken before I even decided I wanted to live there - and it was the only before photo I had to work with! And as @downtowncook noticed, the before and after shots were taken from virtually the exact same spot & angle. My living room is smaller than it appears in the photo and there's really only one spot where you can stand to get a full view of the living room setup. The reason the after photo shows a bit more is because the person who took that photo for me had a much nicer camera with a wide angle lens so it was able to capture more of the room, hence the view of the second window. And obviously - the before photo was taken at night while the after was during the daytime. These were the best two photos I had to work with though and they definitely show two extremes!

@urbancricket - The lamps are by Robert Abbey from Lamps Plus online. And they definitely do not look like they came from walmart as one commenter suggested! The shades are silk, the base socket and finials are brass...definitely have a more refined look especially when you see them in person!

@Feng Shui At Work @slipperybrain77 - I rent so there isn't a ton I wanted to invest in really transforming the architecture of the space. I relied on textures, colors & interesting furnishings to give the space a feeling of warmth & style. Had I chosen really bad furniture and didn't have the layers to give the space more depth, it probably wouldn't have felt like much of a change! and @@Feng Shui At Work - everyone is certainly entitled to their own opinion! I respect different points of view and don't expect everyone to share my same taste or aesthetic.

@Snowdin - i tend to mostly buy flowers in the spring/summer although i do buy them year round. Mostly I get them from the corner bodegas and arrange them myself. These photos were taken for me in the summer of 09 and I definitely brought in flowers to help dress the space up a bit! Under normal circumstances i usually only have one arrangement on my coffee table and maybe one on my dining table.

@sherychery AMEN!

@greatkate - Not hypocritical at all! I think it's a matter of preference! I personally like the look but I know that a lot of people wouldn't exactly see it as PC!

@klt14 - I have no idea what the ceiling color is! It's the color that was on the walls when I moved in. I didn't want to painting the ceiling because I felt it was a big committment and necessary expense for a rental. Sorry I can't help you identify the paint color! I actually asked my lanlord if he knew and he didn't. I'm willing to bet it's some obscure paint brand that came from a local hardware store in my neighborhood.

Hi Again!

@trish1980 I actually use lemons quite frequently! Especially in the summer. I always like to have fresh lemonade around & that bowl is about enough to make 2 pitchers of lemonade which would last around 2 weeks in my place.

@HB - re: the nudie pics. it's funny bc i forget they're there but it's always a hoot when repairmen come by and ogle over them!

Thanks again to everyone for all of your positive and encouraging comments!!

Hi Everyone! Thank you so much for all of your comments! I really appreciate all of your kind words and positive feedback! Below are answers to some of your questions. Thanks for the support! Xo Nicole

PAINT COLOR: Forde Abbey from Ralph Lauren Paints…I LOVE this gray!
enmnm – to answered your question about my process of choosing it….

I knew I wanted a soothing light gray color that also had some warmth to it so this narrowed down the choices of gray because it eliminated all of the “cool” feeling gray options. I actually saw this gray color in a room featured in Domino magazine right around the time I moved into my apartment and I saved the tear sheet because I loved it so much. Coincidentally around the same time I went to visit a friend of a friend who had a lovely gray on her walls and when I asked her the color it was also Forde Abbey! So after seeing it in the magazine and loving it, and then seeing it in person and loving it even more, that sealed the deal for me!

LAMPS: They’re the “Genie” lamp from Robert Abbey in Plum purchased from Lamp’s Plus online!

SOFA: It’s the LUC sleeper sofa from Mitchell Gold Bob Williams

christinalouise – I found the elephant at the Hell’s Kitchen flea market here in New York. It’s one of my favorite flea market finds!

Coffee table: An ebay find! As bepsf suggested, I used the “brass and glass” keywords in a many of my searches. It took me a couple of months to finally find a table that I loved at a price I could swallow. Luckily I found this one and the good thing is that it happened to be located in New York so I saved a lot on the shipping!

Pillows – My upholsterer whipped up those pillows for me using a fabric I picked out called “Eleria” from Robert Allen. The welting is in a solid teal blue linen from Kravet which is the same blue linen used to make the larger pillows that you see.

Hiwelder – underneath that slipcover is a bunch of stuff that should remain out of sight;) There’s actually an Ikea expedit bookcase under the slipcover and I store a variety of random things in there… magazines, books, my scanner, my wireless modem, other random electronics, etc.

As3087 – I’ve been in the Harlem & Hamilton heights area for about 7 years. The neighborhood is changing rapidly. Some blocks are nicer than others but overall I like it because it’s more spacious and affordable than living downtown and for me that far outweighs the fact that it may not be the city's trendiest neighborhood. I also like the community feeling that Harlem offers. I know all of my neighbors and I find that people are much friendlier here. Hope this helps!

happyinny – My dining table is around 42 inches in diameter. It’s the Docksta table from Ikea!

I actually don't mind the current fixture...it works. But agree that if you you can, just change the fixture to something you love and save the old one so you can replace it when you move out.

I've always loved that top photo from Domino. So sad the mag has folded. *tear*

Get it! An apartment above me had a pipe burst which flooded ridiculous amounts of water into my bedroom which ruined my very expensive mattress, laptop and just about everything else in the room. I did not have renters insurance. Luckily my building's insurance co reimbursed me for a very fair amount that I was satisfied with but I also got renters insurance right away. Now I have peace of mind knowing that I'm covered if something were to happen beyond my control. I have a great insurance guy here in NYC if anyone needs a recommendation!

I agree with the elfa solution if you don't mind spending the money. Its a great way to maximize your space. Another solution...
Bed Bath and Beyond sells these great ultra slim space saving hangers. They come in a box of 50 and will save lots of room in your closet. You can see them here:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=14492658

Also--The double hanger idea is great. Container store sells a double hang bar and if you have lots of boots definitely try these boot shaper hangers that Container Store sells. You can hang them on the bottom rod. You can view these here:

http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?searchId=13955949&itemIndex=1&CATID=156&PRODID=59773

So hard to make my bed in the AM during the week! I'm ALWAYS in a rush so I just leave it as is! On the weekends, though, I always make my bed and every now and then I press my duvet for a crisp look. Maybe these tips will help me get in the habit of making up my bed every day!

I didn't know about this! Very exciting! Since the Chelsea Flea market moved to Hell's Kitchen it hasn't been the same. Looking forward to having a new spot near the city to spend my Sundays this spring!

http://www.sohaute.typepad.com/

Hi Gail--I agree with the choice of a light gray. I just painted my bedroom a soothing shade from Ralph Lauren called "cool gray." It's very subtle. I think it would go nicely with the color of your tiles.

http://www.sohaute.typepad.com/