sunnygirlsf's Profile

Looking forward to this. Thanks for the heads up!

I almost skipped this tour but am so glad I didn't! It may be an adorable children's room yet it has so many storage ideas for any room in the house. I saved at least six photos to my Inspiration File - mostly of the pretty storage/organization ideas she used.

Lovely. Thank you for this post!

I grew up wanting to have an apartment of my own after memorizing the details of two TV apartments and one house:
1) Mary Tyler Moore's apartment
2) Laverne & Shirley's apartment
3) The Brady Bunch house

We moved so much when I was young (6 schools from K-12) that I craved permanency and a place of my own. I loved the spaciousness of Mary's apartment, the modern coolness of the Brady house (the girls' bedroom! that staircase! the attic bedroom!) and the make-do-with-what-you-have cuteness of Laverne & Shirley's apartment.

I should add that the I Love Lucy living room and kitchen was adorable too.

Beautiful color selections! Everything flows together so nicely. Those chairs were only $2 each?! Nice! I like the use of symmetry as well.

Love it.

The first photo had me intrigued - I had to click to see more. I really like the bathroom color and the storage in the bathroom - especially the use of the same container repeatedly with different items in them. Cute.

I do like the loft bed....and am in awe of the ceiling height and light you get in your apartment.

Well done.

My google chrome/google translate extension translated the article into English when I visited the original site. Hope it's okay if I paste it here:

Duplex in Greenwich Village

Mats and Lydia Carlton's New York apartment is a home change. Walls knocked out, floors are merged, stairwells annexation. And from the rooftop view is to say the least impressive.

By: Eva Nyqvist Photo: Paul Brissman
Published: 2011-02-18

With its straight lines and large windows give the family Carlton's duplex apartment at Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village, a recent and contemporary look. The light reflected in the shiny floors and the home feels open and modern.

But already in the hall you sense the house's true age. The floors creak and squeak and stairs sloping precariously. And there is no elevator.

- The house was built in 1842 as a family house, "says Mats, who came to America in 1984 to study law at UCLA in California.

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Terra's sheltered location means that it can be used well into the autumn. The chair is an Adirondack-model and has been very popular on the U.S. east coast since the turn of the century - largely because of the armrests, wide enough for one glass!

Today he is partner in the law firm Pillsbury in Manhattan. Mats and his family, his wife Lydia and the three girls, Aria, 19, Ada, 7, and Alva, 2, has occupied the top two floors of the old house for over seven years.

The couple met on a blind date in 1999, arranged by the common friend, celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson. The following year they married and together they searched for a new apartment in Greenwich Village, where they already lived, with more bedrooms, a fireplace and patio.

- Although this apartment, four floors up, and Lydia was in eighth month, we decided as soon as we came up on the roof - another step up - and saw the view, "says Mats.

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Fireplace was one of the requirements when the couple were re-housing. Black and white photograph of Laurent Elie Badessi and coffee table by Isamu Noguchi.

Both from the living room's large windows and roof, they have a magnificent view over Manhattan's roofs and chimneys, and my front and center sits the Empire State Building.

The apartment had three bedrooms and bathroom on the lower floor and a kitchen, dining room, TV room and lounge upstairs. But to get to the roof garden, which belonged to the apartment, had to walk out into the hall.

- Everyone in the house had access to the stairwell and it meant we never used our cozy rooftop, "says Mats.

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The living room's north location is compensated by large windows that let in the afternoon sun. Kem Weber's chairs in an art deco from the 1930s is an example of the progressive European design that would be a strong influence on American modernism. Behind are two 1800-talstaburetter from Joe's parents' home in Stockholm.

In the early years the couple made minor improvements and repairs - a new bathroom and a more work-friendly kitchen - but always wondered Mats and Lydia on how they could reconcile their apartment with roof terrace. Where would they be able to build a staircase?

The solution was to use the stairs that already existed, and buying off the top two perspectives in the stairwell, which nobody used anyway, and make the entryway to a part of the apartment.

- Although we have not won as many square feet did a tremendous difference, "said Lydia, and shows where the old wall was, just along the white railings in what is now the upper hall.

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The bedroom has exit to a small terrace. The Indian desktop is actually a bureau, whose cabinet now stands at the window. Bed by Danish Bo Concept and bedside lamps from Ikea. The couple's marriage certificate hung like a daily reminder of the bed.

The reconstruction also gave room for a new bathroom for the girls down there, plus guest toilet and storage next to the living room upstairs.

- And it was only when we built over the old stairs that we understand how inconvenient it was located, "says Mats. My living room! Now we get to the spot with the couch.

In order to restore some of the natural light that reached the floor by the old stairs, did they take up a "floor-windows" which also maintains contact between the floors. The walls are consistently white, and floors - freshly laid oak parquet flooring - is stained in a steel-gray tone.

The decor is a mix of new purchases, antiques and family heirlooms that Mats had from his parents' home in Sweden. With the bachelor's den in Stockholm in the 1980s, two chairs of Kem Weber, who now have the traditional leather upholstery has been replaced by bright orange moleskin. It was Lydia's idea and a grip that gave the room a lift and its special character.?

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The old staircase, which now unites the family's apartment with roof terrace, but retain their original railings from the 1842nd White leather stool by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Barcelona Series. Photo by French photographer Laurent Elie Badessi that Lydia knows since his time as a model.

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Kavaletten with sculpture Big talker Mats rescued from his parents' balcony.

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Chairs were designed by Kem Weber in 1930. Above the fireplace a photo of Laurent Elie Badessi, and next to a painting by Peter Dahl. Above the sofa, a painting by Kim Morgan. Rug is a Swedish "antique", bought in New York and the coffee table Isamu Noguchis sculpted classics from 1948.

I've always wanted an alcove bed. Seems so cozy! I didn't know there was such a variety to be had. hmmm..

my favorite has always been this one (last two photos of the post):

http://sunnysblog.typepad.com/mornings_light/2009/07/light-white-more-swedish-apartments.html

I followed this advice when I cleared out a storeroom..wait...walk in closet of mine last month. Took every thing out of the closet, divided it into categories and put back only what I loved and needed. Much of the leftover items were put in an outbox...I needed that separation time to lose the attachment (as you described above). Two weeks after the big clean out, I was able to move the outbox items to their proper destinations (thrift store, recycling bin, or to friends. Many friends were given items and it was fun to see the smiles on their faces when they received their items. I asked them first if they wanted such-and-such item and most jumped all over it to get what I no longer wanted or needed.)

It's now time to do a cleanout of the linen/junk closet and the kitchen. ugh.

I like the home!

Wondering where the coat tree in the foyer came from?

I just bought the very same one at a thrift store for $3, and am wondering about its origin.

I agree..the people are equally as appealing as the interiors...and the interiors are AMAZING.