Jesikka's Profile

I just had nightstands custom made so that one will have a laundry hamper inside and the false front (which looks like drawers) will pull forward to hold my hamper. I don't have a picture yet because the carpenter is on vacation, but his work is fantastic if anyone else in NY is interested. I designed the nightstands myself (inspired by a cheaply made nightstand I saw at Room Service in LA) and then he built them from wood and lacquered them by hand.

I think this is a wonderful and rich apartment and I really enjoyed this house tour. However, I do think that the advice about decorating on a budget feels like it fits better for someone who has a shabby chic decorating style. My own style tends more toward MCM and clean open lines, so things like donated chairs from my parents' neighbors are only useful in so far as they happen to want to give me some danish modern leftovers. I find myself collecting very very slowly and editing frequently. I still decorate on a budget, but with a small apartment (by some standards) and my particular aesthetic, I do feel constrained by trying to make sure that each visible item is exactly the right thing. While this apartment certainly isn't my style, I love the freedom in inherent in adding one thing on top of another and making it fit by virtue of the whole.

Also, Meg P- go back to your landlord and renegotiate. Sure, they don't have to do anything to help you out, but they might be willing to. You really have nothing to lose in that situation.

I have also found that if you want upgrades to your space, offering to pay a small portion of the renovation/upgrade often makes the landlord willing to do it. I got my closet professionally finished with shelving, etc. that way. Worth every penny!!

Where did you get the cabinip?? Did you make that? I love it!

Who makes that very colorful chandelier?

Who makes that headboard?

It is hard to tell what the effect of light is on the photograph. I worry that painting a bedroom too dark will make it seem small (and dark). I think I'd prefer charcoal to black in pretty much all situations.

Overstock has something cheap and vaguely similar right now: http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Aluminum-Four-shelf-Organizer/3468968/product.html

As a NYer and a renter in my late 20s, this idea seems mostly preposterous to me. While I'm a big believer in buying furniture you really like and that you can see yourself using for a long time (especially if it could potentially be used for a number of different functions), I simply can't know that my space in the future will even vaguely resemble my space now. This advice seems to make far more sense for people who have purchased a home that they envision living in for those 20 years. I also often find myself purchasing furniture for my apartment that will fit a certain very specific space (a nook for a desk, a bookshelf for a wall, etc), so that furniture might find a home in my new space, but it might well not be the best thing. I appreciate classic design pieces, but like others here I also want the room to update items, change my taste, or buy things for new circumstances.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've actually looked at all of those ebay finds, but I want something that still has somewhat modern lines. These are the high end ones that I like: Jonathan Adler's Channing End Table- http://www.jonathanadler.com/shop/home.php?cat=523, Room Service's Hollywood side table- http://www.roomservicestore.com/store/coffee_and_side_tables/hollywood_side_table_white_3_drawer.html, and these ebay guys: http://cgi.ebay.com/PAIR-1930s-FRENCH-ART-DECO-PARCHMENT-NIGHTSTANDS_W0QQitemZ350231896827QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAntiques_Furniture?hash=item518b72a2fb.

That probably gives you a better sense of what I like. Does anyone have any suggestions in that genre? I am getting a quote from room service to do something in my scale. Also, any recommendations for affordable nyc carpentry would be welcome as well.

Thanks!