jayro212's Profile

LOVE your place, Stellah. If I wasn't in the contest I'd vote for you, for sure. :) Is that the Gianni rug from C&B, btw? My sister needs a rug for her family room and that's one I'd recommended. Looks great in your space. I want her to get a pouf, too - CB2?

Thanks everyone for all the kind comments. I’m flattered, and happy that some of you remember the tour and my dog, Theo, who sadly just passed away from cancer. I felt weird posting pictures here with him in them, but he’s still in the shots from the house tour.

Thorndale, the chandelier was expensive but not $3k expensive. I’d had my eye on it for a long time and decided it was worth the splurge. (It’s the Eliza chandelier from Jayson Home & Garden.) Sorry, Coletta (rhymes with velveeta), it’s the same furniture as the house tour – I’m going to upgrade the Jennifer sofa, though. She’s served me well for 13 years.

Ofelia, I’d like some chairs and a dining table, too, but there’s just no room. There are stools at the kitchen counter, though.

Jessica, I got the mirror at a now-defunct shop in the Village, but I found it online from several sources. It’s the Ainsworth Round Beveled Wall Mirror by Two's Company.

I like the blue - it's a vacation house in the Turks & Caicos, not a Manhattan loft. Have some fun with it.

Joyia, glad you like the apartment, thanks. I'm sorry to hear you're having a rough time with your contractor. Seems like it's never easy.

The sink is an Elkay Lustertone ELU2115. I really like it - just the right width and depth, and I'm glad I chose it over a bar sink, which I almost went with.

Good luck with your renovation!

You're right, emal, Theo's much better looking than my apartment. kelly, I found the tree sculpture at Nest Interiors on 9th Avenue in Chelsea. It's by a local Chelsea artist.

Centrd, I feel for you with the dog hair situation. We had huskies growing up and my mom used their fur to make yarn, which she turned into blankets and sweaters, believe it or not.

Sorry, that should be Concordia.

Glad y'all like it. To answer your question, the backsplash tile is a calacatta marble 1x4 mosaic. I got them at Stone Source here in NY.

ocd2, I know, I know, what's with the pots and pans in the cupboard above the sink...That's what I get for choosing to have a washer/dryer where I could have had a nice big cabinet for pots and pans. Ah, city living.

Thanks for all the nice comments about my apartment, I really appreciate it. I must give props to my friend and photo stylist/designer extraordinaire Jillian Browder, who helped me make the place look especially purty for the pictures.

I’ll attempt to answer your questions here – let me know if I missed yours.

- A friend found the chairs either on the street or at the flea market, I forget which. I think I paid him $300 for the pair. They’re in desperate need of recovering, but I do like the worn look and the color so I haven’t been in a rush to recover them.

- Honestly, I’m not positive on the floor color but I used Janothane Heavy Duty Polyurethane Enamel, made especially for floors. Not sure if it’s still available but if you go to Janovic/Benjamin Moore and ask about this paint they can recommend the right alternative. If I had to do it over again, I’d probably put another coat or two of sealer on the floors.

- As far as plants go, not much lasts in here more than a couple of months. Jade and mother-in-law’s tongue do pretty well.

- I do really like the LG washer/dryer. Just don’t be in a hurry for clean clothes – it can take a long time (like, several hours), mainly to cool the clothes once they’re dry.

- I’d say I manage to keep the floors semi-clean most of the time, not clean clean. As anal as I tend to be about cleanliness, I’ve had to let go a bit mainly because I have an active dog. I find myself following him around with a damp cloth when we come in from walks and/or wiping his feet out in the hall, but now that the floors have settled I’m learning to like the pseudo ‘shabby chic’ look they’ve achieved vs. the pristine white I’d originally envisioned.

- A friend gave me the coffee table years ago – a street find, I believe. You can find similar ones on ebay.

- I found the kitchen-wall mirror at Grove on Hudson Street.

- The fireplace works, but I don’t use it often because it tends to get a little smoky. I probably need to have the chimney cleaned...For now I’m OK with the white ceramic logs.

- The painting over the fireplace is “Shadows” by Alex Guerrero. I found it at Nest Interiors.

- Working on the ‘before’ pics...

- Rob, if you have enough space, you might consider both the daybed and the Expedit shelves/storage. I didn’t have enough room lengthwise or I might have considered a daybed or a more elaborate storage bed, but I’m happy with the basic bed I have.

- Scoobydubious, I understand your concern about big dogs in small spaces. Trust me, Theo gets a lot of exercise, is outside on walks and at the dog park several times a day, and is a very happy dog. Like groovypumpkin pointed out, a dog’s quality of life isn’t measured by the size of his home. Sadly, there are dogs who live in huge homes that are stuck alone in the yard all day and who have little or no interaction with other dogs and people. I think in many ways, city dogs are the luckiest dogs.