This Earthy Apartment in Brooklyn May Be Small in Size, but It’s Big on Style

Hollis Loudon Puig, founder of Hollis Loudon Interiors, spontaneously decided to move back to New York, securing a 606-square-foot rental apartment in Dumbo, Brooklyn, while on a work trip in North Carolina. She didn't see the apartment until she received the keys, but it proved to be a perfect fit, feeling like a serendipitous alignment of circumstances. The location was a significant draw, with its incredible neighborhood, waterfront views, and convenient access to Brooklyn Heights, making it an ideal spot. Hollis moved into the unit in August 2024, finding it to be a "clean white canvas," simple yet beautiful, and ready for her personal touch. The apartment featured modern, updated finishes and included amenities such as a washer and dryer, garbage disposal, gas range, and a Bosch dishwasher. A standout feature was the stunning view of the Brooklyn Bridge from her window. Despite the apartment being a blank slate, Hollis, known for her bold and distinctive interior design, was eager to infuse it with personality. She began with virtually no furniture—no mattress, sofa, or even a chair—which, she notes, unexpectedly made the design process easier. The challenge lay in finding affordable and readily available pieces, a task complicated by post-COVID supply chain issues and tariffs, which she likened to a treasure hunt. A key transformative element was the use of peel-and-stick door coverings, which, contrary to advice she received, effectively connected the pink grasscloth in the bedroom with the peacock blue in the living room and hall, creating a custom, chic, and cohesive look. This experience reinforced her belief that breaking design rules can lead to winning outcomes. Hollis describes her finished space as eclectic and fun, reflecting her personal style—a blend of traditional and contemporary elements with ample layering and a high-low balance that makes a home engaging. She highlights how an antique side table can seamlessly coexist with a piece from Wayfair. While the breathtaking views of the bridge and water remain the apartment's focal point, they are now complemented by vibrant colors, art, and patterns that animate the entire space. The article provides a detailed list of resources used in each room, from the entry to the bedroom, including items like an Amazon green acrylic console, a vintage sofa with custom fabrics, a Wayfair burlwood credenza, a Rush House rug, an Amazon tulip dining table, vintage counter stools, and various items from Minted, Pooky, and other retailers. The bedroom features a Wayfair bed and lamps, Schweitzer Linen bedding, and an LL Bean quilt, alongside re-upholstered vintage X-benches. Hollis's design journey showcases how thoughtful curation and a willingness to blend diverse elements can transform a blank canvas into a uniquely personalized and vibrant home. Key features include a viral $300 burlwood credenza from Wayfair, a king-size canopy bed, and a kitchen that remains largely unused due to the vibrant dining and living areas. The design incorporates a mix of high-end and affordable items, creating a sophisticated yet accessible aesthetic. The apartment's small footprint of 606 square feet is maximized through clever design choices and a focus on layered textures and colors. This home tour serves as an inspiration for those looking to infuse personality and style into their rental spaces, demonstrating that budget-friendly solutions and creative vision can lead to stunning results. #NYCInteriorDesign #SmallSpaceLiving #MaximalistDecor #RentalApartmentDecor #HighLowDesign #DumboBrooklyn #InteriorDesignTips #HomeTour #ColorfulInteriors

Colin King, a 33-year-old Brooklyn Heights-based interior stylist, spent a year living in his 1830s brownstone apartment before the Covid-19 pandemic provided him the time to truly consider his own living space. Prior to March 2020, King's professional life involved extensive travel for design stories and advertisements for brands like Hay and Benjamin Moore, leaving little opportunity to focus on his personal environment. His 500-square-foot second-floor walk-up retained many original features due to his landlords' commitment to historical preservation, including six-over-six windows, a working marble fireplace, oak flooring, and 12-foot ceilings. Despite entering through an 1980s-era galley kitchen and nondescript bathroom, the classically proportioned living room, illuminated by nine-foot-tall shuttered windows, immediately captivates the eye. King's professional work aims to infuse elegance into mundane spaces, and his Instagram showcases his distinctive style through poetic still lifes in a palette of off-white, dark gray, and brown. These compositions often feature groupings of ceramics beneath a lone branch or understated details from his projects. When King began redecorating his apartment, it primarily contained a Mario Bellini Le Bambole sofa, a 1970s travertine round marble table, and a 1960s LC4 chaise by Charlotte Perriand, Le Corbusier, and Pierre Jeanneret. The existing white walls in the living room appeared too yellow, and other areas were bland. His collections of design books and contemporary art were stacked or piled, and items he sourced for clients, such as ceramic vases, houseplants, table lamps, and mirrors, were largely absent from his own home. After a meticulous repainting process, which involved three attempts to achieve the perfect murky gray in the bedroom and an off-white for the rest of the apartment, King began furnishing his space. He acquired a blocky white Utrecht armchair designed by Gerrit Rietveld from Cassina, a velvet and walnut stool from Green River Project, a custom table lamp by Danny Kaplan, and vintage midcentury woven rattan Pierre Jeanneret chairs on loan from a friend. In the living room, he placed a hand-thrown Modernist vase by Lucie Rie next to an old mirror on the mantel. Unlike his fast-paced styling projects, furnishing his own apartment was a deliberate process, allowing him to "listen to the space." The resulting aesthetic is stark yet layered, subtly blending 1970s Italian design, early American architecture, and French Modernism, a sophisticated approach not always seen in younger designers prone to eclecticism. King's apartment exemplifies the minimalist aesthetic he has refined over the years, a journey that included various detours. Raised on a farm in rural Ohio, he discovered dance at 13 and moved to New York at 18 to pursue it, later relocating to Los Angeles where he faced similar frustrations in the performing arts. He then worked as a fitness instructor and estate manager before finding his calling as a digital content producer for Consort, a design firm. There, he gained experience in styling and photographing vignettes for social media. In 2017, King returned to New York, initially juggling multiple jobs, including personal training and managing social media for One Kings Lane, while also pitching stories to magazines to establish himself as a stylist. Within months, he was fully booked, allowing him to concentrate on his styling career. His apartment continues to evolve, as he seeks a large oil painting for his bedroom, a vintage Joe D’Urso side table for his living room, and his first plant, a black olive tree. The home stands as a testament to the power of a light touch in revealing a space's innate beauty and the patience required for its realization. #InteriorStyling #BrooklynHeights #MinimalistDesign #HistoricApartment #MidCenturyModern #DesignProcess #ColinKing #HomeDecor #ArchitecturalPreservation

Lauren Edmonds recounts her experience of having her New York City living room critiqued by Kiva Brent, an interior decorator known for her "luxe for less" approach to design. Edmonds and her boyfriend moved into their one-bedroom apartment in 2021, and despite the promising features like high ceilings and hardwood floors, the living room had remained largely undecorated beyond basic furniture. Brent, the founder of KB Interiors and the YouTube channel DIY with KB, specializes in modern luxury design with an emphasis on affordability. The living room in question is approximately 165 square feet, featuring laminate wood flooring and two large glass sliding doors that serve as windows. Its current furnishings include a black sectional, a table, artwork, a TV with a stand, a mirror, and a corner dedicated to a workspace with a standing desk. Brent's primary goal was to demonstrate how the space could be maximized and elevated without requiring significant financial investment, primarily by re-arranging existing items and suggesting affordable additions. Brent's critique began with a rendering that visualized the living room's potential. Her initial observation was that the furniture was too peripheral, making the room feel less cohesive and cozy. She advised leveraging resources like Facebook Marketplace, thrift stores, small businesses with unique collections, and online retailers such as Amazon for affordable yet stylish decor. The first concrete suggestion was to reposition the black sectional and integrate the kitchen island more effectively into the living area. By moving the sectional across the room and adding two chairs to the island, Brent aimed to create a more inviting and functional space, emphasizing the community aspect of dining or socializing at the island. This change also allowed for the removal of the wooden dining room table, which was deemed redundant and space-consuming. Next, Brent addressed the importance of a rug in grounding the room and tying elements together. She proposed a white and green rug, drawing inspiration from the colors present in Edmonds' existing artwork, and similarly used the art's purple accents to inform the choice of couch cushions. This strategy highlights the value of using existing decor as a color palette foundation. Brent explained that a rug acts as an anchor, visually connecting all the living room furniture and drawing the eye, thereby transforming the space from a mere collection of furniture into a cohesive area. She also recommended a round, glass coffee table, noting its affordability, availability at stores like Amazon or Target, and its ability to create an illusion of spaciousness due to its transparent nature. The suggested tiered design of the glass table would also offer additional storage, a practical benefit for a one-bedroom apartment. Finally, Brent offered advice for the small office area. While appreciating the standing desk, she suggested opting for a desk with built-in storage, such as Ikea's ALEX drawer unit, to further maximize space. Additionally, she recommended choosing a desk chair that doubles as an accent chair, providing extra seating when needed without compromising the room's aesthetic. Floating acrylic shelves and hanging the guitar on the wall were also suggested as ways to free up floor space and add vertical interest, contributing to a more organized and aesthetically pleasing environment. #InteriorDesign #AffordableLuxury #HomeDecoration #SmallSpaceLiving #NYCInterior #HomeStaging #BudgetDecor #KivaBrent #LivingRoomDesign

This article highlights the Harlem townhouse at 1989 Madison Avenue, formerly owned by Nina Persson, lead singer of The Cardigans, and her husband, Nathan Larson. They purchased the six-bedroom, four-bath home in 2007 and resided there until 2015 before moving to Malmö, Sweden. The Cardigans' hit song "Lovefool" is noted for its enduring popularity, appearing in various films and TV shows. Known as The Harlem House, the brownstone has been meticulously updated and renovated, now functioning as a rental configured into two family units. It boasts over 4,200 square feet of interior space and an additional 700 square feet of private outdoor space. The five-level home's current layout is detailed across its various floors. The garden level features a modern open-plan kitchen and dining area, a rear bedroom, and a flagstone-paved enclosed back garden. The parlor level houses a large living room at the front and a primary bedroom suite with a private terrace at the rear. The third floor includes another bedroom and a spacious open-plan great room with dining, lounging areas, and a contemporary kitchen. The top floor offers a second primary suite, a smaller bedroom, and a media room. The basement provides a fitness area, laundry facilities, and three storage units. A notable characteristic of this townhouse, contrasting with many New York City townhomes, is its abundance of natural light, facilitated by oversized windows that illuminate the central spaces. Architectural and design elements throughout the home include three fireplaces with distinctive mantels, both exposed and painted brick walls, high ceilings, intricate moldings, extensive built-in storage, wide doorways, solid wood doors, custom kitchen cabinetry with opaque glass, and hardwood floors, some featuring an attractive herringbone pattern. The bathrooms are designed with style, incorporating clawfoot tubs, pedestal sinks, wainscoting, subway tiles, black-and-white tile floors, and exposed radiators. Unit 1 is a two-bedroom, two-bath duplex, easily convertible into a three-bedroom layout, with access to the basement and two private outdoor spaces. Its new kitchen is equipped with marble countertops, an island, and top-of-the-line appliances. Unit 2, accessible via its own private stoop entrance and a restored original staircase, offers three or potentially four bedrooms, an oversized primary en-suite, a washer/dryer, and a similarly renovated kitchen featuring an island, marble countertops, and premium appliances. The surrounding Harlem neighborhood has experienced significant development, now offering numerous restaurants and retail options, including a Whole Foods and a new Trader Joe’s. The home's location is convenient, being close to the 125th Street shopping corridor and equidistant from Marcus Garvey Park and Harlem River Park. Cultural attractions in the vicinity include the Apollo Theater and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. #HarlemTownhouse #LuxuryRental #HomeRenovation #HistoricHome #HarlemRealEstate #NinaPerssonHome #ArchitecturalDetails #NYCRealEstate #TownhouseLiving

OBRIY.architects has completed the 'PORTAL' apartment in the center of Kiev, Ukraine, an ample residence designed to maximize natural light and offer stunning city views. The design approach emphasizes a harmonious blend of natural materials and a warm-toned color palette, creating an organic and earthy atmosphere throughout the 1130 sq ft (105 m2) space. A key design element is the intentional emphasis on the apartment's windows. To highlight these openings, OBRIY created a gallery feature with timber-covered shelves and walls, strategically positioned between the windows. This gallery serves as a visual connector, linking the kitchen and dining areas with the lounge zone. Further enhancing the clean lines of this gallery, heating elements beneath the windows are concealed within custom-built wooden boxes, which also integrate additional storage drawers. The material selection extends to the flooring and walls, where a warm grey concrete floor complements decorative plaster applied to effect walls. The remaining walls are painted in an off-white hue, contributing to the overall organic and earthy color scheme that pervades the apartment. The kitchen, a creation by Steininger, presents a monolithic aesthetic with precise lines. A distinctive feature of this kitchen is a stainless steel element incorporating a herb garden. The designers opted for a white finish for the kitchen island, introducing a pure accent that seamlessly integrates with the apartment's broader color palette. The dining area is furnished with a large table crafted from bleached American ash, accompanied by minimalist chairs that echo the table's clean lines. Lighting fixtures in this area are sourced from Australian designer Amee Allsop. In the lounge zone, a modular sofa by Paola Lenti offers versatility, with independent units allowing for various layout configurations. The television stand is uniquely fashioned from substantial wooden beams with natural edges, while the wall behind the television is treated with natural plaster to create a textured, organic backdrop. This plaster effect is consistently applied in the bedroom, fostering a cozy and relaxing ambiance. The bedroom also incorporates the same design principle of boxing heating elements and integrating drawers for a cohesive look. The master bathroom, adjacent to the bedroom, features walls adorned with tiles from Sant’Agostino Ceramics' ‘set’ collection. The flooring utilizes the same microcement found in the kitchen and living room. Washbasins by Ceramica Galassia, with their cylindrical shape and thin edges, offer a blend of geometrical precision and elegance. All ceramic fixtures in the bathroom are rendered in black, serving to emphasize their forms against the neutral backdrop. The project was conceived and executed by OBRIY.architects, reflecting a thoughtful integration of natural aesthetics and functional design. #apartmentDesign #naturalMaterials #warmTones #KievArchitecture #interiorDesign #modernLiving #timberElements #concreteFlooring #minimalistDecor