my forever home
wait she has a blog!?
i know, i know…it’s crazy to think it’s been two and a half years since i even thought about writing a blog post, but with my new apartment having just been completed, i wanted one home for all of the details. so now, how did we even get here!? well, the last time i made a blog post, i was still in my pink jewel box studio apartment and some of you may have found me via the tour that went viral on tiktok! that apartment lasted me a little over three years and after spending almost all of quarantine there, i came to realize i had outgrown it and began the search for a new apartment.
the apartment search
during the pandemic, rent prices in nyc reached an all time low and i knew that if i didn’t take advantage of those prices at that time, i was going to regret it. i set my sights on 2 bedroom apartments mostly in pre-war buildings. after only a few weeks of searching, i found the dream apartment that hadn’t even hit the market yet: pre-war building, endless amounts of natural light, two bedrooms, washer & dryer in-unit, and a sunken living room, all while being located steps from my favorite sandwich shop. i quickly submitted an offer that was accepted for a fraction of what it would have been pre-pandemic and i started envisioning how i was going to design the space. there was just one problem…i made the rookie mistake and didn’t have everything i needed for the formal application. because i submitted the offer on a friday afternoon, i wasn’t able to get some paperwork from my CPA until that monday. i informed the realtor of this but he, of course, didn’t care and used my offer to leverage a higher one from someone else. because they had all their paperwork, their application was approved and thus, my dream apartment went onto someone else. am i still bitter? a little, haha! but after spending a few days sulking, i refocused and continued my search.
after experiencing the dream apartment, i tried my best to find a place that had the elements that made me fall in love. and i did come very close to signing a lease for a similar apartment that was actually just a bit bigger and located steps from the met!! the only problem? it was nearly twice what that original apartment was going for. i took a step back and thought about the long term. i knew i wanted to stay in my next apartment for at least 6 years and if i was willing to spend so much on a rental (knowing the rent was going to go up every year), it might be worth pivoting my search to buy an apartment. and so i did.
i enlisted the help of the realtor that helped me with my studio apartment and we began the hunt for my forever home. i toured countless apartments over the course of a month all while checking streeteasy religiously everyday for new listings. and then…almost as if the universe said “oh hey allie, here is your perfect apartment,” i found it. it hadn’t been listed for more than an hour before i sent it to my realtor saying “this was it.” i couldn’t get in to view it for a couple days but i knew it was the one. i showed it to my friends, my designer, and family and they all confirmed that this was the apartment for me.
when i was finally able to view it, there wasn’t a hesitation in sight. it met almost all of my requirements including the sunken living room that made me fall in love with that first dream apartment. the only things that were missing were a true second bedroom, herringbone floors, and a washer/dryer in-unit. but i didn’t care because it was going to be mine. i submitted an offer almost instantly and after some negotiating with the owners, they accepted. then began the three-month process of the tedious approval from the co-op board whose application included an 800 page deck documenting every single thing about myself dating back to the lemonade stand i had when i was 6 (kidding, but not really). buying an apartment in nyc is not for the impatient 😂.
it was a perfectly sunny day while i was in boston when i got the call and my reaction was some combination of screaming and crying. krstyal even got the whole thing on video! when i hung up the phone i had been approved by the board and a few weeks later i closed on the apartment - officially making me a homeowner.
the design & before photos
within seconds of getting the keys to the apartment, i began measuring to send the specs to my designer. shannon helped me with both the pink apartment and my bedroom at my parents house so it was a no brainer to have her help me with this one. this apartment had nothing but white/grey walls making it a blank slate and i was eager to add character to it. the previous owners took steps to modernize the apartment but i felt as if they went too modern for the building having been built in 1930.
the living/dining room & foyer
the office
the bedroom
with this apartment, i wanted the space to still be colorful, but not saturated and include bold prints, feminine colors, and whimsical touches like my last apartment just with a more mature flare. so i compiled my inspiration photos (below) and the design phase had officially begin. shannon and her team took my board and went to work: coming back with the first drafts of the space.
from this first draft, shannon and i worked together over the course of the next two years to bring this apartment to life making tweaks as we saw fit. there were countless texts, voice memos, and face time calls that i’m sure made shannon think this was the project that was never going to end. she was always open to my bizarre ideas and strange internet finds and effortlessly incorporated them into the design. it’s safe to say shannon has earned the title of emotional support designer.
renovations
now that i had become a homeowner (it’s still so surreal saying that), i was able design the way i had always dreamed of without restrictions from a landlord. the sky was the limit!! …okay my bank account was the limit but same thing.
when shannon was putting the floor plans together, she had suggested i add some built-ins in the foyer and office to really make the space feel more custom. i was fully on board but something was holding me back from pulling the trigger right away…the floors. my dream had always been herringbone floors but even though the existing floors weren’t exactly to my liking, it seemed silly to rip out the perfectly good floors that the previous owners had installed. i spent months going back and forth about whether or not to take the leap and do the floors until i finally came to the conclusion that it needed to be done. “need” may be dramatic but if i would have done all of this work of built-ins and paint and wallpaper and decorating and then decided i wanted to change the floors, it would have become such a hassle to redo them down the line. i needed to rip the bandaid off and just get it done.
i reached out to quite a few people for quotes and decided to go with nyc floor pro. we planned everything out in november 2021 and they got to work in december. i decided on 2 1/4” white oak with herringbone in the living room and foyer and straight boards everywhere else, finished with “natural” duralseal stain. everything seemed to be going fine but what were supposed to be my dream floors quickly turned into a nightmare. the company did a sloppy job and ruined things that never should have been touched (like my bathroom sink, and air conditioner). i documented more of the damage in my “renovations” highlight but it was not a great experience to say the least. i won’t get into everything that went wrong here but it’s safe to say if you’re looking to have your floors redone in nyc, avoid working with them. i guess that’s the risk you take when doing renovations.
but the floors were done and i wasn’t exactly crazy about the stain i chose (there was too much yellow/orange so if i was going to do them over i would do the “fruitwood” stain) but there was no way in hell i was going to re-live any of that…so we moved onto the next project: the built-ins.
through a referral in my building, i was connected with general contractor luis zarate and he was the angel this renovation needed. i met with him to go over all of the projects that needed to be done in the apartment and he eagerly took on the challenge. in total he did the following:
created and installed built-ins (with wiring) in the foyer and office
added arches to hallway doors and living room opening
wired for sconces around picture in foyer
added an outlet in my closet to easily charge/store my dyson
added picture frame molding to office
re-centered lights in office and foyer
created and installed radiator covers in office and bedroom
changed all door hardware (and filled in holes from previous knobs)
swapped out all light switches
fixed bathroom sink and replaced faucet (damage from floor company)
added shelf & rod in my entryway closets
removed wallpaper in the office
removed old closet system and repaired floor to prep for my new closet system
i’m sure there was more he did but that’s all i can remember for now. i still have projects that i’m having him do and he will forever be my go-to guy for anything in the future. i truly cannot say enough good things about him and his team!!
once the renovations were completed, it was time to move onto the fun stuff: paint & wallpaper. i used precision painting plus and they were good! was it exceptional? no. but a solid A- job and i’m overall very satisfied with the work that they did! i was just thankful they weren’t $34,000 like one quote i got haha!
in total the renovations (including the painting and wallpaper) took about 3 months to complete and cost me my sanity haha. but it did really help that i scheduled the projects right after one another so there wasn’t much down time! i would say i would do it all again in a heartbeat but maybe just have someone else do my floors…
from there, all i had to do was wait 92 years for all of my furniture to arrive! 😂
the finished apartment
after almost exactly two years in my apartment, it was officially done! so without further ado, may i present to you my forever home!
the foyer
paint / wallpaper / table (gifted) / ottoman / vase / chandelier (gifted) / picture sconces / wall sconces / cake art (photograph by sharon core from her “thiebaud” series, similar here and here) / bench (gifted)
paint / wallpaper / table (gifted) / ottoman / vase / chandelier (gifted) / picture sconces / aesthetic books / pill (gifted) / bust / art deco box (gifted) / cloche / pink phone
paint / wallpaper / chandelier (gifted) / light switches (discounted)
living & dining room
trim paint (color matched to benjamin moore) / wallpaper (gifted) / purple table / chair (gifted) / blanket (similar here) / pink/white pillow (gifted) / reading lamp / coffee table (discounted) / purse vase / coffee table book / chinoiserie diptych / tv (43“) / tv frame / chest (vintage, sourced here) / couch / floral pillow (gifted) / pink pillow (gifted) / curtains / rug (gifted)
trim paint (color matched to benjamin moore) / wallpaper (gifted) / coffee table (discounted) / purse vase / coffee table book / chinoiserie diptych / chest (vintage, sourced here) / couch / floral pillow (gifted) / pink pillow (gifted) / curtains / curtain rod / curtain rings / rug (gifted) / diy window grid / window lamps
trim paint (color matched to benjamin moore) / wallpaper (gifted) / backgammon box / chinoiserie diptych / tv (43“) / tv frame / chest (vintage, sourced here) / couch / floral pillow (gifted) / pink pillow (gifted) / purple table / chair (gifted) / blanket (similar here) / pink/white pillow (gifted) / reading lamp
dining table / dining chairs / colorblock artwork / candlesticks / beverly hills hotel photograph (size large) / cabinet (gifted) / striped canister / purple glasses / coasters (gifted)
the office
paint (high gloss, wc-21) / mirror (discounted) / shade fabric (gifted) / wavy picture frame / rounded picture frame
paint (high gloss, wc-21) / wallpaper (gifted) / chandelier (discounted) / shade fabric (gifted)
the bedroom
trim paint (color matched to benjamin moore) / wallpaper (gifted) / bed (queen) / nightstands / lamps / shams / velvet pillows (gifted) / bolster (gifted) / duvet cover / sheets / quilted coverlet / rug (gifted) / flower prints (similar here)
trim paint (color matched to benjamin moore) / wallpaper (gifted) / bed (queen) / nightstands / lamps / shams / velvet pillows (gifted) / bolster (gifted) / duvet cover / sheets / quilted coverlet / rug (gifted) / decorative box / windows book
trim paint (color matched to benjamin moore) / wallpaper (gifted) / bed (queen) / nightstands / lamps / shams / velvet pillows (gifted) / bolster (gifted) / duvet cover / sheets / quilted coverlet / rug (gifted) / decorative box / windows book / glass dish ( vintage, similar here and here)
trim paint (color matched to benjamin moore) / wallpaper (gifted) / flower prints (similar here) / ottoman / curtains (gifted ) / vase / green picture frame / gold picture frame / rug (gifted)
trim paint (color matched to benjamin moore) / wallpaper (gifted) / dresser (gifted) / brushstroke lamp / self portrait / vanity tray (vintage, similar here, here, here, and here), light switch (discounted) / hats are hung by simple nails / doorknobs (vintage, sourced from here)
thank you so much to the incredible brands and companies that were willing to partner with me on this project to help bring the space to life! i truly couldn’t have done it without you!
schumacher / annie selke / kathy kuo / jonathan adler / west elm / anthropologie / maggie cruz home / visual comfort & co / & more!
and of course thank you so much to shannon for being not only an incredible person, but an incredible designer!! now what is our next project going to be!? 😌
all photos by me