Modern city Homes - More variety than you think

Every morning I read a little bit of the New York Times. While looking through the home and garden section, I was surprised by the homes they featured - mostly because I liked them, and also by the variety...

This home was once a synagogue

The rooftop deck is separated from the bedroom by only a glass wall

Not cozy enough for me, but pretty

I adore the tree photograph!!!

An industrial style SOHO apartment...

Look closely - the table is a vintage suitcase

A true New Yorker - making the most of space, and building vertically

I like the warmth of exposed brick, which we have in our kitchen


An eco-brazilian home...
Found dresser drawers fitted with casters now serve as rolling magazine storage!

Newspaper decoupaged chair.

Bright new Manhattan condominium...

I can't imagine a pond in my house and a wall of ivy!




Another SOHO loft. While this space is way too cold for me, I am in awe of the massive amount of empty space, the beautiful floors and ceiling, and the amazing windows...




Do you have a favorite out of these homes?

via New York Times

Amelie's adorable apartment! Lots of pictures!

I was watching Amelie the other night, and decided I had to write about her apartment. Probably the first thing that stands out is the palette- almost everything is warm red and oranges, with some green and blue here or there. For a "woman of almost 23" her apartment is very put together, and looks as if she's lived there for years and years. Being introverted and a little bit isolated, it makes sense that her place is much more than a crash pad, but her save haven. She also has great taste in art and wallpaper!


Her whimsical bedroom




The entry way...*love* this wallpaper



Her kitchen...I'm guessing it's only the wall behind her that is red, and then the other walls are tiled.

Even her windowsill is cute.




The living room. I really like the blue lampshade



I love that she has a dresser in the bathroom.



Images via Hotflix.net and Screencaps

Fantasy-inspiring interiors from BNO Design

Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz is a cutting edge interior designer of our time, and a big influence in the field. Anyone who knows me will know why I like his interiors--they are white! In fact, his whole New York City apartment is white. I could do without all the furs, but the shag carpets are lovely!

Restored 1863 Irish Tenement Apartment

The Tenement Museum has recently opened it's first restored tenement since 2002. It is called, The Moores: An Irish Family in America. The museum spent six years tracking down artifacts to furnish the apartment, designing, researching, and restoring. The family who lived at 97 Orchard Street was one of the few Irish families in what was at the time a German neighborhood. They resided their in 1869, and the couple had three daughters.

Do you think the restoration was a success? I'm not sure their space would have been quite so organized and "designed." I imagine Mr. Moore made little pay and was faced with many hardships, including the death of his young daughter from a form of malnutrition.


The parlor painted in Sky-blue calcimine

A wide parlor-view and mantle piece

The parlor writing area

...looks like the kitchen got fairly good light!

Another area of the kitchen

The Tenement Museum always leaves an "area of record," leaving an area of the tenement as they originally found it. Here you can see layers of peeling wallpaper and paint.


Artifacts found during the restorations

An original lantern still hangs

The apartment before any restoration began

A view of the damage that's occurred overtime. There was no electricity.

The original banister dating from 1863

For more photos, go to the Tenement Museum's Flickr page