A Family of 4 Turned This Basic 550-Square-Foot NYC Apartment into a Cozy Home (2024)

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ABOUT THIS TOUR

HOME TYPE: Apartment

LOCATION: Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York

STYLE: Eclectic, Organic Modern

BEDROOMS: 3

SQUARE FEET: 550

Alex and Margaret Ferrec are both artists and media producers who have lived in New York City for 10 years. Alex is an architectural photographer and videographer who’s also a woodworking hobbyist. Margaret is one of Apartment Therapy’s own videographers, and has been responsible for many favorite house tours over the years. Now it’s her turn!

Seven years ago the couple purchased this 550-square-foot apartment in Washington Heights, which they now share with their daughters, 4-year-old Simone and 2-year-old Florence. When they first bought the place, the vibe was very much “basic early 2000s renovation,” with “honey cabinets, light blue walls throughout,” and an “all-white bathroom.” She reports that there was “no real character in the architectural details or materials.”

Margaret explains that they “brought in natural texture, organic modern, and folk decor with rich craftsman furniture, clean white walls, and lots of colorful art and books.” But they went beyond just surface decor by also doing a total renovation of the bathroom, where Alex designed and built cabinetry to maximize storage. While they hope for a bigger kitchen renovation in the future, they’ve made small but meaningful updates in the kitchen for the time being, including switching out oversized white appliances with stainless steel, apartment-sized ones and removing a dated overhead light fixture in exchange for IKEA track lighting.

Alex has also built quite a few pieces of custom furniture in the small home, including a toddler bed, the primary bedroom dresser and bed, as well as lots of custom shelving and another bed in the office. (Yes, incredibly, there are three bedrooms in the small home!)

“With two young children, our home-world is now primarily a place where we rest, play, learn, and are inspired,” Margaret begins of their home. “It’s a small space so it has to be practical, but it’s also important to us that it’s cozy, filled with meaningful items, and is visually interesting. We love storied and playful things — especially quirky folk items that are humanistic and handmade.”

Resources

LIVING ROOM

• Ms. Chesterfield Leather Sofa —Interior Define

• Artbook Side Table — Cozymatic

• Lantern Floor Lamp — Vakker Light

• Barcelona Chair — Vintage secondhand

• Unknown Vintage Chair with White Cushions (I reupholstered with mom)

• Fredericks and Mae Black Metal Candle Sconce — Food52

• Paint — Benjamin Moore “Decorator’s White”

DINING ROOM

• Dining Table — Secondhand on Craigslist

• Bench — Made by Alex from wood flooring

• Wishbone Chairs — Wayfair

• Tripp Trapp Adjustable Chairs — Stokke

• Mirror — Zara Home

KITCHEN

• Appliances — Home Depot + P.C. Richard & Son

• From the Deep Dinnerware Set — Anthropologie

• Everyday Black Enamel Plates — Local thrift store

• Everyday Flatware — Antique silver, mismatched sets

• Favorite Daily Tool: My Personal Pour-Over Coffee Set

• Sangean WR-16 Kitchen Radio — Amazon

• Trash and Recycling Can — simplehuman

PRIMARY BEDROOM

• Bedroom Suite — Designed and built by Alex (Europly wood with Rylex Custom Cabinetry)

• Pillows — William Sonoma Home

• Layered Summer Bedspreads — The Company Store

• White Jewelry Cabinet + Mirror — Wayfair

NURSERY

• Sleepi Bed V3 Crib: Stokke

• Organic Oval Mattress — Naturepedic

• Handmade Crib Quilt — By friend Jena Starke

• Toddler Bed — Designed/made by Alex (Europly; wood legs from Amazon)

• Avocado Toddler Pillow + Case — Avocado

• Non-Toxic Custom-Size Foam for Toddler Mattress — Foamite.com

• Toddler Bedding — West Elm

• Green Wool Floor Rug — Perigold

• Dollhouse — LEP1 (wallpaper from Paper Source)

• Sound Machine — Hatch

• Red Wall Clock — IKEA

• Bookshelves — Made by Alex

• Children’s Chair — Hand-me-down

• Toy Boxes — wine crates from local wine shop

• Closet Organization — Rylex Custom Cabinetry

• Artwork — Margaret + Alex

• Girls’ Bedroom Accent Wall and Bedroom Door — Farrow & Ball “Sulking Room Pink”

BATHROOM

• Honeycomb and Terrazzo Tile — The Home Depot

• Vessel Sink — Kohler

• Cabinets — Designed and built by Alex (w/ Rylex Custom Cabinetry, Europly)

• Air Weight Towels — Coyuchi

Thanks, Margaret!

This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.

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Further Reading

I Tried the 90/90 Rule and My Closet Is Now Fully Decluttered

We Asked 5 Contractors Which Kitchen Reno Trend Homeowners Regret Most, and They Basically All Agreed

See How a Stager Used Paint to Transform a 1950s Living Room

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