The Pursuit of Happiness in Manhattan
In August of last year, within two hours after leaving our closing on our apartment with keys in hand, I created a walk-through video tour of our apartment [view last years video here]. I wanted to document our apartment before we made a single change as a way to look back and remember where we started.
Last week marked a one year and a lot of change since Yoav and I sat down at a table with a group of disparate people, all with one common interest of varying degrees. Our mission, transferring the ownership of our apartment from the sellers to us, the buyers (or really our bank). Like most everything in New York City, nothing can be simple or cheap.
OK, I know you all have been patiently waiting with baited breath to see the living room in all its glory….
OK, I know two or three of my readers have been patiently waiting with baited breath to see the living room in all its glory….
Well, finally….. The living room reveal is here. But first a few thoughts and a bit of background….
OK… So I know I promised that I would have a full reveal of the living room last week, and I shot a bunch of pictures with my trusty iPhone… But after looking at the photos, it was clear that they didn’t quite capture what I was hoping to convey. Mea culpa…. Oy!
It was obvious to me that I needed to re-shoot the room and use a better camera to better capture the space.
Yesterday was The Big Black Reveal (Part I) where I described how I was enthralled with the idea of a black ceiling, yet terrified of doing it. And then after letting go of my fear and getting the approval of my husband, moved forward and painted our living room ceiling black.
Back in January I wrote a post (Embracing Black and the End of Mediocrity) in which I declared war on the status of mediocrity in a mini manifesto of sorts. I declared that I was going to embrace my true self and express my individuality (with my husband Yoav’s blessing) and basically not give a sh*t what people think about our home and how we have it decorated.
I don’t always have big things to write about, but there are often little things which I think are important enough to warrant their own post. To fill that niche, I am creating a series of posts to called Detail Matters.
God is in the details….. This phrase brings to mind my design ethos. Basically it is saying that attention paid to small things has big rewards, or that details are important.
Lest you think I have abandoned my new blog, rest assured, I have not.
Life has just been busy…. I mean like extremely busy. I have been too focused on other things to sit down and write. But I have several posts started, and there is much more to come… In the meantime, I am going to post a few teaser photos to keep you interested (I hope).
[Photo: My now former home in Hell’s Kitchen.]
Things around here have been a bit quiet lately. Not because I have nothing to write about or want to say, but because we are simply in a holding pattern at the moment. The purchase process of our dream home (the purpose of this blog) is still ongoing. God willing, we will close before the end of August.
[Photo: This is a beautiful room, although I think it could use a tad bit more red. Source – House and Garden UK, November 2012]
I am not an interior designer. But I do have my own distinctive sense of style. I know what I do like and what I don’t like. (I am also very fortunate and grateful to have a supportive husband who appreciates my sense of style, and lets me do almost anything when it comes to our home’s interior design.)
Hi, my name is Devyn. This was my blog about the adventures of finding, buying, renovating, fixing up, restoring, DIY'ing, and decorating a part of New York housing legacy. We have left NYC for a new life in Philadelphia. Visit my new blog Our Philly Row and read all about our "fixer-upper-ing" an 1852 rowhouse
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