Midtown West, NYC
Work / Live balance in a teeny NYC studio apartment.
J lives independently in a studio in midtown. As a remote worker, she struggled to find a work / life balance in a single room and live in a space that she would be proud to have guests visit, rather than embarrassed that her whole life was seemingly on display in her current set up.
J brought me on board because she wanted to live in a space that she actually liked. Like many New Yorkers, oftentimes the rental world can leave one feeling constantly in transition. Being in a rental is still a home and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t feel like one! She is an independent sales rep, working out of her space - adding to the challenge of being able to create some separation between work and life mode.
The biggest challenge would be carving out different task areas for all the functionality that J was looking for. The breakdown was between Rest / Work / Entertainment / Storage. The new floor plan layout completely changed the sleeping niche area. Since noise and light were an issue, I placed her bed toward the interior of the room. This created a “life / rest zone” with a new wardrobe unit installed across from her bed.
J didn’t have a sofa in her apartment before, but by incorporating one in her new area also gave her an opportunity to have friends stay over! A 3 seater was selected to provide ample guest seating and be deep enough for short sleeping stays. And like that, she had a multi-functional pod of her own.
Books / before + after (area 5)
Vanity niche (area 13)
Closet / before + after
Bed niche (area 1)