Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Chez Steve


I thought you all might like to see some photos of my humble abode. Yes, this is what a New York City studio apartment looks like. This is what passes for the living room -- and bedroom.


This is a close-up of the bookcase in the top photo. The bookcase itself came from my grandfather. Some of the vases -- the tall red one, the short blue one on the right, and the big beige one in the middle -- were wedding presents to my grandparents back in the 1920s. The elephant bookends up top were theirs, too.


Here's the side of the room across from the bed. You can see my cat, lying in her favorite spot next to the heater. (She spends her entire life in this spot from October through March -- except when she's lying on me.) On the heater I keep souvenir rocks from my travels. The baobab tree atop the stereo is made of grass -- I picked it up in Madagascar.


This is the corner where I meditate. I set up a cushion right there next to the little Buddha statue. The big white seashells on the bookcase came from Sanibel Island, Fla. I found them on the beach the summer I was 12.


From the living area, there's a step up into the dining area and kitchen. My father made my dining table. He used an old government surplus desktop of solid wood, and attached the legs and braces. Pretty cool, huh? These days, he says he's amazed he did that.


And here's my little kitchen, more justly called a kitchenette, I suppose. You can see why it's hard to cook anything too elaborate. But I do have a four-burner stove; some studios have stoves with only two burners.

And that's it -- life in the city! You can see why I'm obsessive about not collecting stuff and keeping things neat. When you live in such a small space, it's a necessity!

Technically, my co-op requires owners to have rugs, to keep down noise. But I hate rugs, and I never wear shoes in my apartment, so noise isn't really a problem.

I'll spare you the entrance hall and the bathroom.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks like a very peaceful place. Love the bookshelf, vases, table & Kitchenette! So nice to see a clean uncluttered space.

Anonymous said...

what beautiful space - very peaceful and calm and neat. I'm inspired. but unfortunately acting on this inspiration will have to wait a week. like the green in the kitchenette - I've been fantasizing about painting one of the upstairs rooms here on ave c a green like that.

Anonymous said...

oooh separate dining area...living the good life steve! ny'ers seems to have an aversion to rugs for some reason. self included.

Anonymous said...

I have an aversion to rugs and cloth draperies and clutter feels oppressive/depressing to me.

A small kitchen would be fine with me. The more space you have the more complex things seem to get.

Anonymous said...

This is great! Love the tour.

I love rugs but your space looks so clean and energetically clear. Wow!!

Anonymous said...

Dennis thinks the cat might appreciate a tiny bath mat or something.

Anonymous said...

I could just move right in--and I would love to live in Manhattan, too.

Anonymous said...

I've had a few rooms just about the same shade of green as your kitchen. (Love the vases and the dining room table)

Anonymous said...

the fridge is the perfect size for one or two people. I really find giant fridges stuffed with junk unappealing--I like to stop at my fave greengrocer every day.

Anonymous said...

of course I love your apt.

I was totally thinking of you when I took the snaps on my blog (the tree shadows on the building)

how romantic & haunting shadows are.

Anonymous said...

how cool to see where you live.

it looks so appealing and calm. We have far too much space and too much stuff. i sometimes dream of living like this - but don't know if i could sustain it.

i love the family things you have, and the found things too

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tour, Steve.

Anonymous said...

This is one of your best posts EVER! I loved it. And, I must say that your apartment is very YOU, and I like it. Before I moved in with my partner and we got our house (which, at 1800 square feet is not huge), I had a small place too - 2 rooms, really. But, I LOVED it! I kind of miss that simplicity to be honest. But, it's hard to live anywhere THAT small when there are TWO of you and a Greyhound. ;-) Hey - I applied for a fellowship at Columbia and an assistant professorship at Baruch, so I may be coming to NYC (though who knows if I'll actually get the jobs).

Anonymous said...

ooh lovely. I'm wondering can you, please, show photos of the art on the wall. I'm trying to live in a less cluttered space, but am wondering how to add art.

thanks.

Anonymous said...

This looks so neat and clean. I feel like a slob now. Thanks.

Love your appartment!