An 800-square-foot, one-bedroom rental in a 1963 building was furnished on a limited budget by blending retail pieces with carefully selected vintage finds sourced around NYC and via Instagram dealers. The couple pays $4,900 monthly on a four-year lease and prioritized personal, affordable art by working directly with artist friends to find pieces that fit both space and budget. The approach bypassed galleries that often don't serve new collectors and emphasized collecting objects and artwork with personal stories. Textile art by Helen Geglio reuses fragments of old cloths, aprons, and items of women's work.
When I was moving into an apartment with my wife, we wanted a clean, cozy, art-filled oasis but, of course, we didn't have the budget that my clients have so we had to get creative!
We found that most galleries don't really cater to new collectors, and that it's hard to know what is 'good' or 'worth it,' even though we were going to be spending thousands of dollars on it!!
I've been lucky to meet and know a lot of very talented artists over the years, and so we were able to work directly with the artists - our friends - to find pieces of theirs that fit our space and our budget,
[p]ick things that mean something to you - not just because it was on a list on the internet. Buy art from your friends [and] pick up accessories on your vacation that remind you of the trip when you see them. Prioritize the 'story' and don't worry as much if it 'goes together.'
Collection
[
|
...
]