Katy Ma, a user experience designer, transformed her 400-square-foot East Village apartment into a functional and personalized space. She maximized storage with creative solutions to minimize visual clutter. Katy thrived on incorporating thrifted and gifted items that carry memories, avoiding new store purchases. Despite describing her apartment as a 'bare-bones canvas' initially, she fell in love with its potential and made the fixtures more appealing. She values the stories behind furniture pieces and aims to maintain a balance between beauty and practicality.
"I've maximized storage solutions in closets, cabinets, and underneath my bed so that I can have everything I need but don't have too much visual clutter," Katy says. "There are hooks and organizer units behind every door. I love to be surrounded by beautiful things and am not a minimalist by any stretch of the imagination, but I try to keep it edited, which helps keep my head clear."
Before Katy, who shared this home with pup, Nuomi, moved into this apartment, she describes it as being kind of a 'bare-bones canvas.' She describes the fixtures as being outdated, the bathroom as needing a refresh, and the windows desperate for cleaning. But she 'fell in love with the French doors and knew there was a ton of potential.'
Katy added her personality to the blank canvas primarily using furniture and decor that was either 'thrifted, gifted, or found on Facebook Marketplace. It's rare that I'll go into a store and buy something new. I love the thrill of going to a thrift store with no expectations, and finding something that's had a whole life before me and is made with quality.'
"I love seeing something that's in my home and thinking back to the memory associated with it. I spend a good amount of time appreciating the stories behind each piece that I've incorporated into my space."
Collection
[
|
...
]