Five Years in 450 Square Feet: How I Turned My Studio Into My Sanctuary
From move-in day to now: the objects that define my West Village studio
For those celebrating, I hope you’re having a meaningful Passover and/or savored your Easter Sunday. My Easter bunny (hiiii, dad!) sent his goodies through earlier this week, but I was sure to indulge this morning by going to Tall Poppy for their Pop Tart Almond Croissant, which I fear was utterly life-changing.
To stay on the Easter theme, I had some bunny-shaped dumplings at Red Farm on Friday, and this evening, my dear friend Caylee Ashwell brought coconut and carrot cake from Little Cupcake Bakeshop over for dessert. God, I love a holiday that encourages copious sugar consumption!!! While we’re on the note of food, I balanced out all the carbs with a modified version of this Fresh Shredded Snap Pea Salad with Lemon and Mint tonight—highly recommend incorporating into your spring rotation. Oh, and the squash soup pictured below was from Meadow Lane, which my fellow New Yorkers should know is now on Uber Eats!
Beyond food, I’ve got lots of goodness to dig into with you all in today’s hearty edition, but before doing so, I wanted to do a call back to a letter I shared around this time last year: prompts for a [positive] quarterly review, considering we’re at the top of the quarter. And on the note of The Sunday Series community forever being on a quest for self-improvement, I’ve been beyond touched to see such a warm reception for last week’s letter, “Spring Training Starts Now: a 30-day sprint formula to feel your best.” Sharing it below ICYMI!!
Okayyyy, a juicy one today! Here’s what's on deck in this Sunday’s letter:
Five years in 450 square feet: how I turned my studio apartment into my sanctuary
The Vault (Paid Subscriber Exclusive): how I’m tracking on my exact Spring Training Checklist, plus the extended cut of what I’m doing to really dig deep
The Vault (Paid Subscriber Exclusive): the podcast queue that’s been keeping me listening and learning
In addition to sweet texts and email responses about how last week’s letter resonated, it seems to be reaching a new audience beyond my subscribership here on Substack, not to mention bringing in a wave of new paid readers. If you’re one of them, thank you! Some more on the bits and bobs you get access to with your enhanced subscription below.
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This weekend, Facebook kindly reminded me that I moved into my West Village apartment five years ago. Naturally, I fell down a memory lane spiral (read: my incredibly detailed camera roll) and started texting my dad photos from that April weekend in 2021—the one when we were still wearing masks while traipsing through Home Depot. Below are some photos (including the contents of my wine-filled fridge on move-in day) for a general sense of vibes at the time.
While this wasn’t my first time living alone, it was my first solo apartment in New York—let alone in my dream neighborhood—so moving in felt like a very big deal. From the moment I signed the lease, I had a clear vision for how I wanted the space to feel, and in turn, had already sourced much of the furniture and fixtures before even making that fateful first climb up to my fifth-floor walk-up. Within a week, my mom came to visit, and between various shopping missions, we wallpapered part of the apartment to carve out a real sense of separation in the dining area.
When I look back on photos from my space taken five years ago versus today, there are some clear differences: I’ve upgraded my couch, for one! I’ve flipped my rug. I killed a plant that I tried so hard to make work, but unfortunately, I don’t get enough natural light to keep many things alive in here. I’ve FILLED my bookshelf. I’ve swapped out my duvet, bed sheets, and curtains.
But ultimately, the vision has remained the same: this is my sanctuary. My space to come home to between trips and feel like I’m surrounded by all of my favorite things. Namely, flowers and candles. ALWAYS fresh flowers…and more often than not, a taper candle burning (day or night).
In case you’re in the market for some home goods, I’m sharing a rundown of the items that have made all the difference to my daily life as I’ve made this cozy 450-square-foot studio home. I’m recapping everything from furniture to glassware to organization that can help you optimize apartment living. Plus, most is also linked on my ShopMy!
Round 48” Walnut Pedestal Dining Table: the very table I’m writing to you from right now! She’s held up so well, zero regrets.
Chairs: the exact make of my dining chairs is also no longer in stock, but interestingly, Anthro is carrying the same chair in a funky print I adore, in addition to these options. Or, if you’re looking for counter height, they have my same colorway and style.
Renter-friendly wallpaper: the corner of my place that I’m easily complimented on the most is my peel-and-stick wallpaper. One day, I’ll have de Gournay, but for now, this is a solid enough hack! It’s been up for five years and still looks like it did the day we installed it.
CB2 Couch: my exact couch (Strato 80” Camel Velvet Sofa) is no longer available, but if I were shopping for a new one today, I’d be all over this similarly colored curved option, or this gorgeous green option.
Acrylic coffee table and bedside table: the specific vendor I purchased from on Etsy is listed as ‘taking a short break,’ but I’d highly recommend looking around on Etsy for something similar if you want the acrylic look.
Anthropologie Primrose Mirror: by no means am I claiming to be creative in recommending one of the internet’s most adored mirrors, but I stand by my choice to splurge on her. Lots of different sizes depending on what you need!
40” Bar Cart: I was sooooo happy to see that not only is West Elm still selling this tiered bar cart, but it’s 21% off at the moment. Run, don’t walk!
The Frame TV: I didn’t have this baby when I moved in but I regret waiting even a moment to get her! Easily the best tech investment I own.
Ornate gold frame for Frame TV: A Frame TV is nothing without…a frame. While Samsung has options, respectfully, ew? This gold baby is the anchor to my gallery wall!
My gallery wall: these will, for the most part, be impossible pieces to link since I’ve acquired them all over, but several are from Gray Malin, which is always a great place to start when perusing wall art.
Boll & Branch Sheet Set and Boll & Branch Towel Set: life has quite simply been better since upgrading my sheets and towels. Can’t recommend enough!!!!
Jolie Filtered Shower Head: feels like a no-brainer to filter out chlorine and heavy metals from your daily shower, just wish I’d gotten mine sooner.
Velvet Curtains: I didn’t get these until I was in my place for a bit, but now I can’t imagine not having them! Mine are the dark olive colorway in 48"x84".
Hatch Alarm Clock: you guys have heard me raaaaaaave about this and I really do mean it when I say this alarm clock has changed my life.
Steamery Steamer: another newer edition to my space, but I wanted to add it because it makes such a noticeable difference to my daily life. I had had this steamer provided in a number of hotels until I finally decided I needed the same one at home. LOVE!
I always giggle when people ask if I “even cook.” I certainly do, and all in this gloriously compact kitchen!!
De’Longhi Coffee & Espresso Maker: this is one of the items that’s been with me since month one here, and I can’t imagine daily life without her! I influenced my sister to get the same when she moved into her new house, and she’s an equally big fan of the variety between being able to oscillate between drip and espresso.
East Fork Bowls: a more recent upgrade, and I can’t say enough great things about how fabulous these bowls are! Very multipurpose, from everything to salads to soup.
Handblown Glass Cups: also from East Fork, I love the weight of these, along with the neutral colors
Plates from Morocco: obviously another ceramic element that I can’t link, but treasure! More about the story behind them here in Window Seat.
Espresso cups from Turkey: nooo links here (obvi!) but these spark daily joy. A reminder when you’re traveling, just buy the fragile thing you love and figure out how to get it home safe!
Knives from France and Japan: once again, no links, but I’m always so happy to collect home goods when I’m away. Last fall, I nabbed some special tomato, bread, and butter knives from France, and this past month, I upgraded my kitchen knives in Japan. So worth it!
Sets of Bookshelves: looks like the finish I have isn’t in stock anymore, but there are two other options avail via this link. I have two of these that sit side by side and as you can see from the pic, they hold a lot of books!!
Stacks of Assouline coffee table books: these are split between my bookshelf and dresser, but I have eight and counting—they add such fun pops of color to the apartment.
Stackable Drawers: this is hiding in my coat closet, and I use it to keep all my baseball hats, packing cubes, and the plethora of canvas totes I’ve acquired sorted.
Over-the-Door Shoe Organizer: for obvious reasons, this is essential to apartment living!
Under the Bed Boxes: and because there’s never enough room to shove all of the out-of-season shoes out of sight, these are musts. I have four under my bed.
Ahhhhh are you still with me? Yay! Time to track how I’m pacing with Spring Training.
Last Sunday, I shared my daily non-negotiables as a part of my personal Spring Training plan.
