Recently, my friend Wilma and I had the privilege of visiting my son in New York City. He is a very busy young man who writes comedy, and works a full time job in his spare time. He has been living with his college hand-me-down furniture for nearly 10 years and was ready for a fresh look. His apartment is a good size, so it was time for a Rave Redux in New York City.
Wilma and I were happy to help give what he thought was a tired space, an updated, comfortable, new look. Take a gander at how it looked before. (Photos were made with a combination of camera and phone, so please forgive the quality.)
This small “clock table” was handmade by his dear old mom before he moved into his college apartment. We moved it from the foyer to beside his new sofa. (Rave Redux’s mission is to use what you have and save you money, especially if you’re my son.)
His living room had room for a sofa and love seat (bottom right of picture).
I’m thrilled he has a gas cook-top, some architectural interest with the brick backsplash and of course his sense of humor. He wouldn’t let me donate the “pig” cookie jar from one of our family moves and it is still in his kitchen. It makes me smile AND leave the cookies alone.
I offered to do some work in the kitchen, too, but, in true NYC, comedic fashion, he said, “that’s ok, Mom, I don’t spend any time in the kitchen.”
This building was built in the 1930’s and he has no closet in the bedroom. His queen size bed is definitely the focal point, so we did some furniture re-placement.
Now, look at what patience, hard work and a little help from mom and friends (thank you, Wilma and Caroline) can do to a New York City apartment.
He purchased a new foyer table from Pier 1 and we experimented with his artwork. We moved this Asian piece a couple of times and finally decided it was best in his bedroom. We used his Michael Wesely print in the foyer. He likes it much better.
A tray for mail, keys, etc is on order for the table.
This was a gift from his sweet girlfriend, Caroline, and is now hanging in a prominent place in the foyer.
We suggested he move this bookcase from his bedroom to the foyer. It gave him more room in the bedroom and he can use the bottom shelf for shoes, umbrella, etc. The grocery cart was folded up and placed here for quick and easy use on the busy streets of NYC.
This is really coming together as a cool bach pad!
My son is not only a great writer and hard worker, he’s pretty handy with a drill, too. He installed the draperies after we left. They really add warmth to the room. (I’ll fluff them when I visit next time.) And in case you’re wondering, we are all cat-lovers in my family. The cat-tree had to stay, so sweet Mimi could still have her perch and see out the window. I’m a bad grandmother. I didn’t get any pictures of my grandkitty.
You could feel your hair blow around the window unit, so this mom was excited to move the head of the bed away from the window and put up curtains to help block the winter breeze.
Books on dresser were temporary prior to moving the bookcase.
Our choices in this room were limited due to molding on the walls and the best placement of his furniture. We decided to ignore the molding and center the picture over the bed.
The radiator is now open and curtains in place. We are hopeful this is a warmer room in lots of ways… The cow also helps block the breeze.
We purchased a new shower curtain and bath mat. No pictures of the old one.
So here are the before and afters together…
This may have been one of my most fun projects, yet. What joy a mom receives when at first she works to block a winter breeze! And a bonus came with this comment from him as we were leaving, “it’s finally beginning to feel like home.” Stay warm Babe, much love….
