My NYC Apartment Tour
A tour of my 2-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn with a minimalist, colorful and cozy aesthetic.
Welcome to our cozy Brooklyn apartment tour. After living in a few different NYC neighborhoods (and boroughs), including the Upper West Side and Long Island City, Jackson and I finally found a space that has been able to grow with us, and with our expanding family. We moved into our current 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom apartment in Bed-Stuy in March 2020, when everything was falling apart due to COVID. After a grueling 17-hour move (the moving vlog) that involved 3 separate trips in our self-rented U-Haul, we vowed never to do it again alone (and not to move again for a number of years), and we’re 4 years into this journey. In this apartment, we’ve survived bed bugs, a rat scare, celebrated numerous birthdays, gone through lay-offs, launched a startup, (re-)started a Youtube channel, and brought home our newborn. It’s funny how a space can absorb and shape so much of your life, so before I get emotional, let’s get into the details.
Living in Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the best. I used to make fun of all of my friends who eventually ended up moving here, and joked they’d probably either end up with a kid of a dog like everyone in this borough, but honestly, it just feels like coming home. And now we’re the ones with a kid. After busy Manhattan and a very boujee stint at a luxury apartment in LIC, it’s the perfect amount of laid back and creative. In a place where the unconventional is normal, and with rent that is relatively affordable, we’ve been able to invent and reinvent ourselves, our careers, and what we want from our lives. If you watch my vlogs, you’ll know that we’re a family with Ghanaian + German roots, first and second generation transplants, and we love living in a neighborhood where we blend right in. Although at this point, I do feel compelled to note that it’s not all rainbows — trash management, exorbitant childcare costs, crime, and a seriously dirty subway — these are all still realistic issues that come with life in new york city, but the good news is, you can now lobby your local representatives for positive change with this app (which my husband built!) Check it out here ♡ (shameless plug, but I love him, and more importantly, advocating for your community is important work, so maybe it helps at least one of you!).
The Entry
Now that I’ve poured my heart out to you, I feel that I’m ready to invite you into our space. Welcome to our entry, which I shamelessly painted black for a little drama, and in contrast to the meticulously white walls throughout the rest of the space. I love ceramic art, so I invested in a beautiful coat hook and a few special bowls to hold all of our essentials, like keys, sunglasses, and masks from that time.
Everyone needs a Bonus Space
On your way to the bedrooms (though we’ve co-opted one of them into our main living space—more on that later), we have a bit of a bonus space that holds all of my hobbies: expensive mirrors, a print magazine collection, and the Peloton. It brings me so much joy, and really opens up the space in a way that only older apartments can.
The Living Room
All the way at the back is what used to be the primary bedroom, but which we quickly re-shuffled into our main living space. When it was just the two of us, it was where we came together at the end of a busy WFH day to watch TV or play games. Now that we have a toddler, it is 85% playroom and 15% everything else.
The Bedroom
Our bedroom feels like a cozy little nest with lower ceilings and bright windows. We recently upgraded our mattress, and now that Luca finally sleeps in his own bed at the foot of ours, we sleep so well in our linen sheets, silk pillowcases, and an ergonomic pillow that has lasted well beyond my pregnancy.
The Kitchen
My mom affectionately refers to our kitchen as a coffee point, and it is small, but one person can comfortably cook a full meal, feed a group of 10, or host a party of 30+ people from this little command center. We did have to use a spare sheet of plywood for visual separation from our dining space, but now we love our kitchen setup. Once I spruced up the tiny space with white renter-friendly stick-on tiles, I now look forward to making our daily breakfast here. With a cute pink kettle, the amazing everyday-pan, and a waffle maker that reminds me of a childhood holiday at Disney (as a German child, the American hotel brunch spread left quite an impression), I’ve added a touch of design to my morning routine.
The Dining / Workspace
Our dining room is arguably where I spend most of my time because it’s really a multi-purpose space. We custom-built our table (and it nearly ended our marriage) because we wanted a big, spacious surface for gathering — whether that’s to work from home, eat a meal, or host friends in our space. Coupled with another custom build for a plastered breakfast bar that secretly holds all of our pantry items in the back, and an IKEA credenza along the back wall, this room has enough surfaces to flex with all of our needs. Its tall ceilings and big window create an inviting vibe with plenty daylight to film youtube segments, take zoom calls, and spread out all of my notes for brainstorming and to-do lists. At the end of the day, we throw our laptops into the storage cabinets, store away notes and pens, and come together to cook and eat.
If you’re interested in any of the items in our space, I’ve linked many of them in the description box of the Youtube video above.
