I love my new apartment in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn. I lived in Carroll Gardens for many many years. It was a big adjustment for me and there are things I miss about my old neighborhood, but I'm really happy in this pretty prewar apartment. I'm on a corner on the 6th floor and the natural light, archways and shiny wood floors inspire true joy in me!
I'm on a budget, since moving is expensive, so I'm trying to be crafty. I repainted this old metal table and added an orange plexi top. I put together IKEA Kallax shelves to store some paintings and assembled a dresser by Tarva (painted it pale pink). It's not the same as someone who can really build, but that the drawers open & close made me quite proud.
The shelves act as a sort of divider between my bedroom and workspace. There are 3 windows, so I had to put my drawing table in there :)
My brushes are in order and here's a little mix of springtime paintings. I can't wait for warmer weather, flowers and green tree tops.
As a renter, I'm somewhat limited in what I can do, with say a bathroom, but I painted a blue wall mural to balance all the "peach" tiles in there.
I also painted the vintage clothes hamper in there! Under the Sea in orange & yellows.
Below, after emptying all the bins. Gorilla Bins were great btw! I ordered 40 that they delivered to my old apt and picked up a couple weeks later at my new place. I can also recommend Top Hat Movers, really nice, helpful & fast movers! As stressful as moving was, they made it as seamless as it could be for someone, like me, who had a lot of bins & boxes & paintings to move.
I've posted most of these (probably more) on Instagram, but I'm still pretty excited to settle in here. It's really fun to find a place for everything and the amount of wall space gives some of my older paintings a chance to shine again.
I enjoyed adding color to my white kitchen! These bamboo utensils and red toaster oven are from Wayfair :D
Below, my Rose rug from Society6, sweet kitty ring dish by my friend, Kristine Lombardi, paints in box, Woman (oil on canvas), Nervous Bear (acrylic on canvas), Manor (acrylic on wood), my childhood bear and my orange shelf, which holds some favorites, including Uppercase books & magazines :)
Thanks for taking a look at my new place. It felt a little heartbreaking when I learned I had to move from my old apartment on Court Street. This was actually the very 1st place I looked at, I saw about 10 others and kept coming back to this one. I'm so glad I did. The neighbors are nice, good restaurants & groceries are right around the corner, as are the historic Victorian homes that first attracted me to the area years ago. Fortunately, my friends, Melissa Stampley, Bryon Finn & Marie Coons live in the neighboring area of Kensington, so this didn't seem as far out as it could have. I look forward to walking to Prospect Park this spring and exploring the charming side streets. It probably sounds silly, but it feels like a magical fresh start, that I think I really needed.
Have a good night and a lovely Sunday! xo, A