Luxury Lifestyle

This 350-Sq.-Foot Studio Is a DIY Dream

Lisa Lu Home Tour in Embrace Your Space by Katie Holdefehr

Lisa Lu Home Tour in Embrace Your Space by Katie Holdefehr

Lisa Lu accomplished her first dwelling challenge — putting in a mirrored bar shelf — when pandemic restrictions meant she couldn’t rent somebody to assist. “As soon as I obtained that up, I used to be like, what else can I do?” she says.

One challenge led to a different till she had single-handedly redecorated her 350-square-foot studio in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, utilizing paint, Ikea hacks, and renter-friendly upgrades. The ultimate end result was featured in Embrace Your Area by Actual Easy’s Katie Holdefehr, a house design e-book stuffed with group and adorning concepts for renters in small areas. Right here, we interviewed Lisa about her colourful dwelling…

LIVING AREA

Lisa Lu Home Tour in Embrace Your Space by Katie Holdefehr

Storage bins: Ikea.

On maximizing area: Folks typically divide studio residences into separate rooms utilizing non permanent partitions or screens. However my strategy has been to embrace the open area, whereas nonetheless creating zones. My condo is lengthy and slender, so I’ve experimented with a number of layouts, together with pushing my mattress all the best way to the window. However I like the present association greatest, as a result of it means I can match an additional dresser and stroll round my mattress.

On creating additional storage: At first, I saved low season clothes at my mother’s home, however then I put in Ikea BESTÅ items close to the ceiling. It was an enormous endeavor, and I used to be like, Oh my god, they’re going to fall. However they’ve stayed up for 3 years. Now I simply use a step stool to alter issues out every season.

Lisa Lu Home Tour in Embrace Your Space by Katie Holdefehr

Tufted couch: West Elm, comparable. Aspect desk/stacking stool: Ikea, comparable. Wall sconce: CB2, comparable. Rug: Annie Selke. Ceramic vase: H&M. Wall artwork: Gail Schechter, Kate Baird, Emma Currie, Karin Haas, and Tyler Mitchell for Elmhurst Hospital Middle.

On secondhand finds: The trunk is classic, as is the dresser that serves as my media console. They’re hand-me-downs from my youthful sister. She moved to L.A. and I used to be supposed to simply maintain onto them for her, however now I believe they’re sort of mine!

SLEEPING AREA

Lisa Lu Home Tour in Embrace Your Space by Katie Holdefehr

Bedding: West Elm. Dresser: Wayfair, comparable. Desk lamp: classic from Portmanteau. Portray: Carly Wilhelm.

On design inspiration: I’m very into streetwear and ’90s and ’00s hip-hop and R&B, therefore the skateboard decks above my mattress. I really used them as inspiration when selecting paint colours, since I didn’t need the condo to really feel like a mishmash of colours. You possibly can see the blue-green, the pink, the yellow — it’s all right here. When you’ve gotten one open area, it’s so necessary that issues movement.

On sourcing artwork: The portray above my nightstand was my first piece of authentic artwork. I discovered the artist Carly Wilhelm on Instagram and fell in love along with her work.

Lisa Lu Home Tour in Embrace Your Space by Katie Holdefehr

Cabinets: West Elm, comparable. Hanging planter: Capra Designs. Kate Moss print: Etsy. Drawings of Cam’ron and Biggie: Yung Lenox, “an artist who was simply 9 years outdated on the time.”

On DIY tasks: I nonetheless don’t have any energy instruments, however I’ve obtained the fundamentals, like a screwdriver and hammer, and I now know methods to grasp a shelf and patch holes within the wall. I’ve discovered so much from YouTube tutorials, and for every little thing else, I ask round for assist!

DINING AREA

Lisa Lu Home Tour in Embrace Your Space by Katie Holdefehr

Paint: Tanlines by Backdrop. Desk: CB2, comparable. Bar stools: Scandinavian Designs. Wall mirror with shelf: West Elm, comparable. Wall artwork: Home of Spoils. Coupe glasses: CB2.

On working from dwelling: Throughout the day, I take advantage of this counter-height eating desk as my workspace. Then, within the evenings, I name it ‘my little spritz nook,’ since my drink of alternative is an Aperol spritz and the print above the desk is of the Italian seaside.

Lisa Lu Home Tour in Embrace Your Space by Katie Holdefehr

Flooring mirror: City Outfitters.

On entertaining: I like internet hosting dinner events, however I maintain them small and intimate. Additionally, my condo is a sixth flooring walk-up, so persons are often huffing and puffing by the point they stand up right here. Nonetheless, they at all times say it’s welcoming and looks like me, which is the very best praise. I would like my dwelling to really feel private, such as you get to know me simply by it.

KITCHEN

Lisa Lu Home Tour in Embrace Your Space by Katie Holdefehr

Cupboard paint: Saturday On Sunday from Backdrop. {Hardware}: Rejuvenation. Peel-and-stick subway tile: Wayfair. Marble contact paper: Amazon. Storage crate: Hay. Tea kettle: Chantal. Rug: Loloi. Toilet door moulding: Etsy. Toilet flooring tile decals: Etsy.

On kitchen paint: I used to be apprehensive about portray the cupboards, so I ordered paint swatches first. Selecting a coloration was such a leap of religion! I needed to take off the cupboard doorways off to color the fronts, so for a number of days I used to be tiptoeing round them. Then, I added {hardware}, and I’m so pleased with the end result.

On renter-friendly upgrades: I used peel-and-stick subway tiles to cowl up the prevailing kitchen tiles, which have been dingy and yellowed, and make contact with paper on the counters. It’s held up surprisingly properly! And for the lavatory, I used peel-and-stick flooring and added pre-cut detachable moulding to the door earlier than portray it pink. If I ever have to maneuver, I can simply take away what I’ve added.

BATHROOM

Lisa Lu Home Tour in Embrace Your Space by Katie Holdefehr

Paint: 36 Hours in Marrakesh by Backdrop. Bathe curtain: CB2. Towels: Parachute. Wall artwork: Angela McKay.

On embracing studio dwelling: I believe many individuals consider studios as transitional spots, since they’re so small. However this has been my dwelling for thus lengthy, and though I might afford a much bigger condo, I simply actually love this life. It makes me extra considerate about what I’m bringing into my area.

On showing in a design e-book: It’s sort of surreal. I simply did these tasks to make my condo really feel homey, and I by no means thought that it could be featured in print. I used to be like, Look, Mother, I’m in a e-book!


Embrace Your Space by Katie Holdefehr

Subsequent, Katie Holdefehr and I talked on the cellphone, and right here’s what she advised me about her e-book…

Kaitlyn: What impressed you to write down this e-book?
Katie: There’s this concept in our tradition that you just shouldn’t make investments — financially or emotionally — in an area until you personal it. This may make sense, financially, should you’re saving for a down fee; and, emotionally, there’s danger in pouring your self into a brief area. However I’ve been a renter for years and needed to make a house decor e-book that reveals how subtle rental areas could be. You don’t have to attend to be a home-owner to create a house that you just love dwelling in.

Why did you select Lisa’s condo on your e-book?
The primary photograph I noticed was of Lisa’s kitchen, which had so many good reversible concepts for renters, some that I had by no means even thought-about earlier than. My favourite factor, by far, is her use of paint. Via coloration, she creates these little worlds inside her condo.

All of the houses featured in your e-book are 1150-square-feet or fewer. What do you admire about small areas?
Restricted sq. footage really permits for extra creativity — it’s an issue you’re at all times looking out to resolve. Profitable small areas are pared down to incorporate solely what is beneficial and significant. If you stroll right into a small area that has a lot persona, the impression is even higher than if you stroll right into a cavernous dwelling. It’s like individuals’s lives are distilled into these tiny areas.

Congratulations to Katie on her lovely e-book. Observe her on Instagram, should you’d like. And thanks a lot, Lisa, for sharing your private home with us!

P.S. Extra home excursions, together with a tiny Swedish condo that bursts with coloration and a studio that looks like a womb.

(Pictures by Genevieve Garruppo for Embrace Your Area.)

Notice: For those who purchase one thing by our hyperlinks, we might earn an affiliate fee, without charge to you. We advocate solely merchandise we genuinely like. Thanks a lot.




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