All apartment photos by Ashok Sinha

Wid Chapman‘s parents were profound modernists, his father an architect who worked for Marcel Breuer, and his mother an artist who studied with Josef Albers. The career that Wid has built for himself as an architect and interior designer who specializes in hospitality design is uniquely his own but showcases the influences of his parents. When it came time to design his personal apartment on the Upper East Side, it was his own family who influenced the renovation. “Providing space intimate enough for our small immediate family but room for an extended one, the project reconfigures and reshapes extant spaces to defer to the apartment’s sweeping Central Park views,” said Wid, adding that “color and materiality” were also central to the project. Ahead, take a full tour of this one-of-a-kind apartment and hear from Wid about his background and career and the specifics of the renovation.

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Before-and-after photos Rae took of her pop-up entryway office

Last year, we visited the 400-square-foot Hell’s Kitchen studio of Rae Lambert and her husband Ryan. In addition to her career as a product marketer for tech companies, Rae runs the awesome blog Small Space, Big Taste, where she shares ideas about re-designing how to live, spend, eat, work and travel. So it comes as no surprise that Rae adapted quickly to quarantine lifestyle, which has forced Ryan to work from home as well. Ahead, Rae takes us on a virtual journey of how she transformed her entryway into a pop-up office, complete with both standing and sitting work stations and some lovely accessories. She also fills us in on what a typical day looks like now for her and Ryan and shares advice for other couples working from home together in a small space.

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Our series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to the Soho loft and eponymous shop of designer Michele Varian. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

For the design-minded, Michele Varian’s Soho storefront is a must-visit destination, stocked to the brim with her own designs alongside a rotating cast of 100+ designers. Since opening her first store in 2001, Michele has sought to create an oasis for quality pieces that straddle the line between tradition and modernity. Like a cabinet of curiosities, the shop offers an antidote to the increasing homogeneity of the retail experience in Soho.

Just a couple blocks away on Broadway, Michele lives in a quintessential Soho loft with her rock star husband, Brad Roberts of the Crash Test Dummies. Michele’s signature aesthetic and eye for the handmade is apparent in the duo’s eclectic and inviting space, which is a testament to their lives together. Filled with bold pattern plays, curiosities from their travels, and Brad’s collection of musical instruments, there’s hardly a surface that doesn’t catch the eye or capture the imagination. Ahead, tour Michele’s shop and loft and find out how she balances (and often intertwines) work with life.

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Our series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to the Park Slope apartment of digital marketing strategist and sustainability advocate Natalie Skoblow. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

Many New Yorkers fill their apartments with second-hand goods for that vintage aesthetic or because it’s affordable. But Long Island-native Natalie Skoblow thrifts because it also benefits the environment. “From the clothes in my closet to the photos on the wall, almost everything in our apartment is either locally made, thrifted, or sustainably made,” Natalie told us on a recent tour of her Park Slope apartment. What began as a hobby in high school became a “full-fledged love affair” with supporting sustainable, ethical brands. From the books found on the sidewalks of her neighborhood to the antique maps of Brooklyn above the piano, Natalie and her boyfriend Jesse’s apartment brings new life into old pieces. Ahead, meet Natalie, along with the couple’s newly adopted puppy Ollie, and tour her apartment, which she describes as “playful, vibrant, and welcoming.”

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A lot of couples in NYC count down the days until they can pack up their studio for more spacious digs, but for Raechel and Ryan Lambert, they have no plans to upsize. The couple has been living in studio apartments for the past seven years–first in San Francisco, now in Hell’s Kitchen–and they’re doing it to maximize in other areas of their lives, such as travel and saving. Rae, a product marketer for tech companies, also runs the blog Small Space, Big Taste, where she embraces her minimalist mindset and shares with readers her tips on finance, cooking, traveling, and interiors. From packing for an eight-day trip in one backpack to sharing everything one needs to know about Murphy beds, Rae’s articles are best exemplified in her and Ryan’s 400-square-foot apartment.

When Rae invited us into her home, we were welcomed into an airy, comfortable apartment that was so well organized it had space for cooking, dining, lounging, sleeping, and even playing the piano. Thanks to a less-is-more philosophy and a great collection of multi-purpose and moveable furniture, this couple’s savvy design may have you rethinking that one-bedroom listing.

Take a tour of Rae’s apartment and get some first-hand tips

Ten years ago, Christine Blackburn and her husband built an entirely new home above two storefronts in Fort Greene. Christine is one half of the Barak/Blackburn Team at Compass. As a seasoned real estate agent who specializes in North Brooklyn and Downtown Manhattan, it’s no surprise that she had the eye to create a home with a double-height living room, two terraces, a roof deck, and plenty of cool, custom design details. 6sqft recently paid Christine a visit to get a tour of her home, learn what it was like to build the residence from the ground up, and hear her thoughts on the real estate market in New York City.

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Our series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to the Greenpoint apartment of musician-couple Sara McDonald and Amit Peled. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

Growing up in a military family that moved almost every year, Sara McDonald tried to feel settled in each new city by furnishing her room with framed photos and special pillows. “I would always spend a ton of time organizing and decorating my room even though I knew it wasn’t permanent,” she told us. “I just wanted to feel at home where we lived.” In her Greenpoint apartment she shares with boyfriend Amit Peled, Sara has been able to do just that, styling her place exactly how she wants with Craigslist finds and unique mementos from abroad.

Both musicians (they met at the School of Jazz at The New School), Sara and Amit needed space for their many instruments. Thankfully, Sara, who composes and arranges music for her big band NYChillharmonic and plays the French horn, and Amit, a guitarist, and member of a hard-core Klezmer band, can use their apartment’s second bedroom as a music studio. Their apartment boasts a vintage vibe, credited mainly to Sara’s resilient effort to find pieces she wants online. Nearly everything in the couple’s home cost them less than $200, with even the mahogany spinet piano picked up for free. “I always know exactly what I want, almost to a fault,” she said. Ahead, meet Sara and Amit and learn how they made this funky Brooklyn apartment their own.

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When Cassie Harwood-Jacquet moved to NYC from Adelaide, Australia eight years ago, she thought she’d only stay for a few months. But after scoring a job in a salon (she’d worked as a hairstylist for a decade back home), meeting her husband Matt, and having him move to New York from Paris to continue his career as a menswear designer, she decided to put down roots. Cassie and Matt now have an adorable three-year-old daughter named Fanella Rose and a lovely, family-friendly duplex in Chelsea. To balance her life as a working mom, Cassie set up her own salon, Maison Jacquet, in their apartment. 6sqft recently paid the Jacquets a visit and got a tour of their contemporary, colorful, and comfortable home and chatted with Cassie about raising children in Chelsea, working from home, and how she and Matt decorated their space.

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Our series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to the Greenwich Village apartment of Museum Hack founder Nick Gray. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

A few years ago, a date brought Nick Gray to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and showed him all of the pieces she really loved. Something clicked. “The passion was contagious,” Nick said. “I went back to the museum dozens of times, iPad in hand, doing a deep dive into the pieces I found most interesting.” As this became a serious hobby, Nick, who has no background in art or history, began inviting friends to join him at the Met to teach them fun facts about lesser-known works of art and artifacts. What started as a new obsession with museums, grew into Museum Hack, a million-dollar company that leads “renegade” small-group tours of museums in New York City and four other cities.

Nick’s enthusiasm follows him into his Greenwich Village apartment, where its minimalist design comes packed with memories. On a recent tour of his apartment–which boasts super tall ceilings, a skylight, and a wood-burning fireplace–he eagerly showed us a wall covered with polaroids of friends, his blue velvet couch inspired by a piece of furniture at the Met, and a large photo of “the craziest party” he’s ever thrown. Ahead, tour Nick’s bright pad, take his advice for museum newbies and learn about what he has planned next (it involves guacamole).

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Our series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all five boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to interior decorator Habiba Koroma’s apartment in Central Harlem. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

Habiba Koroma always had an eye for design, but she never imagined her passion could be pursued professionally. It was not until her mother became ill that she gained the courage to follow her decorating dreams. But it wasn’t simple. After leaving her job at a nonprofit, Habiba went on many informational interviews, held an internship at a residential firm, and received her degree from the Parsons School of Design. Now as an interior design consultant for Restoration Hardware, Habiba has been able to surround herself with the latest trends, all while learning about materials and getting inspiration for her own place.

Both Habiba’s skill set and enthusiasm for design are on display in her Central Harlem apartment, which has been featured on Apartment Therapy and wallpaper company Spoonflower. Not only has she expertly mixed colors and patterns, but she’s also created a special–and kid-friendly–space for her three-year-old son Miles. Habiba transformed an IKEA bunk bed into a fun hideout for Miles, filled with books, toys, and a whiteboard. There’s even a colorful ball pit on the top bunk. Ahead, meet Habiba, tour her apartment, and learn how she keeps things Miles-friendly without ever sacrificing style.

Meet Habiba and tour her pad