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Our ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of 6sqft’s friends, family and fellow New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to co-founder and creative director of DNA Dustin O'Neal's Lower East Side apartment. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch! "Living in a small space is all about editing," says Dustin O'Neal. "You have to remove to grow." Sage advice from the co-founder and creative director of DNA, a start-up consulting and PR firm representing some of New York's top and up-and-coming architects and designers. While we know that cutting down your belongings is key to making a small space work, it's not often that we see tiny apartments stray from an all-white color palette to include purple, patterns, lots of art and even pops of electric orange and neon yellow. Having worked with dozens of creatives over the last few years, Dustin has picked up a thing or two about interior design, and his tiny 275-square-foot Lower East Side abode of three years reflects this knowledge. We recently visited the enterprising 26-year-old at home to see first-hand how you can transform even the smallest of apartments into a unique, style-filled space with less stuff.
Take a tour of Dustin's apartment here

March 2, 2016

The Urban Lens: Documenting New York City’s Vanishing Privilege Signs

By James and Karla Murray

6sqft's new series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In the first installment, award-winning authors and photographers James and Karla Murray brought us 15 years of images documenting the changing storefronts of Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village. Now they share more amazing images, this time of privilege signs, an industry term for the promotional signs installed by large corporations on storefronts. Are you a photographer who'd like to see your work featured on 6sqft? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. Privilege Signs are an industry term for the promotional signs installed by large corporations such as Coca-Cola and the Optimo Cigar Company. They were popular in the 1930s through 1960s and received their name because store owners were given the "privilege" of completing the signs with their own copy. Large companies benefited from the signs because they were an easy way of weaving a marketing campaign right into a building’s façade. The signs were not only given free to store owners, but they also brought people into the store with instant brand recognition. Today, they read retro and antique, standing out as a testament to a business' ability to endure even in the face of the monumental challenges in a city known for its rapid pace of change. When compiling our books on disappearing storefronts, we were immediately drawn to facades that still had these type of signs, so we've rounded up some of our favorites ahead.
See all the photos ahead

February 16, 2016

My 1,640sqft: Inside Chef Devin Gaffney’s Rent-Stabilized Classic Six on Billionaires’ Row

Our ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of 6sqft’s friends, family and fellow New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to chef Devin Gaffney's Central Park South home. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch! Whenever 57th Street and the few blocks that cluster Central Park South make the news, headlines usually swirl around how there's a brand new multi-billion dollar tower on the rise or how a condo in One57 just broke some city record. But lest we forget, many mere mortals like ourselves still fill out the more elfin edifices surrounding these supertalls. One such resident is Devin Gaffney, a chef (he's whipped up dishes at Brooklyn's beloved Speedy Romeo and No. 7) who not only grew up in the area, but moved away, spent 10 years in Brooklyn, and then moved back to the island into the same apartment he called home during his formative years. Ahead, Devin takes us through his eclectic, art-filled (many works centuries-old) classic six in a 1913 construction built for musicians just a block from Carnegie Hall, a block from Central Park, and right smack in the middle of one of New York City's most coveted and most expensive areas.
Go inside Devin's home here

February 2, 2016

The Urban Lens: Documenting Gentrification’s Toll on the Mom-and-Pops of Greenwich Village

By James and Karla Murray

6sqft's new series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. To kick things off, award-winning authors and photographers James and Karla Murray bring us 15 years of images documenting the changing storefronts of Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village. Are you a photographer who'd like to see your work featured on 6sqft? Get in touch with us at [email protected] Bleecker Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenue South was once a huge Italian enclave with many traditional "mom and pop" stores catering to the large Italian families who resided in the neighborhood. By the late 1930s, it also had a significant bohemian population with many artists, writers, poets and musicians living in the area who set up galleries, coffee houses and music shops. Due to widespread gentrification and escalating real-estate values, the neighborhood has changed drastically and its unique appearance and character is suffering. We are here to take you on visual tour to experience how many of the truly authentic shops remain on this venerable Greenwich Village street, and to show you what has replaced the ones that have vanished. Many of the shops you'll encounter ahead have been featured with full-color photographs and insightful interviews with the store owners in three of our widely acclaimed books on the subject, but we've also rounded up several more ahead.
Walk the Greenwich Village of yesteryear and present

January 31, 2016

A New York Minute With Urban Revitalization Consultant Majora Carter

6sqft's new mini-series A New York Minute features influential New Yorkers answering spitfire (and sometimes very random) questions about their life in the big city. Want to nominate yourself or someone you know? Get in touch! The last time we checked in with Majora Carter she was spearheading a proposal to turn Spofford Juvenile Center in Hunts Point into mixed-income housing—but that's just a kernel on her resume. Majora is an urban revitalization strategy consultant, real estate developer, and Peabody Award winning broadcaster. Her 2006 TEDtalk "Greening the Ghetto," was one of the first six videos to ever appear on TED's website, and in it she passionately describes her solutions for environmental equality in the South Bronx. Now, fast forward ten years later, and she's still pushing for green infrastructure projects in her beloved neighborhood. We recently caught up with Majora to find out some fun facts, including what she loves, hates and would change about New York City.
Majora's NY minute this way

Where I Work

January 24, 2016

A New York Minute With Veselka Restaurant Owner Tom Birchard

In 6sqft's fun new series A New York Minute we ask influential New Yorkers spitfire (and sometimes very random) questions about their life in the big city. Want to nominate yourself or someone you know? Get in touch! In 1965, Tom Birchard was busy studying business administration at Rutgers University when he met Marta, daughter of Wolodymyr Darmochwal, at a fraternity party. Her father owned the Ukrainian restaurant Veselka at Second Avenue and Ninth Street in what was then a largely Easter European community. Tom and Marta married the following year, and ever since then Tom started working at the restaurant part time, helping it grow into the iconic establishment it is today, famous for its 24-hour pierogis and borscht. Though he and Marta eventually separated (Tom is now married to Dr. Sally Haddock who owns St. Marks Veterinary Hospital), Tom took ownership of the business in 1975, and has since been at the helm, living in the East Village, which he describes as "young, funky, artsy." Not only does he keep the Ukrainian spirit alive, but he's active in the community, serving on the board of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and actively sponsoring local performance artists.
READ MORE

Where I Work

January 17, 2016

A New York Minute With Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

6sqft's new series A New York Minute features influential New Yorkers answering spitfire (and sometimes very random) questions about their life in the big city. Want to nominate yourself or someone you know? Get in touch! With the somewhat-recent arrivals of The Bronx Brewery and Trump Gold Links at Ferry Point, as well as talks of a Lowline-style park and bringing back streetcars, it's no wonder Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. has described the borough as "The New Bronx." Though BP Diaz has only held his position for about seven years, he's a lifelong Bronxite, and he's taken some time out of his busy schedule to chat with 6sqft about what his life has been like in the Boogie Down.
BP Diaz's NY minute this way

Where I Work

January 12, 2016

Where I Work: Inside interior designer Ghislaine Viñas’ colorful, playful Tribeca loft

6sqft’s series “Where I Work” takes us into the studios, offices, and off-beat workspaces of New Yorkers across the city. In this installment, we take a tour of designer Ghislaine Viñas' colorful and Tribeca loft. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! The work of interior designer Ghislaine Viñas is unmistakable; the bright colors, bold prints, and fun and funky decor have made her the go-to firm for both local Tribeca residents and international clients looking to jazz up their homes. After 25 years and winning countless awards (many of which celebrate her use of color), appearing on television stations like HGTV, and gracing the pages of publications from The New York Times to Vogue, Ghislaine is showing no signs of slowing down. Long fans of her work, 6sqft recently toured Ghislaine's live/work space, which, not surprisingly is the perfect example of her playful, yet modern, aesthetic. We learned about what influences her designs, how her team works together, and new product collaborations. We also got some tips on how to incorporate color into our homes like a pro.
All this and more ahead

January 10, 2016

A New York Minute With Architect Andre Kikoski

Last month, 6sqft kicked off a fun new series called A New York Minute, where we ask influential New Yorkers spitfire (and sometimes very random) questions about their life in the big city. Want to nominate yourself or someone you know? Get in touch! When 6sqft last heard from Andre Kikoski, he was itching to fly off to Niseko, Japan with his son for a ski trip; but it looks like the vacation may be on hold. Andre heads his own architecture firm, Andre Kikoski Architect, where they are currently working on a Nolita condo at 75 Kenmare, due to open in 2017. He's been living in Manhattan since 1995, making his way uptown from the Lower East Side to the Upper East Side. 6sqft shot him a few questions to find out more about his own New York experience.
Andre's NY minute this way

Where I Work

Jonah Hill Spotted Eyeing Noho Condo Conversion The Schumacher

Current photo of the Schumacher by 6sqft

December 23, 2015

Jonah Hill Spotted Eyeing Noho Condo Conversion The Schumacher

By Annie Doge

Looks like Jonah Hill is battening down the hatches in hopes of finding a new Downtown pad. Three years ago, the actor bought a Soho loft at 27 Howard Street for $2.65 million, but put it on the market in August 2014 for a hefty $3.8 million. Back in March, he chopped the price to $3.5 million, and now a tipster tells us that he was seen taking photos outside The Schumacher, the newly unveiled Noho condo conversion at 36 Bleecker Street.
Check out Jonah's options

Celebrities

December 16, 2015

Where I Work: Artist Nancy Pantirer shows us around her imaginative Tribeca loft

6sqft’s series “Where I Work” takes us into the studios, offices, and off-beat workspaces of New Yorkers across the city. In this installment, we take a tour of painter and sculptor Nancy Pantirer’s imaginative Tribeca studio. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! When artist Nancy B. Pantirer opened up her studio for this year's Inside Tribeca Loft Tour, guests were swooning over everything from the high ceilings to the eclectic furniture, and of course, her incredible paintings, many of which are done in a large-scale format. But what really left an impression was Nancy's welcoming nature, evident as she chatted with almost everyone who passed through her space, telling them a bit about herself, her work, and the neighborhood. Eager to share this with our readers, 6sqft was lucky enough to get a private tour of Nancy's space, where she filled us in on her process, design choices, and how she feels Tribeca has changed since she arrived in 1995.
Take our tour right this way

November 11, 2015

A New York Minute With Gerard Koeppel, Author of ‘City on a Grid’

We're kicking off a fun new series called A New York Minute, where we ask influential New Yorkers spitfire (and sometimes very random) questions about their life in the big city. Want nominate yourself or someone you know? Get in touch! Gerard Koeppel is an author and historian of New York streetscapes and he's lived in NYC his entire life (he was actually born in a Manhattan hospital that's since been replaced by a high rise condo). Gerard just released a brand-spankin' new book yesterday, "City on a Grid: How New York Became New York," and between talks at the Museum of the City of New York and book signings, he was nice enough to answer some quick questions about his personal New York experience.
a NY minute this way

November 4, 2015

Where I Work: Tour KUSHNER Studios’ smart and quirky Chinatown office

6sqft’s series “Where I Work” takes us into the studios, offices, and off-beat workspaces of New Yorkers across the city. In this installment, we take a tour of architect Adam Kushner's quirky and intelligent Chinatown office space. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! You might remember hearing from Adam Kushner a little over a year ago when 6sqft interviewed him about building the world's first 3D-printed estate. And while this is certainly a huge project for the architect, it's only one of many that he and his three firms are working on. In addition to architecture/design practice KUSHNER Studios, which he founded in 1994, Adam heads up construction practice In House Group Inc. and 3D-printing company D-Shape Enterprises New York. What these practices have in common, other than their intellectual creativity, is that they're housed in a quirky-yet-functional Chinatown office. Adam recently took us on a tour of his office, giving us the story behind the studio's unconventional models, his vintage scooter collection, and the giant plane jutting out of the wall.
Look around the creative space

November 3, 2015

My 900sqft: Tour the Romantic Prospect Heights Home of Two Brooklyn Entrepreneurs

Our ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of 6sqft’s friends, family and fellow New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to Prospect Heights. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch! Brit Liggett and Mike Cadoux may lead busy lives heading up their own companies—Brit is the founder and president of Show the Good, a startup that focuses on digital storytelling for nonprofits and social ventures, while Mike is the co-owner (alongside his brother) of Peak Organic Brewing Company—but this adorable Brooklyn twosome know a thing about winding down and stepping away from work when the day ends. Nestled in the heart of Prospect Heights, their home is as disconnected from the digital world as one can be in this day and age, filled with shelves and shelves of books, LPs, instruments, and vintage maps. They even have a room—"The Room for the Pursuit of Arts and Leisure"—where electricity is completely banned. Self-described as "old world," Brit and Mike have perfectly curated their apartment with a collection of incredible antiques, each with a story. In fact, only four pieces of furniture in the whole place are new! But they are no hoarders. As Brit tells us, "I'm a collector of things, without doubt, but I try to only have things that are useful or have a function." Brit and Mike recently invited us into their home, and while we immediately fell for their generous, beautifully decorated spaces, it was really all the charming and quirky details reflecting their six-year romance that had us swooning and tapping #relationshipgoals into our phones when we left.
Go inside Brit and Mike's beautiful Brooklyn home here

October 6, 2015

My 2,200sqft: A Couple Brings Serene California-Style Living to Their Park Slope Brownstone

Our ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of 6sqft’s friends, family and fellow New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to Park Slope. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch! We've all been there: dreaming of leaving the city behind and heading out west for a new adventure. Some of us do it, but most of us continue dreaming. For financial services executive Bill Fellows and his graphic designer and nurse practitioner-in-training wife Kerr, change wasn't something to be feared, and more than six years ago the pair took a leap of faith and left for San Francisco. However, as anyone who's spent more than a year in the Big Apple can attest, once you've lived in a city as great New York, it's only a matter of time before you're sucked back in. And after a long stint on the other side of the country, Bill and Kerr came back to the city—this time in search of a calmer experience more akin to what they had on the west coast. Since August of last year, the pair have been cozying it up in the bottom two floors of a Park Slope brownstone. Originally an unkempt photography studio and living space, Bill signed for the house before Kerr even had a chance to see it (now that's trust, people). When Kerr did finally check out the place, her design-background kicked in. She saw the challenges and opportunities that steeped the 2,200 square feet, and she got to work. Keep reading to find out how Kerr and Bill turned a shamble into a tranquil, well-composed space.
Inside the home here

September 16, 2015

Where I Work: Inside Made in Americana’s Bed-Stuy workshop and collaborative

6sqft’s series “Where I Work” takes us into the studios, offices, and off-beat workspaces of New Yorkers across the city. In this installment, we meet the founders of Brooklyn's Made in Americana. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! Many of us come to New York with certain goals in mind, but more often than not we're at the whim of the city which has plans of its own. But this is not always a bad thing. Case in point: When college friends Jordan Johnson and Joey Grimm moved to NYC a few years ago, they wanted to be performance artists; now they're running a burgeoning furniture business called Made in Americana. Today, the pair work out of a massive industrial studio at the border of Hasidic Bed-Stuy and Bed-Stuy Bedford, designing custom interiors and building modern pieces meant to last for generations. But that's not all, they've opened their very large and very well-equipped space to other newbie BK designers to create a collaborative environment that gives others the opportunity to not just get their works made, but refine them with top-of-the-line sustainable materials to get them showroom-ready—with their help, of course. Jump ahead to learn more about what Jordan and Joey are doing, exactly how they got to where they're at, and of course to tour of their quirky, and quite cool, DIY studio space.
Go inside their awesome studio here

August 25, 2015

My 770sqft: Tour a Media Executive’s Urban Zen Upper West Side Apartment

Our ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of 6sqft’s friends, family and fellow New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to the Upper West Side. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch! Carlos Alimurung has been calling Manhattan home for nearly all of his life; he's lived in Midtown East, the West Village, and today he can be found in the Upper West Side. But for Carlos, the neighborhood is more than just a place to lay his head. Rather, he feels a very special connection with it: his parents met at a party there in the 1970s and he has fond memories of eating freshly sliced hot pastrami at Zabar's as a kid. As such, in 2007, while hunting for a new home to settle into, Carlos decided to replant his roots along 88th Street in a one-bedroom apartment in a pre-war condo conversion. As a media executive and a passionate traveler, Carlos has been around the globe and back, collecting art, baubles and all sorts of worldly items along the way. But while world travelers are often susceptible to hoarding goods, Carlos has created an ultra-zen space in the city that feels like a museum without all the "do not touch" signs. From the South American and Asian artifacts he's collected during his expat days to mementos from his parents' time living in NYC to gifts from the friends he's met on his journeys, see how this cultured minimalist has outfitted his 770-square-foot Upper West Side pad.
Tour this well-traveled residence

August 11, 2015

My 350sqft: A Modern Bachelor Opens Up His Creative and Clever Brooklyn Heights Studio

Our ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of 6sqft’s friends, family and fellow New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to Brooklyn Heights. Want your home to be featured here? Get in touch! When we typically think of bachelor pads, we imagine dark rooms, garbage bags full of empty beer cans, and heaping piles of clothes that aren't discernibly clean or dirty. But today's generation of single man is out to dispel the frat-guy stereotype. Take for example investor relations associate Owen Boyle, whose colorful Brooklyn Heights studio is perfectly curated and ridiculously organized. Though the first-floor pad on Pineapple Street is only 350 square feet, the mix of creative decor and clever design make for a home that is sure to entice any interior design-loving lady. Owen worked with a good friend and designer to transform his first solo apartment into a funky mix of Jersey Shore nostalgia (where he grew up), Brooklyn hip (there's a record player), and laid-back professionalism (see his impressive tie collection). He recently let us in his home, where everything from his shoehorn to the American flag has personal meaning.
Tour this modern bachelor pad here

August 4, 2015

My 1,680sqft: Artist Anne Peabody Invites Us Into Her Landmarked Clinton Hill Carriage House

Our ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of 6sqft’s friends, family and fellow New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to Clinton Hill. Want your home to be featured here? Get in touch! Anne Peabody is no stranger to turning the completely ordinary into something extraordinary. As an artist she creates elaborate and beautiful works with pieces of glass sized as small as a grain of rice to sheets as large as doors; as a preservationist, she’s restored many a home in both her native Kentucky and New York City (her last featured in the Wall Street Journal). Two years ago, Anne and her husband Tony purchased a landmarked home in Clinton Hill. She had long dreamt of owning one of the neighborhood’s historic carriage houses, and when one came to the market she immediately jumped on it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in an ideal state at signing—the previous owner had 20 cats and no litter box and the floors were soaked in pee—but she knew exactly what she was getting into. We recently visited Anne to have a look at her house before it goes under renovation this fall—a project that will entail restoring the exterior to its original late 1800s glory and the addition of an art studio and glass extension at the back of the home—and to hear why she's always stuck so close to this particular neighborhood. Though the current space is sparse, it’s easy to see the potential that lies within.
Inside Anne and Tony's next big project

July 28, 2015

Office of Architecture Brings Individuality and Adaptability to a Brooklyn Row House

By Shiloh Frederick

Usually, there isn't much individuality to be found among Brooklyn row houses, at least not until you step inside. When a Brooklyn couple approached Office of Architecture about gut renovating their row house, the firm took it upon themselves to create a home that not only would stand out, but would be adaptable to the pair's needs as their life progressed.
Get a closer look

Architecture And Design

June 30, 2015

My 800sqft: A Cute Design Couple Fill Their Ridgewood Railroad Apartment with Whimsy

Our ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of 6sqft’s friends, family and fellow New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to Ridgewood, Queens. Want your home to be featured here? Get in touch! Few neighborhoods have gotten as much buzz in the past year as Ridgewood. Considered the next frontier for cool kids getting priced out of hip areas like Williamsburg and Bushwick, Ridgewood sits at the top of NYC's list of ones to watch. But even with all the hoopla, how many of you actually know someone who lives off this stretch of the L? In our latest installment of My sqft, we meet Sean and Liz, a couple of Greenpoint expats who've made their way into a beautiful, historic brick construction along a peaceful block in the heart of this up-and-comer. Living large in a very bright and airy 800-square-foot railroad apartment, these two really don't face the same space challenges that plague the rest of us New Yorkers, and as such they've found the freedom to infuse their space with lots of personality (toy bunnies, illustrations of "nerd weapons" and quirky art from across the globe) and all the furniture they've collected over the last decade (lots of covetable mid-century modern pieces and antiques). Jump ahead to meet this perky pair and see how they've created that perfect old-meets-new-meets-endearing balance that we all strive for but pretty much have no clue how to make happen in our own homes.
Go inside their adorable home here

April 14, 2015

This Schematic of NYC Structures Shows the City’s Icons in Blueprint Style

Want to bring a little bit of the city into your home, but tired of the standard black-and-white photos of landmarks or graphic maps that can be found at every craft fair these days? Why not frame this lovely print called Splendid Structures of New York City? Based on Brooklyn-based Pop Chart Lab's popular print The Schematic of Structures, this new design takes iconic NYC structures like the Statue of Liberty and One World Trade Center, along with local landmarks such as the Unisphere and Wyckoff House, and presents them in a hand-illustrated, blueprint-like style.
See the full print here

April 13, 2015

The Correlation Between Trees and Neighborhood Wealth; Vinegar Hill Townhouse Breaks Sales Record