A Small NYC Rental’s Thrifted Gems Include a Faux Fireplace and $20 Art
Allie Brazo pays $2,500 a month for this 500-square-foot Brooklyn apartment, built in 1914. “Before I moved in, my home was dirty, lived in, and cold,” Allie begins. “The building has been around for a long time, so many people have lived in my apartment. It had some odd features in the apartment, including a tin foil dispenser attached to the wall in the kitchen. The apartment has limited outlets, often forcing you into a certain layout.”
Allie works as a digital marketer in the beauty industry space, but also teaches yoga and is passionate about health and wellness, too. “As a Sagittarius, my favorite thing to do is travel. I’ve been to 20 countries and love traveling alone,” she writes.
“I am super passionate about home decor, and designing my apartment has brought me endless joy,” Allie says. “It is a continuous journey that never gets boring. I love thrifting and antiquing, two hobbies I inherited from my parents. When you step into my home, you can tell how much joy designing brings me.”
After two and a half years, Allie describes her rental home much differently than she did before she moved in: “homey, cozy, and vibrant. I am not afraid to use color, mix patterns, and have a maximalist style. My space doesn’t feel like an apartment I’m renting, but rather a home that I’ve created that is welcome to all.”
Resources
KITCHEN
- Table — Target
- Bench — Mayfair
- Chairs — Antiques from my grandma’s house
- Flowers — Amazon
- Artwork — Variety of places
- Biggest NYC piece — Collaboration by New York or Nowhere with an artist and that reminds me of the time I spent in NYC in high school. The piece above that is from an artist I found on Pinterest (Blakey Made).
- Madeleine print — Artists & Fleas in Williamsburg. It holds significance because the first doll I received after being brought home from the hospital as a baby was a Madeleine doll.
- Piece above the one that was thrifted — Mother of Junk in Brooklyn and is a painting of Venice, Italy, a place where I’ve visited a few times
- To the left of the top piece — My favorite artist, Julian Cardinal
- The two below that are of NYC — Street vendor in the Union Square Farmers Market
- Framed photo of Obama — An artist I found on Etsy (@DrunkGirlDesigns)
LIVING ROOM
- Couch — Facebook Marketplace find (discontinued Farlov couch from IKEA)
- Artwork above my couch — Facebook Marketplace find for $20!! The kind woman who sold it to me lives on the UWS and drove it to my apartment in Williamsburg. I believe it’s originally from art.com.
- Wall sconces — Amazon
- Yellow blanket and pillows — H&M home
- Other pillows — TJMaxx
- Curtain rod and curtains — Target
- Rug — Wayfair from the brand Everly Quinn
- Coffee table (not my favorite) — Target, but it might be replaced soon!
- TV unit — IKEA, which is perfect for displaying my speaker and record player — Marshall
- Candlesticks — My grandmother’s home
- Mirror and floral piece — Thrifted from stores in Connecticut or Massachusetts
- Vintage books — Thrifted from a fair in Boston
- Elephant — From Thailand, which I got when I was 3, when I learned to swim.
BEDROOM
- Bed — Facebook Marketplace
- Bedding — Amazon & TJ Maxx
- Berkshire pillow because that is where I went to high school
- Artwork on the left wall I fell in love with (I love uniquely shaped frames) — Drawings of Williamsburg, Virginia. I thought it was interesting to have another Williamsburg represented.
- Above my bed are two prints — Thrifted in the Catskills and are drawings of Rothenburg ob der Tauber – a place I visited with my mom (and I lived in Germany. My mom is from there!).
- Above that is a drawing of Schweinfurt, Germany, where my mom was born.
- Image is of a soldier hugging his wife (to represent my grandfather and Oma)
- Next to that is a piece of art — Etsy (@DarceyFloArt) and is an ode to one of my favorite movie series, Harry Potter
- Hanging light — IKEA
- Velvet curtains — CB2
Thanks, Allie!
This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
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