Gretchen Jones admits that her 550-square-foot dual studio apartment in New York City wasn’t just love at first sight when she transferred there from Portland, Oregon, but she saw its potential. “My mother always likes to say I know the way to ‘polish a turd’ as it comes to apartments,” Jones states. Using her background in fashion style — she won year 8 of Project Runway — as style inspiration, she latched on to the room’s promising particulars, such as its pressed-tin ceiling, hardwood floors, fireplace and molding, and got to work shining.
“I painted every single inch of this space,” she states, “set up some wallpaper and filled my small space with of my collected mementos from years residing West.”
at a Glance
Who lives here: Gretchen Jones
Location: Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York
Size: Around 550 square feet; 1 bedroom, 1 bath
Rikki Snyder
Rikki Snyder
“I had a much bigger house before going here, so what filled a two-bedroom home now has swallowed my two-room studio,” she states. “It seems just like a Southwestern reprieve from the concrete jungle directly outside.”
Rikki Snyder
This combined living, dining and home office space is blessed with high ceilings and lots of natural light and is where Jones spends most of her time. “Flexibility is of extreme importance in small spaces, and this room functions overtime,” she states.
Rikki Snyder
By filling her space with meaningful pieces, Jones has created an oasis that incorporates all of her favorite things. Her father passed away about a year and a half ago, and she retains his lasso, field knife and veteran’s flag on her mantel. “With those pieces out where I can see them daily makes me feel like he’s still with me,” she states.
“If you collect things you love, they will inevitably operate together, because they talk to youpersonally,” Jones states. She also likes to use color for a means to pull together many thoughts into a constant aesthetic, also has used mostly shades of brown, red and blue here.
Rikki Snyder
Jones is always inspired by the bones of a space, the light and the architectural components and flow of a space. All these inspire her to think about how to create a warm, diverse and inviting area that will inspire relaxation and creativity at precisely the exact same moment.
“I look through interior magazines, websites and friends’ homes for unique ideas that produce huge differences in dwelling. And somehow, that mashes up in my mind and is spit out at a fresh and organic way that is fitting for only me and my spaces,” she states.
Rikki Snyder
In addition to tapestries and trinkets, Jones likes to collect art. She’s designated this matte green wall a personal gallery that includes two pieces created by her best friend, Ian Kennedy. “They’re images shot at a powwow of Indians dancing in complete costume, but the shots are in movement, so they create these watercolor abstract images that are stunning,” she states. “They also somehow come to be the adhesive, aesthetically speaking, that ties in most of the crazy color and texture filling my area.”
Print: Red Feather, Ian Kennedy
Rikki Snyder
To deal with the tiny kitchen and cherrywood cabinets, Jones painted the walls a contrasting color. She describes the colour as “a spectacular acid green to create a warmer and more inviting texture.”
Rikki Snyder
Rikki Snyder
The absence of windows in the bedroom created the greatest design challenge for Jones. She painted the space a very light gray to make it seem bigger and reevaluated the layout.
“I created a closet on one side of this space, permitting the actual cabinets to eventually become long-term storage that’s now blocked by my bed … a luxury at New York, I must state,” she points out.
Now the bed sits in the front of the French doors, overlooking the living area so that it will get some of the organic light trickling in through the windows.
Rikki Snyder
At any angle within her area, you are able to view into the other chambers, so Jones discovered it significant to “create a symbiotic stream from one place to another,” she states. She made certain that the colors of every room complemented and contrasted to provide each area its significance while also fitting in with the general texture.
Rikki Snyder
Since she’s tight on space, displaying her possessions in a creative manner also was a challenge. This Jones combined her books and sunglasses to get a enjoyable display on top of her dresser.
In regards to finding items for her home, Jones says she’s “addicted to the treasure hunt.” She likes to locate unique repurposed items rather than buying fresh, mass-produced ones. She enjoys shopping at the Brooklyn Flea and traveling out of the city to antiques shops across the Hudson River.
Rikki Snyder
“Found objects from all of my travels [and] antiques and cloths from my beloved Southwestern roots appear to always have a place in my house and remind me of where I come out,” Jones states.
Rikki Snyder
Jones, revealed here, likes to tie her rural Western roots into her job. She enjoys working with organic materials and is involved with the Save the Garment Center, an organization dedicated to preserving and saving New York City as the fashion capital of the world. “I think being a fashion designer has let me think about my spaces as extensions of my general method of looking at the world, and they’ll always complement and inspire each other,” she states.
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