A Couple Transformed a Queens Rental into a Colorful, Creative Space on a Budget (2024)

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Darragh Dandurand

Darragh Dandurand

Darragh Dandurand waves hello from Brooklyn! While still a Philly girl at heart, she took a bite out of the ol' Big Apple in 2015. As a photographer, writer and producer, Darragh captures stories about beautiful people and things!

published Jun 8, 2021

Darragh Dandurand

Darragh Dandurand

Darragh Dandurand waves hello from Brooklyn! While still a Philly girl at heart, she took a bite out of the ol' Big Apple in 2015. As a photographer, writer and producer, Darragh captures stories about beautiful people and things!

published Jun 8, 2021

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About this tour

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Style

Bohemian

Colorful

Mid-century Modern

Bedrooms

2

Square feet

700

Sq ft

700

A Couple Transformed a Queens Rental into a Colorful, Creative Space on a Budget (1)

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Location: Ridgewood — Queens, New York
Size: 700 square feet
Years lived in: 2 years, renting

Inspired by the beauty of tropical nature and the vibrancy of Mexican culture, these renters pulled pops of orange, blue, yellow, and green into their apartment.

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Plants dot the corners of each room and artworks line almost every wall.

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Beluga, one curious kitten, brings playfulness to the home and rules over all from atop her giant scratching post.

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Apartment Therapy Survey:

My Style: Mid-century modern with vibrant colors

Inspiration: Trips to Mexico, especially the cenotes

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Favorite Element: Accent walls and plants

Biggest Challenge: The railroad design of this New York apartment

What Friends Say: “OMGGGG WE LOOOOOVE YOUR APARTMENT”

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Proudest DIY: The kitchen chalkboard and kitchen planters

Biggest Embarrassment: Our office chair… yikes! We’ve had this bad boy since college and it is TIME for a new one.

Biggest Indulgence: Our beloved LED “neon” sign and our plants

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Best Advice: Sit down and come up with a plan with themes and colors that bring you joy, make a mood board and if you’re on a budget, like us, take your time to work on one room at a time

Dream Sources: Joybird. We also get a lot of inspiration from 1970s designs and traveling.

Resources

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PAINT & COLORS

  • Bedroom — Cypress hardware and paint, “Limeade (119C)” Charisma/GeoShades
  • Living Room — Behr Premium Plus Ultra Interior Matte, “Teal Motif”
  • Kitchen — Chalkboard DIY paint with grout from a leftover color sample
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LIVING ROOM

  • Wasser Coffee Table —AllModern
  • Andrei Beige Area Rug —AllModern
  • Valmy Lounge Chair —AllModern, no longer on website
  • Valmy Standard Sofa —AllModern, no longer on website
  • Record Stand and Crosley record player — Stooped on different occasions, painted with wall paint to match
  • Gersby bookshelves white (painted inside to match wall) — IKEA
  • TV stand (oak/aqua) — AllModern
  • Chinese palm plant — Mario’s Flowers Ridgewood
  • Snake Plant — Tony’s Flowers Ridgewood
  • Mid-century ceramic pots — By Haymarket (bought on Walmart.com)
  • Painting — Bloozchicken (Black Bronx artist) “Beach”
  • Talking Heads and New Order posters — Swissted
  • Neon Sign “ Don’t f*ck it Up” (LED) — Garbage Humans
  • Mexican blankets — (From Mexico street market)
  • Found mirror — Painted yellow to match armchair
  • woven basket — TJ Maxx
  • Yoga matts (in basket) — Jade Yoga
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KITCHEN

  • Blue Dutch oven — Le Creuset
  • Kitchen aid standing mixer ice blue — Williams-Sonoma
  • Handmade Ecuadorian baskets — From Bushwick maker
  • Hand-painted Mexican bowls — From Mexico market
  • Handmade cheeseboard — By friend nonbinary woodworker Kit Jirls (they/them )
  • DIY planters from found wooden scraps and table legs from random stoops + IKEA
  • “Drinking Milk Tonight” Poster by Ravi Zupa
  • Aeroflot poster Classic Vintage Posters
  • Portrait — by friend + make-up artist Nichole Hernandez (they/them)
  • Kitchen Island Tornviken — IKEA
  • Barstools bough off Let Go App, not sure who is original maker
  • DIY chalk board for notes, calendar, recipes, etc
  • Wedding sign (wood + chalkboard) — From a wedding back in 2010, unchanged since, reads “Moscow mule -> Vodka Bar <-”
  • Mini tortilla press — Made in Mexico, gift from local woman in Playa del Carmen after a one-on-one taco cooking class
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BEDROOM

  • Sweater Wool Area Rug in Oatmeal — West Elm
  • Plants — Bird of Paradise Little Shop Of Soil Ridgewood
  • Chinese Evergreen — Tony’s Flowers
  • Solid Wood Lexington platform bed — KD frames Queen size
  • Hybrid Mattress Zinus Queen Size — Zinus
  • Solid Wood Dressers — IKEA, maybe no longer available?
  • Green reading Lamps FORSA — IKEA (can’t find our color)
  • Large mirror (wood) — Stooped!
  • Ottoman — Stooped!

This house tour’s responses were edited for length and clarity.

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