Excuse the lack of furniture.....still looking guys!

Anyone?

The floors are nice, I take it you can not paint, correct?

I can paint. As per the lease, I just have to return the color back to its original shade upon moving out.

Curtains hung from top of wall down. If you need anything for privacy, how about a bamboo roll-down shade? Put rug with a coffee table in front of sofa. Should be rather large to cover the length of the sofa. At least one end table with a lamp. Are those sconces on the wall? They seem to be rather bright so add more lamps and reduce the wattage of the sconces. Add a side chair to the sofa mix.

Bookcases on opposite wall to house your tv, books, collectibles. Get rid of the glass cabinet/shelves.

You do need some color, either in rug, pillows, curtains, art on walls.

Your wall isn't really that yellow is it? I'm thinking it's just the photo playing tricks on us... Or?

This may be a nice rug for you (huge discounts, one day to go I believe)
http://www.westelm.com/products/marquis-rug-b746/?pkey=crugs-flooring&cm_src=rugs-flooring||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_--_-

No...the walls are a classic eggshell I believe. Almost every NYC apt is painted this hideous color, I swear. As for the lighting, they are the paper lamps from Ikea. Not sure the name however

Are you anywhere near an Ikea? If so, check out their media storage solutions. Really nice options!

Ha! Crossed comments there :-)

This is the bedroom which is pretty much the same.....empty and simple

It's so funny.....I'm actually considering doing a Besta tv bench for the living room. I saw an Ikea hacked project online which turned out beautiful.

Curtains are a must in both rooms!

A small rug on side of the bed for slippers would be cute too - they have some at ikea

Trying to incorporate some colors in both the living room and bedroom. The bedroom I'd like to keep simple. Sticking with whites and silvers and mirrored furniture. Next purchase will be the pier 1 Hayworth vanity desk and mirror. Thinking on an area rug also. Only thing throwing me off is a paint color.

What color rug would you suggest @pilon? And excuse me all for the messy bed. Toy poodle just played catch on there with my socks so it looks a mess

You've got some great bones here :) All I can say is don't be afraid to add some color (those cushions are great! maybe add some more accessories to complement). I'd say make a list from most important to least important of things that are important for you to have in a space. Maybe start with media storage/display? Something easy to move/take apart, since if this is your first place I can promise you you WILL be moving more, but that you love. Art above the couch would go a long ways to making this feel like home for you, I think (use 3M Command Strips if you're not allowed to put nails in the wall), and you can make that yourself if you're on a budget (something like this is really fun, and could be changed out if you got tired of your original choices: http://thegoldjellybean.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/DIY-_Decor_Framed-Wallpaper-Artwork.jpg )

Given the size of your room, I actually don't feel like a rug is a *necessity* here. Rather I'd put it on the "nice to have" list. Make sure it's one that could be used with some versatility later on, in case you get a bigger living room someday, for example (then could you use it in an office?)

Instead of painting living room walls, u can add colour by painting your own artwork - 3 big canvases and water-based paints for above your sofa

Wow....I've never considered that! I was going more in the direction of black and white photos (canvas) in the living room. I even thought about some floating shelves. I kinda like you guys idea. The DIY part is what I really LOVE.

Beautiful view from both windows I'm guessing, but certainly from the bedroom window.
You could do an accent wall behind the headboard, just up to the alcove. I don't mind the wall colour, but it would bring a bit more interest to your bedroom and provide a bit of a contrast for the headboard.

Thank you Carolins....I LOVE my view. Waterfront with shots of the Empire State Building. As for the accent wall, I was thinking about adding some wallpaper since I couldn't come up with an appropriate paint color.

I don't think you need to paint, though it could add a lot (especially in the bedroom with a glam accent wall)
I think drapes are certainly a key aspect here and should be priority. What colors do you desire to incorporate in your living room?

For the living room, I'm going to stay within the brown family. I prefer a more earthy look. The sofa (pictured below) is an earthy color. I'm considering an ivory/beige low pile shag rug (however, the suggested rug listed by Carolins is steering me in a different direction) for the living room. Since the wood finishes on the sectional are more espresso colored, I'm leaning toward that being the color of choice for all wooded furniture pieces. Ie tv bench, dinner table, etc.

So no color at all in the room? Just white, beige and Espresso? Do you like contrast,

I do like contrast but I'm totally bummed out when it comes to figuring out what color to use

Well the great thing about just accent colors (ie: color coming from drapes, pillows, art, etc) is that it's easy to change when you want to. Here are a few photos of rooms...which do you prefer to give us an idea of your style?
#1, #2 #3 or #4

Photo #2 is more closer to my style.....simple yet clean

Another idea for your living room; have you tried both lamps either side of the window and the glass cabinet on this side of the sofa? And an end table on this side of the sofa with a lamp on it? I don't know how much space you have for that though. Or is there a light in the cabinet?

I'm definitely going to try that setup. I never thought about putting the lamps on the side of window. I can probably fit a side table near the sofa

I'm not really sure if you'll like any of this stuff but here are some ideas for drapes and/or media console.

I think a sheepskin rug would also look great by your sofa & definitely a piece I art behind the sofa. Something that represents you or something you love

So, any progress so far on the decorating?

If you aren't sure on what type of theme art-wise might work above your couch, feel free to take a quick look here for some idea's then let me know if anything might click- http://www.yellowkorner.com/

Fabulous view! Make it your central feature! Don't let anything compete or distract from it (like wallpaper). I'd remove plants from the sills. You have the in wall air conditioner which is much better than a window unit, but you should still camouflage it. Run the wire snug against it and the drop it down taut the shortest distance to the outlet, keeping it tidy and concealed if possible. Your seating and dining table and bed (or perhaps desk) should all be oriented toward the view. It looks like you are high up enough to not need window coverings for privacy, so use only window treatments that frame (but don't cover an inch) of the view - if any at all. And spend a lot of thought on your lighting. At night you may be able to use the outside lights with only very subtle interior lighting - nothing harsh. Think of the outside lights as part of your illumination, and don't use anything that diminishes the effect. My only other tip as a fellow New Yorker is to incorporate storage in every piece of furniture that crosses your transom! Enjoy your piece of the rock!

I'm from the Bronx as well and YES! Every NYC apartment is "project beige" lol I love your mirrored night stand! Where did you get it? Hopefully not locally since I live in NC now ;(

Hey N3wyawk....the end tables are actually from Target. Great find for close to nothing compared to the other high priced ones on the market now.

Simone, that looks great. Glad you liked the Ikea media cabinets. They have some great choices don't they? I like the one you went for.
How about adding black and white pillows to your sectional in stead of the coloured ones? White rug (or off-white), keeping your living room quite monochrome colours. Beige, black and white?

I've just referred someone who's thinking about buying Besta units to you. Hope you don't mind. They want to do an entire wall and are not near an Ikea, so would like to hear something about the quality of it. Here's their thread. Perhaps you can share some info with them :-) I gave them the link to your thread too.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/entertainment-units-dsvw-vd~516091

Sure Carolins.....not a problem. I'll go check it out. Honestly, the tv stand is pretty sturdy. So many people have warned me against purchasing anything Ikea. But in all honesty, nothing that I've ever purchased from them has made me want to stop going back. I can literally take about $50 and outfit my entire kitchen with dishware and gadgets at that store. As for the tv stand, I advise anyone purchasing one of these Besta units to NOT purchase the home assembly option. The instructions were clear and concise and once I got one unit up, I was able to assemble the other without any reference to the manual. For a female such as myself who doesn't really have a hardware quality tool box, this was a plus. Just required a flat head screw driver and a small head standard screwdriver. I did see however that the manual requires you to use an electric drill for assembling the other Besta options. My only problem really is the fact that there's no openings for wiring.
Thanks again you guys for the suggestions. As you can see, I do follow the inspiration you guys offer up.
Carolins, my next purchase will hopefully be the area rug. My color of choice, just as you suggested, is cream/beige/neutral. Perhaps even a slightly shaggy rug with medium pile. Was considering a coffee table, but I'm trying to watch the space limits. I'm going to look into maybe some ottomans to serve as a coffee table, just to see.

That will be lovely in your room. People around here sometimes go a little crazy for colour, and although I often agree that people could use some colour in their room, I think your space will be so nice and tranquile if you keep it to quite a neutral palette. And besides, you already said that you like that. You can always add colour if you like that, but a neutral basis is a joy forever ;-)

I have Ikea bookcases and a couple of Expedit units and they are really sturdy. I don't believe that similar bookcases that cost 10 times what the Ikea ones cost would be better. But if you're not near one and you have to fly to an Ikea... I can imagine that it's good to hear from people who can speak from experience.

I've put some of the cabinets together myself too (I have a handy hubby who wasn't around at the time, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten the chance) and felt very proud that I managed, lol. So... well done to you too!!!

Wow! Hi Simone, Carolins referred me to your thread about Besta so i read your post. Forgotten my question because I'm totally in awe of your view. Is that really New York? I'm such a frustrated traveller. America is too far from Australia for my liking. Back to Besta and sorry to hijack thread. you seem happy with quality. Built to last? What do you think? Thanks

I forgot to add ( side tracked by view), I really like the black unit - sleek, shiny, very urban.