Courtny's designs
Bring nature in. Use a vertical garden as a natural backsplash for your indoor tub or shower to get the feeling of bathing outdoors. Here, preserved moss benefits from moisture in the air to stay just as soft to the touch as it looks. Since the moss is no longer living, steam from the tub will cause it no harm.
Create a space for calm. In this New York City meditation studio, a wall of preserved moss and ferns looks like a surprisingly realistic representation of the verdant walls of a river canyon. One could only imagine that a visitor to the studio would leave feeling refreshed and revitalized after taking time for quiet contemplation in this environment. A similar tranquil feel could be created at home with a moss wall hung in a home studio, living room or bedroom.Learn more about the joy of moss and its modern uses
Plant a garden without losing floor space. Vertical gardens can be a space-saving solution for tight city gardens. For the small outdoor terrace in London seen here, the planted walls save space for dining outside while still giving the feeling of being in a lush garden. Illuminating the vertical garden after dark extends its use into the evening.
2. Vibrant vignette. Bring a hit of color to your patio with a vivid combination of red, orange, gold and chartreuse succulents. For outdoor displays, choose succulents that deepen in color when exposed to sunlight, such as some varieties of echeveria and hens-and-chicks (Sempervivum tectorum). This bright mix in a San Francisco Bay Area backyard includes orange ‘Sticks on Fire’ milk bush (Euphorbia tirucalli ‘Sticks on Fire’, zones 10 to 11), lime green watch chain (Crassula muscosa, zones 9 to 11), orange-tipped hens-and-chicks (Sempervivum tectorum, zones 3 to 8) and gold ‘Angelina’ stonecrop (Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’, zones 3 to 11). All succulents pictured thrive in full sun.
8. Long-lasting rosettes. Set in a tabletop container in an outdoor living room, blue rose echeveria (Echeveria imbricata) looks as decorative as a bouquet of flowers. Native to Mexico, blue rose echeveria has a chalky coating over silvery-blue to pale pink and purple rosettes. It is much tougher than its appearance might suggest and needs only occasional water once established.
7. Living screen. This vertical planting functions as an outdoor room divider for the backyard of a home in Orange County, California. The tiered planting troughs were constructed using wood boards lined with pond liner (punctured with drainage holes) to prevent rotting. Easy-care succulents are a great choice for living walls and difficult-to-reach vertical applications, given that they’re drought-tolerant and need little care. Here, the designer used a mix of sunburst aeonium (Aeonium arboreum ‘Sunburst’), purple aeonium and trailing string-of-pearls succulents (Senecio rowleyanus), as well as low-water coast rosemary (Westringia fruticosa) and ‘Elijah Blue’ fescue (Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’).See more of this coastal California yard
6. High-impact entry. For entryway plantings that can be seen from the sidewalk, look for large-scale succulents like foxtail agave (Agave attenuata) or aloe varieties. Use the age-old container composition rule — “thriller, filler and spiller” — to design your container. Here, the foxtail agave acts as the focal point (the “thriller”), blue chalk sticks (Senecio mandraliscae) fills in the midsection (the “filler") and orange-flowering parrot’s beak (Lotus maculatus) cascades over the side (the “spiller”). A tall container gives the planting trio more visual impact and shows off the trailing habit of the parrot’s beak vine.
Like the rest of the home, the bedroom is kept bright and uncluttered with natural light, white walls and plenty of storage. The DIY custom built-in headboard is a key architectural element inspired by the couple’s stay at different boutique hotels. “We had the mirror professionally installed but created the frame ourselves — it’s charcoal gray-painted wainscoting,” Ezrick says. The ceiling fan is modern, simple and “very powerful,” Dobrowolski says. “It’s marketed to commercial spaces.”Headboard paint color: Kendall Charcoal, Benjamin Moore
This built-in cabinet in the bathroom is one of the couple’s favorite features. It’s a convenient alternative to over-the-sink storage. “While most people would just use a medicine cabinet, we decided to put it behind the sink at easy reach,” Dobrowolski says. “And it doesn’t show fingerprints like a traditional mirrored cabinet,” Ezrick says.
A generous amount of statuary marble is used in the bathroom, both on the floors and vanity area. The vanity is complemented by a large-scale mirror that makes the apartment’s only bathroom feel larger and accentuates the bright light from the skylight. “It opens up the whole space and fits seamlessly into the tile,” Ezrick says. To add a bit of charm, the toilet was the one thing the couple did not change. “It’s an old-school elementary school-style toilet … and so strong when it flushes. Most people would have gotten rid of it,” Dobrowolski says.Vanity: Kohler
For resale purposes, as well as to save space, the couple went with a combination microwave-convection oven and an induction stove. “I thought I couldn’t live without a gas stove until I learned about induction cooking,” Dobrowolski says. “It heats up food to a perfect temperature.” A pocket door separates the kitchen from the bathroom.Oven-microwave: Sharp convection microwave, AJ Madison; stove: induction cooktop, True Induction; undercabinet hood: Bosch, AJ Madison
Prior to the couple’s renovations, what is now the kitchen consisted of two closets with a Murphy bed on the opposite wall. Now filled with sleek custom cabinetry, it feels modern and is packed with storage. The built-in fridge with a freezer and dishwasher seamlessly blends in with the cabinetry. Classic statuary marble countertops and matching backsplash complete the sophisticated look. Dobrowolski wanted to ensure they avoided renovation mistakes commonly found in small spaces when it came to the kitchen design. “People don’t maximize the space. They either have an under-the-counter fridge or a huge one. We wanted to find a middle and didn’t want to compromise on style because we had a tighter space,” he says.Refrigerator: Liebherr, AJ Madison; dishwasher: Bosch integrated dishwasher, AJ Madison; faucet: Lefroy Brooks
One of the couple’s favorite features in the apartment is the double-wide sliding barn door. “They are regular Shaker slabs,” Dobrowolski says of the panels. “There’s two of them. The contractor joined them together.” The barn door keeps with the original rustic elements of the space and acts as a divider between the living room and bedroom. It also covers the recessed television when it is not in use. Their architect intentionally designed the divider wall on a 5-degree angle. “It’s called a forced perspective and makes the room appear larger,” Dobrowolski says.Barn doors: Gordan Rafajac; barn door paint color: Kendall Charcoal, Benjamin Moore
Houzz at a GlanceWho lives here: Benjamin Ezrick and Thomas DobrowolskiLocation: West Village, New York CitySize: 400 square feet (37 square meters); one bedroom, one bathArchitect: Brett Masterson of Hecho Contractor: Gordan Rafajac of NY Landmark ConstructionYear built: 1940An open-concept kitchen and living area, strategically edited furnishings and the use of natural materials such as wood and marble make the space modern and warm. “We wanted to modernize the place while maintaining its original charm,” Ezrick says. “We took inspiration from the neighborhood and building when we designed the apartment.” To contrast with the bright, white walls, the couple installed a rustic grade of red oak on the floor. “The flooring was relatively inexpensive because it has more knots and texture than others,” Ezrick says. The flooring choice was inspired by the wood floors in a boutique hotel in Providence, Rhode Island. “We contacted the hotel after our stay and got in touch with the architect. He gave us the name of the materials and finishes.”Door paint: Kendall Charcoal, Benjamin Moore; couch: Sunset Park sofa, A&G Merch
1. Put It All Out ThereWho lives here: Kristy Degina and her two Chihuahuas, Spike and Little OneLocation: Hollywood neighborhood of Los AngelesStudio size: 550 square feet (51.1 square meters)Instead of hiding her bed in a corner or behind a piece of furniture, designer Kristy Degina made it a centerpiece of her room design. “Hotel rooms don’t try to hide the bed. Rather, they make it the focal point,” she says. “Once I moved the bed front and center and got rid of the bookcases, the room really opened up and gave me enough wall space for the fireplace,” she says. Part of the design’s success lies in its cohesiveness, like that of a chic hotel room, with clean lines, high-contrast colors and oversize furniture dominating both the sleeping and living areas. “One of the biggest mistakes people make is to fill a small space with small furniture. That actually makes it feel smaller,” Degina says.See more of this studio apartment
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