Name: Melanie Wiggins
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Type of home: Apartment
Size: 550 square feet
Years lived in: 7 months, renting
Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: This is the first time I have ever lived alone — so it was a really big deal for me! It was super exciting to create a space completely my own. This apartment has everything I could have hoped for in my wildest dreams — exposed brick, hardwood floors, a dishwasher, wood-burning fireplace (!!!), in-unit washer/dryer (!!!!!!), walking distance to friend’s and the park — it’s a dream.
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While furnishing the apartment, it was important to me that I did it in a sustainable way. Luckily, being in New York, that ended up being fairly easy. Everything in my apartment (except for the bed and mattress) I got secondhand or stooped off the street. The stooping culture in the city is great — especially in the area I live in. People put really nice and valuable pieces out on the street — it’s basically its own mini economy.
My favorite pieces are all stooping pieces — the statue by the fireplace, the Sara Erenthal portrait, and the lamp painted with flowers. I think they’re all so unique, and love the surprise and delight of finding something that good on the curb. I’ve also gotten some larger pieces from stooping — including my desk, desk chair, bookcase, coffee table, and a red IKEA chair from the ’90s.
In terms of secondhand, I’ve gotten a lot of things on Facebook Marketplace and Buy Nothing groups. I also frequently go to thrift and vintage stores. The key to reusing things is to know that it can be a long process to get it right. For awhile I was rearranging my apartment almost every week. I would find a piece, switch it out for something I already had, and then give my old piece to a friend, throw it up on Marketplace, or put it on the stoop with a “free” sign. Because the price point is significantly lower when you’re reusing, you’re able to take things as they come and rotate things out when you find the right one. It also involves going to different shops pretty regularly. I recommend finding out what day of the week they restock and going the next day to have the best selection!
Another thing I was really excited to do was create the feel of a conversation pit — even though the architecture does not have something like that. I did that by getting an L-shaped couch (from my neighborhood’s Buy Nothing group) and placing it on a very fluffy rug with a few poufs on the ground for sitting. I feel like it gives an intimate feel of the conversation pit without having an actual conversation pit. I also don’t have a TV, which was a purposeful choice to encourage less screen time!
In the same vein of creating space for socializing, I had a housewarming party about a month into living here and took a lot of Polaroids there. I was nervous about living alone and being lonely (even though I was really excited to do it) — so I wanted reminders of the wonderful people and community I have. I DIYed some photo hangers and have them all on the wall now. They make me smile every time I see them!
I wanted the space to be very welcoming — somewhere I could have friends over. I included bright, playful colors, flowers, and have a sign from a protest in support of ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment above my bed.
I’m also a songwriter who seeks out stories that haven’t been told before. I believe that everything has a story to tell if you look close enough. Storytelling comes to light in terms of what I’ve filled my home with — where all the pieces have a past. Even when choosing an apartment, I really did not want to live in a luxury building or something that was new or gutted. I kept saying “if the apartment isn’t haunted I have no interest in living there.”
A great example of this is my gallery wall. There are so many beautiful and interesting pieces there from all different places. My mother is an artist and she likes to paint places I have traveled, so I have a couple of her paintings up — one of London and one of Malta. I also have some photographs and a cross-stitch by a couple of friends. It’s another way that the people I love are incorporated into the apartment’s design. There is a Life magazine cover from 1969 with the headline “That Young New York Look” and a woman wearing a really timeless outfit. I like being reminded that being young in this city and feeling like you’re new, edgy, and pushing boundaries, is actually a time-honored tradition. Finally, there are several pieces that I bought from small artists at flea markets and on Instagram. I love supporting local artists and displaying their work.
Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Sustainable, funky, loving, comfortable, creative
What is your favorite room and why? My favorite space in the apartment is the fireplace and mantel. Wood-burning fireplaces are mythological in this city. It’s illegal to install them now, so you have to find one that already exists and has not been blocked up. I love having a fire, so I was so excited to actually find a place where I could do that.
A lot of fun trinkets are on the mantel. I have miraculously kept a few pothos plants alive, and they are draped across the brick. There’s a handmade vase I purchased in Santa Fe, some crystals, and a small portrait of Harry Styles that my mom got me at an art fair.
The main piece on the mantel is “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère” by Manet, which hung in my parents’ living room growing up. I love it for a bunch of reasons — as a kid I was fascinated with the lady in the painting, and the painting reminds me of home. However, there is also some controversy over the painting itself. It was Manet’s last major work. There’s a lot of discussion over whether or not the figure is standing in front of a mirror or not. It’s also implied that the figure is a prostitute, which was pretty risqué for high art at the time. Like I said — I love when a piece has a story behind it.
What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? Last week I bought a little bud vase from Housing Works, a thrift shop down the street that is run by a charity to support people with and affected by AIDS/HIV. From their website — the shops provide funding “to ensure that all people living with HIV/AIDS have access to quality housing, healthcare, HIV prevention, and treatment, among other lifesaving services.” They’re an incredible organization that I love supporting. The vase is shaped like two people sitting back to back and you can put little sprigs of flowers in their heads. It’s very sweet!
Any advice for creating a home you love? Be honest about who you are and what matters to you, and allow your space to reflect that. There are so many pretty, shiny pictures on Pinterest of perfect houses, but that might not actually make sense for you or your lifestyle. It’s a little cliché — but your home should be as unique and interesting as you are!