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Published on 7/4/08
Published on 7/2/08
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“I’m actually a real-estate broker,” laughs Greg Farrell, whose 325-square-foot Chelsea studio feels roughly the size of a walk-in closet. “I moved in here after a relationship ended, thinking it was a temporary fix, and then just never left.” So three years ago, when he noticed a Dumpster outside his window, he decided to do a major purge. “I wanted to have a What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? moment,” Farrell says. “You know, live life as simply as a child.”
Starting from scratch, Farrell installed panels of mirrors from Kmart on two walls to give the illusion of more windows, located a big round dining table and a bed that doubles as a bureau at the Salvation Army ($150), and then scored a pair of signed Eames chairs from a collector in Brooklyn ($80 each). He saved two orange seats—retired when the National Iranian American Council moved—from a Dumpster. His only splurge, a white fiberglass table from White Furniture, cost $150.
Storagewise, he’s restricted to a few drawers and a jam-packed closet (“Huge boon: I never have to iron”) as well as a steel commercial-kitchen shelving unit that he got on Craigslist. It acts as a makeshift desk-slash-bookshelf, all concealed behind a steel gray shower curtain sourced from Bed Bath & Beyond.
“I have a three-cubic-foot storage unit downstairs for my bike and an extra collapsible chair—I host a book club here every month, so I need the seating,” Farrell explains. But where are all the books? “I check them out from the library.” Duh.
1. “Vases are a cheap and easy way to add splashes of color,” Farrell says. “I pick them up from Housing Works all the time. Then, when I’m tired of them, I donate them back.”
2. “This is Olive, my quitting-smoking mascot. I paid $30 for her, but she’s worth it,” says Farrell. “You really can’t smoke in a 325-square-foot apartment.”
3. Farrell firmly subscribes to the minimalist, leave-it-all-behind mentality. “But you have to have a junk drawer,” he offers. “It’s too weird not to.”
Greg Farrell
Wed, Mar 05, at 02:22pm
Joanne! I am good! How's my most upbeat and energetic client?!!!!
Joanne B.
Mon, Mar 03, at 03:23pm
Greg!? You were my broker! How are you?
Joseph Olive
Wed, Nov 07, 07, at 2:08pm
Hey sexy, I'll keep you off of cigarettes the fun way - and I admire your choices. I build things, could make you a nice full bed.
JO
Melinda
Fri, Oct 19, 07, at 1:55pm
Thanks Greg!
Greg Farrell
Fri, Oct 19, 07, at 10:00am
Thanks, Melinda -
It is a twin mattress, had been a full size mattress worked onto the storage bed - but after awhile, had to ask "when's the last time more than one person slept in this bed?" - sadly, when time came to replace the mattress, it's a twin that "fit".
Thanks again for the compliment. Best, G
Greg Farrell
Fri, Oct 19, 07, at 9:55am
I am Greg Farrell. Thank You, Elise - and Thank You, Dan - for your kind treatment of my el-petite crib.
Best wishes, Greg
Melinda
Thu, Oct 18, 07, at 2:09pm
I'm lovin' the minimalist look. Is that a twin mattress or a full on top of the storage bed?
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