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“My friends call it the museum,” laughs Gina Merulla of her impeccably done-up one-bedroom abode. When she’s not working as a merchandiser for Polo Jeans Company Europe, the 27-year-old FIT alum moonlights as one half of decor duo Fierce Interiors (fierceinteriorsnyc.com) and constantly fine-tunes her Gramercy Park home. “My mom’s an interior designer and there were certain rooms we couldn’t go in,” she explains of her obsession with Elle Decor–worthy style.
Despite the apartment’s glossy appearance, a majority of pieces possess weathered exteriors and dubious pasts, like a large bar cabinet that was filled with mysterious white powder when Merulla bought it from secondhand chain Housing Works. “My place looks like the way I dress myself—traditional but with an edge.”
But her urbane nook required more time and effort than a quick jaunt to Barneys: The former East Village resident spent a year combing through the nabe’s thrift shops to score her poster by portrait artist Alex Katz, collection of vintage glass and multitude of gold frames. And though she barely cracks open the fridge, Merulla adorns her kitchen with vignettes of teacups and even filled an unused icebox in the wall with a shell-covered ball and art tomes. “I don’t cook, but I feel like that room should be part of your house.”
Insider tip
“There are six thrift shops in Gramercy and Chelsea. I hit them every weekend, sometimes twice a week.”
Angel Street Thrift Shop 118 W 17th St between Sixth and Seventh Aves (212-229-0546)
City Opera Thrift Shop 222 E 23rd St between Second and Third Aves (212-684-5344)
Housing Works 157 E 23rd St between Lexington and Third Aves (212-529-5955); 143 W 17th St between Sixth and Seventh Aves (212-366-0820)
Vintage Thrift Shop 286 Third Ave between 22nd and 23rd Sts (212-871-0777)
Calvary/St. George’s Thrift Shop 61 Gramercy Park N at Gramercy Park W (212-475-2674)
Em
Wed, Mar 19, at 03:09pm
gorgeous. i love that she didn't just go into a west elm, pick up some pieces and threw the apt together. however, it looks great and much more expensive than waht it sounds like she spent. those thrift shops actually do have great stuff. i bought a gorgeous white wood framed mirror at city opera thrift shop for $10.
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