BLOG | Reimagining Spaces

You know what they say about New York City "If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere". It is a place of opportunity. Just ask the heaps of people who are tempted to move here and the millions who are already here despite the crowd and the cost which are most often overlooked because the pros are too hard to resist.

No matter which neighborhood or borough you live in, #NYC always has something to offer no matter what time it is, all year round - day in, day out. You can go on for months not going to the same restaurant twice. You can walk to Times Square every single day and you would never have the same experience. The art and culture scene are just unmatched. From the museums, to the gorgeous libraries, to the broadway theaters, to the night life, there is no reason to stay home and do nothing in the city that never sleeps.

Then the pandemic hit. New York City became the epicenter of the #Covid-19 virus. In one instant, the city that never sleeps took a pause, a long pause... People who are transplants cried their way back home and us real New Yorkers resiliently stayed and hoped for the best.

Months went by and all I can do was stare at the walls of my place. I'm lucky enough that I live in a spacious 3 bedroom & 2 bath near Central Park. A walk in the park kept me sane. But being at home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week I couldn't help but notice every uneven wall, all the chipped paint, the unmatched pillow cases, the rusty nails on the chair. I had the urge to fix everything, to paint all the walls, to change my whole interior.

And then just like that, REIMAGINING SPACES was born.

Nov 18, 20222 min read

Stylish Radiator cover idea

If you are like me who live in an older apartment or home (I live in a pre-war building) I'm pretty sure your radiator is not as aesthetically appealing compared to the rest of your home. I actually have a few of them around my house but there is one particular radiator that I pass by every.. single.. day.. that is just really old and ugly. I have painted it the same color as my wall so it would blend in, I have covered it with some decor but I can never really put anything on it because it is a radiator. See below to know what I'm talking about.

First, I measured the length of the wood that I would need, horizontally & vertically. The wooden slats I used were left over pieces of wood from previous projects. Please note that all these wood were from pieces I picked up from other people or the streets of Manhattan making this project completely eco-friendly.

Then I started cutting each length that I would need to cover the whole radiator.

I experimented on a few different ways on how to work on the cover and finally figured out that the best way was to cut pieces that would hold the vertical slats and attach those horizontally using a nail gun.

So I got to working. Three wooden slats used to cover on each side. I made sure there was enough wood cut of the same length for the remainder of the radiator. The space in between each wooden slat is the width of the thinner part of the wood. This will give enough space for heat to come out but not too wide of a space that you can still see the radiator.

For the top part, I got two shelves from Craigslist sold by someone who got them from Ikea but never got to use them. I purchased them for $20 which makes this project even more eco-friendly. I used a pocket hole screw jig screw to drill holes on the shelves. and wood glue to make these two shelves as one. Then I used a nail gun to attach this one long shelf to the wooden slats.

After all wooden slats were joined together, I filled the joints, sanded, primed and painted. I used a black stain on the shelf which basically made it look like it's original color. I did 3 coats of paint and stain.

Nov 6, 20222 min read

Transitioning from toddler to a tween bedroom

A child transitioning from a child to a tween has its own challenges already, so having a bedroom that they can show the changes in their style would be a great way to mark this exciting time for their growth and development. Not only was this a fun project for me, this definitely acknowledged my daughter’s individuality to create a bedroom she absolutely loves and show off to her friends. The plan was to give her more space in her same bedroom. How does one achieve that? You lift and elevate everything up and make sure that there is floor space. With sustainability heavy in mind, I wanted to upcycle everything so I was very careful when I disassembled her loft bed.

I found pieces of long wood in the curb that looked sturdy enough to hold my daughter’s bed. So I had my husband pick them all up and bring them home. This was actually after a guy from hardware store told me that my plan to elevate my daughter's bed won’t work saying whatever I was thinking of doing will never happen. I am planning to go back and show him the before and after photos. It’s been 6 months now since I’ve done this project. All are still intact and doing good!

First I measured how much I needed to cut from the wood. After cutting I attached them one by one to the loft bed’s drawer to check for stability. Once I realized all this would work I started working. I attached and screwed all the pieces on the top part of the bed slowly and continued drilling & attaching another long wood on each side. After everything was attached, I started working on attaching the slats that would hold the mattress in place.

The pullout study table was kept the way it was but is now positioned right under the bed. The old wheels had lock in them so I was able to put them in place where it won’t keep on moving but can also be moved around, if needed.

For the finishing touches of the bed, I bought this vinyl roll of paper from Amazon and covered the top area of the bed, the study table and the dresser.

Then I painted the rest of her newly lifted loft bed white and painted the whole room white as well. The last time we painted my daughter's room it was all yellow. Let's see how long she will keep this color and how she will maintain it clean.

And here is her finished room. There will be separate posts for how I added her vanity, activity table and other accessories that I added in her room which are all upcycled or made from scratch. Stay tuned for those posts.

Mar 9, 20221 min read

An unclassic chic bedside table

A bedside table is something that is probably one of the most highly unappreciated piece of furniture in someone’s home. We’re always on a quest for a dinner table, a coffee table, a side table to use next to our couch, a dresser and/or vanity. But if we think about it, a bedside table has a very important useful role in our lives. This is where a lot of things we use right before we sleep land - books, reading glasses, water, our phone etc.

Not all spaces are suited for a night stand. Especially if you

live in a city, you may not have enough space for both a dresser and a night stand. For me I can only afford to put a nightstand in one side of my bed and a dresser on the other side. But I didn’t want a conventional nightstand so I opted for a chic side chair that I up-cycled. I included in my highlights how I did that and you can check it on this link .

A side chair may not be the most storage-friendly alternative to a normal night stand but I did say “chic” right?

I added a fringe blanket ....