Here's How to Bring This Kips Bay Co-Op Out of the 1960s - And Make The Most of Its Natural Light

featured this month on Brick Underground by Leah Hochbaum Rosner

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The greatest thing this $879,000 Kips Bay one-bedroom at 300 East 33rd Street has going for it is an amenity you can't fake: natural light. “Those big windows are probably the best thing about this place,” says architect Anjie Cho, referring to the trio of floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the condo building’s private garden. “It looks like it gets a lot of light.”

Yet while it’s bright and sun-drenched, the 1960s-era unit is being sold in as-is original condition, which means it could use a ton of work in order to whip it into shape. “The worst thing is probably that kitchen,” says Cho. “It’s so small. And when you look closer and see that there’s a column [that takes up a lot of room], it’s even smaller!”

Cho has a lot of ideas as to how to modernize this space. Below, her recommendations:

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The Essentials That Belong In Every Minimalist Home

featured this week on MindBodyGreen by Emma Loewe

We’re putting out a “5 Days to Minimalism” series to help you clear clutter from your life really, really quickly. Day 5 is all about adopting a minimalist mindset throughout your home.

Sit back and envision a room that's flooded with natural light and simply curated with a few statement furniture pieces and accessories sprinkled here and there. Can you feel your heart rate slow down a few notches?

Kitchen

How to clear it out

Here, architect and feng shui expert Anjie Cho shares her top tips for crafting a clean kitchen:

1. Clear off all surfaces. The more things that are on the counter and visible, the more cluttered your kitchen will look and feel. If possible, put things away behind cabinet doors. If you have glass doors, you can paint the backside of the glass or add a frosted film, so you don't see the additional busyness inside the cabinets. I like to give myself a limit of one to three things that I love and use on a daily basis on the counter and one item on the stove.

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8 Tips to Feng Shui Your Kitchen

featured this month on ThriveMarket by Annalise Mantz

Watch enough home decorating shows and you’ll start to think interior design is all about subway tile backsplashes, reclaimed wood, and floating kitchen islands. Sure, flashy furniture is nice—but that’s not what makes a house a home.

That’s where feng shui (pronounced fung shway) comes in. This ancient Chinese art isn’t just another design trend—its primary focus is balancing the energy flow of a room through the placement of objects. Practitioners believe everything has chi, or energy, and rearranging furniture, decorations, and appliances can affect everything from your career to love life.

CLEAN OUT THE FRIDGE

Since the kitchen is all about nourishment, sustainable architect and feng shui expert Anjie Cho recommends taking a good hard look at your refrigerator. Throw away any expired or spoiled food. Keeping food past its prime can reflect negatively on your health by sharing the space where you cook and eat. Plus, it’s just gross.

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