Rooms on Film: Saturday Night Fever

let's dance the last dance: john travolta and karen lynn gorney

It seems I'm still in an Empire State of Mind. Specifically, New York in the '70s. This movie has several locations: Tony's family home, the dance studio, stores, the disco hall... And it briefly breezes through the new Manhattan digs of Stephanie, a young woman who is very serious about her ambitions. 

Typically, it's one of those places that gives the impression that elevators had not yet been invented. Or at least, no one had thought to install them anywhere in the five boroughs...

Retail Odyssey: Madura Opens in NYC

909 Broadway - you can't miss 'em

On a street filled with the likes of ABC Carpet & Home, Safavieh, Design Within Reach, and Domain, a certain modern French flair has joined the mix. Madura has opened it's U. S. flagship store on Broadway in the Flatiron district: stripes, bold colors, jaunty patterns and luxurious textures.  

Now your stroll from Madison Square Park to Union Square just got that much dreamier.

Rooms on Film: How to Make it in America 2

rachel (lake bell) in her one bedroom palace eclectic

Okay, so it has been a year since my first post on this cancelled HBO series, but as promised, here is the second installment featuring my favorite of the show’s many homes! In season two of How to Make it in America, Rachel (Lake Bell) moves into an eclectic 1BR apartment. Designed by Kelly McGehee, the set has a typical prewar breadbox layout. The never-seen bathroom is just off the front door, the simple kitchen flows into the vibrant living room, followed by the sunny bedroom. The apartment also has lovely prewar bones, including French doors and a bay window…

Rooms on Film: How to Make it in America

lulu d's (nicole laliberte) ladylike boudoir

Another of those shows I barely ever saw before it was cancelled. It clocked two seasons on HBO. Before it bit the dust, How to Make it in America did impress me with some of it's NYC digs, all designed by one Kelly McGehee.

Rooms on Film: Carlito's Way

This is a brief one (and mildly NSFW), but I just love it. New York stories are one of my favorite film genres. Maybe that isn't a bona fide genre, but a good New York City film is a very special something. Those are movies that allow you to feel the city, to believe you're really there. On my short list: Desperately Seeking Susan, Girlfight and Beat Street. To name a few. 

And then there's Carlito's Way...

Only in New York

the poster says it all: rustic floors, secondhand furnishings and tenants with artistic flair

All afternoon I've been thinking about the particular strangeness of New York City apartments. First, a friend mentioned that she has moved into a new pad that is bigger and better than her old one. Not a tough act to follow, that old apartment, it was a studio that measures about 14' square. This did not include the tiny (but cozy) bathroom or the teensy kitchenette. And there was scant closet space. The only saving graces are the nearly 10' ceiling and the blinding flood of southern light. It's asking a lot to make an adult's home in a room the size of a bedroom. (I had a number of ideas. The space really sparked the creative juices).

Rooms on Film: The Adjustment Bureau

I don't know what is going on with Matt Damon right now, but he keeps doing movies that make me kinda love him. Not he's-so-hot-infatuated love. No, I'm talking old school Andrew McCarthy-he's-so-sweet-love. To wit, a charming little movie called The Adjustment Bureau which has been all over HBO lately. 

matt damon and emily blunt