PB&J Loft

 ... as in Pre- Beth and Jon.  Here's what it (sort of) looks like currently:
(more current photos here!)

Photo by Heather Waraksa

I thought I'd share some photos of our current apartment from our first walk-through over 2 years ago.  We got to look at the apartment before the previous tenant had moved out, which was a huge help for us "walls & doors" people to see how one might decorate an open space.
Though things clearly worked out for us,  just seeing these photos reminds me of the nightmare that is apartment hunting in NYC.  I'm not saying all brokers are terrible people, but if you were in the piles-of-crap-selling-business you might compromise your ideals too.  The lies!  Oh the lies-
loft = studio
jr. 1 bedroom = studio
2 bedroom = 1 bedroom plus a large closet
New York area = Jersey
upper east side = spanish harlem
harlem = washington heights
williamsburg = bushwick / bed stuy
cozy = so effing tiny
quiet = dungeony dark
close to everything! = drunks at your doorstep
minutes from the subway! = miles from the subway

Oh there are so many more.  I almost sucker punched a broker who spent 20 minutes telling us you don't pay for the apartment, you pay to be in NYC.  Don't tell me what I'm trying my best not to admit.  Nevertheless, most apartments here are shit-holes and you really have to look hard to find a good one.

So when we saw this place, Sally Struthers shed a small tear, cause baby we were home!
More photos after the jump!

The current tenant, Guiseppe, was an Italian artiste.  Here's his obra maestra:

REMEMBER... you're out of toilet paper.


Just go ahead and say it- the kitchen area isn't so hot.  Unfortunately, save this guy's makeshift meth lab, the kichen looks mostly the same.  What can ya do?  Oh and if you actually thought this could be a meth lab, clearly you've never seen Breaking Bad.  Fix that immediately.



The dining area to living room looked boho eurotrash cool (that's a good thing in case you couldn't tell).  But the high-water curtains bug me.  I should know, we kept them for like over a year. 


Here is the living area- I must say I like his low TV console and the art gallery behind it.  BUT, any points he earned there he quickly lost with the Keep Calm sign.  Dude, not you too.



Finally, here's the focal point of the entire loft, the Ikea Expedit shelving.  Guiseppe really nailed it with this- it's the perfect separator between the living area and the sleeping alcove (sorry I don't have any pics, but it's right behind the shelves).  It keeps the sleeping area private while maintaining the openness of a loft.  After all, what's the point of not having walls and always having to watch the same thing on TV as your roommate (husband) if you can't enjoy the inherent coolness of living in ONE GIANT ROOM!!!

So there it is... or was, rather. Sorry no pics of the bedroom or the bathroom- oh and the broker took these shots to post with the listing so don't get all judgy about my photography skills.  We were the FIRST people to look at this apartment and my terrible poker face probably cost us the edge in negotiations, but we had to take it.

So the moral of the story is: if you find a CL posting for a 900+sqft loft in Williamsburg, and when you go to see it it happens to be a 900+sqft loft in Williamsburg- you take it.  Pronto.