JS Squared
Longtime lurker, first time poster. My girlfriend and I just spruced up our little apartment for The CB2 Selby Contest.
I'm a lifelong collector, my parents dragged me to antique shows since I was only a few weeks old. My girlfriend is a real estate agent and we both share a passion for homes and interiors. Most (actually, nearly all) of what you see is stuff that I've collected, found in the dumpster, made or restored. My motto is "to live like a prince on a pauper's budget." Most importantly, all my pieces have a story.
In the photo above, you can see my coffee table, something I designed and made during my undergraduate years at RIT. I made it from parts of a Moviola Film Editor. It is sitting on a blue wildebeest hide that I found on ebay a few years ago. The portrait wall is a recent addition; my girlfriend expressed an interest in collecting portraits (she's a photographer by trade). The woodworking bench is something I found while I was at school and the engineers chest to the right is my most recent acquisition.
The mid century chair to the right of the engineers chest is actually one of two. I restored them and had them reupholstered with period fabric from Zarin. We didn't have room for the second so I put it away. The bench to the far right came from a dumpster near NYU. You should have seen the looks I got pushing that through the streets of Manhattan! The cast aluminum milk crates were a score by one of my good friends. Urban Outfitters was closing out the crates and marked them down from $98 to $19. My friend was a store manager at the time and nabbed the last five in the northeast! The Eames ottoman was a gift from my boss. (I just need to find the chair!)
Our leather sofa was going to be thrown out! It was made in France by Grange furniture and has down filled cushions. It had two small rips in the arm, both of which I fixed. Who throws this stuff out?!
The dining table is made of solid rosewood (which is no longer able to be exported). When I got it, it was in really rough shape, but I worked on it for a few days and it turned out pretty well. The Korean War wheat paste print came from a punk store in Richmond, VA, and both lamps are from Antiques and Old Lace in Rochester, NY.
Here's the final view of our living area. The bikes hanging above are about 1/3 of my total collection. I am a bicycle frame builder, I operate a small company with my friend from college where we specialize in lugged steel frames. The desk used to belong to the editor of Men's Health.
Supposedly he was "going to throw it out" but he ended up donating it to the thrift shop where I work. It is a solid teak partners desk, made in Denmark; I bought it with my first paycheck. The red Eames rocker is a spot-on reproduction by White Furniture. It was a one-off sample for Spice restaurant (they ended up going with green chairs instead) I restored the Heywood Wakefield chair near the desk and upholstered it in black leather.
Kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom photos to come!
Thanks for looking! If you like our home, please consider voting for us on the Selby/CB2 contest page.
Cheers and happy dwelling!
I'm a lifelong collector, my parents dragged me to antique shows since I was only a few weeks old. My girlfriend is a real estate agent and we both share a passion for homes and interiors. Most (actually, nearly all) of what you see is stuff that I've collected, found in the dumpster, made or restored. My motto is "to live like a prince on a pauper's budget." Most importantly, all my pieces have a story.
In the photo above, you can see my coffee table, something I designed and made during my undergraduate years at RIT. I made it from parts of a Moviola Film Editor. It is sitting on a blue wildebeest hide that I found on ebay a few years ago. The portrait wall is a recent addition; my girlfriend expressed an interest in collecting portraits (she's a photographer by trade). The woodworking bench is something I found while I was at school and the engineers chest to the right is my most recent acquisition.
The mid century chair to the right of the engineers chest is actually one of two. I restored them and had them reupholstered with period fabric from Zarin. We didn't have room for the second so I put it away. The bench to the far right came from a dumpster near NYU. You should have seen the looks I got pushing that through the streets of Manhattan! The cast aluminum milk crates were a score by one of my good friends. Urban Outfitters was closing out the crates and marked them down from $98 to $19. My friend was a store manager at the time and nabbed the last five in the northeast! The Eames ottoman was a gift from my boss. (I just need to find the chair!)
Our leather sofa was going to be thrown out! It was made in France by Grange furniture and has down filled cushions. It had two small rips in the arm, both of which I fixed. Who throws this stuff out?!
The dining table is made of solid rosewood (which is no longer able to be exported). When I got it, it was in really rough shape, but I worked on it for a few days and it turned out pretty well. The Korean War wheat paste print came from a punk store in Richmond, VA, and both lamps are from Antiques and Old Lace in Rochester, NY.
Here's the final view of our living area. The bikes hanging above are about 1/3 of my total collection. I am a bicycle frame builder, I operate a small company with my friend from college where we specialize in lugged steel frames. The desk used to belong to the editor of Men's Health.
Supposedly he was "going to throw it out" but he ended up donating it to the thrift shop where I work. It is a solid teak partners desk, made in Denmark; I bought it with my first paycheck. The red Eames rocker is a spot-on reproduction by White Furniture. It was a one-off sample for Spice restaurant (they ended up going with green chairs instead) I restored the Heywood Wakefield chair near the desk and upholstered it in black leather.
Kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom photos to come!
Thanks for looking! If you like our home, please consider voting for us on the Selby/CB2 contest page.
Cheers and happy dwelling!