Lauren O.’s Manhattan Apartment Is a Love Letter to Rituals

We gush astir readers each the clip during our Cup of Jo squad meetings, and Lauren O. is simply a sanction that often comes up. A scholar from the beginning, she has near galore hilarious and heartwarming comments (think: “Hang escaped my goose“, a day realization, and what happened erstwhile she deleted Pokémon GO from her phone). Other readers person asked to larn much astir her, truthful contiguous we’re thrilled to diagnostic her one-bedroom Manhattan apartment, which she shares with her husband, Joe, and 2 darling cats…

LIVING AREA

Chairs: vintage Niels Otto Møller from Housing Works Thrift. Throw pillows: Pendleton. Stereo: “Joe’s audiophile ‘Frankensystem’ — it’s a Linn turntable connected a customized plinth with a Leben amp beside it, and DeVore Fidelity speakers.”

On moving to New York: Joe and I came from San Francisco to Manhattan successful 2003 truthful that I could intern astatine a mag publisher. We primitively thought we’d conscionable enactment for the summer, truthful the determination felt debased pressure. But past we sneaky fell successful emotion with the city. Before New York, I’d ne'er truly recovered a metropolis that spoke to me. So, astatine the extremity of my internship, erstwhile I was offered a full-time job, my reply was ‘Of course.’

Red lamp connected grounds shelf: Nicholas Furrow. Record shelves: “Joe and our person George made them.” Media center: Design Within Reach thrifted via Craigslist, similar. Red lamp connected java table: Mantar.

On idiosyncratic style: Our plan vibe is akin to the Bergdorf Goodman vacation windows, if they were made by and for raccoons, since we emotion shiny things. I’d besides picture it arsenic a metropolitan goblin consciousness — there’s tons of records, books, orbs, minerals and rocks.

Art mural: thrifted from Housing Works. Record shelf: CB2, similar. Pink lamp: vintage, via Furlong. Plant shelf: Ethnicraft. Coffee table: Jordan Crowell. Red lamp: Mantar. Sectional: Saba Italia. Moth propulsion pillow: Timorous Beasties. Rug: Saint-Ouen flea marketplace successful Paris.

On bursts of color: Before the pandemic, determination was decidedly little colour successful the apartment. But erstwhile we were stuck present each the time, we wanted to brighten things up. Joe was really the 1 who said, ‘We person to get a pinkish sectional.’ So, we went for it.

On a question tradition: I utilized to unpaid astatine the Housing Works bookstore, and 1 time a mysterious Frenchman came successful asking if we had immoderate copies of George Orwell’s caller 1984. We pulled retired each these antithetic editions, and helium was implicit the moon, saying that portion traveling, helium ever goes to section bookstores and asks for an variation of 1984 from their country. I thought that was the champion idea. The publication was published successful a zillion languages, and it has been released successful caller editions. If you work the assorted introductions, radical emotion to framework it successful presumption of their country’s existent governmental moment; it’s an absorbing lens done which to spot different places. I’ve present taken his contented connected arsenic my own.

On fibre art: I spell done random phases wherever I get the impulse to marque fibre art. I made a Debbie Harry representation during our archetypal summertime successful New York, erstwhile Joe was arsenic a paralegal and ne'er home. A fewer years later, I embroidered a representation of David Bowie connected a handbag for a contention held by the present defunct handbag marque Rachel Nasvik. I ended up winning!

Lauren and Maya

On beloved feline children: We adopted our feline Matty successful Anaheim, California, portion I was down determination visiting family. He had been a stray moving astir successful immoderate parking lot, and we recovered him connected Petfinder. Then we adopted Maya a twelvemonth ago. She was primitively surviving with her 5 kittens successful a termination structure successful Tennessee, and past someway they each ended up connected Staten Island? The information that she ended up determination with her babies ever makes maine laughter due to the fact that it reminds maine of Madonna’s euphony video Papa Don’t Preach.

BEDROOM

Basket: Swahili African Modern. Blue bench: West Elm. Tiger propulsion pillows: Williams Sonoma. Duvet: “A white West Elm comforter I got connected ace clearance and past tie-dyed and appliquéd with a clump of quilting scraps.”

On a long-time love: Joe and I met 26 years ago, portion studying overseas astatine the University of Oxford successful England. For 1 of our archetypal dinners, helium made maine this fantastic, complicated, vegetarian Thai crockery — even though helium lived successful pupil lodging with a crappy room shared with a twelve people, and helium had to store for groceries successful a tiny municipality successful 1999 wherever bully ingredients were hard to travel by. That motion meant truthful overmuch to maine due to the fact that successful the past, erstwhile boyfriends made maine consciousness similar crap for being a vegetarian. Like it was a hassle to enactment around. But Joe has ever taken my needs earnestly and my eccentricities successful stride — similar erstwhile I aftermath him up successful the mediate of the nighttime due to the fact that I’m bittersweet astir the mode radical are mean to pigeons — and helium ever truly hears maine and makes maine consciousness taken attraction of.

Gold dachshunds: vintage via Atlantis Home.

On favourite books: I’m everlastingly recommending Kelly Link’s Magic for Beginners, a bid of abbreviated phantasy stories. You tin consciousness your encephalon increasing caller wrinkles and acquiring caller neural pathways arsenic you read. She’s conscionable truthful originative and I person specified a crush connected the mode she puts her stories together. I can’t ideate anyone not uncovering this publication magical.

Paint: Middleton Pink from Farrow & Ball. Mushroom propulsion pillow: John Derian for Target. Mushroom print: David Shrigley. Wolf print: “From a festival successful Montreal. I saw them each implicit the subway and ended up penning to the festival’s squad asking if I could bargain one. They past sent maine a mates for free.” Bed: CB2. Velvet bluish propulsion pillows: West Elm and Timorous Beasties. Brass bookcase: One Kings Lane, similar.

On mushroom decor: It each started erstwhile I submitted a transportation to Mushroom People Magazine astir an creator who made shrouds inoculated with mushroom spores that you could beryllium buried in. In theory, the mushroom would devour you. Putting that portion unneurotic ended up spurring a lifelong mushroom enthusiasm. I’m present portion of the New York Mycological Society, a radical of national scientists and foragers who are truly into mushrooms and ace generous with their knowledge. Now during walks, I fetch sticks with breathtaking things increasing connected them and contiguous them to the much adept members similar a retriever with a Frisbee.

Brass bookcase: One Kings Lane, similar.

On traveling with parents: The representation of the small miss is my mom. A mates years ago, Joe and I started a contented of going connected abrogation with her and my stepdad Doug. Mom and I emotion walking astir each day, truthful we’ll enactment connected our comfy shoes and caput out. Then Joe and Doug volition spell to a sports barroom and chat astir shot factoids. For our archetypal trip, we went to the U.K., and I recovered a pond successful the mediate of the Hampstead Heath that lone women tin aquatics in. And adjacent though it was November and freezing, my ma and I jumped in. After that, we decided we were officially pond scum and had to aquatics everyplace we traveled. In Iceland, we went to the lagoons, and erstwhile we sojourn my sisters, we ever prime a edifice oregon abrogation rental with a pool.

ENTRYWAY

Credenza: vintage. White lamp: Verner Panton. Rhino: talented from her mother.

On peculiar gifts: My parent amazed maine with this rhino for Christmas. She was an creation past large who took a clump of workplace creation classes, similar furniture- and rug-making courses.

KITCHEN

On moving astir aged plan choices: Our room is precise overmuch not our style. But it was marque caller erstwhile we moved successful and is successful truly large condition, truthful I can’t ideate spending wealth connected ripping retired the counters. As a workaround, I’ve added idiosyncratic touches. I’ve been switching retired the furniture knobs 1 astatine a time, truthful nary of them match. Some are snails, immoderate mushrooms, 1 is simply a resin knob with a clump of moss inside. I besides started drafting this mural. Changing the room initially felt similar an annoying task, but it has turned into this abstraction of giving myself support to bash immoderate I want. And that’s been precise liberating.

Thank you truthful much, Lauren. We adore you! Never halt commenting!

P.S. More location tours, including a a reader’s ‘introvert nook’ and a yoga teacher whose Manhattan workplace flat is simply a emotion missive to women.

(Photos by Christine Han for Cup of Jo.)