On Valentine’s day, while unbeknown to me Darren Rowse was publishing my guest post on Twitip and I broke all previous records of visitors in one day, I visited my friend Cristina’s house once again, to take some “after” photos. It was wonderful. Not much time has passed, of course, so the changes are not radical, but she has adopted some of the suggestions that came out of the analysis of her and Lisa’s tweets, and that is both flattering and validating as far as the reliability of this type of experiment and analysis. So, here are the pictures, with some commentary.
Hallway to kitchen, bath and bedroom
There is a new chest of drawers in the bedroom, which we can see from here.
Right side of kitchen
The refrigerator used to be on the right-hand side and now it is gone. In its place is the attachment for a washer/dryer, in my opinion the single greatest addition to any apartment.
Left side of kitchen
The refrigerator is now on the left, and the table is now next to the window, a new addition. Are you starting to see there is a *white* theme going on with the furniture? 
Bathroom
A nice white curtain in the bathroom already makes a difference.
New sink and vanity
The new sink makes a huge difference and it was very inexpensive.
Bedroom, view of closet
The closet has been organized and is already quite efficient.
Clothes and coat rack in bedroom
This rack brings back such childhood memories for me! When I was little I lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and my parents at one point brought home a couple of these industrial looking racks from 7th Avenue, in the garment district. Back then you would see these clerks running along the sidewalk pushing or pulling a rack full or garments on wheels. It was great, one of those “real New York” things. From that day on, this kind of rack is called a “7th Avenue.” As in, “Where’s my sweater?” “It’s on the 7th Avenue.” So now Cristina has a 7th Avenue of her own.
New bureau in bedroom
Bed and shoe cupboard
Hallway from bedroom toward living/dining room
This is a great addition, the sofa bed in the living/dining room. It’s the single most important point on which Cristina and Lisa have decided to follow my recommendation. Cristina is from Bologna, in Italy, and she does not often have house guests, but when she does it is usually for a while. When her mother visits she might even stay a month or two. Since both Cristina and Lisa get up very early, often before 6 am, it is unreasonable to think they could not access the studio for several hours, if guests were in there sleeping. This way, they can tiptoe past the sleeping guests and close the double glass doors in the end room and work away to their hearts’ content.
New sofa bed from CB2 in living/dining room
This sofa bed is amazingly economical in terms of space usage. It’s comfortable to sit on and takes up very little room. And it’s a nice splash of color in an apartment with all white furniture.
New dining/work table from CB2
Cristina likes to really spread out when she is working. The table in the end room is reserved for computer and administrative work, whereas this one is perfect for brainstorming, mind mapping, research, and so on. Of course it’s also perfect for dining and entertaining.
View of the end room, the studio
Study/work table in all its glory with file "cabinet"
And here is her efficient office setup, with file drawers made of wire, much “lighter” than a regular cabinet.
Middle room seen from end room
As you can see, the apartment is starting to come together, and each room is settling into its intended function. This post brings this wonderful Twitter experiment to a close, but not forever. We have decided that a year from now I am going to visit the apartment again and take more pictures, to document the evolution of the space.
I want to publicly thank Cristina and Lisa for being such good sports. They were very disciplined in their tweeting, which was essential to the success of the experiment. One of the loveliest thing to come of this experience has been the unintended and unexpected fringe benefit of bringing a certain level of quotidian intimacy back into the relationship. These two women live in different cities and in these situations it is inevitable to lose sight of those little things that all summed up make a “life together” between two people. By following each other’s tweets they were each able to feel connected in those small ways that make all the difference.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Now I want my own apartment in Manhattan and, of course, a 7th Avenue. I have one in my basement, but it has this tiny little plastic wheels.
I enjoyed participating in this experiment because of the novelty of the method and the medium. It allowed me to harmonize my life with Lisa’s, it accompanied me in the very initial phase of my life in this new home and it brought to my attention certain habits and needs that would certainly have remained in my subconscious. Furthermore, the implications of your analysis are long term – the initial outcome was the orange sofa bed – and they will inform future choices (I love to make decisions slowly when it comes to my home – I enjoy the process of choice as much as the result).