00:00Hi guys, my name is Gilly. Welcome to My Sweet Digs, also known as Casa de Sena Gato.
00:04Before you come in, make sure you subscribe below and come on in.
00:08I live in Prospect Park South in Brooklyn.
00:11I pay $14.95 a month, which I know is a really good price for New York,
00:16especially for a good-sized, true one-bedroom.
00:19This is my first solo apartment.
00:21I love being able to decorate the whole space on my terms,
00:25so it's been really great.
00:34This is my kitchen, which leads into my dining room.
00:38I'm a food writer, and I write a lot about home cooking and kitchen tips and tricks,
00:43so I spend a lot of time in my kitchen.
00:45Because of my job, when I'm eating out of restaurants,
00:48it's usually a lot of indulgent foods, alcohol, things like that,
00:52which are all great, but when I'm at home, it's a lot of very fresh, produce-heavy food.
00:57Because I write about food and beverages, I'll get sent a lot of liquor,
01:02but I actually don't, ironically, drink very much when I'm just alone at home,
01:06because I'm more of a social drinker.
01:08Unless people are coming over, my booze just kind of sits there
01:11and awaits someone for me to make a cocktail for.
01:15This is my living room.
01:17I pick up a lot of things when I'm traveling from my home.
01:21One of my great finds were these Moroccan poofs,
01:24which I got in the souk in Marrakesh.
01:27They'll actually sell them to you empty, so you can haul them back in your carry-on,
01:30but then it actually takes a lot more fabric than you might think to fill them.
01:35I'm pretty sure I've got like three old comforters
01:37and tons of towels just to fill up these things.
01:40When I'm traveling, I always try to look for local antique stores, flea markets,
01:46places where you're going to find authentic local pieces.
01:49Senor Gato is my lovely framed cat.
01:52I refer to him as my roommate because he's lived with me for like over 10 years.
01:56I think I got him at a Goodwill for like a dollar,
01:58and I just thought like this is the kitschiest thing I've ever seen, and I love it.
02:03He lived in my dorms in college and all of my apartments since,
02:06and so my apartment gets a snake name after him.
02:09The question I most get about my apartment is,
02:12where can I get stuff for my own gallery wall, and how can I build it up?
02:16I would say just take your time.
02:17I love going to thrift stores, antique stores, flea markets.
02:21Whenever I'm traveling, like I said, I like to pick up a piece of art
02:25or something unique from a flea market there that can really remind me of a place.
02:31One of my favorite things were these two mirrors above my TV stand,
02:36I got them at the Brooklyn Flea from a vendor.
02:39One of his friends is a Broadway set designer,
02:42and they look like they're very heavy antique mirrors,
02:45but they actually weigh like a pound a piece.
02:47They're made out of plastic, really lightweight and affordable, and I love them.
02:52Definitely my biggest splurge was probably the couch,
02:55just because it's kind of the most substantial item in my apartment.
02:58My couch was a little over $800,
03:00which was especially a lot when you just moved into an apartment
03:03and just had to pay, you know, your down payment and your broker fee and all that.
03:14This room used to be just a walk-in closet.
03:17I had shelves for shoes and clothing racks.
03:20Then I realized it would be a much more practical use to turn it into an office,
03:24because I do work from home and it can get easy to get distracted
03:28and not want to get your work done,
03:31so I thought it would really help to have a designated space.
03:35This is my bathroom.
03:36My least favorite room of my apartment is definitely the bathroom.
03:40It's very small, and it's definitely where you see the most age of the apartment.
03:44I've tried to dress it up with a few cute curtains
03:47and a poster from one of my favorite bands,
03:50but otherwise it's not the nicest bathroom in the world.
03:55This is the bedroom.
03:57Because the rest of my apartment was pretty busy,
03:59I wanted the bedroom to be more of like a tranquil, neutral space,
04:03really calming where I could just really relax
04:06and not think about work or anything else stressing me out.
04:10This is the first apartment where I didn't have control over the heating system.
04:14The first winter when the central heating came on,
04:16it started making these loud banging noises,
04:18and I thought that something was about to explode in my apartment
04:21and thought maybe I should evacuate.
04:22Because it is an older building, the windows are very drafty,
04:26so in the dead of winter it gets extremely cold.
04:28Luckily, I have a space heater in here that also looks like a cozy little fireplace.
04:34I have tons of blankets and just pile myself up in layers all winter long so I don't get too
04:39cold.
04:40I love living alone.
04:41I travel a lot for work, so when I am in New York, I love having my own space to
04:46unwind.
04:46I can definitely be a bit of a homebody, especially in the winter when it's just too cold.
04:51I don't want to go outside. I just want to be cozied up, so I love having my own space.
05:03Thanks so much for watching My Sweet Digs.
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