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On this episode of Sweet Digs, fashion market editor, Alyssa Coscarelli, gives us a tour around her junior one bedroom in the East Village. After taking a risk when moving in, Alyssa has settled in beautifully and has made the most of her small space. Press play to get a look into NYC living!

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High rent, small spaces, nosy neighbors — we put up with A LOT of things to live where we love. In Sweet Digs, Refinery29 gets a peek inside the homes of the coolest people we know, from tiny studios to sprawling houses, and ask the real questions like, "Wait, how much is your rent?"

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TALENT
Follow Alyssa Coscarelli on Instagram: https://instagram.com/alyssainthecity/
Transcript
00:00Hey, I'm Alyssa Coscarelli, and these are my sweet digs.
00:03Subscribe below before I let you in.
00:04I hope you brought a snack, because I do not cook at all.
00:10I live in a junior one bedroom in the East Village,
00:13and I pay $2,000 a month in rent.
00:15I don't have laundry.
00:16I don't have an elevator.
00:18I'm on the fourth floor of a walk-up building.
00:20I'm really paying for the location and for the fact
00:23that I live alone, and it's blissful.
00:26I love the East Village.
00:27It's one of my favorite neighborhoods
00:28in all of New York City.
00:29It's packed with culture and restaurants.
00:32Overall, it just has a certain New York charm to it.
00:39Here we are in my kitchen area.
00:42It's definitely more of a kitchenette,
00:44but it's totally fine, because the truth is,
00:46I do not cook at all.
00:47I have not used this little stove one time,
00:50as embarrassing as that is.
00:52I totally survive on takeout
00:54and other little groceries and snacks.
00:56My favorite takeout spot is Sugarfish.
00:58I order sushi probably at least once a week.
01:01Since the stove doesn't get much use,
01:03I have this drying rack here that I can place my dishes on
01:05to dry, and I also have a little tray just for knickknacks
01:08and keys, and I can put my drink down here if I need to.
01:11So it's kind of just a little catch-all area.
01:13Really, all that's in my fridge is just some kombucha,
01:17some water, wine, and beer.
01:19And I actually keep my cereals in here, weirdly enough.
01:24I like to keep my cereal in the fridge
01:26because I don't have a pantry, number one.
01:28And number two, I just feel like it better protects
01:30against cockroaches and mice that I'm terrified of.
01:33This fridge takes up so much room.
01:35I've actually considered seeing if my building management
01:38will remove it so that I can downsize to a mini fridge.
01:41What do you guys think?
01:42Should I toss it?
01:43Should I downsize?
01:44Let me know what you think in the comments below.
01:46Walking over here into my little breakfast nook,
01:48it's just a good little spot to hang out,
01:50especially since before I had this,
01:52I was eating all my meals on my couch or my bed,
01:55and that's just not something anyone should probably
01:58do on a regular basis.
01:59So here off of the kitchenette area is my bathroom.
02:02So let's go on in.
02:03My favorite thing about the bathroom
02:05is the black and white checkered tiles.
02:08I think they're so old school and adorable.
02:10I like to call this the toilet tunnel.
02:12It's kind of like a funny little hallway leading to the toilet,
02:15but it is good for privacy purposes.
02:17But I do try to warn some tall people
02:19because I have had friends hit their head.
02:21It feels pretty spacious for a New York City bathroom.
02:24My previous bathroom was pretty much the size of a stall.
02:27It's nice to have some space to walk around.
02:29It does the job.
02:31Why don't we check out the living space?
02:34As you can see, my living room also doubles as a closet.
02:37I work in fashion.
02:38I'm an editor, and I knew I always wanted
02:40to be in the fashion industry somehow.
02:42Instead of getting a TV and a TV stand
02:45like any normal person would,
02:47I decided to use this wall for a shoe display, and I love it.
02:51Clearly, I have a thing for shoes and clothes and jackets.
02:55So that's why I love what I do,
02:57because it just is in line with my passions.
02:59I got these shelves at IKEA and measured them all out myself,
03:04put them up myself, and I'm still crossing my fingers
03:07that I'm not going to come home one day
03:08and find them all on the ground.
03:09My favorite pair of shoes, they have to be this red leather boot
03:14by a brand called Byfar.
03:16This particular pair is sold out, I believe, still to this day.
03:19It sucks when people ask me where they're from
03:21because I have to break the news to them
03:22that they can't buy them,
03:23but I kind of love that about them at the same time.
03:25And since it's winter, I have all my jackets out.
03:28I like that I can see them all,
03:29and I can kind of just grab whichever one I want
03:31on the way out the door.
03:33Over here, I have my main kind of chill area.
03:36I have my couch, it's really comfy.
03:39It can fit about like two to three people, depending.
03:41Instead of a normal coffee table,
03:43I found this little side table from CB2,
03:45but I like that it doesn't take up too much space
03:47and I can kind of move it around easily.
03:49In my next apartment, or my dream apartment,
03:52I would really like a doorman because I order a lot online
03:55and I get sent a lot of packages,
03:58and they've gotten stolen from the lobby,
03:59they've gotten opened and rummaged through.
04:01So it'd be nice to have someone to be here.
04:03That would be a dream.
04:04If you want to take a peek inside my closet,
04:08that's as far as it opens.
04:09This is basically my dresses and skirts closet.
04:11It's hard to sift through,
04:13but what I do is keep a few selects kind of hanging
04:17in the front of stuff that I want to wear soon.
04:19This closet holds a lot,
04:20but somehow never enough at the same time.
04:23Above the two closets, there's a little cupboard
04:25for extra storage.
04:29As you can see, it's very full.
04:31Honestly, I don't even know what else is back there.
04:33We can wander over into the bedroom now.
04:35Over here is my other closet.
04:37This comes in handy for all my tops, jeans.
04:40Again, it's kind of tight.
04:41A literal disaster inside the closet,
04:44but this system works for me.
04:45I think this needs another clean out soon
04:47because it's getting kind of out of control.
04:48My favorite part about the apartment
04:49is definitely my bedroom.
04:50It gets amazing natural light,
04:52which is so important to me,
04:54and I now have a queen bed.
04:56It's an upgrade for my last apartment
04:58where I had a twin bed.
04:59It still feels extremely luxurious for me.
05:01I found this headboard at CB2,
05:03and I really haven't seen anyone else with it.
05:05I find it to be pretty unique and special,
05:07and it's also the most expensive piece
05:09in my apartment so far.
05:11The bed was $1,200, I believe.
05:13Over here, I have candles and perfumes
05:16and also some sage.
05:17I love sage.
05:18My apartment pet peeve would have to be bad smells
05:22or food smells, so I always have at least one candle burning.
05:26If my apartment was a pop culture icon,
05:30it would probably be the Olsen twins.
05:33It's boho meets vintage meets modern,
05:35and also I think you can see a bit of a fashion influence in it.
05:38I've lived in this apartment for about six months.
05:40I absolutely love living alone.
05:42I will admit I was a little bit nervous to kind of take the plunge,
05:46and I do miss my roommate,
05:47but I really like being able to just decorate the way I want to decorate.
05:51I can make a mess if I want to.
05:53Obviously, $2,000 a month is a lot of money for someone to spend,
05:57and despite so many people trying to talk me out of it,
06:00like my mom and all my best friends saying,
06:02no, just stay put, just stay with your roommates,
06:04I really stuck with my guns and went for it,
06:07and I don't regret it one bit.
06:08I think it's one of the better decisions I've made in the past few years.
06:11For people that want to move to New York,
06:13I would say save up your money.
06:15It's as expensive as everyone says it is.
06:18At the same time, I would say go with your gut.
06:20If you know New York is where you should be and where you want to be,
06:23then go for it.
06:24No matter what anyone tells you, just make it happen.
06:36What's something that you've done for yourself,
06:38where you really stick to your guns despite people trying to talk you out of it?
06:42Let me know in the comments.
06:43Thank you so much for watching my sweet digs.
06:45To watch more videos, click here, and to subscribe, click here.
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