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On the first episode of Refinery29's Sweet Digs, we take a tour of writer Maria Del Russo's Upper East Side studio apartment. Press play to see what $1,800 a month will get you in the Big Apple!

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ABOUT SERIES
High rent, small spaces, nosy neighbors β€” 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 Maria Del Russo on Instagram: https://instagram.com/mariadelrusso/
Transcript
00:00Hey guys, I'm Maria. Welcome to my sweet digs. If this is your first time watching
00:06Make sure you click below to subscribe
00:07I live on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and I pay $1,800 a month for my itty-bitty
00:13studio up here
00:14Which by normal human person standards is an obscene amount of money
00:19But by Manhattan real estate standards is actually a steal
00:24Come on in
00:32The first store that you'll get to is my bathroom and as a former beauty editor my bathroom is very
00:38Important to me. I've got these great shelves that I got at Bed Bath & Beyond
00:43total storage
00:45Beauty here. I have all my beauty products lined up in the way that I use them all my serums
00:51all that type of thing
00:53My favorite part is this little sign that says you are better than unicorns and sparkles combined
01:00Love it. I always try to remember that. This is my closet, but it's not very pretty in there at
01:04the moment
01:04It's actually the only closet in the entire apartment
01:08So in here is my cleaning supplies my clothing
01:11I have all of my suitcases and stuff up here. It's kind of filled to the brim
01:16So I don't have a pretty closet like a lot of other people
01:19But it does the job well whenever I tell people how much I spend on my studio
01:24They are shocked that I pay as little as I do especially considering the outdoor space
01:29The fact that I have laundry in the building and a separate kitchen really makes it kind of worth my
01:35while
01:36Now if you'll follow me this way into the kitchen again
01:41Itty-bitty space. I only have these cabinets one little bra in here
01:46So again, the name of the game is fine storage elsewhere
01:49So I hung up this amazing IKEA rack with all my pots on it
01:54I have my serving bowls my mixing bowls my tea kettle my soup my knives are on the wall
02:01I'm someone who actually really enjoys cooking. I'm one of the rare New Yorkers who uses her kitchen
02:06I don't keep sweaters in my stove like some famous New Yorkers have said they do
02:11Now on to the living area of my apartment
02:16This is basically it I really wanted the space to feel as open and as calm as possible
02:23Especially because it is such a small space
02:25I wanted to kind of make it feel as open and flow as naturally as possible
02:30Which is why you'll see that I have pieces that kind of link together and make the space move in
02:36a really fluid kind of way
02:38Instead of having a side table for my couch and a side table for my bed
02:42I wanted something that kind of
02:44Pulled both parts of the room together and this also doubles as amazing storage, but I use this as my
02:51end table
02:51I keep my extra linens in there
02:54Candles and the great thing is when I do have people over to entertain I can use this as a
02:59buffet and
03:01Everything on top of it goes into the bathtub
03:04That's my little secret of how I keep things organized here
03:07This apartment believe it or not. I actually took a ton of planning
03:11I signed the lease on this apartment a month before I was able to move in
03:15And I was moving living at my parents house at the time
03:18So this whole wall was planned out in my mother's basement
03:23We were laying pictures down on the floor measuring between them
03:27And then as soon as we can't got in here
03:30She hung this whole thing with command hooks. It's like the easiest thing in the entire world
03:35It's great and it looks beautiful, but the only con is now I can't move around my furniture ever because
03:40I
03:41Have a focal point my favorite part about my apartment is definitely the blue chest of drawers that I have
03:47My mother found it on the side of the road when I was a junior in high school
03:53And it was wood the wood was gross it was stained and she really polished it up
03:59She painted it and turned it into this gorgeous piece of furniture that's actually followed me around to two or
04:05three apartments
04:06My mom made it for me pretty much which makes it super special. It's irreplaceable. I love it here
04:11I don't plan on leaving anytime soon. I'm a big fan of blankets and textiles and like layering of blankets
04:20and textiles
04:21So I actually have this little throw
04:23I have a quilt and then I have two blankets underneath
04:26I love a cozy bed and then on my windowsill is my little altar that I have with my sage
04:34I like to sage my apartment every equinox just to kind of keep the energy flow in here really nice
04:40and then my
04:40Plants to keep the air nice and fresh. Let's go outside
04:47So people ask me all the time how I actually found this place. It's a great story
04:52I'd been looking for three months
04:53I was living at home in New Jersey just to kind of give myself a little bit of breathing room
04:58because apartment hunting in
04:59Manhattan is insane and I had an offer in on another apartment
05:04But I saw this one on Craigslist and I saw the balcony and I saw
05:09That it was in like my exact perfect neighborhood and in my price range
05:14And I jumped at it. I actually was the first person to see this apartment. I came with all of
05:18my paperwork
05:19And I signed on the spot because I just absolutely fell in love with it
05:31That's it. Thank you guys so much for coming by and checking out my sweet digs now get the hell
05:36out of here
05:44Thanks for watching to see more videos click here and to subscribe click here
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