Last spring, I moved into my first studio apartment in the midst of the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The last 5 words of that sentence should further indicate that that’s where all of my money went too! So how was I going to furnish this place??

I started calling relatives for furniture, girlfriends for TVs and surfing the internet daily for anything I could afford! What I found changed my place, my closet and my life! First, a coworker of mine had a spare television just collecting dust in her basement. I was hooked up to the boob-tube within a week. Second, my grandmother pointed me in the direction of thrift stores. I will not lie to you my first reaction was “eww!” But once I had paid my first visits to the local thrift shops in New York, such as Housing Works, and corner flea markets hosted by places like A Vintage Home, I was addicted! Within one weekend I had found: a $200 captain’s bed with unfinished wood and 3 drawers on either side for storage, a $50 modern couch made of genuine leather, a $15 partition that would hide my dirty laundry, and a $20 antique nightstand that would serve as much more than just a Bible holder. A total of $285!! Who knew that I could find everything I needed without cleaning out my bank account and on top of that being 100% green and recycled?!

And even on top of that and without any humility, I can say that my place went from an unfurnished studio to a HOT Upper West Side pad! It doesn’t seem as if anything in my place is not NEW! I was able to turn the unfinished wood of my “new” bed into a canvas and with a few cans of recycled paint, it now look’s as though I were sleeping on an ocean. The dark, antique nightstand sits in the corner and offers a sense of eloquence and culture to the room. My partition lives beautifully behind my “new” TV and my couch is modern, comfy and big enough for my guests.

I mean really, can you ask for anything more? I’ve got a new place…cheap, chic and green. And since green is the new black, I am officially living in style!


Written By: Gloria M. Camacho