New York, N.Y. - Starting today, five New Yorkers will spend 24-hour periods living in a fully built 325-square-foot micro-unit inside the Museum of the City of New York to demonstrate how to live in a small space.
The excursions are part of the Museum’s "Living Large While Living Small" programs this month to showcase the popular exhibition, Making Room: New Models for Housing New Yorkers, in its final weeks at the Museum of the City of New York.
Additionally, the Museum is holding events showing visitors how they can live, decorate, cook and organize in small spaces – all taking place in micro-unit. Visitors can engage with experts as they demonstrate how to comfortably whip up a meal, arrange items and entertain, all before the Labor Day finale of the exhibition on September 2.
The exhibition – unveiled early this year in partnership with the Citizens Housing and Planning Council - presents an array of innovative architectural solutions that could better accommodate the city’s emerging housing needs, features a full-scale "micro-apartment" designed and furnished by Clei s.r.l. and Resource Furniture with architecture by Amie Gross Architects.
Over the four-day starting today at 6 PM, five people will take turns living in the micro-unit to fully experience smaller living quarters. The temporary "residents" will greet visitors, discuss their experiences, and live overnight in the unit. Visitors can track their progress through the Museum’s and the participants’ social media channels.
Emily M. will exemplify what it’s like to live in the apartment as a single person.
Taylor J. and Emily T. will demonstrate what it’s like to live in the unit, which can accommodate two single beds, as roommates just starting out in the city.
Challie S. and Lina F. will show what it’s like to live in the apartment as a couple.
Meet Taylor & Emily: Friday, August 16th from 10:00 AM-6:00 PM
Taylor, 20, is from Rhode Island. She is a senior at Pratt institute where she is studying Fashion Design with minors in Art History and Cinema Studies and is interning at the Museum of the City of New York in the Costumes and Textiles department this summer. She lives in Brooklyn in an on-campus triple dorm room where she shares a kitchen and bathroom with two roommates.
Emily, 21, is from Rockland County, N.Y. She received an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts - Humanities and Social Sciences. She is currently interning at the Museum of the City of New York in the Costumes and Textiles department. She lives in a three-bedroom townhouse with her mother.
You can follow Taylor and Emily via Instagram: vividbrushstrokes, as well as via Twitter: @MuseumofCityNY and Instagram: museumofcityny.
Meet Challie and Lina: Saturday, August 17th from 10:00 AM-6:00 PM
Challie, 29, is a Design Director of Resource Furniture and her partner, Lina, 37, is an attorney. They currently live in a 650 square foot 1-bedroom apartment in Williamsburg.
You can follow Challie and Lina via Twitter: @resourcfurnitur and Instagram: resourcefurniture, as well as via Twitter: @MuseumofCityNY and Instagram: museumofcityny.
Meet Emily: Sunday, August 18th from 10:00 AM-6:00 PM
Emily, 27, is a San Franciscan who came to New York City by way of Oberlin College in Ohio. She is a Public Program Operations Manager at the Museum of the City of New York. An Upper West Sider, she and her boyfriend just moved this past July to a one-bedroom apartment with remarkable closet space, no counter space and too many books to mention.
You can follow Emily via Twitter: @MuseumofCityNY and Instagram: museumofcityny.
The other activities still on tap this month:
Throwing a Dinner Party – in a Small Space. Great Performances, one of the city’s most prestigious caterers, will have their Creative Director Terri Lee host 20-minute cooking and organizing demos in the micro-unit. Terri will show guests how to pull together simple, yet exquisite, meals and appetizers for friends and family while keeping minimal kitchen space organized.
Wednesday, August 21st at 11:00 AM (organizing), 1:00 PM (cooking), 3:00 PM (organizing), 4:00 PM (cooking)
Terri’s creative and holistic approach to design is a reflection of her inquisitive nature and fascination with well-designed visual organization. From an early age, she was a master at puzzles—whether it was fitting in the last few pairs of shoes into her overfilled suitcase or making sure all the unique ceramics and spices fit into her limited kitchen, Terri made sure it was functional and beautiful. Prior to coming to Great Performances, Terri designed serve-ware products and kitchen prep tools as well as exhibits for children's museums, retail environments, and visitor centers. She has researched and developed design criteria for portable food carts and studied the human relationship to cooking and objects used in the kitchen.
Clever Ways to Dress Up – and Organize – Your Small Space. A large aspect of small space living is strategic organization and decor. Jeffrey Phillip, founder of jp., is an expert at helping clients achieve a home that is both practical and stylish and will demonstrate how to attain a fusion between organization and interior design.
Meet Jeffrey Phillip: Friday, August 23rd from 1:00 PM-3:00 PM
Professional organizer and interior designer Jeffrey Phillip has had a knack for helping the organizationally and design challenged for as long as he can remember. Always the go-to guy (and kid) whenever someone needed an orderly solution or style advice, it wasn't until after college that Jeffrey discovered that his "knack" was in fact a deep and inspiring passion to genuinely help others learn how to live more efficiently.
After over five years in business and backed with a lifetime of experience, Jeffrey is a leading expert in blending style and efficiency for those seeking both practical and fashionable solutions for their everyday life. Working with everyone from the happy homemaker to the high profile individual on the go, Jeffrey works with his clients to transform their homes and offices into thoughtfully organized, stylish and welcoming spaces.
About the Museum of the City of New York
Founded in 1923 as a private, nonprofit corporation, the Museum of the City of New York celebrates and interprets the city, educating the public about its distinctive character, especially its heritage of diversity, opportunity, and perpetual transformation. The Museum connects the past, present, and future of New York City, and serves the people of the city as well as visitors from around the world through exhibitions, school and public programs, publications, and collections. For more information, visit http://www.mcny.org.
Directions: By bus: M1, M3, M4, or M106 to 104th Street, M2 to 101st Street.
By subway: Lexington Avenue #6 train to 103rd Street, walk three blocks west, or #2 or #3 train to 110th Street, walk one block east to Fifth Avenue, then south to 104th Street.
Source: Museum of the City of New York
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