It’s no small feat to live your best life in a big city and a small apartment. Below are a few tools for your urban jungle survival kit, indoor edition.
1. Swap your TV for AR glasses
I was so glad my husband did not subject me to She Hulk this fall. Instead, he lay in bed with his Nreal Air AR glasses, watching TV on the ceiling. Consider it a household harmony investment.
2. Get the right cooking equipment
Something I’ve learned the hard way: your smoke detector is not a done timer. In a standard-sized NYC kitchen…
…the lack of ventilation means you’re not going to be searing steaks on a blazing hot skillet. Not unless you want a visit from the FDNY. You might think this is what’s going to show up at your house, but it’s actually probably more like this. Slow and low is the rule for flames. Have a Dyson dual fan/air filter at the ready. And a glass of scotch to tide you through any mishaps.
3. Decorate with dual purpose furniture
Milk every inch of space with multi-purpose furniture. Seats with storage. Beds with drawers. Tables with adjustable height and size. These transformers were made for the studio apartment.
4. Treat your furry friend with a Furbo
Maybe you bought a pandemic puppy or have a longer-term furry friend. If your neighbors are telling your dog to sit through your thin apartment walls, it’s probably time to invest in a Furbo. Listen, your land lord has bills to pay and can’t exactly invest in sound proofing apartments all the way in NYC when he lives in the Hamptons. You’re just going to have to take responsibility for your noise since you chose that spacious $5,000/ month studio.
The Furbo is a dog cam / treat dispenser / walkie-talkie all rolled into one. It alerts you to loud noises and lets you train your doggo from afar.
5. Create personal space with excellent wireless headphones
If you’re a typical New Yorker living with five roommates, and you don’t want to wake up your brother on the couch, a good set of headphones is critical. An Apple TV / AirPod pro combo is great for personal and shared audio. I especially love headphones for action movies, which should all be titled: “EXPLOSIONS!! and whispers….” With headphones, all the sound gets leveled out. The one thing headphones can’t help me with is comedies. For some reason when I laugh, the Furbo thinks my dog is barking. Speciesist.
MBA in the City 