I love home decorating books. My own townhome does not reflect this interest, but I love peeking into other’s lives and seeing what they have done with their living space. What colors have they chosen, furniture, art, tchotchkes, and the space itself. Home is personal and it should be.
Here are two of the most interesting homes I’ve read about.
I just found out about the tiny Kyoto house. It is featured in the Wall Street Journal. The goal was to seamlessly integrate private and public space. 640 square feet house a couple and their two small sons. Most amazing to me is that it has NO closets! And the main area is only 6 1/2 ft. wide. Passer bys stop and peer in at them through the window and they are usually fine with that but on occassions they wish for privacy, they can pull a giant curtain across the window.
Tiny Home in Kyoto
Most interesting for me is the apartment that inspired the Cowboy Junkies’ song “Five Room Love Story”-Joseph Furey’s railroad apartment in Brooklyn, NY. Grieving after the loss of his wife, between 1982-1988, Mr. Furey covered nailed or glued thousands of pieces of decoupage onto just about every surface. Unfortunatley the apartment is deteriorating and the Brooklyn Museum of Art is salvaging what they can.
Furey's home became art
These two homes definitely wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but they work(ed) for the owners. That’s the whole point of home, to make it your own.
I love that the artwork on my walls is all created by friends. I know I have one of a kind pieces and I know the stories attached to them.
What makes your home interesting to you?
Mary A. Sicard
Traci Magnus
Rebecca Narkiewicz
Betty Poore
Randolph Walker
islandmitch
Susan St. Hilaire
mccurdy444
jackhurley
davelandry
Kristin B. Walker
Vince Perna
joymillar
Amanda Graham
What makes a home interesting to me? I want an open family area including the kitchen, a cozy private area for private conversations, and intimate bedrooms and comfortable bathrooms.
Dear Mr. Fuchs,
I just read your article. My husband, Addison Thompson and I lived in the Furey apt. from 1991-1994. During that time we laid all new floors, reglued nearly every piece, and painted around them. Joe used to sometimes come over while visiting his nephew who lived across the street. He used to sit in the area that had been the living room when he lived there, but we’d converted to our kitchen, and talk and watch as we worked. He loved that we loved and were protecting his project of love. While we lived there we sponsored a number of open house tours during the Outsider Art events.
We did all that we could to maintain the apartment. The Brooklyn Museum did not take this project on as they had the Dutch Farmhouse, because the pieces were all directly glued to plaster. There were many problems with the building and we had numerous landlords that could never understand the value of the apartment. It was just a pain in their neck because of the “art on the walls”. Makes painting difficult. There had been numerous problems within the building ranging from outdated electrical to numerous leaks. We originally found the apartment when my husband was asked to photograph it for the Brooklyn Museum. When I saw the pics. I asked Addison who was living there. No one was so I contacted Barbara who gave me Vincent Kelley’s number. I pursued the lease and we moved in.
When we were leaving we made every attempt to line up new tenants to move in and act as protectors of the art. The landlords were not interested. I heard they began gutting the apartment the day after we left. A friend of ours, who is a picker and lived down the block, salvaged some of the pieces we heard. It made us very sad. So, as far as I know, there is not restoration by the museum going on. Sadly.
Dear Mr. Fuchs,
I just read your article. My husband, Addison Thompson and I lived in the Furey apt. from 1991-1994. During that time we laid all new floors, reglued nearly every piece, and painted around them. Joe used to sometimes come over while visiting his nephew who lived across the street. He used to sit in the area that had been the living room when he lived there, but we’d converted to our kitchen, and talk and watch as we worked. He loved that we loved and were protecting his project of love. While we lived there we sponsored a number of open house tours during the Outsider Art events.
We did all that we could to maintain the apartment. The Brooklyn Museum did not take this project on as they had the Dutch Farmhouse, because the pieces were all directly glued to plaster. There were many problems with the building and we had numerous landlords that could never understand the value of the apartment. It was just a pain in their neck because of the “art on the walls”. Makes painting difficult. There had been numerous problems within the building ranging from outdated electrical to numerous leaks. We originally found the apartment when my husband was asked to photograph it for the Brooklyn Museum. When I saw the pics. By the way , the pic you have used was taken by my husband. I asked Addison who was living there. No one was so I contacted Barbara who gave me Vincent Kelley’s number. I pursued the lease and we moved in.
When we were leaving we made every attempt to line up new tenants to move in and act as protectors of the art. The landlords were not interested. I heard they began gutting the apartment the day after we left. A friend of ours, who is a picker and lived down the block, salvaged some of the pieces we heard. It made us very sad. So, as far as I know, there is not restoration by the museum going on. Sadly.
How were the Cowboy Junkies aware of this?