BrickUnderground

mjording

From character and soundproofing to an emergency generator, five New Yorkers share the items on the top of their apartment-improvement wish list:

• Living outside the box I’m in ‘cookie cutter’ building and it’s a rental so I can’t do much. If it was my place I’d jazz up the walls with some molding and nice baseboards or something.  And I’d paint the place with something other than decorator’s white. But I don’t want to put in the effort for a rental - Joey, Upper West Side
• A larger room/library I'd like to push back a wall to enlarge the third bedroom, install floor-to-ceiling bookcases and have a guest room/ library.  -Dominique, Flatiron District
• New cabinets, fixtures and floor tiles I’d gut the kitchen and the bathroom. Start fresh with new cabinets and fixtures, and floor tiles. But I can’t even stomach the thought of prepping for a paint job, even if I don’t have to do it myself. I just don’t have a renovation in me. - Ann Marie, West Village

PBDY

Q. I want to install a washer/dryer in my co-op apartment. What should I know?

A. If you’re tired of traipsing up and down from your basement--or worse, back and forth to the Laundromat--you may be considering the addition of a washer/dryer in your apartment.

First you'll need to get your board's permission to do it, and then find a practical spot to install your new machines.

Here's a checklist of questions and answers to help you confirm that you're ready, willing and able to install that washer and dryer in your city apartment.

Hallway to heaven? Elle Bee considers this pre-war co-op at 870 W. 181st street.

It was a happy accident that Sidney, my broker, suggested we return to the West 181^st street area, aka Hudson Heights. I had liked the location, which reminded me of a Parisian enclave with its leafy trees and trellised stone steps.

I first looked here in the beginning of my search—back in April 2011. And I'd never quite forgotten the charms of the neighborhood:  the low-rise scale, thriving mom & pop stores (including an excellent wine store) and a street emptying into the openness of the Hudson River. The Starbucks on the corner was the only hint of the new world on the street.

On a Wednesday afternoon, Sidney, Chris and I met at 870 W. 181^st, a large pre-war coop building that hugged the slight curve of the street heading down the embankment.

The lobby instantly clicked with my aesthetic: a columned marble lobby—not gleaming, but also not shoddy. We took the elevator to the third floor. The agent recognized me from a previous visit (not in this building), which was no surprise to me now that I’d been on the circuit a couple of years, where often I felt like I saw the same faces, just different apartments.