I rented a good sized, 550 square foot studio in a pre-war doorman building in Chelsea in 1988, before Chelsea was popular. What I loved most about my apartment then was its “good bones”. It had a sunken “living room” and the kitchen, dining area, and dressing room were two steps up giving the apartment a feeling of space and separation.

Because of the two levels—if you count two steps as different levels—it felt so very different from other apartments. In addition, the dressing room gave it a feeling of it being a real home and not just a box.