Lucy Cohen Blatter

If you've bought a place in need of some TLC and are embarking on DIY upgrades, you may find yourself feeling slightly overwhelmed by all there is to do . Over at DesignSponge, a recent NYC transplant to upstate New York offers tips for revamping an old home that are just as pertinent for city dwellers:

We realize that at present, living in this apartment appears to involve sleeping in your kitchen (i.e. rolling out of bed and coming face-to-face with your oven or sipping a glass of wine where you'd expect to get dressed in the morning). But misguided staging aside, we think that this $2,335/month Williamsburg studio is a solid example of what single-room living can offer. 

We love browsing the stacks of the New York Public Library as much as anyone, but there's something about curling up with a good book from your own collection (and a cup of tea, perhaps) that feels like coziness personified. Here are five homes currently on the market with built-in bookshelves that'll make a page-turner out of anyone. 

The ease of getting around the city is probably one of the most important factors to consider when moving to a new apartment. But the MTA is always keeping us on our toes, and that's not going to change anytime in the next year. 

If you're looking to renovate in the new year, be sure to avoid  the biggest mistake people make: Tackling too much at once. It may seem counterintuitive, but completing one project at a time can actually be more effective than starting a bunch of jobs at once.