Kelly Kreth

A couple of months ago I moved from a crappy tenement building in Hell's Kitchen to a doorman building on the far East Side neighborhood known as Yorkville. My new alcove studio is actually $200 per month less than my tenement apartment, which was a two-bedroom walk-up. This new apartment is rent-stabilized, which is why it's a relative steal. My new place comes with some luxuries I never had before: a dishwasher, in-building laundry and a doorman, which totally beats having to wash my own dishes, lug my laundry downstairs and across the street and most of all a super who would make the building less safe by keeping our building doors propped open. What's not to love about all that?! Well turns out, a few things.

Earlier this year designer/stager Cathy Hobbs of Cathy Hobbs Design Recipes was called upon to perform her stagecraft on an estate-condition two-bedroom co-op once belonging to the late Maurice Sendak, author of “Where the Wild Things Are." Cognizant of the reality that buyers want move-in ready apartments and that many base their buying decisions based on kitchens and bathrooms, Hobbs incorporated low-cost "refreshers" such as painting the face of cabinet doors, replacing door handles and installing new light fixtures. The results are pictured above. Looks good, no? Read on to find out how she did it.

When I recently pounced on a rent-stabilized alcove-studio apartment in a doorman building (did I mentioned that it has a dishwasher too?!), my application was not exactly the only one submitted. My broker outlined in great detail how hard it would be to land a rent stabilized unit of this caliber even with my near-perfect credit and other credentials. But then he offered what turned out to be a deal-clinching tip: Offer to take the apartment "as is."

I recently moved to the Upper East Side from Hell's Kitchen, so this marks the last of my Hell's Bitchen columns for BrickUnderground. Here are a few things I've learned during the 18 months I lived in my HK walkup: 1. A building--or even an apartment--can either be nurturing or abusive. At the risk of sounding new age-y, sometimes it is the energy of a place, but more times than not it is the people who reside in a building, that give it a personality. A doorman or landlord, or in my case, the super, become like family--oftentimes, unwanted family.

It seems like just yesterday I was searching for a new apartment, but actually it was February 2012 when I was eager to move from the Upper East Side to Hell’s Kitchen, mostly prompted by having a Peeping Tom across the avenue from me. I wrote back then of my trials and tribulations of finding a suitable place. I wish I could say a lot has changed since then and that apartment hunting is far more fun.

In New York City, most of us settle for a visit to local park or a whiff of corner bodega flowers rather than backyard greenery, an herb or flower garden or even a view of a tree-lined street. Luckily, some green-thinking companies have created some easy ways to bring—and, more importantly, grow--more greenery in your own NYC space, even if you've got the furthest thing from a green thumb and limited space.