A home of her own
There's always value in personal space (I imagine, I have never really had any).
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I have never lived alone.
I moved from my childhood home to a dorm in Washington, DC, back to my home, to a series of college dorm rooms followed by a tiny two bedroom, walk up apartment in the West Village that I shared with half a dozen roommates until my ex and I bought our little house in New York. I briefly stayed in our shared homes in New York and Idaho before moving onto this boat, where my boyfriend lives as well.
I have never had a space that is truly and only mine. As a child, when my mother got very angry, she would remove the door from my room. Our four bedroom house held my parents and five total children. For birthday presents and other surprise occasions, my mother would often paint our rooms and throw away our old bedding, changing the space for us -without consultation- while we were at sleepovers or on school trips. She often did a good job, my mother is flawed but she has good taste. But still as a teen it felt violating, like a space that should be mine could change without my knowledge. Like nothing was only mine.
But I am moving back to New York and I anticipate moving into a one bedroom apartment with my cats, Leroy and Cornelius, and no one else. I am looking for a pre-war one bedroom below 30th street with a separate kitchen (an open concept kitchen in a small apartment means you are always in the kitchen. I don’t like that.), nice light, and (ideally) a fireplace. My friend (and cast member of the new RHONY) Erin Lichy is helping me find a place and will also help with eventual renovations and, my girls, I am so excited.