Based in the trendy and buzzy neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, content creator Rachel Martino took it upon herself to transform a big industrial loft into a colorful and creative space that she could call her home.
Rachel is a 30-year-old southern transplant originally from Tennessee who moved to New York City in 2012 and has now been a full-time blogger for six years. After moving to her Williamsburg loft in May 2020, Rachel decided to start an exciting project of renovating the entire place to match her true personality and chic style. A year later, the transformation was completed.
“I just love the way it turned out. It’s been such a fun project to work on, and I really feel like I put my true personality into the space,” Rachel expressed. “You know, colorful, eclectic chic, and I just love it.”
Because the space is so large, it was a challenge at first to figure out where to begin the renovations. However, Rachel knew she wanted to create different areas, and so, she focused on one section of the loft at a time.
“So, over here is the fun dining area, and I added these gorgeous gold palm pendants and this 11-foot table, perfect for dinner parties,” she described. “There is also a built-in bar, which is probably my favorite part of the apartment.”
Moving on to the living room, Rachel added in various unique furniture pieces to create a fun and feminine feel. She did this by placing items like a large pink sofa, a Moroccan-inspired rug, a stylish round coffee table, and some accent chairs all around.
“I really did have to find new … oversized furniture … [which] I think looks so amazing in this space, because it is so open,” Rachel explained. “We have this gorgeous curved sofa … [and] this 11-foot dining table that took four men to get in … That was a journey.”
Additionally, Rachel drew inspiration for curating the different areas in her apartment from meaningful parts of her life, such as traveling.
“I love to travel. So, I wanted to bring in a lot of elements of travel,” she shared. “So, I have these gorgeous travel books throughout the space and then different art that I feel has a lot of color and texture that reminds me of some of my favorite spaces that I’ve traveled to.”
Rachel also encouraged renovating and making the most out of apartments and other spaces, even if they are only being rented.
“I feel like when you rent ... you’re kind of scared to do a lot, but for me, I really wanted to make this place a home, because I plan on being here for a while,” Rachel said. “Don’t be afraid if you’re a renter. You can still make your house a home.”
Some major changes she made to the loft included adding built-in media consoles, custom door fronts, a fun swing chair, peel and stick wallpaper, and custom arched bookshelves in her studio. With the bookshelves, she wanted to display items that reflected her personality.
“So, a lot of colors and just little things that I love, like things that I’ve picked up during travel or some of my favorite books,” Rachel explained. “And this disco ball [because] I think it looks so cute on the shelf.”
In addition to her shelves, Rachel also owns a Hoek home office desk in her photo studio, which has proved to be a useful piece to the space.
“I also love having this Hoek desk in this photo studio,” she expressed. “It’s great because you can have it out for people who might need a workspace while renting the studio, but you can easily pack it away - just click the legs under and have more space to shoot.”
All in all, Rachel had the pleasure of going through the journey of reimagining a massive new space and turning it into her own. Through carefully curating the various sections of her Williamsburg loft, she successfully portrayed her vision and true personality by using vibrant colors, eclectic decorative items, and stylish furniture pieces all around.
“Overall, I just think [the space] looks so fun,” Rachel shared. “I wanted it to be somewhere that’s warm, inviting, feminine, and fun, and I think I achieved it.”
To check out the full video tour of Rachel’s colorful and newly-renovated loft, click here.
Additional fun facts about Rachel:
“That’s a loaded question. Well, anyone who knows me knows that I’m a huge Taylor Swift Fan. And I was actually most inspired by her lover album. But overall, I love all different kinds of music. I like rock music. I was such an emo kid growing up, so I still listen to the All-American Rejects and stuff like that. I loved going to school in Nashville because there were always concerts every weekend. My dad's also a musician. So I grew up around music.”
“So I really wanted to have an at-home bar. I love to drink, and I love to have people over. So I found this gorgeous shelving from an Etsy seller based in New York.”
“Aperol spritz. I’m an Aperol spritz girl. Yeah, but I love all drinks, and I grew up in Kentucky. So, I love old-fashioned. I love whiskey. I love wine. There’s not a drink I don’t like.”
To learn more about Rachel and her life as a Brooklyn-based content creator, check out her blog here.
