Jessica Torres used to hurry the process of putting new apartments together just to make them feel “done.” Here’s how she learned to decorate and organize with more intention, and the interior design principles she now lives by.
In the past, the New York City-based content creator found that she would hurry the process of putting new apartments together just for the sake of them feeling “done.” “I was just filling in holes and corners with objects that weren’t really me and didn’t tell my story,” she recalls. “I wasted so much money — I learned my lesson the hard way.”
So when she moved into the Bronx two-bedroom she shares with her girlfriend last year, she saw this blank slate as an opportunity to design her home in a slower, more meaningful way. Rather than adhere to a strict arbitrary timeline, she decided she’d complete her space with a lot less urgency and much more intention. “I wanted to be more mindful about what I brought into my home — and be kinder to the environmentmy pockets along the way,” she says.
This leads us to her second principle: Opt for a neutral color palette, especially when it comes to large, critical items, like dressers and desks. For Torres, she leaned into a bright white hue not only to create a seamless, calming ambiance in the room , but to also serve as a backdrop to her true interior design style, which she describes as “a celebration of color and femininity” and incorporates plenty of vibrant personal touches.
Much of Torres’ affinity for color stems from her and her partner's South American heritage, which is reflected throughout the apartment. Torres moved from Loja, Ecuador to the U.S. when she was five months old, and now, at 33 years old, she finds joy in curating a mix of vintage pieces with sentimental travel finds, particularly those she collects when she visits home, as well as items that nod to her girlfriend's Colombian roots.
The key to small apartment living is being smart in how you utilize your space — something many New Yorkers have to learn rather quickly. This sometimes means that rooms need to be multifunctional…or serve entirely different purposes than intended. In Torres’ case, the second bedroom doubles as her walk-in closet — a coveted rarity in NYC real estate — and an office where she and her partner can work, a plan she was set on the moment she first toured the apartment.
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