Joanna Goddard's West Village Home Gets a Makeover

Filed under: Design, etc, House Tours

One blogger helps another redecorate her New York City apartment and the results are picture-perfect.

The phrase "a cup of joe" means a cup of coffee to most folks, but to thousands of blog readers those words immediately calls to mind the wildly popular blog, A Cup of Jo, written by Joanna Goddard. Readers (like myself) have been following Goddard's internet musings for years and have tracked her life from single girl in the city to blushing bride to new mom.

Earlier this year, Goddard enlisted the help of a fellow blogger to makeover her West Village apartment in anticipation of the birth of her son. Goddard asked decorator Jenny Komenda, of the blog Little Green Notebook for help, and Komenda was happy to oblige.

Seeing the results of these two women's decorating collaboration is like a blog dream come true. Komenda didn't completely redecorate Goddard's apartment, she rejiggered and fine-tuned it. Ultimately, she created a space that was pure Goddard, but even better. "I fell in love with Jenny's blog, Little Green Notebook, and was just waiting for an excuse to work with her," says Goddard. "So, when we found out that we were expecting, I was thrilled to call her up!"

ShelterPop caught up with Goddard to learn more about the makeover and to take a peek at the finished results:

In the living room, Komenda added cozy touches and dashes of color. A new rug and curtains added to the warm and homey feel, but Goddard admits that she wasn't sure about the new window treatments. "I couldn't picture what they were going to look like, and I wanted to hold onto our lame white curtains," says Goddard. "But I knew I should trust her vision, and of course she was right. Now the curtains are one of my favorite things in the apartment."


Another addition to the room is the vintage brass bar cart scored by Komenda off Craigslist. More than a pretty prop, Goddard says, "My husband Alex is obsessed with old-school cocktails. He makes a signature cocktail pretty much every time friends come over. His current favorite is called 'The Texun Special' (yes, Texun with a 'u')." Goddard says that her hubby even made her coconut water "mocktails" during her pregnancy -- how sweet is that?

Goddard works from home, so Komenda helped her find both the vintage, campaign-style desk and the desk chair, which she painted blue. Seeing the bare desktop, we wondered if Goddard was always this neat or if it was just styled for the photograph. However, Goddard insists that she tidies up her space and puts her laptop in the drawer every night so she doesn't feel like she's "at the office" after-hours. Plus, Goddard adds, "I don't have that many papers anyway, since everything's on my laptop!"

Throughout the apartment, Goddard and her husband have many photographs. The space feels gallery-like. "We both adore photography, and I love supporting emerging photographers by buying their work directly from them," she says. "I'm so happy to have work by Matthew Porter, Anne Hall, Gemma Ingalls, Anna Brown and other young photographers in our home."

Goddard's bedroom is small, but the simple design is cozy. "I love white for bedrooms -- so clean and fresh!" says Goddard. She notes that she and her husband try to keep it calm and peaceful, as they both tend towards insomnia.


In the nursery, Komenda went DIY crazy with custom touches like two re-painted dressers, a hand-painted window shade with white fluffy clouds and a homemade headboard. Lucky Goddard had the ever-crafty Komenda to help her create a gallery wall for the wall. For those of us who have to try it ourselves, Komenda shared some advice for how to get this tricky look just-right on her own blog.

The red and white changing table next to the bed in the nursery was a vintage dresser, and they gave it a makeover with bright, glossy paint. "The main thing I learned from Jenny is that you shouldn't be afraid to paint," says Goddard. "She painted our dressers, tables, mirrors...so many pieces. And it really gave them new, fresh personalities."

Want to see other bloggers at home? Check out these posts:
- Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge's Favorite Room
- Home Tour: Making It Lovely in Chicago

Or if you want to see celebs at home, check out our sister site's show Cambio Goes Home! (We love the tour of Matthew Morrison's house)

 

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