Many New Yorkers dream of living in a coveted rent-stabilized apartment – because it means rent is often cheaper than the market value..
This is the case of Hattie Kolp, a 29-year-old special education teacher and part-time interior designer.
When Kolp and her parents moved into the 1,500-square-foot two-bedroom apartment in 2002, they paid just under $ 1,000 a month. Due to rent stabilization laws that limit the amount the landlord can increase the rent and entitle tenants to renew their lease each year, Kolp took over the lease after her parents retired in 2018.
Today Kolp’s rent is $ 1,300 a month. To put this in perspective, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the Upper West Side is $ 4,000 a month, according to StreetEasy data from February 2021.
“I’m infinitely grateful I have this,” says Kolp. “It’s the greatest blessing of my life, because I couldn’t afford an apartment the size of my teacher’s salary.”
“Space and charm”
The Kolp building was built in the 1890s, which means the facilities are exempt – Kolp doesn’t even have a dishwasher.
“But it’s okay with me, because I’d rather have more space and charm,” she says.
Hattie Kolp grew up in this rented two-bedroom apartment in New York.
Photo: Beatriz Bajuelos.
The unit is full of unique touches from the old school, such as a waiter, which is a small elevator used to transport food and dishes, a separate butler’s pantry from the kitchen, all original cabinets, some original moldings, pocket doors, a foyer and a long hallway separating the rail-style rooms.
“You really feel like you’re living in 1900,” says Kolp.
When doing any interior design projects, Kolp aims to “preserve the history and character of this place,” she says. He often buys antique furniture along the east coast. Her favorite piece of furniture is an antique desk that was given to her by a family friend who died.
Kolp put wallpaper on her door and recently painted the foyer.
Photo: Beatriz Bajuelos.
“I describe my style as being very strongly influenced by the architecture of my neighborhood, which is decorated, and I’m really interested in Parisian apartments, just open spaces, intricate wall designs, high ceilings, things like that,” says Kolp. .
From the childhood bedroom to the “Parisian library”
Kolp turned his childhood bedroom into a library during the pandemic.
Photo: Beatriz Bajuelos.
When Kolp took over the apartment, she turned it into her parents’ master bedroom and turned the room that was her childhood bedroom into a guest room. “I used to paint him purple and pink curtains, pink, everything,” she says.
At first, living in her childhood home was weird: “I think it was probably an hour when I felt really alone and weird, just sitting in an empty apartment where I had grown up,” she recalls.
During the pandemic, the guest room was not functional, so she turned the room over in a “Parisian-inspired library” where she teaches from a distance, she says.
Creating a “house forever”
Kolp created a “gallery hall.”
Photo: Beatriz Bajuelos.
Although rented stabilized apartments are often hard to give up because they are hard to find and affordable, Kolp, who is a lifelong New Yorker, is often asked: why not just buy a place?