What Do You Do When Your Home Is Busting at the Seams? Call Your College Bestie
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For many, New York City living can mean tight quarters with very little room to spare, and for growing families, making the most of their space can seem like a methodically constructed—but often precarious—game of Jenga.
Such was the experience of Manhattanites Lindsey and Josh Green who, along with their two young children, found themselves backed into a corner, literally. “They were living in a two-bedroom and if everything could be spilling out of the apartment [into the building’s hallway], that would be them,” says Lauren Buxbaum Gordon, Lindsey’s longtime friend and Nate Berkus’s partner in his eponymous design firm. “Then Lindsey came to me one day and said they’d bought a new place and asked if I would be willing to help [design it].”
Having met their freshman year at the University of Michigan, Buxbaum Gordon and Lindsey, a three-time Emmy Award–winning producer, remained close—and made for the perfect designer-client match. The couple’s new Upper East Side home, a comparatively sprawling seventh floor, 2,000-square-foot three-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment just a few blocks away, symbolized a massive upgrade.
“I was really excited to be able to help a very close friend with a project for the first time,” Buxbaum Gordon explains. “It was so fun working with someone that you could be so open, honest, and raw with.” Knowing her college chum’s personality and aesthetic came in handy as the year and a half project got underway. “Lindsey’s very discerning and particular, and she wanted to have mostly vintage—whether it was going to fit her budget or not,” she adds. “So we were very resourceful in terms of trying to find the right pieces at the right prices, with the right look.”
In the end, Buxbaum Gordon delivered more than a well-designed, family-friendly space, she gave them the breathing room they dreamed of. “I think, overall, this was such a life adjustment for them—moving from an apartment that was busting at the seams to how they’re living now. They were so overdue for getting a larger home, and I think this just changed the family’s energy—and now they’re in a space they feel proud of.”
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