I started A Tiny Apartment in 2022…
…coming out of the pandemic as well as a big beautiful part of my life that was ending.
Like most of us, I was spending nearly all my time at home, in our 750 sf Brooklyn apartment with my husband, a new baby, and our cat Phoebe. I cooked, cleaned, purged so much stuff I was always too busy to notice had been hiding in most of our bins/cupboards. I read a lot…and wrote a lot, too. And, in that space/time of not simply using our home as a place to sleep and dump my stuff in between other places to be, I realized our little home was teaching me so much—and taking care of me, too.
A Tiny Apartment is about a lot of those so-subtle-you-can-miss-them lessons…about living creatively—and expansively—in a smaller space; about how to hone in on our true style, the one that (finally:) feels RIGHT; and it’s about ALL the incredible stuff we learn when we thrift and shop second-hand—about design, craft, history, LIFE, and choosing things w/REAL intention.
Not just shopping but collecting. ☺️
Over the years since we started A Tiny Apartment, thousands (and thousands!) of you have shown up—to read, ask questions, and share stories about the evolution/transformation of your own lives, spaces, and shifting style, too. (I will also say, I LOVE IT when people DM me snaps of all the magical things they find at the thrift store or on their local sidewalk…our ATA Chat is where it’s AT).
Here’s a snapshot of stories I LOVE + that we feature regularly around here:
Home tours that are wildly inspiring, personal, and full of brilliant stuff to learn
Deep dives into things I always thrift + keep an eye out for that get better w/age
Small changes in our spaces (and lives 🌹) that make a HUGE difference
Building our tiny upstate cabin + coming 🔜 renovating the Dr.’s Inn next-door
Seasonal outfit and closet EDITS—getting it down to only the BEST stuff
Stories about beauty, aging, where we come from + what we’re building
IKEA! The latest drop or super vintage, you can count on me to keep tabs
How to join us + become a supporter of ALL we do here:
FREE subscribers—Get one newsletter a month
PAID subscribers—Are true benefactors and get access to my eternal gratitude AND:
• 4+ posts a month
• Giveaways, my vintage + Absolutely Free sales, discounts on my favorite stuff
• Full access to our ATA Story Archive—250+ editions packed with advice, resources, inspiration, + mood board images up the wazoo!
• Post comments and join the ATA conversation in real time
And, in case you’re curious, a little about me—I’m Christene Barberich, resident writer/design-book hoarder/compulsive shelf re-arranger/vintage Prada collector, and a mom, too. In a previous life, I co-founded + was the longtime global editor of Refinery29, where I spent most of my 30s/40s helping to reframe women’s storytelling in a digital world. In addition to making and growing A Tiny Apartment, I advise visionary brands on voice/content/purpose (sometimes all three △) and share my secondhand street finds on IG a lot, too. Oh! And I’m constantly curating cool things I want to wear/use/decorate with over at our A Tiny Shop.
I’m so glad you found us—here’s hoping our tiny world becomes a favorite spot to stop in and hang out for you, too…xxCb
Want to collaborate and/or make something beautiful together? Email hi@atinyapartment.com :)
