Erika Veurink’s Apartment Is Full of Thrifted Treasures

Writer Erika Veurink pulled together her Brooklyn apartment like she did her wardrobe: she peppered it with offbeat pieces (think: a foot candle and Greek column), and almost every piece was thrifted. “I don’t want our home to ever feel too serious,” she says. Come take a tour…

ENTRYWAY

On creating an oasis: I want our home to feel like a soothing inhale, exhale. We’re in a quieter part of Brooklyn, and it’s nice when people come from Manhattan and have their entire day on their face, and can just sit down and be like, ‘Okay, I’m here now.’ I always like to light candles before friends arrive and offer them a seat on the sofa, versus our chairs.

Bench: Restoration Hardware via Craigslist. Screen, dining table and chair: Craiglist.

On furniture worth fighting for: My husband, Christian, and I got into a massive argument the night we found this room screen on Craigslist, because we had to wait outside of the seller’s apartment for an hour. My husband was like, ‘I don’t want to be here.’ And I was like, ‘I’ve searched for a room screen like this for five years. We’re waiting.’ Painted room screens don’t come up that often, and this one was only $75. So, worth it.

Cloud painting: Rachel English. Rain painting: Francesca Wade. Dining table illustration: Julie Thomson Martin. Brick wall photograph: taken by Erika. To Kill a Mockingbird quote: painted by Erika’s sister. Flower painting: “my husband’s grandmother painted it for our wedding.” Italy photo: taken by Erika’s mother-in-law. Embroidered wall hanging and Elvis bust: thrifted.

On DIY shenanigans: I found this Elvis bust while thrifting with my best friend Ruby in D.C. I’m a big Elvis fan, and Ruby and I always egg each other on with ideas. The bust was originally colorful and sparkly, but when we saw it, we thought, We can spray paint it! Let’s do it!

LIVING/DINING AREA

Paint: White Dove by Benjamin Moore. Mirror: Craigslist, similar. Bookshelves: Ikea. Chairs: Reuse America. Coffee table and globe pendant: Craigslist. Wall clock: Umei. Rug: eBay.

On favorite reads: I’ve been loving Didion & Babitz by Lili Anolik, and I also like flipping through The House Book, an old coffee-table book of interiors by Terence Conran. It’s from the ’90s, and I love how intentional each piece feels, back when putting together a home was a generally slower process. And then obviously I read Sarah Manguso’s Liars like everyone else.

Candlesticks: Tiffany. Mirror: Craigslist, similar. Bookshelves: Ikea. Chair: Reuse America.

On Euro inspiration: I like how our apartment feels cozy, warm, and bright. I was inspired by English countryside coziness; I like the idea that there are no rules when it comes to color. Also, all those girls out there in Copenhagen, their commitment to color, and how they boldly mash things together.

Candles: Hay. Des Moines Map: Domestic.

On soulmates: My best friend Ruby and I met 10 years ago in Iowa, and we were both going to school in New York. She’s my muse and like a second sister to me. I remember going to her parents’ house for the first time, and they had all these framed photos of their friends and extended family, and I found it so touching. I didn’t have that in the house that I grew up in — we just had pictures of our nuclear family. So, I remember framing this picture almost immediately and displaying it with pride.

On the foot candle: My friend made this two years ago, and she was like, ‘I’m going to start a foot candle business.’ I was like, ‘Okay, I’m never going to burn this,’ because I wanted to support her when she launched her business. She still hasn’t started it, but I’m just waiting.

David Hockney poster: First Dibs. Dining table and chairs: Craigslist.

On pieces you learn to love: The Greek-style column used to be my father-in-law’s; he had it in his bachelor pad. It was one of the three pieces of furniture that my husband brought into our apartment. At first I thought it was so ugly and tacky, but now I’ve become so endeared to it. Seeing it integrated into our space made me way more fond of it; sometimes I just need a little time to warm up to something. Now it means everything to me. So, moral of the story — people can grow and change.

Sofa and basket: Craigslist. Lamp: Etsy. Side table: vintage. Weighted blanket: Bearaby.

On family heirlooms: My grandma made the quilt [pictured above, top] for me when I graduated with my MFA in non-fiction writing. She’s a lifelong quilter living in Iowa, and she usually gives quilts for weddings. It meant a lot that she recognized my grad-school graduation as something to really celebrate.

Coffee table: Craigslist.

On lucky finds: I like to randomly search for furniture on Craigslist within a three-mile radius, and one day a listing for this coffee table came up. It included a screenshot of its Chairish listing that was priced at $16,000, but the owner was selling it on Craigslist for $350. When we went over to the seller’s apartment, she was reluctant to give it up. She was worried it would go to someone who didn’t appreciate it. So, when I couldn’t stop gushing, we had this amazing moment where I was like, ‘Don’t worry, this is going to a good home.’ It’s one of my favorite thrifting memories.

KITCHEN

Star print: Alex Ry.

On partnership roles: I don’t cook any of the food in our family — I feel very uncomfortable in that space, and my husband used to be a private chef. When I have dinner parties with my girlfriends, he’ll make the dinner, leave to go read at a bar, come back and then do the dishes. He shows up for me in that way all the time; he’s the kindest person I know and is supportive in every sense of the word.

On love languages: As for me, I always choose good movies for us, and find good podcasts to listen to when we’re on road trips.

On useful plants: Christian grows herbs in our kitchen in the winter. Salade niçoise and our morning cappuccinos are my favorite things he makes.

Race car photo: of Erika’s grandfather.

On surprising photos: This photo is of my grandad. He used to race cars, and when I saw this photo hanging in his garage, I made him to give it to me so I could make prints for my sister and myself. I love this picture so much.

PRIMARY BEDROOM

Oui print: Clare V x Framebridge. Lamp: Craigslist. Yellow duvet: Pottery Barn, similar. Yellow throw pillow: Mexico. Blue throw pillow: Matouk. Euro shams: Restoration Hardware.

On a monochrome bedroom: We went to Copenhagen for our winter honeymoon — it was freezing cold and windy, so we spent lots of time in design stores. That, plus the romance on being on our honeymoon, sort of incited a confidence in colors that I’d previously been intimidated by. When we came home, I said ‘We needed a striped yellow duvet immediately.’ Then the Clare V. print came into the picture, and then it all came together.

On inside jokes: Above our bed, we framed the manila envelope we used to carry the papers for our marriage license. It says ‘Pups Only’ because ‘Pup’ is our nickname for each other. I brought it to Framebridge and was ready to tell them the whole backstory. But then they were like, ‘Ok, what kind of mat do you want?’ In that moment, I realized they see the world’s cutest stuff every day.

Dresser: Facebook Marketplace. Bag: thrifted. Eve Babitz photo: gift.

On gift traditions: My mother-in-law and I started a ritual of always giving each other candle sticks; it’s very sweet. She surprised me with the ones on my dresser because she knows I like a pop of red. I’m obsessed with candles and always have backups on hand. If you’re looking for taper candles, go with beeswax because it burns more slowly. For scented, I always do D.S. & Durga.

Mobile: Mobiles Mobiles. Chair: Reuse America. Throw pillow: Salvesen Graham. Heart and balloon lamp: vintage Ikea.

On big realizations: For a while, Christian and I went back and forth over where to settle down and start a family, and considered looking for a house on the lake in Minnesota. I grew up in Iowa and always imagined raising my kids in the Midwest. But after many long conversations, we realized that our lives and people are here in Brooklyn. When I found this mobile, I was initially drawn to the color. But then I noticed it’s also called ‘Lake’, and it felt symbolic to me. I realized that even though we are staying in New York, we can still bring that beautiful, calm Midwest energy to our home.

On recreating childhood memories: Growing up, I always had the freedom to be creative in my family home. There was a space in my basement where I produced a play, and if I wanted to take over the dining table to build a fort or put on a puppet show, my parents’ attitude was ‘Great, go ahead.’ So, my hope is to cultivate that for my kids someday, and for myself now.

Thank you so much, Erika. We adore you.

P.S. Many more house tours, including a Minnesota home with lots of collections and a very colorful house in Connecticut.

(Photos by Christine Han for Cup of Jo.)