TEXT BY ALEXANDRA LANGE

Small spaces are to New York what wide-open ones are to Wyoming: Almost everyone has called a studio home at some point and wrestled with its unique challenges: separating the bed from the kitchen; letting in more light without resorting to mirrored walls; maintaining a modicum of privacy. Here, a pair of 600-square-foot alcove studios in London Terrace showcase two solutions to the same problem—and offer two designing neighbors, who hadn’t seen each other’s apartments before, the chance to cross-critique. He (Robert Marinelli, interior and furniture designer) starts with neutrals, she (Angel Dormer, Baby Gap print designer) tries to add sun. She channels the fifties via eBay, he decade-hops with sofas of his own design. “Having a studio makes my life a lot simpler, because it is easier to maintain,” says Marinelli. “But you can’t make mistakes.” Strict editing is key, agrees Dormer. “I am now really selective about anything I bring into the apartment,” she says. “But it is the largest I’ve ever lived in.”

Photographed by Annie Schlechter.

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