Tour Rajiv Surendra's New York Apartment

I often find myself standing still in my apartment and just looking around; looking at my living room from the little hall outside my bedroom, or standing at the kitchen sink to view the entire perimeter of the small space. I realize that so much of my time in my apartment is spent thinking about seemingly mundane things, like what I need to stock the fridge with for making dinner, but also thinking about my past and my future, and setting up plans to achieve certain goals, small and large.

My mind needs space to think. I prefer total silence when I’m thinking, and in terms of my physical surroundings, I always feel like I can reach a conclusion faster if my eyes aren’t scanning the room and being met with clutter, a mess and tasks that need to be attended to. So over the nine years that I’ve lived in my apartment, it has become a stage that is set for some great or small activity to take place and then end. In those nine years, I’ve created my ideal home with what I consider the very basics: things that are useful, beautiful and made with care.

The living room is the largest room in the apartment and I spend most of my time in here. The walls, painted in Benjamin Moore’s Metropolitan, sit in calm contrast to the 1950s' lemon-yellow sofa (recently reupholstered). The sofa opens up into a pull-out bed for overnight visitors.

Fresh flowers change the mood of the room. I make arrangements with blooms that are in season whenever possible.

I found a lot of furniture and light fixtures for my apartment at flea markets, junk stores and even the curb on garbage day. This ottoman is from the Sunday Chelsea Flea Market and was $30. The sturdy fabric, an oversize wool tattersall, is in excellent condition.