morningside home Archives

Before we take a tour of Steven’s Morningside Home & his showroom selects…

House shopping wasn’t what I wanted to do that day but I relented. Our realtor drove us around the 100-year-old neighborhood of Morningside “just to see,” and as fate would have it, the very last house caught my eye. The original floor plan was simple: four rooms down, three rooms up, a sun porch on the side, and a sad cinder block addition off the back. The simplicity made sense to me. Was this the one? Walking the perimeter of the house, I studied the foundation looking for any disruptions in the brick. I walked it twice desperate for any excuse to abort. No drops in the line. No cracks in the mortar. The foundation was strong and so, with trepidation and a vision for what could be, we made an offer.

It turned out the house rested on a better foundation than my relationship. In January of 2020, a month before closing, we decided it would be best for me to purchase the house than be upside down on the “designer” upgrades I insisted on. The first few nights of March were restless. Resentful of a mortgage I anticipated to split with a partner and room after room of empty house weighed heavy on me. However, none of it compared to what was coming as a mystery virus gripped us all. School closures followed. Then work closures. And finally, mandatory lockdowns.

Restless nights quickly turned to sleepless nights.

The first few months of the pandemic were scary, but I was lucky. The interiors were far from comfortable, but those yellow brick walls now painted white protected me during those months. This newly renovated 1920’s house quickly became my office, my gym, my bar, my theater, and most fortunately of all, an incubator for a new and great love.

My luck continued as our industry thrived during the pandemic. Over the next two years and with the support of so many vendors, I pieced together a slice of heaven for myself. Rooms stitched together in deep autumnal hues of burnt cinnamon and rust. Walls covered in cherished pieces of art each one worthy yet most worthless. And windows draped in yards and yards of fabric. Slowly we went back to work, back to the gym, back to the bars. Bit by bit, my tiny little house in Morningside became what it was always meant to be – a home.

It’s been five years since I first laid eyes on this house. Personally, these pictures have captured the saddest, strangest, scariest, yet most fulfilling parts of my life until now. Professionally, they will forever memorialize the successes of our small business. I will forever be grateful to our wonderful clients who have supported us and to every one of our vendors who continue to believe in our vision of what a multiline showroom could and should be. And above all, I am grateful to my business partner and best friend, Ryan Hughes. Thank you for including me in your dream to build this beautiful life for ourselves. 2024 starts a new chapter as we set out to open our second location in New York City. And with that, I hope to see you all on Lexington very soon!