Elite Event: Decor Aid

The team at Décor Aid pleasantly surprised me. I’m not sure what I was expecting walking into their space on the 9^th floor of a building in Soho, but what welcomed me was quite the exciting event.
First impressions? The owner of the business greeting me and welcoming me. Coming from work, I had walked in 30 minutes after the event started, and while there were at least 30 – 50 others there, he made a point to say hello.
It was definitely interesting being only one of two males at the event (Hi Ryan F.) other than the designers, but quite honestly that was not even an afterthought to anyone but us. The event was set up more as a cocktail hour with bites where we were able to intermingle with the designers, many of which who are the best in their field, but wanted to target a clientele who lived in small spaces, or with a budget, or any other setback that would hinder work with many other designers. Another characteristic that sets Décor Aid apart from some of its competitors is that everyone that works for them works for them. None of them are contractors or work independently. I saw this as a big bonus.
Rumor has it that consultations start at $ 100 per hour. And I had the opportunity to chat with Alex and Lauren, two of their designers who had some great advice to share. Markus and Sean, the co-​founders, are also super friendly, and told us about how and why they started Décor Aid. Essentially, it comes from working on gut renovations single-​handedly and the challenges they encountered along the way — and wanted to provide a service to those that cannot afford super high-​end designers. I look forward to trying them out outside of Unilocal and when I do, I will be sure to share my experience.
Midway thru the event, Alex shared some general advice that was very thorough to everyone there. And as an added bonus, the Culinary Institute down the street provided some awesome munchines: mini tacos, chips with salsa & guacamole, chicken skewers, mini wraps, and a mediterranean plate to name a few. Bulldog Gin, who’s office is just down the hallway, provided some amazing cocktails — my favorite was the one similar to the Moscow Mule and make with Gosling’s.
All in all, a spectacular event. Big thank yous to Ruggy for coordinating, Sean, Markus and the Décor Aid designers for their hospitality and to Bulldog Gin for the fun cocktails.

Yep, the first thing I thought of, also, was the crazy maze that is this building on Broadway! I followed the signs to Décor Aid… but like everyone else, my +1 and I got lost on the way back to the elevator.
This was one of the smallest, most intimate YEE I’ve been to, probably ever. We were all crammed into the little space the Décor Aid inhabits, where the ratio of employees to Unilocalers was basically 1:1. This is definitely a good event for those who have just purchased homes like my +1, maybe not so much the rest of us where we live in semi-​temporary housing since we’re always moving to the next location.
All of the employees at Décor Aid were super friendly. I loved that they weren’t trying to sell us products or lure us into getting their services. Congrats to the person who won the $ 2500 worth of services! I even saw people out with their floorplans!
The drinks from Bulldog were delicious as well as the catered Mediterranean and Mexican bites… surprisingly good.
Thanks as always to all who helped put this one together!

One of the best YE events I’ve been to because it was very intimate, the food was great, drinks were creative, and it was very interactive with the hosts.
I spoke with a few different Décor Aid designers and got some good ideas. I really like their philosophy and business approach to making interior design available to a younger, non-​wealthy demographic. Basically, most 20 to 40-​something New Yorkers who live in a typical small NYC apartment.
There was absolutely no pressure to retain them for services. In fact, they seemed mostly interested and eager to give free advice and ideas to the Unilocalers, which they seemed to do in droves as I saw several people with their floorplans being dissected. Pretty awesome.
The food was so good!!! Super good!
And it was nice to chat with the Unilocalers in attendance. Hollah to Grace, Diana, and Ryan!

My first Unilocal event in NYC and I’m already enamored with the community here!
Speaking with the Décor Aid team was extremely inspirational, and I was quite impressed by the unique business concept. I’m surprised that no one in NYC ever considered embracing this niche market before, but I’m glad that Décor Aid has, and it seems like they are doing a great job with it.
My friend and I had to step out early, but we stayed long enough to hear Alex speak, which — in and of itself — really made our night. His words of wisdom on how to decorate a typical NYC apartment were really eye-​opening, and definitely got the wheels turning for how we want to decorate our future oddly-​shaped, window-​less, cramped apartment in the city!
The bites from the Culinary Institute and the cocktails by Bulldog Gin were fantastic as well.
Thank you Ruggy!

I was lucky enough to be Gigi A’s plus one to the Décor Aid event and I am so glad I braved the arctic tundra to come out last night.
I really like Décor Aid’s goal of making interior design accessible to everyone — not just the extremely wealthy. Alex’s presentation was great and helped me envision what I would need to do to improve my oddly shaped apartment. Everyone at Décor Aid was extremely helpful and I will definitely recommend them.
Big high fives to Ruggy, the Décor Aid team, Bulldog Gin, and the Culinary Institute for an awesome event!
And yes, I got lost on my way back to the elevators… I almost came back to get more delicious Culinary Institute wraps to help me survive the long winding maze but alas, I refrained.

Did anyone else get lost trying to get back to the elevators?!
…Either way, as far as unique Unilocal events go, this one is tops on my list! As per the great background provided by Markus and Alex, Décor Aid was born from a need for more attention towards small space improvements. NYC couldn’t be a better place for businesses like this to thrive. Somehow, watching the Property Brothers gutting out 300k houses with over 2,000 square feet doesn’t make too much sense after spending some time talking to people that really understand city living, and making the most out of every square foot of real estate.
I came armed with my dorky floorplans and plenty of photos, and Alex, Sean, and Markus were more than happy to throw some condo-​sprucing advice my way. Add an incredible spread from the Culinary Institute and some tasty gin cocktails from Bulldog, and you’ve got some proper feng shui!
Thanks as always to Ruggy, the Décor Aid team, Bulldog Gin, and the Culinary Institute for an awesome event!

Décor Aid is a dynamic interior design firm with an ever more amazing business model. Their mantra is to treat their clients with equal respect — no matter what their budget looks like. Not to get too political, but that should kind of be everyone’s LIFE model. Alas, as Alex, a genius designer at DA said, «interior design shouldn’t be a luxury — it should be for everyone.» Décor Aid provides that and they treat you like gold during the experience.
Sunil, also of the DA team, told Jenny S. and me a story where the client wanted an accent dresser. They presented a boutique designer dresser way out of the client’s budget. So they presented quirky, flashy dresser from Target that the client fell in love with. Target doesn’t offer a commission to designers, but the client was happy, so they felt successful. What an engaging, charming story that seemed so indicative of this wonderful company!
As far as Unilocal events go, this one had the trifecta: food, booze and ambiance. The spread was catered from the Culinary Institute in SoHo and the booze included bespoke cocktails made with Bulldog Gin, Décor Aid’s client and neighbor. The crowd was not crowded. Everyone was in an awesome mood and the vibe was so chill.
Ruggy did an amazing job, as he always does. He was warm and charming. He organized the generous raffle Décor Aid sponsored. But the real star of the night was Abby, the gluten free office dog. She was beautiful and well behaved. I am so excited to recommend Décor Aid and hopefully retain their services myself one day in the near future.

I enjoyed this intimate Unilocal event @ Décor Aid, an interior design firm that was started when friends Markus and Sean couldn’t find the right interior designers to work with them on each of their [presumably small relative to other cities] NYC apartments.
It was a pleasure meeting and chatting with the Décor Aid designers. Shout outs to Frances, Jessica, Lauren, Alice, Sunil and Alex. Lauren and Frances spoke of some cool spaces/​renovations/​redesigns they were working on, Frances gave my +1 and I a bunch of great suggestions for making improvements in our small NYC apartments, and Jessica has a great sense of humor!
Alex spoke of some ways to make a small apartment feel more spacious:
_​Use MIRRORS to reflect light,
_​Layer LIGHTS — e.g. a reading lamp in the living room in the evening to set a relaxing mood, bright light in the bathroom so you can see clearly, dimly lit bedroom to set up sleeping mode,
_​Build UP to free up floor space and utilize space up a wall.
For anyone looking for help decorating/​designing their small space, I highly recommend consulting with Décor Aid! Thank you, Ruggy & everyone @ Décor Aid!