Construction Maison

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase. Brooklinen Moving is a stressful experience no matter how you slice it, and taking on the job of finding and outfitting your first apartment as an adult is even more so. Your first apartment is a perfect storm: an intersection of many needs and low resources. Chances are high that your college roommate might have bought the kitchen utensils ... or the vacuum... or the pots and pans...  and now you’re trying to furnish an entire apartment on your own with less money than it seems the job will demand. The few purchases you do make will need to last you longer than the cheap, seasonal models you bought in college so you’re not in the same spot, dumping more money into a dresser next year. You’ll likely want nicer belongings than plastic storage bins for all of your clothes as an adult now, anyway. Since it's unlikely y...

She’s a Los Angeles native , the daughter of Japanese immigrants, and at one time she was the definition of middle class. College education. Good job. Nice apartment in the Cheviot Hills area . Losing those things did not happen overnight. There’s a story here, an unraveling, a long process of decline. Often, for the tens of thousands of people who live on the margins in one of the most expensive regions of the world, a bad break is the beginning of a steep drop. Meg Shimatsu, 54, was diagnosed with diabetes almost 20 years ago, but the bigger blow came nearly a decade ago. That’s when doctors told her that her kidneys were giving out. Her disease advanced in the wake of the economic recession, and work as a legal secretary was harder to come by. In 2012, Shimatsu began dialysis treatment that often left her fatigued. On her medical disability income , she could no longer afford her apartment, so she moved in with a sick, elderly friend in Eagle Rock, and helped keep his house in orde...

Hillary Clinton slept here. The year was 2000. Clinton was in the middle of her first political campaign, running to be New York’s junior senator. Steven Spielberg, an enthusiastic donor to Mrs Clinton who had the use of a pied-à-terre in Trump Tower purchased for him by Universal Pictures, barely stayed at the place, despite its views of Central Park, and offered it to the candidate as a crash pad on gruelling campaign days . Trump Tower in New York. Photo: Bloomberg Donald Trump and Clinton were on good terms back then. He donated money to her candidacy and called her “tough and smart”. Moreover, Trump was skilled in the art of spinning his associations with celebrities into publicity. This was particularly true at Trump Tower. Michael Jackson lived in Donald J. Trump’s gleaming Midtown edifice . So have gamblers, a disgraced dictator, a Ponzi schemer and a stock huckster. Credit Photo Illustration by Peter Horvath; photographs by Chad Batka for The New York Times (Trump); Hiroko...

'Your home is wherever you stop and that's what's really, really cool about that whole idea' Rain patters on the roof of John Salhany's 2006 Mercedes Sprinter van as he points out the half-finished ceiling of tongue-and- groove pine paneling that will eventually continue down the walls over layers of plywood and reflective insulation. Items strewn in the hollowed back include a dusty climbing rope , a road bike and a six-pack of Upslope Brewing Company 's Citra Pale Ale . All his essentials will soon have their places once the van build-out is complete, when Salhany will have a bed big enough to accommodate all 6 feet, 2 inches of him, a countertop with a sink and drawers, and maybe even a backsplash with the cutout of the mountains — amenities like that of a house. "I have a lot of friends who are buying houses right now who are just getting to that age, all on the East Coast and I'm just like, how do you guys know where you want to live?" said...

Making his way along the press circuit for HBO limited series  Big Little Lies —which earned eight Emmy nominations last month—director Jean-Marc Vallée has repeatedly been asked one question: “What was your transition to television?” An Oscar nominee known for  Dallas Buyers Club ,  Wild  and  Demolition , the auteur has a simple answer: There isn’t one. Making another major splash with his first television series , Vallée treats all of his projects as films—whether they arrive in theaters or on HBO, the process and the goal are the same. Speaking with Deadline, the first- time Emmy nominee gives an in-depth look into his creative process, expressing his passion for female-driven projects and his desire to be involved with every aspect of the projects he creates. You came to Big Little Lies thinking about directing the first two episodes and departing. What initially attracted you to the project, and what was it that kept you around? Reese Witherspoon changed my life, made me a tir...

You’re expecting a baby…congrats! Whether this is your first or fourth bundle of joy, one thing is true—you need certain items to survive the first year. Take a look at any registry list and you might become a bit overwhelmed by all the “musts”—cribs, strollers, pacifiers, diapers and car seats are just the tip of the iceberg. And if you happen to be an apartment-dweller, or live somewhere that is void of ample space, deciding which products you actually need is even trickier. Below we’ve rounded up 10 items you definitely want (nay, need!), all of which are smaller than typical and/or can be easily stored when not in use. Because when you’ve only got a few hundred square feet of space to live in, you don’t want to be swallowed up by all that baby gear. THE CRIB You may have always dreamed of lying your sweet baby to bed in a sleigh crib, but a teensy nursery—or no nursery at all—likely rules that dream out. What to do? Well, first, don’t scrimp on quality. Just because you need a sma...