Envy Apartment

When Young Huh left for college in the 1980s, she brought “one giant poster of The Cure, bedding from the local bed-and-bath store and maybe some desk accessories.” Like so many Gen-Xers, her one creative touch was asking a supermarket for leftover milk crates to use as bookshelves. Now an interior designer , she has helped her own children decorate their dorm rooms, and she’s amazed at the design expectations among college students . “It’s a level of decorating that did not even exist in my world view when I was in school,” Huh said. Today, there are lots of products “that cater entirely to the college crowd,” she said. Interior designer Jon Call sees the same phenomenon: While his main business is designing luxury homes in Manhattan, he also gets asked to design college living spaces . “This new generation has grown up under the influence of home magazines, HGTV and the virtues of ‘ democratic design .’ They understand the value of creating unique spaces for themselves,” he sai...

Photo: Contributed Photo / Akashic Books Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Image 1 of 1 Stacey Lender Stacey Lender Photo: Contributed Photo / Akashic Books Excerpt from ‘City Mouse,’ by Stacey Lender Back to Gallery It was the bathroom that finally started us house hunting on the weekends up in Westchester. Sharon and Dave had just moved to Scarsdale from the city and I swear during brunch they slipped Aaron some suburban Kool-Aid with their day-old bagels. While the kids played on a giant plastic gym set in their cavernous empty living room , they proudly gave us a tour of their five-bedroom Colonial, closet by closet. Aaron seemed bored, as usual, but when we entered the en suite master bathroom , complete with double sinks and a rainfall shower, I heard him gasp. “A separate little room for the toilet!” he said, eyes glowing wide with bathroom envy. “You know,” Sharon said, “our builder is working on plans for the house next door.” “We’re not quite ready,” I replied. “But we can ta...