How To Redecorate Without Buying A Thing

How do you redecorate your home without buying a single item? Edit, edit, edit. Michael Ciancio, a New York-based design director and artist, had been living in his pre-war studio in Carroll Gardens for a few years when he realized he needed a design intervention. "I love having friends over, but the layout was awkward for entertaining,” Michael says.

However, there was one teeny problem: His budget for furniture or decor was virtually non-existent. Luckily, "Michael already had a lot of great stuff,” Homepolish cofounder Noa Santos says, so he approached the project like a stylist shopping someone's closet. "Everything was spread evenly throughout the apartment so it looked very cluttered and haphazard.” Noa says.

Together, they spent a lot of time editing what he already owned — and donating extra furniture he didn’t need (like an oversized bookcase and area rug), to free up space. They also focused on creating vignettes, like a collection of souvenirs from his travels to India, Japan, and Nicaragua. “I travel a lot for my job, and whenever I go to a new country I pick up a weird little animal," Michael says. "It’s starting to look like a little jungle on my mantlepiece.”

The end result highlights the apartment's gorgeous original details, like crown molding and beautiful hardwood floors. “The editing was really helpful,” Michael says. “It was about finding the really nice intricacies of the apartment and letting those shine through."