4 REMB THE NEW YORK TIMES, SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2020Most people spent the spring trying to stay
as far away from strangers as possible. But
for renters like Elizabeth Merritt and
Michael Daly, who needed to find room-
mates in the midst of the pandemic, moving
in with someone they had never met was
part of the reality of living in New York,
global health crisis or not.
At any other time, an in-person meet-up
would be standard before agreeing to be-
come roommates. And under normal cir-
cumstances, two busy professionals shar-
ing an apartment might cross paths only on
evenings and weekends. But the pandemic
meant they would be spending most of their
waking hours in the same space.
“It is a little like marrying someone be-
fore you meet,” said Ms. Merritt, 26, who
met Mr. Daly, 25, on the Facebook group
Gypsy Housing in late March and moved
into a Bushwick, Brooklyn, two-bedroom
with him in late June. “You’re sharing a toi-
let and depending on them to pay rent.”
Ms. Merritt had been living in a Bedford-
Stuyvesant one-bedroom that cost $1,950 a
month. Her lease ended in May, and while a
pandemic wasn’t an ideal time to move, she
had planned to stay in the one-bedroom for
only a year, a time-limited splurge after a
stint living with five roommates, two cats
and a dog.
“I thought it would be nice to try living
alone, but I couldn’t really afford it,” said
Ms. Merritt, who sells technical textiles for
a company in the garment district. She had
managed to cover the cost, but money had
been tight. She had also turned 26, which
meant that she had been booted off her par-
ents’ health insurance plan and had to buy
into the company plan, which tacked a few
hundred dollars onto her expenses.
As for Mr. Daly, a public relations associ-
ate who moved to New York in October, he
had hoped to stay in the three-bedroom
Bushwick sublet where he had been living
for a few months. But then he learned that
both roommates were planning to move out
when the lease expired at the end of June.
At first, Mr. Daly thought he would apply
for his apartment with two new roommates.
A friend wanted one of the rooms, and after
Zooming with Ms. Merritt — they also
started following each other on social media
— they decided that she would be a good fit
for the third room. But then the friend
moved back in with his parents.
After several weeks of trying to find a
third roommate on Gypsy Housing, Ms.
Merritt and Mr. Daly decided it would be
easier to look for a two-bedroom.
They agreed on a budget — $2,500 or less
— and a neighborhood: Bushwick, by the
JMZ train line. Ms. Merritt’s landlord also
agreed to extend her lease by a month so
that she and Mr. Daly could look for a July 1
move-in.
The pair met in person for the first time in
May, when they went to look at an apart-
ment. Mr. Daly said he wasn’t worried that
they would clash in person. “We’d spent so
much time talking together at that point,”
he said.
They were also relieved to find they were
aligned in their apartment tastes: After
touring the space, they agreed that it was
serviceable but nothing special.
The broker mentioned that he had an-
other apartment nearby, a $2,500-a-month
two-bedroom with a lofted mezzanine that
had come back on the market. As it was
somewhat dubiously listed as a three-bed-
room, it had never come up in their
searches.
They took to the space immediately.
“We liked that it had high ceilings and
more character,” Ms. Merritt said. “If we en-
tertained, we felt like we’d be a little bit
more proud of this apartment. And our bed-
rooms could not be farther apart — it’s kind
of like we have our own wings.”
Mr. Daly said, “We didn’t want to share a
wall.” And Ms. Merritt recalled that she
once “had one roommate that I could hear
breathe.”
The only real downside was that the land-
lord wanted a June 20 move-in and wouldn’t
budge, which meant paying double rent for
10 days. That, and the bedrooms had no
closets: Instead, there were small, wall-
mounted open wardrobes — a few rows of
shelving with a rack below to hang clothing
on.
They decided to go for it anyway. The
mezzanine over the living room, laundry in
the building and the shared backyard
helped tip the scales.
So far, things have gone fairly well, with a
few minor glitches. The movers couldn’t fit
Mr. Daly’s sofa up the building stairs, so he
had to sell it in a hurry, as it was stuck in the
lobby. The roommates ordered a new one
from Overstock, but it took a while to arrive,
so they spent most of the last month in their
rooms, as common-space seating options
were limited to the metal bar stools.
But even now that the new sofa has ar-
rived, they find that they spend most of the
day working in their rooms.
“We don’t really get in each other’s way,”
Ms. Merritt said. “And we are home 100 per-
cent of the time, but neither of us cooks
much.”
Mr. Daly said: “I eat a lot of soup. I’m not
in the kitchen a lot on weekdays.”
Ms. Merritt added that she likes soup, too.
“Cereal, oatmeal, maybe a salad, and we
both eat a lot of chips,” she said.
As for the housewarming, it will have to
wait. “I do fantasize, but I’m not sure when
it will happen,” Ms. Merritt said.
At least there’s time. “I want to be here for
two years, at least,” she said.RENTERS‘It Is a Little Like Marrying Someone Before You Meet’
By KIM VELSEYTop, Michael Daly and Elizabeth Merritt, who both needed to find roommates. Above, one of the
bedrooms in their apartment, which also has a shared backyard and laundry in the building.PHOTOGRAPHS BY KATHERINE MARKS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMESKnow a renter with an interesting story?
Email: [email protected].
NamesElizabeth Merritt, 26,
and Michael Daly, 25LocationBushwick, BrooklynRent$2,500Occupations Ms. Merritt
works in sales for a technical
textiles manufacturer; Mr.
Daly is an associate at public
relations firm.The sofaMr. Daly’s sofa
wouldn’t fit up the stairs, so
they bought a smaller one
online, but even that was a
tight fit. “It had to go very
close to the oven,” Ms. Mer-
ritt said, pointing out the
somewhat strange juxtaposi-
tion. “But that’s just a New
York thing.”Their neighborhood“If and
when we can entertain, it will
be great,” Ms. Merritt said.
“We’re in this wedge where
the J, Z and M meet. We’re
really close to Mood Ring,
Birdy’s, Happyfun Hideaway.
Should things resume, we’ll
be ready.”Nicole Crystal’s house in Oradell, N.J., was-
n’t always a fun house for her Goldendoo-
dle. Before she bought Bowie three years
ago, she regularly polished the vintage pine
floors of her 19th-century home, had a cozy
reading nook in a corner of the living room,
and covered her white sofa with colorful
throw pillows.
Now, Bowie runs the show. Area rugs
cover the floors to keep him from scratching
the wood or slipping. The reading nook has
been replaced with a ball pit to hide doggy
treats. And the white sofa is sheathed in a
slipcover, the throw pillows stored away in a
basket.
“It’s all about him now,” said Ms. Crystal,
39, a photographer. Bowie even has an In-
stagram account with 3,700 followers.
Ms. Crystal never expected to be the kind
of dog owner who would surrender the
home she’d spent years restoring. Yet here
she is. “If asked four years ago how my dog
would affect my home décor, I would have
said, ‘Not at all,’ ” she said. “I would have
been so wrong.”
Pet adoptions have spiked during the
pandemic as people look for ways to break
up the monotony and loneliness of coro-
navirus quarantine. And of course, like ba-
bies, puppies come with gear. They need
beds, crates, toys and bowls for food and
water. Like new parents, new dog owners
quickly learn just how much of their home
they’re willing to surrender to their new
family member.
However, with a few thoughtful pur-
chases and some attention to detail, any
home can feel like a welcoming space for
dogs and their humans.
Keeping Your Style, Even With a Pup
While researching her book “At Home With
Dogs and Their Designers,” Susanna Salk
found a common trait among the designers
she profiled: Nothing in their home was off
limits. “Dogs were on fancy antiques; dogs
were on beautifully upholstered velvet so-
fas,” she said. “You have to go into it with an
attitude of acceptance. The dog is a part of
the family.”
Designers do have their tricks. Carolyne
Roehm buys extra fabric when she uphol-
sters a piece of furniture, then lays the
swatch over the cushion when one of her six
dogs wants up. Bunny Williams uses faux
fur throws to protect furniture, a tip Ms.
Salk applied to her own home in Connecti-
cut, where she has three dogs.
“First of all, they look great in a room,”
said Ms. Salk, who also wrote “At Home in
the English Countryside: Designers and
Their Dogs.” “If I know that I’ll be gone for a
long period of time, I’ll put those out and the
dogs will just lie on it and it protects your
sofa cushion and you throw it in the wash.”
When buying new furniture or rugs,
choose colors that complement your pet’s
fur. (If you have a golden retriever, for ex-
ample, avoid navy.) Look for stain-resistant
materials, like microfiber. Choose patterned
rugs that hide stains. Indoor-outdoor rugs
can be washed down. Other types, like Rug-
gable rugs, can go in the washing machine.
And get a pet-hair-friendly vacuum cleaner,
like a Dyson V8 Animal. If you have a puppy,
avoid furniture with wood legs, because
what puppy doesn’t love demolishing a
stick?
Alessandra Wood, the vice president for
style at Modsy, an online design service,
likes leather because the fur from her dog
Coco, a Chihuahua and Jack Russell mix,
won’t stick to it. But don’t expect that
leather sofa to look pristine after a fewrounds with your pet. “It’s not for type-A
people who would freak out when they see a
scratch,” Dr. Wood warned. “You have to be
someone who loves a good pair of vintage
boots.”Get on Your Dog’s Level
Spend time figuring out what your space
looks like from your dog’s vantage. That’s
right, get on your hands and knees and
check out the view.
“Is there an electrical cord under the
couch that you may not notice?” said Col-
leen Demling-Riley, the dog behaviorist at
Dogtopia, a national dog day-care franchise
based in Phoenix. “Are your most important
pieces of artwork at mouth level? Is it safe
for them?
“When in doubt, put it up. Dogs will be
dogs; they will chew things.”
Pay attention to how far your dog has to
jump to get to the sofa (if you allow that sort
of thing). Over time, that impact can take a
toll on any dog’s joints. Position an ottoman,stool or sturdy poof at the foot of the sofa to
provide a lift, without sacrificing the style of
the room.
Store the toys in a basket that the pooch
can access, but choose one that looks noth-
ing like the ones that store human items,
lest the dog mistake your favorite slippers
for a new chew toy.
And watch to see where your dog finds a
calming corner. Maybe it’s a nook in your
home office, or a living room chair. Wherev-
er it is, help your dog claim it by leaving a
blanket, bed and some favorite toys. “If
your dog is there, let him be,” Ms. Demling-
Riley said.A Bed for Your Four-Legged Friend
Wire or plastic crates are not the most at-
tractive accessories, so choose the spot for
yours wisely. “If it feels like an eyesore, it
may not be the best place,” said Dr. Wood of
Modsy.
A cloth crate cover that matches your
décor can help camouflage it. Or tuck it
away under a table. Charlotte Reed, the host
of the syndicated radio show “The Pet
Buzz,” who kept six dogs in a Manhattan
apartment, tucks crates under end tables in
her living room, which is now in Florida,
making sure the dog still has a view to gaze
out.
Before you invest in a pricey dog bed
(and there are plenty to choose from),
spend time observing your pet’s sleeping
behavior. Some dogs stretch out long, oth-
ers sleep in a ball. Some like to nestle up
against a wall. Once your dog is house
trained and no longer chewing up every-
thing in sight, look for a bed with a shape,
and a style, that fits.
“You can have a lot of fun,” Dr. Wood said.
“That is definitely a place to lean into your
style, your color palette.”
Ms. Crystal, the owner of Bowie, has six
dog beds, including a raised one in the
kitchen that helps keep Bowie cool. And
Kim Kavin, the author of “Little Boy Blue: A
Puppy’s Rescue From Death Row and His
Owner’s Journey for Truth,” has two mutts
and three beds. Her favorite bed is made
from a wine barrel that she had shipped
from California to her home in Long Valley,
N.J. “I paid around 200 bucks at a craft mar-
ket in downtown Napa,” she said. “It ended
up costing more than a whole case of wine.”
The barrel sits in her den, and her dog loves
it about as much as she does.
One caveat for new dog owners: Don’t
rush out and make impulse buys. Until your
dog has settled into your home, and you
have settled in with your dog, resist the
temptation to splurge on gear. You may not
know yet if you have a wine-barrel kind of
pup or one who prefers a pooch penthouse.
“Don’t overinvest until you know,” Ms.
Salk said. “Get to know your dog first.”Getting Your Home Ready for Your Pandemic Puppy
It’s going to be mi casa es su
casa, but that doesn’t mean
you can’t have nice things.
‘You have to go into it
with an attitude of
acceptance. The dog is
part of the family.’TRISHA KRAUSSRIGHT AT HOMEBy RONDA KAYSEN