Over the past six years, Jessica “Ruby” Whalen has shared her 800-square-foot rental with one boyfriend and three different roommates, but it was only a year and a half ago that the hairstylist at Fringe Salon (248 Broome St between Ludlow and Orchard Sts; 212-674-8383, fringeny.com) took over the lease and made the space her own. She entrusted her good friend Jamey Hamm, an artist and owner of Roots Café (639A Fifth Ave between 18th and 19th Sts, Park Slope, Brooklyn; 205-246-2149, rootscafebrooklyn.com), to transform the apartment into a Tim Burton–inspired pad, complete with an at-home salon area. While she was busy snipping strands, Hamm was at work reupholstering chairs, hanging artwork and assembling found objects sourced from the street or local secondhand stores. “I love anything bright, glittery or pink,” says Whalen, who was thrilled with the result once it was completed in March of last year.
Fringe Salon hairstylist Jessica “Ruby” Whalen lets us peek inside her Greenwood Heights apartment. With help from Roots Café owner Jamey Hamm, she painted each room a different color to reflect the set of Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands. Although many decorative items were discovered on the street or sourced from trips to Turkey, Whalen shops at NYC home-decor stores such as Homebody Boutique and Ikea.
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