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a lucky street find that they’ve brilliantly refurbished.
“We stained the top and the front and
the sides and then changed out the electronics,”
Jurado said. Now it’s completely functioning
as a record player and speaker system that
hooks up to a laptop.
A Craigslist clock radio sits atop the player,
too – Nelson’s touch. “I’m a big fan of mid-century
modern interior design, so I always like to
add more pieces,” she said.
On the wall leading out of the living room
hangs a Pong Clock – it’s a digital clock of the
‘70s game “Pong” that Jurado coded (from a
design available online) to change the time
when a player scores a point.
Displayed in a glass case in the front room
is an impressive camera collection. “Whenever
we go on vacation we’ll take one, load it with
film and develop them,” Jurado said. There’s
even a 1997 Gameboy Camera in there.
They’ve used the vertical organization in the
kitchen to make the most of the space, displaying
colorful pots and pans. But the table
in there isn’t going anywhere.
“The construction is not as good as I’d
like,” Jurado said, “but it’s the first thing
we did together and we made it ourselves.
Very proud.”
As two very resourceful people, they’ve built
a functional and creative home in a neighborhood
they’ve fallen in love with.
“Something I love about Astoria is that I
can stay here all weekend,” Nelson said.
“And everything that’s been in our neighborhood
keeps improving.”
“Having lived here all my life, Queens
feels like home to me, but it does change,”
Jurado said. “It’s like you’re looking at it
with fresh eyes, and it’s different but it always
feels like home.”
Photos by Estelle Pyper
INTERIOR DESIGN