MAY 2020 I BOROMAG.COM 17
was arranged by her friend Sam Bond,
whom she met upon moving to New
York and whose home was previously
featured in BORO.
Also on the wall is a portrait of Frida
Kahlo, the Mexican artist known for her
work centered around identity and
bold color use.
“I visited her home and I lived in Mexico
City for a month, and I didn't know a lot
about Frida before but the women I was
traveling with were huge Frida fans,”
Hould said. “So I learned a lot about her
life from them and then I saw her art and I
was really inspired by her.”
There are several feminine icons
scattered around the apartment. In her
bedroom are images of three ladies: Judy
Garland, Marilyn Monroe and Lucille Ball.
When I asked Hould what these images
convey, she told me she wanted pictures
of “boss ladies” around her who make
her feel inspired and powerful.
When I asked her how she acquired
the images, Hould told me she went
to a thrift shop in the area and found
a book of movie stars that she went to
purchase at the counter.
“I told the owner, ‘Oh my gosh,
this book is amazing. I want to use
this and cut out the photos to put on
my walls,’” she said. And the owner,
flabbergasted, said he’d charge her
$50 for the book, originally priced at
$7, if she were to cut the images out.
“That’s sacrilegious,” the owner told
her. Ultimately, Mary told the owner
she wouldn’t cut the images out, and
he let her buy it for the original price.
Bond, who practices interior design,
also helped Hould pick out her furniture
to tie the apartment together. She also
drew Hould a picture of a woman with
her back turned to the viewer, outlining
the female form. Hould hung that picture
up in her bathroom.
Taken in its entirety, Hould’s apartment
is a tribute to the process by which a
newcomer becomes a New Yorker.
Hould, upon moving into her
apartment, had reservations, telling
her broker that the subway seemed far
from the home. Her broker assuaged
her concerns (the subway is a few
blocks away). Eventually, she fell in
love with the apartment.
“I remember just the neighborhood
really speaking to me originally,” she
said.
When she moved from Seattle,
Washington, to Sunnyside, Hould,
having heard the stereotype that
apartments in New York were tiny, was
frugal with her belongings.
“I was worried I would be living in a
tiny, tiny shoebox,” Hould said. When
she returned to Seattle to visit, she
brought more of her art and clothes
back to New York. “My apartment’s
bigger than I thought I would get.”
In the near future, Hould is hoping to
get a large dresser for more storage.
Right now, most of her clothes are
in boxes under her bed or in a highceilinged
closet with lots of space.
Hould often posts about her travel
adventures and performances on
Instagram (@a_merry_mary). And
readers interested in seeing other
interior design work by Bond can follow
her at @theblueroom_designsdiy.
Photos: Yelena Dzhanova/BORO
/BOROMAG.COM
