Just Like That, But Cheaper. -One writer tried to replicate a classic ELLE DECOR interior in his apartment. Could he do it for $500?

It was all about the green curtains. In 2008, to my great surprise, I was offered a ninemonth fellowship based in New York City. I had lived there twice before, both times unsuccessfully, meaning I had failed to create any kind of significant social life, and so this was a chance not only to do research for my new novel, but also an opportunity to get things right. I swore I wouldn't let the city break me a third time.

- By Andrew Sean Greer - Photo illustration by Clare Booker

It was all about the green curtains. In 2008, to my great surprise, I was offered a ninemonth fellowship based in New York City. I had lived there twice before, both times unsuccessfully, meaning I had failed to create any kind of significant social life, and so this was a chance not only to do research for my new novel, but also an opportunity to get things right. I swore I wouldn't let the city break me a third time.

But how? I knew from experience that New Yorkers (who use their ovens as sweater drawers) cannot resist the exotic rarity of a dinner party, so if I threw at least two a week, I should become the toast of the town. But where? Since my first swing at the city, in 1992, almost every writer had moved to Brooklyn, and so it seemed obvious that I should follow-except this was in the days when Manhattanites would not visit Brooklyn, but Brooklynites would happily come to Manhattan. Nobody dreamed of a day when the reverse would be true. I settled on somewhere along the F subway line, which led me to a search of Greenwich Village, and I found an ideal property, within my budget, about one block from where I used to live fresh out of college.

What could be better?