Vintage Apartment in Belgrade, DOROTHY. Your grain of originality…

For all those unacquainted with her name, Vivian Dorothy Maier was a Chicago nanny who, posthumously, became one of the most famous photographers of the 20th century. In the period between 1949 and 1990, she took almost 100,000 photographs in total secrecy. When Mr John Maloof bought a crate of negatives he had discovered at a local thrift auction house on Chicago’s Northwest Side, he probably had no idea that he was discovering  one of the most important bodies of work in the street photography genre and a visual monument to life in the United states during the second half of the previous century.

Some of Meiers works

The life of this, real-life Marry Poppins, was hardly idyllic. She experienced financial woes throughout her life, which is why her lenses were more often directed to those who were living on the fringes of the US prosperity, than to those who were basking in it. At one point in her old age, she was even homeless. It was the samaritan spirit of the kids she used to nanny of, that got her out of complete poverty into a nursing home in Highland Park. She passed away there on 21st April 2009.

Vivijan Majer Autoportraitt

Ironically, her life’s work became a proper global internet sensation. The end of 2013 even saw a full time movie Finding Vivian Maier and her nedeavours became a part of the world heritage.

Having this “unabashed and unapologetic original” serve as an inspiration for a commercial, holiday apartment in Belgrade sounded to us pretty much like raping porcupines – it wouldn’t work for anyone involved. However, life does have a good sense if irony so it came to being.

And, to be honest, it is nowhere nearly as perverse as we expected it to be.

Hence, we dedicate the few following lines to what might be the most original vintage apartment in Belgrade for short term rent.

DOROTHY is basically a one bedroom apartment, but since the apartment building it is in, dates back to the first half of the previous century, for the needs of upper middle classes, its floor area and the the sheer volume, exceed the modern civil engineering standards.

Unofrtunately, this also means that the building has no elevator, so in order to enjoy this designer time bubble you will have to walk three floor up.
We daresay that it’s a small sacrifice for what awaits in the apartment.

At the entrance, a large printed canvas with a stylish illustration of the aforementioned lady awaits for you. It is joined by two old wooden chairs, a table, a mirror and a couple of framed photos depicting Chicago’s or New York’s slums, from Ms Maier’s opus.

From there, a hallway,tiled like a chess table leads into the kitchen, with doors leading to all other rooms are stacked from there. It may be threfore be technically considered a central spot of the apartment.

Each of the rooms is enriched with unusual details, and the contemporary, high quality furnishings are conjoined with deliberately anachronistic, yet charming bits.

In the living room those are refurbished hardwood chairs and a sewing machine that serves a magazine rack. The infallible works of Ms Meir are framed above the sofa.

In the bedroom, it is the typewriter and tailor’s dummy that decorate the chest of drawers. There are all joined with two unusual portraits from the Heads and Hats series from London studio Shonski.

On top of all that (literally), is the “open-air” clothes rack. The two strigns of mooring rope hanging from the ceiling are tied to hold an old curtain rod and which serves as a pole for hangers. A set of three hanging bulbs will certainly show of your apparel needs extra ironing 🙂

In the kitchen, the contrast between modern and antique gets its most original expression, since its paired with stark contrast of colours. The enviable list of appliances in there is supplemented by a petroleum lamp, a old ventilator and a number of other authentic decorative details from the first half of the 20th century.

Even in the bathroom, your attention will be captivated by these wonderful peculiarities. The Singer sewing machine pedestal and a pack of wonderful wall lamps on wrought iron hangers are exactly what you need.

Amenity wise, apartment is quite supplied with everything one would expect from a modern day abode (high speed wi-fi, cable TV, washing machine,etc.) as well as its own parking spot, which is quite rare in the city center.

DOROTHY can accommodate four persons: two can share the double bed in the bedroom and the other two can share the fold out sofa in the living room. That being said, it is nowhere nearly as expensive as one might expect a custom designed apartment to be. The price varies depending on the number of guests, but it is all just the upper mid price range for short-term rentals in Belgrade.

We might give credence to those visitors who think of the apartment in the greater city center, but fact that Tashmajdan park and Vukov Spomenik are a mere five minute walk makes it central. Full-stop.

And to top it all, the far end of the street (at the corner with Cvijiceva) hosts one of the quirkiest fine restaurants in Belgrade.

Therefore, if you want a proper vintage apartment in Belgrade, click on the link and try booking it. Unlike its namesake, who inspired it, popularity of this short term rental won’t be posthumous.