Stylish Thrift in the Village

New Zealand couple, freelance art director Miranda Dempster, 41, and Gus McKay, 45, a tailor for the fashion label Tocca, spent no more than US$3000 on renovating their 155-year-old West Village apartment. On a small budget with midcentury thrift-shop treasures she brought over from New Zealand, Dempster converted a dreary, cramped tenement into a bright, upbeat home. The contributions of McKay have of necessity been minor. He gestures around the room. “The ubiquitous New Zealand seafood poster that you see everywhere is mine,” he says, dryly. “That painting is mine. I cook — the knives in the kitchen are mine. That jacket that I walked in with is mine.”