Name: Olya and Tim
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Size & Type: 436 sq. ft. one bedroom basement in an old Victorian house
Favorite resource: "Toronto's streets for furniture, Chinatown for accessories "
Pitch: "A year ago, our place was a mismatched collection of random furniture and things, thrown together by previous tenants, in a very awkwardly laid out apartment. Through meticulous cleaning and patient experimentation we were able to use, find, and (sometimes) buy the things we needed to make this functional."
Pitch Cont'd:"Some problems were faced; small windows - an orange hallway adds a splash of sunshine in the darkest corner. Layout: we are both currently finishing undergraduate degrees in computer science; thus at least 2 work areas are required. Our small is cool because its efficient, functional, comfortable, pretty and cheap! "
Your favorite element: "Old: The metal trunk as a coffee table, New: the bar (due to the radiator, this corner was never used for anything except random junk)"
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Comments (33)
You've made a challenging space feel homey and more spacious, and on a tight budget. Great job!
Bedroom looks great! (I think I remember it from an earlier post.) Nice work.
What's the Grey color you used in the front room? Looks nice.
This doesn't feel like a basement apartment (or a student's apartment, for that matter-no futons!). This is really great.
I remember seeing the before of the bedroom... holy cow what a transformation!!
The bedroom is fabulous!
Your bedrooom just sparkles... (:
Olya the photographer!
Nice work guys! Do you have to repaint when you leave?
wow, the bedroom and bar nook look awesome - the living room is kinda dissapointing compared to the other areas. Major kudos on the the first two though!
Cool. Agreed that the living area is a let down after the amazing bar and bedroom, which is keeping it from 'Stellar' territory.
cover that window and maybe paint a wall for some mood in that living room. the bar and the bedroom are very well-done and sexy, but the living room is garishly bright. i know its hard to work with tile floors, but i'd invest in some area rugs for sure. something warm and inviting...
it def. has potential...
what shelving are you using for the bar area. love this solution, it's great!
Bedroom is nice. I like the bar in theory (my rads are the bane of my space-use existence), but in practice it can't be good for the liquor to be directly over the heat source.
Never lived in a place THIS NICE when I was an undergraduate -- great place -- and a downright fabulous bedroom.
OMG! We got posted! Thank you all!
K: Thanks K! Repainting - maybe (it WAS a dirty yellow-acid-green and muddy orange splotches when we moved in...); but due to many factors, I doubt we'll be moving any time soon. I'd rather make the time investment, then hate coming home!
Buzzybee, Phaedrus and Goodnightdean: Bedroom and the bar got done in February during reading week by me and my friends. I'm giddy that you like it! We planned/designed it all ourselves, with the help of my friend Alex and her sister (who is responsible for the bedroom's wall drawing). That's why these areas are so different from the main area - no funds OR time for the living room! Although it honestly is better to live in than it looks :-) 2 separate work areas!
Bucktown: Grey is Behr Silver Screen (770E-2). A lot of hesitation on the color here...
Thebit: Ikea Lack (2nd hand! one of them was cut in my uncle's basement to fit the narrow corner), supports (from Ikea too), as turns out the alcohol is heavy :) . In hindsight, I'd go for something with supports right from the start.
Eliz: Somewhat true - we freeze it prior to get-togethers. Surprisingly it doesn't really heat up - enough distance, and insulation.
I'm glad you like the things we've done. If you have any suggestions on colors for the living room, I'd love to hear them! (Great, free, living room furniture in GTA is also welcome ;) )
Thank you Katlia!
I love the built-in bar. Genius!
love the first and third pictures. gorgeous!
verrry coool
That has to be the most ingenious basement apartment I have ever seen. Your use of the space is amazing. I love the work area behind the 3/4 wall. Great job.
I can't believe this is a basement: it's so bright and open. And two workstations. amazing.
I agree that a larger carpet would be good. Perhaps a carpet remnant would be in your budget? Anyway, congratulations.
I think you have done an excellent job with the place!
And I'm sure that you're itching to keep improving the space ;)
Good luck!
I agree that a larger carpet would be good... Flat TV as well :)
Amazing job, and taking into consideration the student's budget, the living room looks fantastic!
The bedroom is absolutely gorgeous and looks sexy and inviting!
The first and third photos are great and make your apartment look chic. I'm afraid the 2nd takes you back to reality a little bit. I might've included an alternate angle of the bedroom instead.
The bedroom is very nice. I don't care for the floor tile in the main living area, but good effort overall.
ebrown, NN: I completely agree about the carpet (and about the flat screen, he-he). Right now there IS a carpet, which was cheap :) and is just large enough to make it feel cozy when you're on the couch. What kind of size do you see here? Something that'd go under the sofa (i.e. until my computer)? Or even extend across the room?
Derek: that was rather tempting, but then all the comments would be about why I haven't shown any of the living room :-)
PepperAnn: At least tile is easy to clean! ;-) That's a definite bonus for students :)
Tallulah, bluetoes, christie, peggy, maha, elle1009: thank you for stopping by and commenting! :) I'm glad you like the place (even if only the bedroom or the bar ;) those ARE my favourite areas too.)
It is definetely has a great potential!
I wouldn't believe that it is a basement!
Great work, guys!
absolutely love the painting on the bedroom wall, but I don't like the living room, especially that chair on the left :S
Oh I love this! My last apartment was a basement- though not nearly as nice as this one- so I totally feel your pain. It's hard to make it feel cozy without being too basementish, and I think you did a beautiful job. We loved our apartment at night, but in the daytime we hated being in there because it was so cavelike. Yours doesn't seem cavelike at all.
Beachboy: I can sympathize :) It'll improve, I promise!
Mollybb: Thank you from the heart!
Lenchik: thank you as well! :)
Lots of things (already mentioned) that I love about this space. Does not appear 'basement-y' at all. I like the bright clean whiteness of living area. And on student time & budget, is all very impressive. Director side chair....hey, ya do what ya gotta do til you can do better.
What stands out to me that I LOVE the most......the TV is not on center of largest wall announcing itself to the entire space. Thank you thank you. I really feel allienated/offended in spaces that make the tube the unavoidable focus. You've even created a conversation area with leather chair facing sofa (rather than facing the TV). I like it.
the mood in the bar and bedroom are fabtacular! the living room loses its way a little.