Name: AJ
Location: New York, New York
So often the romantic notion of New York City living includes pre-war apartments oozing character and charm. When my husband and I moved to the city, however, we soon awoke to the reality that most places within our realm of possibility amounted to little more than a white box.
It became clear that if there was going to be any character or charm, we would have to provide it ourselves.
Our plan of attack for circumnavigating the blandness of our generic space was to vary the colors as well as the textures. Selecting bold solids and colorful patterns while taking care to introduce new and complimenting colors for the furniture as well as the accessories was our main objective. Also, we made every attempt to mix textures and materials to create a interesting and constantly varying environment.
But the challenges were not over yet (are they ever?). We discovered that our walls were pure concrete and that hanging anything would be more trouble than it was worth. Likewise with painting. It's a fairly large space with quite a few walls and painting would surely prove to be not only costly but our rental agreement specified leaving the place, including the wall color, just like we found it.
Solution? Cover as much wall space as possible from the ground up! With this strategy in mind, we went for taller items as well as various leaning pieces to create the illusion of filled walls. Together with lighting as well as general ambience (plus delightful hosts!), we hope to have created a warm, inviting space out of a cold and stark (not to mention bland) surrounding.
Thanks, AJ!
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looks great! you did a beautiful job with the place. The white walls
Although I would argue this place has better bones than most of the "white box" apartments I have seen/lived in out here in the west.
Great apartment! Your solution for covering the walls works very well. You could display art work on easels to (even large pieces to cover wall area), it looks like you have room to do that.
Nice! Very warm and comfortable-- I love that leather armchair!
My last place looked just like your "before" picture when I moved in -- impenetrable concrete walls and all. We weren't allowed to paint or even vary the window treatments! I learned to love Command strips and wall decals.
What a handsome place! It's put together so well and looks cozy and comfy. I'm interested in the bowl on the vintage file cabinet next to the coatrack. I'd like to know more about it. The dish seems to have an irregular shape, and I like it.
I LOVE your place! Especially the bright windows. All the nooks are great!
not sure if you guys care, but GPS info is in the EXIF data
Does anyone know where the coffee table is from?
Your palette is homey. If you change your mind about hanging things on the wall, then try Ook or Super nails, or drill to put in expansions for screws. That works for my CBS (cement block and stucco) home. House tour, please?
Can you provide a source for the cute ampersand pillow?
very nice! i have the same issues in my place.
where did you get that leaning shelf/desk piece from?
@FakeGreenDress: I second the command strips! They are one of the most amazing inventions ever.
This space turned out so lovely. It has a very lived in feel, and from the choices, doesn't exude "former white box" at all.
One way to make your space look like less of a box is to use furniture that's not box-y. I realize the MCM crazy employs a lot of square and rectangular pieces, but you'd go a long way towards the "character and charm" look if you went with some pieces with a softer edge. Round or oval tables, pieces with rounded edges, curtains on the windows so that the windows don't just echo the overall boxiness of the place.
If command strips won't work, try something like liquid nails or another adhesive...they'll leave a mess behind but you can get it off with a blow dryer and a little work and at the very least it won't leave holes in the wall.
@pumpkin_princess, those bookshelves look very similar to the Sloane bookshelf system from Crate and Barrel. I've got them myself, they're great!
I was wondering about the source for that great mirror leaning on the wall? Stunning!
Command Strips are just terrible unless you have a near-perfect surface to stick 'em to. Also, it's almost like they are too sensitive to temp changes and moisture. Liquid nails, eh? Thanks @Dempsern for advice. I, too, am having a concrete/adhesive/rental debacle.
I like your box.
Now I'm curious. It's the picture hangers you stick to the walls with Liquid Nails, right?
This place is just spot on perfect.