Love the greige palette, layered rugs, and pops of color of the lamps and flowers.

Love it. I love the muted grays and how it looks so pulled together but totally as if a person lives there. Well done.

ohhh..so RICH and LUSH feeling to look at!! beautiful!

Yay, Brimfield! It was a twice a year event growing up. My parent hauled us kids all over the place every spring and fall. So many treasures in their home and in mine came from there.

Your room is lovely, nice work, I love grey and you have used it masterfully.

love it!

Great job, Nicole. I think your wall color tied everything together just perfectly. What color exactly is this, and where is the paint from?

I love these before and afters, and this is amazing.

That being said, it's not exactly fair the before photo is poorly lit at night while the after is bathed in light - not to mention showing two windows as well.

I need to have that couch! Where o' where can I find it?

Not to be picky, but I am kinda annoyed by everyone's "before" picture being a totally different angle than the "after" picture. Of course it's gonna look better when you see there is another window. This does look great! this has just happened with a lot of the B/A pics lately... Thanks

btw, LOVE the room. You did an amazing job!

theweingartens-Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams sofa

she mentioned it above.

I love the wall color and the furnishings ... but as others have said, the radically different lighting and the slightly different angle don't really make it fair. Love the room though!

Very pretty room! Well done, You! ;)

The before pic was an empty room. At any angle, in any lighting, it's an empty room. Who cares?

This is gorgeous - you did such a phenomenal job with this!

the legs on that coffee table are stunning!

Are there a pair of ottomans in the room?

I'm glad I'm not the only one peeved by misleading B/A photos. Agreed that an ampty room is a boring before.

However, the room is beautiful and the submitter did a wonderful job pulling everything together. Love the pink lamps.

If you're into greige, here's your website for more.

http://greigedesign.blogspot.com/

Disclaimer: I'm not the blog owner, I just dig her blog and her amazing list of other blogs.

LOVE the after!

For everyone who thinks this picture is a totally different angle: It really isn't. It's the same corner, just turn the camera a couple inches so it includes a few more feet to the right.

i have never seen a "fair" before/after makeover of any kind. even in a cosmetic makeover the people are lit differently and wearing different clothes and makeup from the before photo. "before" is the subject in it's worst light and "after" is the subject in it's best light. increases the drama.

chiang mai dragon pillows in alabaster color way would be an awesome combo with the pink lamps if you ever get tired of the more traditional print on the pillows.

http://ny-image2.etsy.com/il_570xN.164454358.jpg

PS -- where did you get the lamps??

"Fair?" C,mon people. It's a before and after - like Lady J said, it's all about increasing the drama!

This one was taken from the same angle, you can totally tell how everything compares easily. The ones that tick me off are the ones taken from such different angles that you can't tell what's different.

What color of gray paint is that on your walls? I'm moving into a new place next month and that's exactly what I've been looking for?

I like the fact that you have a distinct style and know how to translate that to an entire room. I say you've knocked it out of the park!

I have a question for everyone, though not directly related to this home, but since it's come up I'm going to ask. Do you keep fresh flowers in your home as a regular part of your decor? Just a spring/summer thing? Silk flowers? I like flower arrangements but I feel like spending money every few days to a week on something that will die is too frivolous... too much like throwing money away. I'd really like someone to talk me into the value of flowers.

I find this 'before and after' somewhat odd. Before was an empty room. Beside changing the wall color nothing has changed. Furniture has been added - so what is the point? The added furniture is somewhat mediocre inclusive the dining room set - the side lamps could be from a Walmart...

i agree... going from nothing to something doesn't count as before and after, why not just post the 'after' picture...

@Snowdin: Maxwell has lots to say about the value of filling a small vase with flowers on a regular basis. Check in with any of the past Cures (and I think it's even covered in the book). Having something fresh and living that changes regularly is a totally wonderful (and not hugely expensive) luxury. That said, the environmental impact of cut flowers is less than awesome, so I only indulge every once in a while.

Im so confused by the negative comments. I thought the point of 'before and afters' was purely to show how something was before and how it is once something has been changed. I dont know why some people are feeling cheated by an empty room transformation - your not appreciating the work that has been done to achieve the room. Everyone knows it takes more effort working from a blank canvas! Im planning to move into my first apartment, it will be completely empty, starting from scratch and il be decorating it and showing my before and after, just so you can see the empty space i had to work with. Will it not be fair because it had no furniture in it before? This was a "Before" and "After" not an Interior Makeover?!

The lamps are from lamp plus.

I know because this room has been on here many, many times, it has some milage on AT..I know its a nice room I enjoyed it the first time. I am confused by the before and after since this has been in a contest already and featured another two times.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/small-cool-2010/small-cool-2010-nicoles-perfect-pieces-little-division-26-114678
://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/house-tours/nicoles-house-tour-123379
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/small-cool-2010/small-cool-2010-nicoles-perfect-pieces-little-division-26-114678

It looks very nice, but I swear I will never understand the appeal of a cowhide rug. I enjoy steak, I own leather things, but neither of those are in the SHAPE of a dead cow's skin that I'm confronted with every time I look at it.

Probably hypocritical but just my opinion!

love it !

Just wondering what color the ceiling is...

Beautiful "pop" of pink flowers! Love the way you staged the accessories :)

Thank you all for your great comments! Really appreciate all the positive feedback! Here are a few answers to your questions & comments:

@pier723 @lrobgreene - the paint is Forde Abbey by Ralph Lauren Paints

For everyone who commented about the before & after photos - I actually agree with you that before & after photos can be misleading! I never actually had the idea of posting a before and after when these photos were taken though! The before photo was from when I was looking at apartments so it was taken before I even decided I wanted to live there - and it was the only before photo I had to work with! And as @downtowncook noticed, the before and after shots were taken from virtually the exact same spot & angle. My living room is smaller than it appears in the photo and there's really only one spot where you can stand to get a full view of the living room setup. The reason the after photo shows a bit more is because the person who took that photo for me had a much nicer camera with a wide angle lens so it was able to capture more of the room, hence the view of the second window. And obviously - the before photo was taken at night while the after was during the daytime. These were the best two photos I had to work with though and they definitely show two extremes!

@urbancricket - The lamps are by Robert Abbey from Lamps Plus online. And they definitely do not look like they came from walmart as one commenter suggested! The shades are silk, the base socket and finials are brass...definitely have a more refined look especially when you see them in person!

@Feng Shui At Work @slipperybrain77 - I rent so there isn't a ton I wanted to invest in really transforming the architecture of the space. I relied on textures, colors & interesting furnishings to give the space a feeling of warmth & style. Had I chosen really bad furniture and didn't have the layers to give the space more depth, it probably wouldn't have felt like much of a change! and @@Feng Shui At Work - everyone is certainly entitled to their own opinion! I respect different points of view and don't expect everyone to share my same taste or aesthetic.

@Snowdin - i tend to mostly buy flowers in the spring/summer although i do buy them year round. Mostly I get them from the corner bodegas and arrange them myself. These photos were taken for me in the summer of 09 and I definitely brought in flowers to help dress the space up a bit! Under normal circumstances i usually only have one arrangement on my coffee table and maybe one on my dining table.

@sherychery AMEN!

@greatkate - Not hypocritical at all! I think it's a matter of preference! I personally like the look but I know that a lot of people wouldn't exactly see it as PC!

@klt14 - I have no idea what the ceiling color is! It's the color that was on the walls when I moved in. I didn't want to painting the ceiling because I felt it was a big committment and necessary expense for a rental. Sorry I can't help you identify the paint color! I actually asked my lanlord if he knew and he didn't. I'm willing to bet it's some obscure paint brand that came from a local hardware store in my neighborhood.

It's a lovely room but, as another poster has pointed out, it's been featured before so I'm not sure why it's being featured again.

I'm a long timer reader of AT, and this is one of the prettiest rooms I've seen featured. Your patience in picking just the right pieces really paid off. It's a thoughtful room and edited very nicely.

How elegant! I do love a good before and after. The room definitely has that feeling of objects collected lovingly over time...

I like this a lot. It looks like a real person's house. I notice it was here:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/house-tours/nicoles-house-tour-123379

I think it's labeled before after because that is the theme of the month. It would have been better to add that this apt has been a favorite here (and with reason).

I like the cowhide rugs that are fashionable now. I think they add a warm and natural touch, like wood. A nice contrast with the metal -- metal is also natural, of course. Cowhides and sheepskins seem to link the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms. I only wish they weren't so comparatively expensive.

@snowdin: Do you live near a Trader Joe's? I think that's the best way to get fresh flowers into your home. I buy their smallest bouquet every other Saturday at the grocery store. It's $3.99, and they last an average of weeks. Wish that's what I spent on coffee! They really are pretty, but the bouquet is small. I fill it out a little bit with IKEA's white peonies. I have three and they are very fluffy. I mix them in with the real flowers, and they blend right in, but fill out the arrangement nicely.

Edit: 2 weeks!