Name: Jen Selk & Nathan Kalman-Lamb
Location: Midtown — Toronto, Canada
Size: 2 bedrooms, 800 square feet
Years lived in: 2.5 years together, Nate for 5 — Rented

Jen and Nate's two bedroom Toronto apartment proves yet again that you needn't spend buckets of money to make a home function well, look beautiful, and reflect the unique personalities of its inhabitants. Even with a small budget, this couple's hard work has resulted in a space filled with striking visual impact and plenty of comfort.

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2011 was a great year for art. Whether we were showcasing talented artists, featuring our very own reader's art, discovering ways to DIY art and clever ways to display it — Re-Nest was full of visual inspiration. Check out some of our best art and artist related posts of the year:

TOP ROW
• 1 4 Ways To Make Your Own Wall Art
• 2 Handmade Artists and Artisans: 14 Reader Submissions
• 3 10 Upcycled Art Projects: If You Love It, Hang It!
• 4 Put a String on It: Inspirational String Art
• 5 Leaf Cut Art by Lorenzo Durán More

Bulletin boards are incredibly useful but often big eyesores. The solution? Cover them with fabric! Fabric is durable and porous, making them the perfect material to cover cork boards with their countless pins. Fabric's durability also makes it a great material to cover magnet boards, since sliding magnets could cause weaker coverings, like paper, to tear. Don't throw out dirty or worn bulletin boards! Beautify and extend its life with fabric instead. Read more for the how-to...

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Many urban dwellers, especially in cities like San Francisco and New York, must contend with long and often narrow hallways. Decorating such reedy, elongated spaces can be daunting. At worst, such corridors can resemble those in trains or boring motels. There are various ways one can transform long hallways by playing with scale and perspective so as to draw attention to the walls, the ceiling or the floor, thereby breaking up the monotonous expanse into smaller fragments.

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Here is a great use for spare bits of molding or old broken frames that you might have laying around or that can be found on the cheap at a local flea market or yard sale. Details in the Decor, a blog out of the South of France, is written by a frame maker who loves to share ideas about decorating, interior design, and of course, frame making. The goal is to be "creative with our home decor in an affordable and imaginative way." Here is what you will need to follow along with the project... More

While clusters of small frames and mirrors of varying styles and sizes can be very pretty, I do love what a large piece of artwork can do to a room. Paintings and photographs with bold colors and beautiful compositions can function almost like panels of dramatic wallpaper, which is especially welcome in more neutral rooms. More

Antique tramp art picture frames add a unique textural look to artwork and photos, but the craftsmanship demonstrated in the real thing makes them costly. This quick tutorial can show you how to get a similar look with inexpensive materials.

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Morgan wrote in to tell us about a DIY project she came up with. She wanted to accomplish the following: an interactive space where we could hang the newest family photos, display cards, show off his baby art (which you know we're suckers for) or write sweet love notes to our little man. More