apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

What a great space - I love the contrast of the bright white spaces with the dark walls, and the full-height bookshelves are wonderful.

I could live there just as it is, except for the bare lightbulbs in the main room...

Wow, if this was in the contest, it'd be the winner - hands down. It's fantastic!

Also, may I just point out that the first shot is HOW at least one picture entered into the competition should look. It gives an idea of how the place is laid out without even really needing the floor plan. I even know where the bedroom and ensuite bathroom is just from that picture.

This is one of my favorite apartments of all time. I have it marked in my "Apartment Living" book and am constantly referring back to it for inspiration. One day, one day...

I don't know. It's nice, but it isn't blowing me away.

i adore the kitchen, i love shelves in the kitchen. i think i would do my kitchen this way since i'm not a big fan of hanging cabinets.

Fantastic -- I love the industrial look of the library ladder and the mirror is just perfect.

Incredible space!! Ive been wanting to hang lights like the ones in the first picture, just a lightbulb and a cord. Does anyone know where i can find just the cord that looks exactly like that? (i love that it is black, not clear or beige)

Does anyone know where one can find something like the low, red, metal, locker-like credenza on the left wall in the first pic? I *love* it.

Caroline K, I think those are these Ikea cabinets in red. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40100192

or extremely similar..

Agreed... one of my favs EVER! This seems feasible for the average person, too. A couple cans of paint should do it for the walls. And, instead of the real Saarinen or Eames- maybe IKEA chairs.

Thanks for the continued inspiration!

I don't like how the first thing mentioned is the type of things owned in all the apartments shown here. I honestly don't care if someone uses an Eames chair or a $19.99 Wal-Mart special. It doesn't make their space better.

really nice....open airy and bright. particularly the ceiling height windows and the ceiling height doorways without doors (barndoors/sliders/pockets for all of you who want more privacy).

i'm not a curtain fan (they're dusty and disease prone) but these, at least, disappear and are open.

the colors are spot on and repeat around the space. the vintage furniture looks like it was acquired over time and edited.....and most of it can be found at flea markets, ebay, or craigslist.

one of the best for me. if he was in sf instead of paris, if i was building, and if i had the budget (BIG IFs granted), i'd hire him.

Love it.

Looks like a very personal space every piece seems to have lived in the space forever... not a space full of this designer and that designer for name sake only.I think thats what I like the most.

chic color choices. i like!

i especially like the dining niche in the kitchen.

Katrina58, here's a light that's similar to the one in the apartment, from a company called Rejuvenation. I've never ordered from them, so I can't vouch for them but it might be what you're looking for.

http://www.rejuvenation.com/fixshowC100/templates/selection.phtml

Absolutely beautiful!

i remember when this issue came out. this was perfect all around.

can't read french so i wonder if those are generic industrial shelving or designer?

the extremely large windows( bright) plays a big role in making the colors look great. It's good the architect saw that and not make this place super sterile and white.

Love the use of space, it looks spacious even though it is a small space. The natural sunlight and high ceilings with the open floor plan really help. Great photos!

Karen

my favorite of the contest thus far...he should enter.

I like the bedroom the best, and the way he's arranged the space overall.

I thought the narrow table in the kitchen was brilliant but the color scheme and open shelving were my least favorite part of the apt.

The spaces themselves seem cold, sterile and uncomfortable, and a bit cluttered. Aside from the orange chair in the bathroom I didn't see a single chair I'd want to sit in. I'm not a fan of this decorating style.

thanks, sweetheart!

I love this place. The use of dark colours in the bathroom and kitchen is daring and works. The layout is well thought out and has a great flow and I want most of the furniture in the place.

Very nice, I like it a lot!

What a useful posting. This site should share and enlighten. i think that's part of why we all look at these house tours. What can we borrow or adapt? That way, we are all able to "stand on the shoulders of giants." (First to Bernard of Chartres in the 12th Century, according to Wikepedia.)

I like the staircase ladder and the wooden boxes in the kitchen. Everything else is meh.
I am so sick of eames furniture...thanks to AT.

Will chalkboard paint get me that same lovely dark hue in the kitchen?

I've seen this (great) apartment on so many magazines I could probably draw a map of it!

Those high ceilings will sway anyone to love a space.

Does anyone know who made the kitchen table?
I am trying to find a great slender dining table for a 6' 8" wide dining/foyer.

I like the feel of the space overall -- the light and the books and the general unpretentiousness and "undecorated" look (I mean that the chairs don't all match, it's not all white, and I bet if I took off my shoes and left them on the floor it wouldn't ruin the "look" -- any apartment of mine's going to have to meet that test). I don't especially like the black wall in the kitchen, though, and I regret the lack of colors and "pretty things" and patterns and artwork throughout.

Sorry, but the comment about "and that looks like a Philippe Starck chair in the bathroom!", following the comments about "there's one Saarinen, one Eames and one black chair from (wherever it was)" are exactly what I don't like about certain kinds of evaluations of decoration. It's like totaling up coolness points. How cool is this guy? Well, let's see, he's got an Eames and a Starck . . .

First of all, it's pretentious. What if he had anonymous chairs he'd found in the street? Would the apartment be less appealing?

Then, some of us who grew up in the '50s/'60s grew up with Eames chairs and other '50s icons and are pretty underwhelmed by these things. They get no coolness points from me; they're totally ordinary (and, frankly, are what I'm trying to get away from). Things are not automatically "good design" just because they're from the '50s. It depends on whether the chairs are comfortable or not. Some of those chairs are and some aren't. So, please, a little less snobbery!

Sorry, Maxwell -- I did appreciate your analysis of what made the apartment work apart from the dropping of brand names.

Great place!!
Katrina, here's another option for the hanging lights:
http://www.sundancecatalog.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=11917&itemType=PRODUCT&iProductID=11917

To Maxwell's defense, "dropping brand names" isn't necessarily a sign of snobbery. If you recognize something on the picture (especially "classic stuff"), you'd say it, wouldn't you? (even IKEA or West Elm, which at has already done).

This is really inspiring. Love the whole concept, but I especially love the Kitchen. Bravo!

miaedu, don't know if the shelves are designer or stock shelving, but I found similiar at shelving-online.com. A 48" x 12" x 7' unit with board shelves runs less than $100, so a wall full of shelving can be had for pretty cheap.

What a beautiful, harmonious space. I love the use of dynamic changes in tone and light to create tranquility and energy.

But what, exactly, is the objection to mentioning designer's names in this context or even to "showing off" such pieces? We've all seen vapid designer rooms furnished from a show-room floor, but that's not the case here.

Here, those designers have been selected carefully and used judiciously in compliment to the other objects, which include Ikea, found pieces, etc. Those names are in the pantheon of timeless design for good reason, and these rooms demonstrate why. Certainly, pieces from Wal-Mart can serve important roles, but must we bear the delusion that it's a purveyor of great design? Would you go onto a budget-living blog and object when Target is mentioned but not Kartell?

Dismissing good taste by means of plebeian sanctimony is no less pretentious than affecting good taste by means of a DWR catalog and a large credit line.

I have loved this apartment for a while now. It's on the cover of a book I own "The New Apartment: Smart Living in Small Spaces"

everyone should know what it's like to live in black like this once in their life. cuz the rest of it is all easy neutrals.
very nice.

Hi all, love the space. Anyway, does anyone know a good place to buy book shelves and a ladder like that? Am thinking of building a similar bookshelf at my loft. Thanks.

Its amazing how so much has been accommodated in 613 sq ft area. I believe breaking down the walls was a great idea. It gives you so much more freedom to design.

I have to have this library ladder!!! I've been doing a bit of research and can't seem to find this type of non-rolling/fixed ladder. I know others have asked but I figured I would too since I'm desperate---any advice or leads?

613 square feet is considered tiny? since when?

613sf has been considered tiny since the size of the avg. american home swelled to 2500sf (or whatever it is).

would any one know where i could find a similar style cafe table as this orange one? i've only been able to find one other online, and the lines are bulky. i'm looking for one with thinner, sleeker lines. thanks for any help!

anyone know anything about that sofa? looking for a loveseat identical to that one....

Does anyone know where I can find the ladder?

I love the bathroom and kitchen. The black paint in the kitchen works wonders in opening the space.

I don't know if this apartment is rented or owned but think if the owner replaced the narrow strip floors with some wide planks the eye would be tricked into thinking it is a larger space. It also allows the wood to be a key player in the room rather than the seams between the boards giving it a more organic look to contrast with the clean lines of the furniture.

This is another "small" space which isn't really all that small and it benefits greatly from the high ceilings. I would love to see an ongoing feature about places which are truly "tiny" (350 sq. feet or less) as opposed to faux tiny. It's a bit like saying the average mansion is small because the Taj Mahal is so much bigger than it.

Yes, the average American home is large, but that doesn't translate into a large apartment somehow being "tiny". I'm guessing really small places are rarely featured because they present true challenges and don't look as good because space can't be left as empty for aesthetic reasons.

That galley style kitchen design is perfect for such a small space and the furniture gives the impression of a very laid back environment which I really like.

These are just some great examples of how to make the most of limited space and just shows you don't need a mansion to create a really pleasant home.

katrina58, you can get a whole fixture with bare cord from both Rejuvenation and Schoolhouse Electric here in Portland...the Rejuv cord is fatter but more cloth-looking and I think theirs is UL-approved, the Schoolhouse cord is thinner and more synthetic but may look more authentic since it's thinner...until recently, Rejuv's main store in Portland had a light restoration shop in the building, where you could approach the re-wiring guy (Kevin) with questions but now he/it has been moved to their NW Portland facility where they build fixtures...at the shop desk they'd sell all kinds of raw materials for customizing your own lights, not sure if those cords were offered...both companies have several choices of canopy/escutcheon where it's mounted at ceiling, both ceramic (very old-style) and metal in lots of finishes, plus some choice over the bulb-holder style...I did a kitchen remodel with these cord fixtures, with the Rejuv twist-key bulb holder, and they have cute old-fashioned screw-on collars that clamp on the bulb holder to allow a 2-1/4" shade fitter

It does, in fact, matter if your stuff is Eames or is WalMart special.

Or rather - it matters if your furnishings are well made, good quality, and suited to your needs, or if they are cheap, temporary solutions.

Good design solves problems. The Eames office chairs solves the problem of having a comfortable, ergonimically suited, non-officy looking chair in a small space.

It is not design snobbery to acknowledge what these products are and how they contribute. In fact, I think its kind of the reverse. In smaller spaces, and simpler spaces, every little detail counts, and having good quality and well designed pieces can often mean the difference between your space looking like the architects home above - or a college dorm room.