Close Up: Denenge's Living Room-Turned-Work Studio

Speaking of doing without, this close-up profile of Denenge's Chicago "living/dining" room illustrates what she gave up in order to gain something else:

In addition to going without a traditional living room/dining room in order to have plenty of space to spread out and work (Denenge is an artist and designer), she also reduced the size of her apartment's largest room so that she could get organized: behind the white curtains are piles of fabrics, flat files, a small desk, and many, many ideas.

What are some traditional must-haves that you've decided not to have, resulting in a worthwhile compromise??

Comments (3)

i'm a design intern currently, & i gave up a couch for a drafting table. it sits in the living room, exactly where a couch should be... no regrets, i have plenty of space & views of the outside & t.v. to keep me motivated. also helps that it's a gorgeous new one from ikea.

posted by speckledwords on August 17th 2009 at 5:25pm
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Mmm. Love those lights.

posted by Cashew on August 18th 2009 at 12:41am
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Those lights are brilliant. I want to do that with my apartment's bare halogen bulbs.

I gave up a patio garden to have a pet rabbit. So far it's totally worth it.

posted by LaurelJRyan on August 18th 2009 at 7:19am
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