apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

LOVE the chartreuse, especially in the kitchen.
also, that blue chair in the living room is wonderful.

Yeah, seconding the green in the kitchen, esp. that tea kettle. Also the chair in the living room.

I like the stack of blue books against the orange wall. Very clever!

I like the retro furniture against the bright colors. It makes the old stuff look fresh and the more modern elements appear more grounded.

wait - they have lofts in indiana? who knew!

Um... am I the only one who harbors a disdainful view of those that use books solely for decorative purposes? I mean really...who groups their books by color of the binding?

Kudos, though, for using lots of actual artwork instead of generic prints! :-D

I can tell that cool people live here. My favorite is the bedroom shot, and I love a home with lots of books.

LOVE the blue chair in the living room.

i personally see nothing wrong with books as decoration. are they only to go in your 'library'? i have my favorites out in the living areas to encourage guests to peruse them and coincidently the covers and subjests go with my decor. your decor reflects your tastes and likes so why wouldn't books fall in that category as well. if you happen to have an extensive collection why not group them by color and get an extra punch out of them. i'm not for books strickly as a decorative element by which i mean someone buys books they think are stylish and fan them out on the coffee table for status. but if you own them because you love them why not show them off?

Who cares how people group their books?? Why is this such a point of contention on this site always?

Books are great but they are NOT sacred relics or woks of art (most, anyways). Let people arrange them however they {darn} well please.

ps- Looove that blue chair!

Where did you find those chairs? Love them...

Ooh, what a spiffy space. The bedroom is doing nothing for me, though - it's just not gelling like the other rooms are.

that blue chair made my heart skip a beat! so gorgeous against the orange wall. as for the color-coded books, i will chime in to say that while i am generally anti, it does suit your look. well-played!

way to represent lafayette! we just moved here in august and i haven't had a chance to paint our apartment yet-thinking over thanksgiving. glad to know there are other style conscious apartment dwellers in town!

I generally dig what you've got going on - I especially like the umbrella painting - but I can't get past that Cosby-sweater of a bedspread. How about just a solid duvet? Or some horizontal pinstripes? The tie-dye thing is really detracting from other nice elements in the room.

Also, the stair rail might look nicer with rungs instead of that solid corrugation, I think it could open the space up. But that has nothing to do with this contest.

Love the gray-blue chair against the pumpkin wall.

side note: if you know and love your book collection (as I'm sure most of us do) and you organize it yourself, according to whatever system you choose, then you should be able to find and retrieve your books easily. so why not group them by color? it sure looks cool.

I absolutely LOVE the Orange. What color and maker is it?

Is it just me, or does it feel like a lot of rooms are playing safe with a single-colour palette (see kitchen). I love the blue chair against the orange wall - perfect use of complementary colours - but monotones just don't see spectacular.

(I'm not wanting to single out this entry - I've seen it in a lot of entries and its getting to me. Play! Mix! Have fun with colour!)

I want your KitchenAid mixer...

i know about twenty people said this already but... I love that blue chair.

p.s. i also organize my books by the spine color.

I love the orange wall. It's very vibrant and gives the room cheerful energy.

But could someone please post a few lines on WHY that blue chair is so loved? Every time I come across another "I love the blue chair" comment, I scroll back up to take another look at the chair and try to figure out what the fuss is all about, ...but I still don't get it.

I love the green kitchen, so inspiring, where did you find the little green rug? That teapot is awesome!

I GROUP MY BOOKS BY COLOR. IT IS MUCH MORE VISUALLY APPEALING THAN A HAPHAZZARD LOOK.

I really like the way everything is laid out on the orange wall. The framing of the pictures and how they are placed next to each other seems to work very well. The ladder also helps frame out the space. I'm having trouble deciding whether I'd rather cozy up in that blue chair or be across the room so I can look at the view you've created in that space!

Great, alishajune. Why do you have to shout about it?

I love the first shot! It's a very effective use of a bold colour, that manages not to overwhelm. I'm coveting that blue armchair and ottoman. I just don't get the arranging books by colour fad though. I prefer a jumbly looking, but logically arranged bookshelf myself.

What pretty bedding. I would paint the kitchen and bedroom walls. Go Indiana!

Thanks for all the great comments! We love finding new ways to outfit our space on a grad student and artist budget- the blue chair is from an awesome store in Iowa City, Iowa called Artifacts, just one of those finds that we had to have! We love the 50's tapered legs and the interesting shape of the splayed out arms.

We go back and forth about the book arrangement too, but we seem to like this current way for the aesthetic value of it- but of course it makes it tricky to find the book you are looking for if you don't remember what color the spine is! The books are all totally functional and while they are a bit of an obsession, they will continue to be in an arrangement where we can use them everyday!

The bedding is a handmade quilt by Mark's mom- we love it for its abstract quality (designed especially for us!) and of course the love that went into making it. I think painting the bedroom is next!

Thanks again for all the awesome comments!

-shelby

What color Orange is that, newportbaker??

It is "poppy glow" that we listed as our favorite paint! We love it, but a tinted primer was a must!

Nice. Really, super nice. Highest marks from me.

What I love about this space is that the colors echo from room to room. In some of the contest entries you see a pink room, a green room, a blue room, an orange room . . . here there's reference and cross reference. I think it's really successful. Congratulations!

Nice space. It seems natural: not forced.

I too had to scroll back up and see what the blue chair fuss was all about. :) It just looks comfy and worn...which in my opinion is a GOOD thing! I could definitely get down with lounging in it. LOVE the Poppy Glow paint as well. You said tinted primer...any specific brand or tint? I'm not familiar with tinted primer. Maybe it's just a simple thing but thought I'd ask.