apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Well done!

What a simple yet oh-so-effective solution.

Congrats!

MUCH better!

looks great, you should take down that picture and those chochkies though.

Super ~ great improvement.

Also loving the white-ed window sills.
And the plants.
And the pops of red, black & turquoise.

Ok, and the sunlight.

the picture and vases look fine. it looks much more cohesive now, well done.

Totally better, and yeah, that big picture on the column is sort of, uh...big. Do you really need it?

Good job!

agree-- love, love the result but hate the awkward picture and tchotchkes.

Love the picture but the tchotchkes ciould be overkill. Great solution.

Wow, much better. Amazing what a difference a small change can make to a space!

Hey, you painted the window frame white. Big improvement. The wood frame looked unfinished.

The drywall turned out to be a lovely, inexpensive solution.

I'm amazed by the huge difference it makes! BTW, I like the picture & tchotchkes.

Much better...great job.

amaaaazing transformation on the column- most impressive when minimal work reaps big change :)

Looks muuuch better!
Where did you get your loveseat?

OOH NICE!

Thanks for the many comments! We were amazed at what a difference it made, too. In addition to the column build we painted out all the woodwork a rich buttery cream. We're so happy with the results and can now focus our attention (and budget!) on other projects.

The bird picture on the square column looks fantastic in person, to my eyes, but does photograph a bit "big". The main living area of the apartment is one large space, with lots of art and color throughout. Because the kitchen is sort of tucked away, there can be a real lack of color balance, which is why that bird print is there. And it ties in all the colors we use throughout the house so I like that it has a prominent spot. In front is our collection of midcentury teak candleholders. Sometimes they're on the table but since the cats like to sleep on the table and knock the candleholders out of their way, I keep them on the counter most of the time. I was so excited about sharing our column solution I didn't stage my shot; on the other hand, I'm not a minimalist. I'm more of an Eames modernist - they had a boatload of tchotchkes and their house looks like magic to me.

^Auburny: The loveseat came from the Broadway Antique Market in Chicago (Edgewater), one of my favorite sources of inspiration.

I'm always ready with critical barbs, but I have to disagree with a lot of the comments here: I love your sensibility re: the picture and the candle holders.

much better!!! nice job. :)

I think the picture would look better on the empty wall to the right of the window. Just my two cents. :o)

so much better now!

It looks much better - I was hoping it wasn't taken out completely somehow because the idea of it was nice.

It's hard to say how much is the column reno and how much is the new paint and furniture arrangement. Either way, your place looks fabulous.

So much better. Well done!

(But the next time you throw a toga party...)

it looks fabulous!

i dig it! nice kitchen too

its nice to see the follow up pics! looks a lot better :)

I love seeing the after pictures!

You people who want to move the picture or take it down are just wrong. The picture creates the slightest of boundaries between the living and kitchen spaces, without creating a barrier. It works from the perspective of the living room, and gives a bit of visual interest to the kitchen. Without it, the eye travels baaaaack, baaaaack, baaaaack--all the way to the cabinets, which, while lovely, aren't so wonderful that a touch of color and dimension would offend the space. If the eye is going to do so much work, it ought to be worth it. The cabinets aren't worth it. Stopping at the picture and candlesticks is worth it and shows off the natural light, not the shadowy kitchen.

Take your finger and block out the beam entirely. Look how much more sterile the space looks. Now agree with me. Repent!

Also, I'm glad to see that hideous hanging light fixture has apparently found its way out of your home.

Thebradseed, you said it! The bird picture serves an important visual purpose (that is maybe more apparent in person), in addition to just being really lovely in its own right. It does slow the eye, which is useful in what is essentially a 35' living space. It's also useful in keeping the eyes out of the kitchen if it's a bit messy.

We were so thrilled to take that awful light fixture down. *shudder* For about 5 minutes I entertained the notion of putting it on eBay or Craigslist but that would have required keeping it in the house until somebody came to get it, so it found a resting place out back near the dumpster, where I'm sure it made somebody very happy.

Callithrix,

Maybe I should be in design, not law, huh?