apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I think the best small spaces are the ones that are like chameleons: living rooms by day; and bedrooms by night.

I would lose both the loveseat and the bed and get a high-end futon. Futons aren't all the unfinished soft-pine frames and paper-thin mattresses you find at Ikea. For the cost of a modest couch (I did it for about $700), you can find a groovy, stylish, hard-wood frame, a top-of-the-line mattress, and a modern futon cover.

Do that and, presto!, you have a hip living room with a grown-up piece of furniture as the centerpiece when you need a living room, and a very comfy bed at night when the world is safely tucked away outside your door.

A square or collapsible dining table would also probably fit your small space a bit better better. And if there's any way on earth you can get the fridge out of the living area (even if it means getting a smaller fridge for the kitchen), I'd do that, too.

I dont know how big that closet is, either. But I'd bet if you installed a closet organizing system in there, you could lose that large, space-eating dresser, too.

I love the small desk, it's big enough to use and small enough to fit. But in a world of laptops, do you really need that big, chunky computer tower hogging up space on the floor? Trade up to a mobile computer and a wireless network, and feel how much bigger your space feels--especially when you can take your laptop into the kitchen to follow a recipe you've saved on there, or into bed to watch a DVD.

Most of all, your ceilings are wondrously high (they sure beat my 8-foot 1-inch ceilings!) Three words: shelving, shelving, shelving. Concrete walls just mean you need a percussion drill (just like in my apartment--although those 3M adhesive hooks work miracles!), and the lead paint means nothing as long as you don't eat it. You aren't talking about asbestos. These aren't roadblocks fastening hardware to your walls (and I'm sure you can find someone on craigslist to help you out if you don't have the tools).

You've got a great start, so good job. I actually like the loveseat and, as someone who spent 6 years living in studios, am all for keeping a bed just for sleeping (makes it easier to shut off and relax).
My suggestions: make your dresser a little more warm/exciting by buying some cool pulls for the drawer. They won't cost much. For another few dollars, you can even buy a coordinating one for the adjacent closet door. Might help to unite it a little. Target, home depot are great for basic options.
As far as the rest of the room, have you considered any sort of a translucent neutral-colored curtain as a room divider? Maybe just for the length of the bed? I've never used one, but I've seen some gorgeous photos of some. It would be just enough to still let the light through, but still divide the space effectively.
And finally - I don't know how dearly you love the lime green table ... it's a cool piece, but it seems alone in its color saturation in an otherwise neutrally shaded room. Me, I'd toss a warm/muted color tablecloth on it.
Good luck!

Any reason why the bed couldn't be turned 90* up against the wall (so the head is by the window)? It looks like there is a heater there, but as long as you are a bit of a ways away from it you should be ok. Either way, I might consider turning the couch so the back of it is to your bed. While it looks nice against the wall, you would have a better separation of space.

I would also see if I could fit the desk against the window, leaving the CD rack and as much of the paper shredder etc. under it to save space (and I would turn the bookshelf, but it looks to wide and would probably block some window space). Especially if you were able to turn your bed I think it would help with a separation of space even more.

I know they are a bit old fashioned, but a bed skirt might help to hide some of the clutter that always ends up under beds.

Above the dresser I would do a larger mirror, about twice the height of the one you have now, to take advantage of the tall ceilings you have now.

I like the table but I would get rid of it if you can't fit it in the kitchen (and aren't super attached to it), and instead replace it with a coffee table or ottoman (which could double as seating)- one with an extendable height would be nice, but is not at all necessary. You would still have a table high place to eat if you want to (your desk), but it is easy enough to eat on the couch- that is where I always end up even though I have a table in my studio's kitchen (which I have never used).

no! keep that table! the green is so yummy! my eyes feel so happy looking at it.

First of all I think your place looks pretty great already, especially the bottom photograph. You just need to expand the feel of the bottom photograph to the rest of the space, and you are golden. Also, I have to say that the old school phone and the wooden clock are awesome and should be displayed more prominently! And the poster needs a frame.

Speaking of the poster: if you like the colors in the O'Keefe poster (and you must, since you were trying to match pillows for it), I would use the deep vibrant red and the lights/beige/whites of your couch/dresser/bed/carpeting as your color scheme and match everything else to it. I think it has potential - lipstick red, dark red, white and beige. If you want to keep the green table, I'd suggest repainting it a vibrant red to match the poster and getting some small scarlet rectangular pillows for the loveseat.

I also agree with midnightfibers that you could reorient the couch to stand before the bed, both to cover the bed and make it less of a focal point in the room (the couch in front of the bed will also help with the underbed clutter coverup). If you are willing to paint your furniture, then the bookshelf and the table would look cleaner in white. And you really need more closed door storage to stash away all of the life's mismatched essentials. Another potential idea is to get simple, unadorned white gauzy curtains (Ikea has them) and hanging them to separate the bed space from the couch space. They need to be very light wight so that they do not cover up much light, but mostly provide structural separation. Conversely, with more money available, narrow tall-ish white shelving (WITH DOORS) could be used too. They would also provide storage. If you are looking for a coffee table - I would go with either a glass/mirror or plexiglass/transparent variety.

Oh yeah, another thing - adding some sort of legs to the white dresser would make it seem lighter and less bulky.

Thank you so much for great ideas! Lllacy, I think you're so right about the green table. Although I love the color and the table by itself, the room would be more cohesive if it was more neutral. What color should I go with?

I love the idea of getting cool pulls and legs for the drawer. Any ideas about the design of the pulls? and where can I get legs? Should they match?

I went on a trip to IKEA with friends this past weekend and got lamps with brown shades by the couch. I think they look alright. I might get rid of the green pillows on the bed and make the whole room more neutral.

I couldn't change the placement of the bed because I'm really adamant about the headboard being against a solid wall for good feng shui. Also it's important for me to have a dining table. Eating on the couch or at the desk just doesn't feel right to me. I have the fridge and the dining table in the room because I have a tiny kitchenette. I'll experiment with putting the couch against the bed.

Two words - office armoire. That way you could hide all of the computer stuff, books, and cds, which would open up a ton of visual space. I really like the idea of using red for your accent color. Keep looking - you will find pillows that go with the picture. Also what about a nice frame for the picture to make it really pop and some window treatments. Other than that my only idea is to clean and get rid of or hide the clutter. Bed skirt for the bed to hide the stuff that's stored underneath, boxes for the stuff on top of the dresser - that sort of thing. Good luck.

This house tour shows a similar shape of room. I really loved the way the girl dealt with, keeping access to her big bright windows without losing her sofa or her bed. You'd be able to satisfy your feng shui requirements and would also win some extra, subtle storage space.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/house-tours/the-inside-out-dante-makes-it-happen-012629

I'm with Mike, all his suggestions are right on the spot (Though I don't know about the shelves, because that'll just encourage MORE clutter). Besides the lack of space, what makes this apt look dingy is the wall to wall carpet. Also all that media, really, TRY your hardest to digitalize it and get rid of it. (Yes, just like the AT book says people!) Choose ONLY ONE CLOCK, according to feng-shui, many clocks remind you of your own mortality and are therefore inauspicious. Frame that print, or even think about making it into a cushion or find something similar at Target to use as a comforter (Isaac Mizrahi anyone?). It's all about very few wonderful and committed accents instead of thousands of wimpy and half-assed choices.

I like your apartment but I think it's suffering from 2 things, lack of color and nothing eye catching. Everything is very neutral and all your furniture and accessories are very standard, small and boring. I think you need to add color. I like your red poster and I think you should use that as a starting point. Get it framed so it looks special. Paint the green table red. Paint your desk and shelf red. Change your bed linens to something with color. I like the idea of adding feet to your dresser. I think you can buy feet at any home improvement store, like lowes. I'd go a little more fancy with knobs and check out Anthropologie. I'd also look for some sort of accessories at Anthropologie, something you really love, even if it's a jewelry box or a nice frame. I'd get rid of your white rugs, they aren't doing anything for the space. I'd hang curtains, maybe sheers unless you want less light. You have some clutter issues too. Maybe some nice boxes to hide CDs in or something. You need some nice lamps. Check out TJ Maxx or Target, get something special with color, not some standard every house lamps. I think you should paint the wooden part of your bed white and/or use a bedskirt or get a new bed that has a headboard. Stop buying white stuff and don't buy anything else unless it's very special to you. Special pillows, special comforter, special throw blanket, special mirror, special boxes, everything should matter and be lovely.

I'd go with some bold throw pillows on the couch as well as some bold accent pieces around the place. I love a plain white pallet like you have because it's so easy to pick any color scheme to go with it. You've got two great colors going with the green and red, just don't make it look too Christmas-y.

I'd try to find a way to hide all the stuff like the trash bin, and the various things around the computer. Just getting that stuff out of the way visually makes the room look cleaner and bigger. You've also got a lot of great wall space, so why not try and make the most use out of it by creating some shelves and getting the books and cd's off the floor. It will create more interest and more space in your small space.

I would find a way to move the computer from the foot of the bed. That would make me antsy to have the office essentially in the bedroom. Maybe switch where you have the drawers and the desk? Not sure if it's possible space-wise. I also like the office armoire suggestion, but not sure if you have the space between the foot of the bed and wall to make it functional. Also, how big is the kitchenette? IKEA has some cool tables that fold one leaf against the wall, and you can leave the other out for eating, and then fold it down when you are done. You'd also have the option of pulling out the full table if you ever have people over for dinner. This might let you take the dining table out of the living space and give you some room for shifting stuff around.

Well, I know what you feel like as I just moved into my first studio and am moving stuff around etc. But I do think that FLOORS make a difference too. Getting a really bright fun colored rug can change the whole room. I agree everything seems "beige" and muted.

I would also love to see some window treatments, like some great curtains on a curtain rod.

What I liked to do to decide a color scheme is to go to Home Depot or Lowes and grab a bunch of color swatches. Not to paint,----but to pick out colors that I like that I can match pillows and blankets and rugs etc. to. For example I did a light Tiffany Robin Egg blue with Chocolate brown and it worked!

I agree too with Lillacy that I like having my bed be a bed. There are some days you want to just lay and crash on your own bed and sleep. Not pull out the bed, make the futon INTO a bed, then sleep.

I also can't recommend BLIK MORE!!! They are super fun and easy and can really make a room a statement.

www.whatisblik.com

Easy and simple and gets your creativity flowing! I bought the vines, and arranged them randomly on the wall. No more white boring walls!