apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Very nice use of colour and nice details in fabric. Cosy and cheerful!

This is my style! Very pretty! It makes me happy to see someone using the Ikea Fintorp legs.

But what is that little room to the bottom right of the floorplan? Did I miss something?

super cool! and it looks like you really live here!

on a weird, random note, this is the second home in SuperCool 08 that has the "Keep Calm, Carry On" poster (this one on the fridge)...

I really like this..very colorful! Great job!

You had me at "bedroom fort." Adorable. Where did you get your white mirror? Jewelry branch on fridge?
Ditto the question of the missing room.

bethanylemony - it's also the second one in the contest with those leafy curtains. !!!

(and probably other stuff we've already seen)

oh i KNEW id seen those curtains somewhere! well, i guess its bound to happen!

Pteetsa and jen_g: I believe that's a "walk-through" closet. They're pretty common on the east coast, actually.

I was wondering where your bed was until I realized that couch is a day bed! Very tiny, but so cheerful (and I love the curtains too)

You pulled this together on a tight budget at age 22? Imagine how you'll be living in 10 years. Excellently done!

I agree with Chris. Very impressive!

I feel like the Keep Calm poster is the Where's Waldo? element of this competition. Can you spot it in this apartment? How about in this one? And so on.

I think the jewelry tree is from Ikea: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60096250

I like the print in the bathroom. I have a mirror with almost the same frame...I think it would look much nicer like yours as a picture frame than a mirror.

This place is kitschy and adorable! I love the details and playfulness. Super Cool!

The only thing I'm wondering is that I see two places for eating (counter and table) but no extra comforable seats for guests/lounging. It almost seems it would be better to downsize the table and add a small side chair.
Otherwise, love the use of color, the organization by color in the book shelf and the magazines on top the cabinets. You've successfully managed to do what some other entries haven't...turned practical storage into something pleasant to look at.

Yep, I love the reference to your childhood fort. That's how I feel about my place, but it's so cool to be able to fit a sofa and bed in it! Lovely little home!

want!

A "Super Cool" from a fellow 22 year old in the midwest!

I love this apartment! Completely the opposite of my style....but I can really appreciate the playful twist that the space has. In particular, I enjoyed how the bookcase was organized via color (I think I will have to try this, actually). I also think people should always include some sort of table in their living spaces....there are many things in life that are much more pleasurable when you have a table to do them on. Bravo to everything.

Blythe here.
Wow -- thanks for all of your comments, everyone! I love coming home to this space everyday, so I'm glad that its happy vibe comes off in the images. To answer some of your questions,

Jules is right-- the little room is my closet, which if I make it to the finals you will be seeing more of. I tried to show as much of the apartment as possible but it's tough with only five images.

jen-g, the mirror is from west elm, the jewelry branch is from IKEA (it comes in lots of other colors!).
And yes, the couch is a daybed. I have a big bin in my closet where I store my linens. The pillows come off at night. It took some getting used to, but I was adamant about not having a futon in sight!

first5times, the bathroom print is by Alyson Fox, from Keep Calm...it's where the ubiquitous keep calm postcard on the fridge came from ;)

As far as the familiar objects, for instance the IKEA curtains, I think that's the tradeoff you make with a small budget.
It's really hard to put together an "original" space when you're shopping at popular places like IKEA (even DWR fans may have this problem). I wanted Josef Frank curtains, but I
think these work just as well, for a fraction of the price.

Enamorada, I agree with you about the comfortable seating issue...it is a concern of mine too. I'm both sad and excited to say that I'm moving (to NYC!) later this summer so it will definitely be a project for my future apartment.

Thanks again for all of your wonderful comments...and for any future commenters, I am open to constructive criticism, my home is a work in progress.

i'm trying to refrain from saying things like "splendidly cheerful, leafy, effortless chic, great" but can't.

Fantastic! We're excited to welcome you to NY...where your skills at pulling together a small space will come in handy once again.

I think this is wonderful! what a lovely, livable home, without a high-end piece in sight it still manages to have tons of style. I love seeing the big $$ architecture and furnishings on this site, but its these entries that are really inspiring and get my vote.

This is just really adorable. A very cozy chic home that seems bigger than it is. On a random note, where did you get that adorable yellow and white purse??

I like the Fornasetti chairs and shameless shiny trash bin. Cool place.

Now for a somewhat off-topic question: How does sorting books by colour work when you want to find a specific book? It seems to me you'd have to remember what colour each book is, (a truly impressive feat!) or else go through all of them until you find the one you're looking for. Every time.

your place is tiny! great use of space!

Very bright and sweet.

LOVE this.

I WANT THAT DAYBED!!!

Love your home!!

What's the story behind that cool 'B' sitting on the back of the toilet? I MUST have one :)

The three bar stools are lovely (and from spain). Never seen them affordably in europe though :(

THis is a little to Ikea for me, and not in a good way. Ikea needs to be used sparingly and creatively (as in the curtains) or else it tends to look a little cheapy (as in the fake saarinen table). Other than that its lovely, but simple - not crazily in the "cool" area yet.

btw, i sort of love the familiar objects...it just goes to show peoples personalities that much more when dealing with a few of the same budget restrictions/sources.

:)

It's a great use of a small space as far as furniture arrangement is concerned. I agree with some of the above commenters about it being too "Ikea-y" but I feel like that's an personal taste and not what this contest is about (I also understand being 22 and on a budget).

Your use of color is lovely- the little splashes everywhere make it unnecessary for you to paint your walls. It works well because the colors are cohesive, rather than having every color in the rainbow represented everywhere.

I love those curtains so much, I've often thought of redecorating my living room to make them fit in.

Your place is fantastic. One of the best.

In this age of sprawling McMansions...

Nice cliche, Blythe. Where did you get it?

Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the snark today, eh, Bland? :)

Blythe, love the place, and really jealous of your lack of cluttery stuff. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go get rid of about half a billion books.

Hi Blythe--love your name BTW (was my mom's middle name)
I think your place is adorable, but I also think you could make it more inviting...

Have you ever tried moving your daybed so the back is just in front of the drapes? You could then use those cool lamps on either side (books make great end tables if you have enough) making a comfy place to read...(and freeing up counter space)

I love the Fornasetti chairs--you could move those to sit facing the sofa/daybed, with the coffee table between--this would give you both a conversation space for friends, and you could (as we often do) use the coffee table for casual meals...I think the round table is too big for your tiny (adorable space).

last year, someone from AT suggested that I move my bedroom furniture in an arrangement that I hadn't thought of--I gave it a try just for fun, and found it really changed the whole feeling of the room--

good luck in NY!

Loulou

just took another look--could you use the green storage boxes for end tables?? They make the bar seem a little crowded where they are :)

One more thought--If you don't want to get rid of your round table, you might be able to put it in the area where your cool red locker is, and move the locker to where the bed is currently sitting...I think that red would look great closer to the black/ivory chairs.

Thanks once more about your comments everyone...they are much appreciated!
to respond again to a few questions:

robinm, the purse is a cheapo bag from Target. I use it to hold my dish towels and napkins.

ahmed, I struggled over the color-coding thing myself. I'm a big reader, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find anything. Luckily I'm a really visual person and I have a good memory for what my books look like, in addition to what they contain.

moni-ka, glad you like the B...I got it at Anthropologie. They have all of the letters of the alphabet, in different patterns. I was thrilled that the B happened to match my yellow and orange bathroom.

Modfan, I quite agree with you on the Ikea issue. It was extremely frustrating for me when I started putting my apartment together because I had a very clear idea of what I wanted but my budget was extremely limiting. I tried to go the
vintage route with furniture but what I found was either too expensive or not my taste. I did the best I could within my circumstances (and was lucky to get a few things on loan from my parents) and in light of that, I'm happy with the overall look. Thanks for your comment, though.

Lol rockypondgirl -- I have about half a million books myself. The great thing about the expedit bookcase is its depth - a lot of the shelves have double stacks! That's my secret...

Loulou, thanks so much for your comments about my layout. I tried putting the daybed against the windows at the start and it cut off half the room and looked funny pushed against the jutting radiator (also a fire hazard). I love the idea of having a conversation area. I just don't think I would be able to safely walk through the space without tripping every which way ;) I really like the idea, though - hopefully when I move I will have a better space to work with and I would love to try this then. Too bad the Fornasetti chairs are going to be out
of the picture - they're on loan from my parents (as are the stools) and I can't bring them to New York :(

Seems happy and colorful and livable!

Kudos.

love this place. super cool, 100%!

I love this place! The colours and the elements and distribution of all of them are great, people with a great sense of style on a budget are my favourite kind of people