apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Ugggghhhhhhh! This is something I constantly struggle with! With rampant bike theft in our town and our small, potted plant covered front porch, keeping them outside where I'd prefer is impossible. The only rooms they can possibly fit into indoors are our living room or dining room; and there is zero vertical space available in either. This leaves only two storage options: leaning against the wall below the front windows in the living room, or leaning against the wall below the side windows in the dining room. I HATE the way they look in either room. They make the rooms feel even smaller and although I truly love our trusty bikes, they just look soooo junky.

I think this works best with people who have small apartments with no availible "outside" storage.

My ex-roomate's boyfriend had a bright yellow bicycle that he kept in our living room. It looked quite striking against the "hippopotomus" colored walls.

Does anyone know what type of bike is in the second picture? TIA.

this works for some bikes, more specifically road bikes, but not for all. Anything with a wider handlebar and it comes out in your room a lot. I have a vertical rack in my home office for our 2 bikes, and it sticks out a bit, but i don't have any other options. In the winter they go in the attic above the carport.

I like bikes in houses... very seinfeld...

The bike in the second picture looks like a Japanese Skyway 3-speed. We have one in the shop right now for service. Sweet little bike with a full-hand-sized, rotary grip-shift.

Bikes as decor - reminds me of a Chicago base artist named Peter Cardone who made a large scale photograph of his bicycle titled " I really like to ride my bike".

You can see his work here:

http://petercardone.com/artwork/309391_I_really_like_to_ride_my_bike.html

We're going to have to figure out a creative solution for our bikes in our new Brooklyn apartment. This is helpful!

Emily

Love the bikes............ we should all own one. Team Astana is in Yellow!!!!! Go Lance. 5 stages left to go.

one of these days i'll break down and buy a cycloc. if only they weren't so expensive.

bikes as decor? i'm not sure about that... more like practical storage for anyone who has ever had their bike stolen while it was outside (even with a lock!). don't get me wrong, my bike is parked right here next to my desk in the home office, but not by choice.

Just my opinion, but I don't think bikes are "decor."

They're a lifestyle.

There's a difference.

I thought bicycles were a means of transportation?

We have a shed that we could keep our bikes in, but we like them indoors where we can admire them. They also taunt you when you are sitting on the sofa watching tv, are on the computer, or when you are eating a big bowl of ice cream. There sits your bike, making you feel ashamed. We prefer them indoors where they surely are more regularly ridden than if they were locked up in the shed.

Modtramp, I think those of use who have bikes as lifestyle welcome any tricks to make them feel like decor, when we arent on them.

My roommate is very tolerant of mine being parked in the middle of the living room most of the summer. It gets semi hidden in the winter behind the couch, but there are too many windows, doors, and odd angled walls in my apartment for any of these hanging solutions as i dont have a single space that is 4' x 6' x 1' that i can hang it on without putting it over the dining table, or over my bed!

I disagree - There's not a single situation here that wouldn't be improved without the bicycle.

This is why I bought a folding bicycle: So I can stash it out of the way and out of sight in the closet.

no garage = bicycles as decor...lifestyle, whatever. We live with them...literally. But I draw the line at bikes in the bedroom!

Thus is when a post "jumps the shark."

the only reason to have bikes as decor is lack of storage space...we have two bikes in our living room: ewwww.

i wonder how the last bike (theresa's eclectic donations) was mounted...my husband and i are moving into a new, smaller apartment and we've yet to figure out where our bikes will go...

I lived with our mountain bikes propped up on the wall next to my front door for a year in college. Now a balcony/outdoor space is a requirement for me. I did have a vintage road bike in my apartment until very recently. Those are easier to deal with indoors though...they look much more graceful and usually don't get too dirty. Still a pain in the butt though.