apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

HOT! I love the red pendant light against the red wall too and the scale of the art behind the seating. I would really love to see the rest of this space, it looks like it could be an interesting house tour.
You know something interesting is that even when you have a large couch (3+ seater) it seems people don't like to sit more than two to a couch (at least not before cocktails). Three people could sit next to one another here and still have their personal space. Plus it's an interesting conversation piece as well.

But isn't it a bummer that you can't lie across if it you wanted to?

Rug. Center and define the space. I think you could get away with an odd organic shaped rug-oval, round, bean...

I love the seating but I feel that the seductive quality of that orange (love!) is lost against the wall as is the red light. I could see the red wall being a neutral light color and a matching rug under the coffee table. The of the furniture is also lost into the hardwood floors.

It's also interesting... the red wall is very mid-century/modern/swank while the the green wall is very traditional... I'd like to see the rest of the room- I wonder how it all comes together..?

HOT!

Thanks to everyone for the comments! We've had that red color on the wall for several years now and just recently (about 3 or 4 weeks) ago got the seating.

Julian: I totally agree about the orange (which is a real lovely shade) being a bit lost with the intense Red of the wall. It's interesting because I've been away on a trip in Boston for the last week and a half and my partner mentioned that he had made a change in the decor, so I'm wondering if he changed that wall color. I'll have to take some new pics if he did... :)

Also, the rug has been a real issue, with the different colors in the walls we didn't want to get something that would clash or be too bland and we wanted to find an interesting shape but couldn't find one the right size... Sigh...

We would definitely be up for a House Tour if people are interested. I just hope the rest of the house is as interesting to others as our living room. :)

The room feels a bit cluttered to me. There's too much going on in that cabinet for starters. I agree a rug might serve as a good anchor - all of the smaller objects in the room seem to be orbiting that coffee table like some kind of asteroid belt. There may be scale issues. And I don't like the orange seating against the red wall - it bleeds when it needs to pop.

On the other hand, I love that print, love the lamp (though it doesn't belong on that table), love the pendant, and I like the orange seating. I just think the seats would look much better against a white wall (although the print wouldn't - maybe you could leave a red border around it as kind of a frame).

Aren't you glad you sent in those pix Danny, so we could all take potshots at your efforts?

Sunspot: Potshot away! I love reading all the comments, good or bad! It's good to have fresh perspectives, especially since I see it every single day.

I have to admit that most of the orbiting debris is my own fault. I have a very hard time "editing" a room, there are so many things that I love it seems like a crime to put them away in the dark. You should see all the stuff I DON'T have out. My equivalent of Dark Matter; You don't see it, but you can feel it's there!

The pictures your're seeing is only one side of the condo, it's a little more open than those pictures suggest, so that might be what's contributing to the cramped, cluttered feel as well? Or maybe it's me trying to justify cramming more things!

I'd love to see your comments on the rest of my house if a House Tour ever does materialize... Or would I? :P :P

danny:
yes! let's make a house tour materialize!

House tour, please, pretty please! I've no doubt that your place is as gracious and witty as you are...

house tour! house tour!!

i love the airport seating, but agree with the rest of the commenters that it would look even more smashing against a different colored wall.

i love both the side table and the lamp that sits on it, but together, they loose their impact. i think it is because they are similar shapes and materials. maybe get a contrasting material or a smaller lamp.

i am in love with your glass cabinet along the green wall. what a beauty!

danny, i hear you on having a difficult time with editing rooms. i have that same exact problem, but i have to say that since my own house tour i've looked at my apartment with fresher eyes and have been able to edit some rooms, but others still need a lot of work. good luck! homes are always a work in progress in my mind.

LOVE the print - where did you get it?

Don't apologize - my apartment could use a LOT of editing itself. Most every home could. I've got the asteroid belt goin' on bigtime at the moment, lately centered around my bar.

One possible solution - figure out which season each object is best suited to, and rotate them out over the course of a year. It's an easy way to reduce 3/4ths of the clutter in the room. Of course, this assumes you have someplace to store that clutter when it's off-season, although for smaller decorative clutter this isn't such a problem since that stuff generally packs really well. Wall art, too.

That way you don't have to get rid of anything - you're just saving it for the season when it looks the best, the same way you might handle holiday decor.

leah - it looks like a Robert Longo litho.

love the lamp. its given me a great idea for the old photo enlarger I have in the closet! I like the seating too, tho personally I think i'd take a hacksaw to the two middle armrests )

I also vote for both HOT and a house tour. I love the green and red walls together too, by the way.

And of cours we all know that "Sunspot" is THE aribter of good taste and style...."ahem".

Honestly....where DO you come up with all of these left field comments?

"White walls with a red border" indeed....

I must insist you show us your home "Sunspot"...Or can you not fit the camera crew into your single-wide?

Wow, those sure are some crazy, left field comments I made, contennta. Like saying that the seating might look better against a more neutral color. Or that the room might look better with a bit of editing. What kind of nut would think that?

Insanity!

I like everything about the room except for the red wall! I agree a more neutral background would make the orange pop.

woo! the whole room is hot. love the eclectic nature of it all. I like the airport seating paired with the magazine rack and the large photo print. LOVE the oval coffee table, I've been looking for something like that for myself forever. I'm going to have to start checking out Chicago AT more often.

-- Catherine (in SF)

Love, LOVE, LOVE the eclectic mix of periods and colors!

I vote for a House Tour too pretty please with sugar on top!

This room has so many elements that I love- but just not all together.

I think your airport seating would be awesome in a pass through, or entry foyer- but personally not being able to lie down and the vinyl like material doesn't say "living room furniture" to me.

I LOVE the art above it though- awesome.

Danny
Can you tell us about that print? I've googled my ass off with "Robert Longo" and don't see it.

smooches

i say HOT.
of course, i also say the red wall could be painted a fabulous sky/carribean blue, but i think i only say that because it reminds me of a friends 7" artwork:

oh, no image inserting allowed? nice.
click on my name, that's the pic.

"Sunspot":

"Wow, those sure are some crazy, left field comments I made, contennta. Like saying that the seating might look better against a more neutral color. Or that the room might look better with a bit of editing. What kind of nut would think that?

Insanity"


YEAH...these, and the post where you suggest theming everything by season and rotating things out by season, and storing it during the mean time. The hieghth of efficiency in small spaces...

Oh, and the other where you commented that the designers work looked like "white trash" decor, when all other 40 posts commented on its sophistication and finesse...

Do you ever feel yourself not only hearing the beat of a different drummer....but also finding yourself in a planetary system other than your own?

Be nice...it counts.But keep posting...you amuse me.

Um, if you could hear anything over the sound of your axe grinding, you'd have noticed that I mentioned space considerations when it comes to storing stuff that's out of season. Fortunately, a lot of the clutter in most spaces is caused by small objects that are *easily* stored when not being displayed, or by wall art which likewise is flat and can be neatly stored when not in use.

It's an alternative to just pitching things, which many people can't bring themselves to do.

I think the seating would look great against a mid-tone grey wall (as would the print).

Hi everyone! So sorry for being out of touch, I had some major ISP DSL issues, finally got them resolved...

I appreciate everyone’s comments and critiques and all I'll try to touch on them all as well as answer some of the questions posted:

SUNSPOT & KATIE: Taking a look back at the pictures I can totally see how the table and lamp just don't work. It seems to create a straight line from the base all the way to the top of the lamp which makes it look like a single piece and doesn't flatter either. I have a different side table stored away that I'll swap to see if it improves the look, Thanks!

KATIE: The glass cabinet is THE very first piece of furniture I ever bought many moons ago at an antique shop in Oak Park (Antiques, Etc. I think it was called). I fell in love with it the moment I saw it and I had no regrets ever purchasing it. I probably W-A-Y overpaid for it, but at the time I didn't care if I had to lick the cabinet for sustenance for a few weeks, I had to have it and I would have paid more. It is one of, and it is home to, my most precious and valued items. BUY WHAT YOU LOVE! :)

JESSICA: We usually don't use the living room for anything but entertaining; we have another room, and another couch, to lay across and relax on. :)

SUNSPOT: One of the criteria for some of the larger furniture in our home is that it MUST have storage, the only problem is that it just gives me more reason to get more stuff! So much for editing... :)

LEAH & BARBARA & ATHALIE & LISA: The art above the seating is an oil on canvas by artist Robert Brooks. It is supposedly a pose of Julie Andrews dressed as Victor from Victor/Victoria, but I have no way to verify that. The only info I was able to find out about Robert Brooks was a scholarship in his name by the Copley Society in Boston which another artist by the same name referred me to. I've written the Copley Society an e-mail with more detailed pictures requesting verification or information but haven't gotten any response. My partner spotted it and ultimately paid $10 for it at a charity auction a few years ago.

DZ: If you ever come to my place, check the hacksaw at the door! Yikes! :)

CATHERINE (IN SF): The oval table I got at a local thrift for $25. It's actually pretty heavy as the white portions are a white marble like material with polished stones embedded in it. And for you Chicagoans, I am NOT giving you my source! :) The thrift is my secret! :)

CATHERINE & MONICA: Thanks for the comments! We definitely have a very eclectic sense of taste. If we see something we like, no matter how quirky or what period or style we get it and try to make it work together. Sometimes it works, more often it doesn't. There's no such thing as being wrong in your own home. :)

EVERYONE: I'm going to get into contact with Heather about getting a House Tour underway. The only problem is, do we do the tour Before or After we paint the walls? We've decided to replace the red & green with Winsome Beige from Behr Paints White & Neutral Collection, Flat Enamel Finish. If you go to their website, you can check out the color in different room settings.

Once again, Thanks so much for all your comments and critiques. It’ll be fun to take on some of your suggestions to see how they work out. :)

Personally I don't think the wall the seating is on needs to be neutral. Yellow could work. A cool green or blue or soft purple could work.

I just thing the red is eating the orange alive, but there are other COLOR-colors that wouldn't.