apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

That little picture in the wall space between the two windows is such a tease. Bigger artwork or more smaller pieces I think would help. Also, if you are allowed, paint at least an accent wall. =)

I would suggest a colorful rug and some more art on the walls. Maybe a larger piece between the two windows and something above the desk. It might be a tight squeeze, but a chair directly opposite the windows (facing other chair)? If you want to go crazy you could put curtains up instead of the mini-blinds. Last but not least, maybe clean up the cords in/around tv and desk. Visually that helps a lot (at least in my apt. it did). I know it's hard to change things up in a rental unit sometimes. So far, though, it does look pretty good. Good luck!

Just a couple of questions...

1) Does the tv and computers have to be on the same wall due to networking/cable setup?

2) Are you open to replacing some of the furniture (ie. the tv stand?)

Love those windows! As a start, try moving the sofa in front of the windows to de-emphasize the long rectangular feel of the room. Pull it out a bit so it isn't right against the heaters, if you want. Also, I would shift the desk to the bottom left in the floor plan (where the bookcase now is) to keep it out of the way and create an office corner. Maybe it can even fit on the horizontal (against the wall with the door)? Perhaps the TV can fit where the desk currently resides?

i'm not sure how much space your bf needs around the desk to concentrate, but i would try to actually include it more into the conversation space of it all so that it doesn't feel like it's trying to be a separate element.

so with that in mind, i'd actually put the desk along your wall of windows and perhaps get in a floating shelf or two on the wall between the windows so you can open up the space underneath the desk. this is more for visual clutter.

so then i would virtually keep the couch and television in the same spot relative to each other, just scoot them down the wall a bit to give space for the desk. put your green chair to sort of enclose the conversation space and then put the bookcase on the wall with the door but behind the opening or on the other side of the couch but still on the same wall.

i think having the mirror offset like that also throws things off a little. i would line it up with something and most likely put it over the couch.

the desk is also a hulking black and i would suggest some lighter coloured accessories on it to balance it out a bit more.

Anyone else having problems loading this site today? This post said there were five comments already but here I am and there are no comments. I have a great Macbook so I know it's not my computer.

Anyway, I'm sure the other readers will come up with great ideas but all I can recommend is that he go vertical with his study area. That desk is taking up too much space. If he got a multi-shelved system as part of the desk area, it would resolve where to put files, supplies, and printer. AT has covered lots of really nice desk options before. Maybe a slim one could fit in the bedroom?

I'd also recommend, instead of a desk, getting a drop leaf dining table (looks like you guys don't have a dining table but a coffee table) to work at when he needs to. It's a small living room and a dual-function table would be nice. Plus, it's nice to be able to put the work stuff away and out of sight when not in use. Good luck!

Get the furniture off the walls -- float it out in the middle of the room. Maybe sofa facing the windows, with the desk along the back of it? A rug would help cozy things up too.

Disclaimer: these are the suggestions of a rank amatuer, no warranties express or implied (that's for your law student BF!).

caveat--i'm no designer. nice room. some thoughts, but this is not criticism. i'm about to ask the same question for my place!
lighten floor to expand it, add natural fiber area rug (to be green, jute, grass, sisal, coir) or cotton stripe rug
paint walls a richer colour to contrast couch and make cozy (if you use Benj. Moore Aura, it's $50 a gallon or so, but one coat will truly cover the room and you will not have to move out--smell goes away in 1 or 2 hrs; any Benj. Moore colour can be requested in this formulation; leave ceiling alone.)
buy two lamps at IKEA or borrow some--overhead lighting is not conducive to amour. this room is all desk, no amour presently.
love the orchid. perhaps move it and put a row of plants with impact and colour on both window ledges, e.g. short bushy ferns (at whole foods or johnson's florist on wisconsin ave)
move mirror to over the couch and put photos of people/places you love on TV wall to reduce distraction and, well, not look at selves. Maybe soften edges w/an oval mirror? try ballard designs (online).
personalize green chair--small pillow?
add candles--amour, amour, holiday, etc.
blue bookcase is great (would you be willing to share your source?)
blue/brown fabrics are plentiful and lovely at calico corners. for $10-$30 you can find enough for 2 pillows. If you cannot sew, a tailor at the local dry cleaners might do it inexpensively.
Wood desk. What if you put the TV and desk on same levels, moved all speakers, etc., underneath and closed them off when not in use? craigslist?
maybe bamboo blinds, inexpensive at World Market in Friendship Hts (red line on metro) or nextday blinds online
put a throw in calm pattern, perhaps blue and brown or green, on couch with your new pillow
put your passions before you, on walls and through colour or objects; w/more of your hearts; both of your passions should be represented
soften the dark and sharp edge influence with a few painted frames, e.g. ikea inexpensive wood frames you can paint easily
calm wall with desk--hide or use fewer objects; desk better in wood, not black white.
caution about ionic air purifiers.

Hi Cosabeth,

What a pretty room! I love the dormer windows.

First suggestion:

Try moving couch to the middle of the room, facing the windows.
Move TV bench to one of the corners under the windows, place it diagonally, and use the green chair to make another diagonal in the other corner.

Try moving the desk to the lower left corner of your plan, facing the wall the door is on (will it fit?). Then try rotating the mirror and putting it on the other side of the door, between the closet and the door. You can tuck the blue bookcase in either next to the closet or between the green chair and the TV.

Another suggestion involves Colleen's & my suggestion (couch in middle of room facing windows, make a grouping with TV bench and chair on diagonals), also moving mirror to next to the door and hanging it "portrait" rather than "landscape", and putting the desk behind the couch like a sofa table. You'll have to be creative about managing your cords, but the room could use a rug that pulls in all the blues, greens, and browns you like and you can run the cords under it.

A third idea is to put the couch under the windows - you'll have great light for reading, but I don't know if that's too close to the radiators. Then put the TV perpendicular to the couch on one of the walls and use the green chair at a diagonal to make a grouping/seating area. Also look into a rug to tie it together. Then you can use anywhere in the other side of the room to set up an office nook with the desk and some shelves.

Agree with the couch facing the windows and the TV moved; also to add a rug there to define the space. The blue bookcase could go where the pictures are now, and the mirror moved to whatever wall seems best. Some curtains would help to soften the space as well, and I'm not sure what kind of lighting you have-- but some table lamps at the "tv end" of the room would warm it up as well.

Defininitely tv under window, couch facing window, and put the desk behind the couch. This would split the room into two distinct areas.

Depending on budget the 2 things that I think would complete it are another easy chair to make a conversation circle with the couch, and maybe a "softer" coffee table - maybe a storage ottoman in faux leather - tar-jay have reasonably priced ones.

The floorplan isn't loading for me (something wonky with the AT connection), but based on the photos I would basically switch how the room is set up - have the desk and bookshelves at the far side near the windows (but still on the same walls), and the sofa and TV at the front.

In that configuration, I'd actually turn the desk 90-degrees so that it is parallel with the windows so that you are facing into the room when seated. Then either get a loveseat (if there is space and $$) or some short shelves (in a light wood to match TV stand and coffee table) to go in front of it to divide the space so you can't see the wiring and such under the desk. I'd also try hanging the mirror vertically in the wall space between the 2 windows if it will fit. And, try hanging the grouped art a little lower on the wall above the sofa (around a 66" eyeline.)

You'll end up with 2 rooms in one and can even enhance the feel with 2 separate rugs.

Are the white boxes under the windows heater covers? I'm wondering if you might be able to DIY a built-in look desk there and shift everything else over toward the door?

I like the idea of the TV moving to the window wall, and it would be a great opportunity to get rid of that low lying, uninspiring piece you now have. Perhaps something that covers up the TV when not in use...? And, yes, hang the mirror over the desk. It's not doing any good split between the two "areas". If the desk has to stay, make the area neat, functional and nice to look at.

good space, love the blue bookcase, best wishes, you're doing a great job. ideas:
--lighten floor w/area rug, paint walls brighter or darker colour, but lighter than couch
--row of plants (w/more mass) on window ledges, but with colour, like short ferns if low light; love the orchid.
--softer mirror, oval or...
--candles, comfort (see today's posting re company dropping in);
--rationality informs the law, heart informs life; add more heart, put your passions on the wall (nature? family? pastimes? "wish I could" pastimes?)
--add blue and brown fabrics; excellent selection at Calico Corners in Friendship Heights (5 stops up the red line)
--wood desk would warm and blend
--bamboo blinds? inexpensive at World Market
--throw on couch
--put your passions before you--move frames to TV wall, mirror to couch wall. soften frames/edges/black or dark look. ikea sells cheap wood frames you can paint.
--calm wall with desk, remove a few things
--caveat emptor about ionizing air purifier

I think you have a cool space with nice symmetry to the room. I can't quite picture the room well (how is the closet situated is it projecting into the room? what kind of traffic flow do you have to accommodate in the room? what rooms does the doorway lead to/from?), but I can hazard a few suggestions (which may or may not work). Right now it looks like you have all of the furniture against the walls and this can sometimes make a room feel like a bowling alley. Depending on how well-finished the backs of your furniture are, you may want to float a piece or two in the middle of the space. I like the suggestion already given to float the sofa in the middle of the room facing the windows. My siggestion would be to center the sofa on the wall with the windows, provided that there won't be a problem blocking the vents (or whatever those white things are under the windows) and provided that the height of the sofa won't block the windows too much. I also suggest that you move your desk into the corner behind the door (either where the blue bookcase is or on the same wall as the door in the lower left corner of the floorplan) an create a dedicated workspace. Float the green chair and side table (?) across from the sofa, the coffee table in front of the sofa and put the tv against the wall where the sofa is currently (or leave it on the wall where it is).

In terms of color, it looks like you have blues, browns and greens and I would suggest that you tie them together with an area rug or clean lined window treatments that have all of the colors incorporated into it. You couls also possibly paint an accent wall (the wall with the windows) with a color to help harmonize the tones.

I think you have a lot of options with how you can arrange the room. I suggest that you take an afternoon and just try different configurations and find out what you like.

Cosabeth, firstly, your living room has some charming details -nice wood floor and interesting windows! I design space for a living (my company, Lifestyle Space Design, focusses on renovations of Manhattan apartments to suit clients' lifestyles, and I live AND work in a 10 x 17 studio) (with a dog!), so here's a free consultation! Definitely agree with putting the sofa across the room facing the windows - it will give you 2 distinct zones for the room appropriate to your current lifestyle, ie a home office for your law-student beloved, and a living area. Looks like you might have space for a narrow sofa table behind (great for lamps etc - mine is a storage credenza which holds all my design samples=double duty). Put the desk on the wall to the left of the door, with the bookcase (preferably painted to blend in with the walls) at right angles to it (or vice versa, depending on your actual measurements). Voila, office/library corner. TV goes between the windows - use the TV stand you have for functionality, but look for an affordable one which will fit between your radiator covers. Green side chair looks a bit small in scale, but can go at right angles to the sofa on either side wall. You would actually have room for 2 armchairs in this layout. Use a rug to anchor the living space, and scrounge a bigger piece of art for above the tv, to the height of the windows. Big mirror goes long side up, where the desk is now, and you can even have a console table or small storage piece under it (I'd use it for a bar, but then I'm a big fan of having a bar in my home..heehee)
Hope this helps! Let us all know how it turns out.
Kittie

I would definitely put the tv between the windows. That's where I'd start.

I think the room looks pretty good so far! If the photos were taken at an angle, with natural daylight in the room, and you had a cute pet on the sofa, we'd all be oohing and aaahing over your great place!

I'm sure many people will repeat the same advice, but here goes:
- Area rug under coffee table. This single change will likely give the most impact.
- Art over sofa is a bit high, and would have more impact if it surrounded one larger, very colorful piece.
- Lamps lamps lamps!!! Table lamps on the windowsills, floor lamps in some of the corners. Lighting can make a room during the non-daylight hours.
- Move mirror to above desk.
- More ROUND things in the room. Switching to a round coffee table, and/or get one of those round metal wall hanging art/wire things from Pier One. (I have one... they look totally stupid in the store, but fantastic in a room.)
- Some high-impact big pieces give you more design impact and less clutter - for example one largish plant pot on the right-hand window ledge instead of 2 tiny ones.

I love the wall colour and the blue and green accents. If you brought a small amount of red in, it would really make the blue and green sing. Be adventurous and try something wild and wacky! Stripes, zebra print, oversize florals, polka dots... Get it cheap on craigslist, or buy from a store with a good return policy so you can bring it back if it doesn't look good at home. Go big, go bold, make it fantastic just like you! (Since you read apartmenttherapy, I know you are fantastic!)

Cosabeth,

I love your little space! I think you could do loads with what you’ve got. Colleen’s got a great point that you’ve got much heavier pieces (bookcase and couch ) on one side, and then the lighter, lower ones on the other.

1st: rotate the couch so that is away from the wall and it’s back is to the windows (enough so that you can walk behind it)

2nd find a great rug and “ground” the room a bit so it doesn’t feel like your coffee table is floating in space. One of those flat bamboo ones would be very clean looking
http://www.gcrugs.com/im/696/bamboo-rugs-tomeo4.jpg

3rd find a good sized piece of art for the wall in between the windows. I realize it’s got an interesting slant to the wall and may not be easy to find the right piece.

4th rotate the desk so that it is up against the wall on the right (when you open the door it will be to your right. Uh-oh … you have a closet there. Doh! Never mind.

your floor & wall space should be opening up considerably. Green chair can go to either side of the couch. Have you ever thought of buying some fun, colorful floor pillows to sit on? You can stack them and they’d look great.
http://swissmiss.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/cushions.jpg

considering the size of the room and how much privacy you need, you could do a very cool window treatment (remove the mini blinds) by buying canvas stretchers to fit the width of your windows (they won’t go all the way to the top), but you can cover them with a lovely semi-sheer fabric and it would give you a lot of light as well as some punch.

Can you hack your bookcase at all? I think if you remove two of the shelves, you can fit your flat screen in it. Although it’s hard to size up how deep it is. But you could then re-use your ikea tv table as a bench (buy some pillows or padding).

I’ll shut up now.

good luck and have fun!!
- kristina

I would put the chair and desk like 3 feet in front of and in between the windows, facing away from the windows (so facing out towards the camers in the first photo). Then the couch in front of it, also facing out, so the desk serves as a console almost. Then the tv in the corner by the closet. I can't tell how deep your room is so not sure if it would work, but it would keep the room from looking so long and narrow.

Dang, I was hoping for some constructive comments because my 400 square foot apartment is basically just like this room. Maybe I'll check back in a few. :(

Here's one idea.

Desk remains where now located. (Swap file cabinet to corner, though.)

Move blue bookshelf next to desk facing door as a room divider. (Just enough space to stand in front of it, side of shelves to wall. If the back isn't attractive, paint or cover with fabric or something.) Use for office stuff low and decor on higher shelves.

Swing sofa out and up to the edge of the bookshelf, with the back of the sofa flush with the open front of the shelves. The sofa is now free standing in the center of the room, facing the window. You should have enough space on the left to pass it into the room.

Place the small table suggested in green in your floor plan, but not visible over the sofa in the photo, backed up to the back of the bookshelves for use by someone on the sofa.

Put the TV unit centered in between the windows (overlapping the radiators.) Move the speakers off the unit into the corners. Center the TV on the unit.

Put the green chair against the wall roughly where the tv unit now sits.

Center the coffee table in front of the sofa.

Center the mirror over the desk or put it in the area across from the closet on the side wall.

Get some color with an area rug and/or drapes and/or art.

Voila!

(Of course, this all might not really work if my perceptions of the space are out of whack!)

Apologies to anyone who has been having trouble seeing the comments- our server migration today was a little more challenging than anticipated. Thanks to everyone for chiming in and to Cosabeth for sharing her room with us!

Colleen

(I obviously do not have enough to do at work today...) Here's my take:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/93575111@N00/3028525858/

You will have to get rid of at least one piece of furniture - I like trex466's idea of putting the tv on the bookshelf. If you don't maybe the bookshelf could go in the bedroom or a hallway or something?

I agree - Get the furniture away from the walls!

First off - I'd place the sofa in the sofa in the center of the room facing the entry - then I'd place the desk behind it so that it functions as a sofa-table (when you're seated at the desk, you're now facing the entry rather than a wall) and all the desky-stuff is hidden behind the back of the sofa.

Place the bookcase on the far left back by the windows - the collection of small pictures goes on the opposite wall filling the same vertical space as the bookcase to give some symmetry - and the big mirror hangs vertically the windows.

The TV goes where the desk is now located - and your existing chair and a new comfier one round out the arrangement on the other side of the room with a little table and a lamp in between. A nice large rug anchors the seating area and a new table lamp goes on the desk behind the sofa and does double duty as lighting for the desk and a reading lamp for the sofa.

sorry for 2 sets of comments. also had lots of trouble with the site today. just adding this in case others had same prob.

I immediately thought of this from Domino:
http://www.dominomag.com/galleries/rooms/livingdining/livingroom/befores_afters?slide=4

Between "top floor" and "Dupont" I'm totally jealous of your new place - congrats! I would actually advise against what others have said about making the couch parallel to the wall with the windows - from what I can tell, it would partition the room off in a way that would feel cramped (I had a similar room in my old apartment). An area rug does wonders to help define different parts of the room and bring pieces together, so I'd recommend that as a way to create a comfy lounging space. I agree with what someone suggested along the lines of getting a (round or oval) dining room table that can double as space for your boyfriend to study to replace the existing desk. I'd also recommend hanging the large mirror somewhere so that it is centered above whatever is underneath it, and a long thin piece of artwork is probably going to look better than what you have now on the wall in between the windows

I don't know if this would work, but how about angling the couch across from the TV which could be angled in one of the corners near the window? The new dining room table could be sort of behind the couch, or the bookshelf set up perpendicular against the wall as someone else suggested. Good luck!

First, paint the room a paper bag brown. Accent the windows with high, long white cotton sheers. A long shelf in a nice plywood with an iron bracket hanging system, should straddle the two radiators under the windows but above the heaters. Repeat on top. Then trail the same long wooden shelf the length of the TV wall up high, creating an off the floor library. Then wrap it around the entry wall, then the sofa wall, all at the same height. You'll have a subtle but consistent line throughout and you'll get all your nonsense off the floor. Paint the entry door a fresh lime, high gloss green and get an old, wooden desk with room for files beneath.

I think the TV stand should be in the corner where the desk is now.

I'd like to see the couch facing us as we face the windows.
Behind the couch is where I'd like the desk to be; partly so the couch is closer to where I think the TV should be, and partly so the the desk can be hidden behind the couch.

When no work is being done, the desk behind the couch can have a vase or something and act like a console table.

Blue bookshelf could stay where it is, or could be cut in half so the books are near the desk, but face out from the ends of the couch, acting like end tables.

Chair or chairs in the near front corner near where the blue bookcase is now.

One reason for all of this, is so that nothing is really smack up against those radiators.

We have a similar situation...so at the risk of repeating what's above (but I think slightly differently)...I'd put the courch with it's back to the windows, and behind the couch, hide the desk (center it on the couch) with the desk chair facing into the room between the radiators. That way, when you work, you're looking into the room (I find this much less claustrophobic than other solutions.
TV can go on closet jog...or diagonally in that area (I'd lose that piece of furniture and put it on a piece that's less wide). Center the bookcase on the wall it is now (it will probably end up just to the side of the coffee table area), put the chair facing the couch on a slight diagonal on the bookcase side, TV stand (now holding just stereo) centered on the wall opposite the bookcase (and directly across from it) with mirror centered above it and hung vertically, to balance the height of the bookcase. Can't tell what that little green thing in the plan is...next to the couch...but it it's a side table, it can go next to the green chair.
Phew. Ain't movin' furniture fun?
Hope this gives you a few new ideas!! :)

You have a great space and some great pieces to work with! I second moving the mirror so that it is over the sofa or into another room. Think to yourself, what is the mirror reflecting? Do I want to look at this? You have a lot of nice small things like the plants by the windows and the pictures on the walls. A few large items would help to pull your space together. Perhaps a large plant, a couple large pieces of wall art and/or several more small pictures for your collection on the wall.

Like others I like the idea of repeating the browns, blues and greens throughout the room. How about carrying the color onto your existing furniture? If you feeling up to it paint your TV stand brown like the sofa and the coffee table green like the chair. I personally like bright colors and would make it an apple green and repeat it in throw pillows and perhaps a rug. A desk lamp and a table and floor lamp would be practical and another chance to add color.

I hope that we can see photos when you are done! Have fun.

hereby I attached an idea where some ideas can be used in order to rearrange your apartment to become spacious/roomy.

1.let the wall with the 2 window (blue area) be cleared, and can be painted to become a feature wall (let the window framed its own beauty)

kindly visit the url, where the new layout ideas is shown according to the arrow sketched.
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp207/rara_hijjasi/Presentation1.jpg
p/s the dashed line = another arrangement option

More than anything, I think you need textiles and artwork. I know you're going for a spare modern look, but it looks impersonal now, like rented office furniture.

You should get a smaller tv stand, and with a media tower, that will stack all the machines into something taller than expand horizontal space. and put this media tower toward the window side. And get some sort a open bookcase, for your b'f to use, so he can stack his stuff on it neatly. The color of maple is out of date for now, so either paint it or get glass or dark wood.

The green chair got to have little make over. get a pillow the small rectangular one with BLUE/BROWN on it. so it can mix in better. there is nothing green in the room. or get a rug with brown/green/blue in it. so you can tight in the color better. Position it next to bookcase and sofa.

The mirror above tv got go. It is reflecting of a blank wall. No sense of that, and the position is very odd. You should flip the pieces above the sofa and the mirror. Do something above the desk like floating shelves. If you need extra seating, put a little ottoman at where the green chair it at now. But you can put something more decorative over there, that will be the first piece you see when you get into the room. And the green chair just not tight with anything else.

Have fun!!

Sell the desk and buy a corner desk (one like this matches the wood tones - http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=9854980 and it is relatively cheap). Leave the desk in that corner - it's fine and it keeps it out of the way. The bookshelf could probably be moved by the desk on the wall the television is on now. Move the television table under the windows - place the sofa near the middle of the room facing the TV. Add your chair under a window and consider getting one in similar size and shape and put it under the other...now you have seating for five to six counting the chair at the desk. I would think you should have room to add something like this table where the bookshelf is now (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5691069) and the good part is the chairs can be stored inside the table pretty much and most of the time it's about the same size as sofa table or console table.

Now I'm doing this under what I think would fit - you'll have to do the measurements yourself.

Get an armoire, build in slide-out desk and shelves. That way, when boyfriend is not working, the office becomes invisible. Or think of other ways to hide the work when not in use (curtained-off corner?) - this will make it possible to relax in the room. It's also important to know whether the room is used mainly in the evening or during the day - this would decide whether the sofa or the desk should be near the window. I would also lose the hideous hospital chair.

if you can, move the tv/entertainment center just between the two windows. that way you avoid the glare of the sun and you get to see the window by facing the couch infront of the tv. then put the chair where the couch is now. for the office, you can leave the desk where it is then move the shelves to where the tv was. this should help divide the space and give it a more flow. ur bf can still watch tv when on the desk.

____|------------|_________|------------|________
[ TV ] |
__|
| S
chair [ COFFEE TABLE] | H
| E
| L
| F
{ COUCH } ---
{ }
____
D
E
S
K
__________
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________________________________|

____|------------|_________|------------|________
...............................[ TV ].....................................|
....................................................................... __|
.........................................................................| S
chair...................[ COFFEE TABLE].......................| H
....................................................................... | E
....................................................................... | L
....................................................................... | F
..................{............ COUCH ........................... } ---
..................{ ...................................................}
....................................................................... ____
...................................................................... D
...................................................................... E
...................................................................... S
...................................................................... K
........................................................... __________
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________________________________|..................