apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

What a sweet little place! I love the warm and welcoming dining area, the great fabric treatments in the bathroom, and your beautiful and very peaceful sleeping area.

You've made it personal and welcoming and definitely elevated it above a run-of-the-mill apartment. Great job!

So fresh and funky!! Love it

As a fellow renter with a pink bathroom, I'm really impressed with what you did there! That fabric is unexpected, but really works, and I love how you added it to the shower curtain, perfectly level with the counter - wow!

The rest of the place looks great too. A very enthusiastic thumbs up!

You have done a great job making your space look cohesive while sticking to a budget and second hand sources. I have been going the craigslist route for furniture in my little place too. It is difficult because you never know what will show up, and then you have to change your plans to work with what you have found. I love your little vanity desk, and the way you have set it up with the lightscreen behind it to section off your bedroom. Isn't it a crying shame those cute old "ladies desks" never have file drawers?

Really cute. Very fresh and inviting!

As soon as I saw your view I knew this was a DC apartment. Go DC!

Nice place with a great floor plan. It looks alot bigger than 425 sq. ft.

I am really impressed with your incorporation and embracing of the pink bathroom!

I was just starting to get bored of Small/Sort Cool... this has changed my mind. You've done a great job!

I think I remember seeing your bathroom posted on here earlier- That's a bold color combination, but it really worked out well.

I've got my fingers crossed for you- you deserve to win!

Great "dining room"! Love how the table for two takes up almost no space, and the colors are fun as well.....nice job there.

It's great to see what renters do to personalize their spaces when they can't paint or change fixed items in their homes. I like how all of the areas are divided neatly and creatively -- it really works.

Incredible use of space. You have achieved all the functions of daily life without appearing crowded or cluttered.
Absolutely charming.

i LOVE your place!

This is really cute & cozy.

I love the way you use fabric and lighting.
Fabulous space!

I particularly like the way you handled white. Very striking.

I can't imagine why you didn't like it so much to begin with. I think it is one of the best floor plans ever. I'm with the other poster who mentioned just about the time it gets a little boring to look at so many small cools....someone like you comes along and makes it all feel inspirational again. Thanks.

Wow, can't believe you fit so many separate "rooms" into such a small space and it doesn't look crowded. How inspiring!

This is my FAVORITE!!!

I wish that AT showed more apartments which have to work with white walls and very little ability to alter anything. I LOVE this apartment! It shows what can be done when a creative person accepts the limitations which come with a majority of rental units and manages to make something special out of it. Beautiful!

[Seriously, AT. More white-walled rental units with serious issues having to do with ugly kitchen cabinets or bathroom nightmare tile/linoleum challenges would be most appreciated. In other words, it would be nice to see more apartments with challenges that can't be overcome, for most of us, by painting or switching out because we're simply not allowed to do that. A LOT of us would appreciate that.]

Very cute!

Thanks so much for all your wonderful comments! It's been fun and challenging to work through some of the issues with a 45 year old (and un-updated!) rental unit, but I'm really happy with how it's turned out. Thanks for the encouragement and good luck to all of your who have places in the running!

-Laura

i LOVE your cozy space! i too live in a very small condo in DC. the lack of storage sucks, but i LOVE the cozy feel of a small space!

Wow you have done wonders with your place! I think I had seen your home once before maybe on AT or somewhere else. I noticed you redid the bed canopy, the entertainment area and that room divider is simply gorgeous. This is one of my favorites this season.

A truly creative person lives here! Phenomenal job in such a small space and with so many restrictions!! I really hope you win!!

I love the way you've divided the spaces and I especially like the DIY room divider. What kind of screen is that?

My only quibble might be that the large brown sofa looks too big for the space. Maybe it's just the photo, but have you considered replacing it with two chairs?

Very Pretty!! congrats!!

I like it! This is one of my favorites. That's a great floorplan, too.

This is so adorable! Love your desk, the room divider and even the pink bathroom. Well done!

Love your place and what you have done with it!

What an adorable space! You have done so many ingenious things. The mirror next to the table is so excellent and the bed looks so inviting! Love it all.

Your bedroom is beautiful, I love, love, love your headboard and the sconce. And you've managed to make the canopy breezy and romantic, it's the princess bedroom we dream of :)

The bed is so cool! And we have a sofa almost exactly like yours... how neat!

http://thebluepearlgirl.wordpress.com

This is lovely and airy and romantic. And one of the few submissions that I could see myself living in. I adore the bed and all the creative touches. I love the way you rocked that ugly rental bathroom too. With your curtains that normally puky salmon tile pops and makes it seem like you chose the color! Go Laura!!!

the bedroom is enchanting!

The bed space and separation of that area is what really got me. Great job.

Thanks so much for the comments!

ensuenos - The brown couch is actually a loveseat and is smaller than it looks in the picture because of the angle it was taken at. I have thought about replacing one of the couches with two chairs, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

As for the screen, I designed it and my boyfriend built it. It's basically alternated wood slats on the bottom and the top has a frame with fabric stretched around it on both sides. The frames can rotate open and right now I have christmas lights inside of it. I eventually want to put a more permanent light inside.

sarrazak - I totally call it my princess bedroom!

- Laura

Absolutely lovely! Definite winner. I can tell you think outside the box. Pink bathroom? No problem!

I have a bunch of questions!

Is that sideboard in the living room an IKEA hack? Is there a source for that rug? It's gorgeous.

I'm also loving your headboard! Source, please!

Overall, the apartment is great. I'm in love with it!

thatmeggirl - The sideboard is indeed an Ikea hack, or rather, a Craigslist find hack. I bought the bookshelf on Craigslist and it wasn't in too great of shape, so I sawed it in half, added some cute legs and painted it.

I spent a good couple of months looking at rug after rug after rug before deciding on that one, but unfortunately, I bought it from overstock.com about a year ago, so I'm not sure if they will have it any more.

The bed is also something that I'm afraid you can't find, as it's the one piece of furniture I didn't buy after moving to DC. It was my Great-Aunt's, and I got it when I was about five, so my suggestion is to look at antique stores or flea markets for something similar.

Thanks again!

- Laura

I really love the little dining area. A friend just moved with her daughter into a teeny apt with no dining room - I printed your photo out to show her as inspiration to create a cafe-style dining nook in the living room. So cute, and I dig that you made the light fixture yourself.

This is sweet - really like the tiny little dining area.

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Laura, Ijust love it! I think the colours in your sitting room are just wonderful.

Late to the game though I may be, I have to say I LOVE this place. It's thoughtfully and beautifully (and economically) done. Bravo!

Your table and two chairs space looks very cozy