Inspiration: Joan's All-In-One

As a former studio apartment tenant, we know how hard it is to make a small amount of square footage look good while remaining efficient. Joan manages to work a small space to her advantage, combining an office, bedroom and living room all-in-one...

One wall of the space is devoted entirely to a painted venetian plaster wall, compliments of Fitzgerald Studio. The wall pulls double-duty-- it helps anchor the room, plus adds a rich texture which warms the place up. Joan's home is full of DIY's including the wall-to-wall mirror masked by wire mesh fabric. Hanging by grommets attached to the top, Joan tells us that the mesh dramatically reduces the reflection but still allows light to peek through. It's a great way to cover up an overwhelming design element while retaining its best quality--the reflection which makes the space seem twice as large. We love the mixture of bright red accents paired with the striped wood floor painted on a diagonal. All of Joan's design choices make her studio apartment feel spacious and airy.

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(Images: xojy)

Comments (13)

Bless your heart for the establishing shots. They make the artistic shots hmm-mmm better. Did you buy or paint the wall of art work on the shelf? It looks eclectic and beautiful.

Beautiful! The mesh in front of the mirror is a great idea!

that is so clever - i really love it. Want to move the whole thing to Sydney.

Love what i see from the first photo but would have liked more pics of the apt. and fewer of "things". and how many square ft is it?
Thanks for sharing.

Brilliant use of mid-century furniture and a perfect layout. Very, very good job.

The finish in this space is authentic Venetian plaster, not faux painting. It is accomplished by applying multiple, thin layers of pigmented plaster with a trowel. When natural, lime-based venetian plaster is applied it will eventually return to it’s original state, which is lime and marble, aka stone. The result is a very durable surface with a beautiful depth of colour.

A lovely example of using MCM without looking like DWR. I love the Bertoias with the traditional rug and plaster walls. I love the freestanding shelves as well. One of the better ones on here .... good stuff without being stuffy.

I heart that bookshelf and would ask where it's from, but I bet it's a great vintage find, right?

Terrific layout, and brilliant idea on the veiled mirror wall. From the pics, it seems that the color of the walls and silver fan (sorry Futurovox, I don't think it's a bomblamp) reads as cool-toned to me, while the rest of the furnishings are quite warm. The disparity doesn't quite sit right from me, but then again, it could just be the lighting in the pictures.

Hanging by grommets attached to the top, Joan tells us that the mesh dramatically reduces the reflection but still allows light to peek through.

Sounds painful.

I just looked at the flickr set and those bookshelves are actually copper pipes with wood - very cool!