Name: Janean, Kyle and Pam the cat
Location: Short North — Columbus, Ohio
Size: 664 square feet
Years lived in: 4
Though their apartment is tiny, coming in at less than 670 square feet, the home Janean, boyfriend Kyle and cat Pam share in Columbus' Short North neighborhood is all charm. The ivy-draped courtyard apartment building, which dates back nearly 100 years (construction began in the 1910s, but was temporarily halted for lack of funds, delaying completion until the 1920s) has an alluring interior with details such as transom windows, French doors and a hex-tiled bathroom.
Of all the historical elements crammed into the small residence, which you may recognize from Janean's Small Cool 2010 entry, it was the "old-timey" light fixtures--chief among them sconces throughout the apartment and a chandelier in the entry hall--that sold Janean on the rental when she and Kyle were apartment-hunting. And given that their previous domiciles were dark--Kyle's last bedroom was windowless--floor-to-ceiling windows didn't hurt, either. The pair's collections--Janean loves mid-century knicknacks; Kyle loves musical instruments--complement the existing architectural flourishes.
Together, Janean, an attorney for the state of Ohio, and Kyle, a student in the master's architecture program at Ohio State University, have created a cheery, spacious space with room for Janean to display her vintage collections and craft projects, for Kyle to make music and for Pam to sprawl out with abandon.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My style: Retro-modern with a healthy dose of kitsch! Although I'm not one for excessive knick-knacks, i have an almost uncontrollable impulse to snap up cheap pieces of flair. If it's sorta-ugly and old, chances are, I have to have it! (This is a tendency Kyle wishes I could would down, I am afraid.)
Inspiration: My source of inspiration has to be the sets of 1950s, 60s and 70s movies and television shows. As a kid, I spent a lot of time watching "I Love Lucy," "I Dream of Jeannie" and "Bewitched." As a teen, my favorite movie was "The Graduate." Now, I watch "Mad Men"--not that I want to mimic the style of the times completely, but it does figure pretty strongly into my decorating choices. ... Now if I could only find the space for a rolling cocktail cart!
Favorite Element: The windows overlooking the open-air courtyard. ... We both lived in what were basically caves before this.
Biggest Challenge: The stairs (four floors, no elevators), made moving in a challenge. Because of the masonry walls, we have to use a drill if we want to hang anything up. But really, I think the storage is the biggest challenge--we've had stuff scattered among various friends. And because this is an old building, it wasn't designed for modern technology, so there was, for instance, nowhere good to put a couch and a TV in front of it.
What Friends Say: It's "not as good as the apartment in 'The Room' (a cult classic considered to be one of the worst movies of all time); It lacks drapery and pictures of spoons."
Biggest Embarrassment: We had to use bins over the cabinets to store excess kitchenware. It was supposed to be temporary, but I haven't been able to find a better solution.
Proudest DIY: I think my favorite DIY is the table in the living room. I painted the underside of it orange and added metallic duct tape to the edge where the veneer had peeled off. Or, as Kyle points out, he did all this (but it was my idea, haha!).
Biggest Indulgence: I really don't have indulgences. For instance, the dining table and chairs cost $150. But I guess I do spend a lot of money on art, frames and things like that.
Best advice: My most candid decorating advice would have to be "easy come, easy go." I am always looking to change the decor in the apartment for the better. But, because I haven't usually spent too much on any particular item, I don't feel like I have to hold onto it if it isn't working in the space. Buy and sell and paint and donate with abandon!
Dream source: Design Within Reach
Resources: Funky & Functional, Gabriel Brothers, Craigslist, thrift stores (especially thanks to Janean's mom, a dedicated thrifter) and Etsy.
(Thanks, Janean and Kyle!)
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Comments (50)
What a lovely apartment!!
Gorgeous!
I used to live here! It is beautiful. Now, off to the tour.
on another note, my parents also rented in this building when they first moved to Columbus. They rented two adjoining apartments this size for under $400 total!
I'm with you -- I love "ugly" old things! Your place is great! I'm especially fond of the plant stands in the bedroom. ;)
holy crap I ADORE that station wagon print...and obviously, kitty.
Well, as much as I enjoy the classy style and great use of color here...it just doesn't look like the cat is happy enough. Poor kitty just can't seem to get comfortable. ;)
Really nice- I like how clean and edited everything is, plus the different pops of color in the different rooms..ie. yellow/gray in the bedroom, orange in the living room.
Also- love your cat. So stinking cute!
I love this bedroom, great yellow splashes against the grey and neutral furniture and wall.
I love the orange in the otherwise neutral living room.
I want to come over and steal every single throw pillow in your place!! Amazing.
I have that station wagon print too! I picked it up at Flatstock in Austin earlier this year -- it was just too cute to pass up. :) It's always kind of neat, for me anyway, to see art I own in other people's houses.
For ec05: It's a limited edition screenprint (or at least mine is limited edition) made by Delicious Design League. :)
I get so excited seeing other people's homes in Columbus! I'm moving there in 27 days and decorating the apartment from Texas just isn't cutting it. Too bad I won't be in this building, though. Short North is a bit out of my price range since I just graduated from undergrad & am about to start grad school. One day... one day...
Ps - I WISH I knew what building this is! But I don't want to be creepy. :P I just want to know in case I upgrade in a couple years.
This place is beautiful. I agree with the other commenter - great use of color. I love the color of the wood floors too.
Love this, and it is so, so nice to see something in Ohio. Thanks for sharing!
Is this the Latham apartments? If it is, it was published in a few architectural journals in the 20's.
the10thjenerator: i used to live in cbus...and i'm pretty sure it's the awesome bldg just north of Hubbard on High Street (on the west side of the street). There's a fun little vintage furniture store in the basement of the building next to it!
This apartment is so cute and I love her advice about painting, selling, and buying with abandon.
I pass this place on my way to work. There's a wait list that's years long for this building and all the apartments are SMALL.
I live in Clintonville -- a neighborhood with charm, gorgeous apartments, and cheap rents!
LOVE that shower curtain! Where did you get it??
Perfect.
That's considered tiny? Looks very roomy to me. I love it though. I want to move in. Think Pam would get along with my 2 cats?
Wow! That is doing small the right way. Everything looks nice and roomy. Well done!
Wow what a lovely room it is.I am ready to pay 1000$ for it.
www.weplan.com.au
Love love love your apartment! Thank you for sharing. By the way, please tell me where you got those cute side tables (the turquoise one in the corner of the dining area, and the red one next to the sofa)!
I always look at these "home tours" and think they must not have pets or small children. You clearly have a cat and it would seem by the different things you have Pam is a super well behaved cat. Not to mention extremely keen to emote for the camera.
What are your cat training secrets?
@ the10thjenerator - you will find this fantastic and affordable domestication north of Hubbard and South of 1st Avenue on the West side of High Street.
Love seeing style recognition for Columbus.
When you arrive in the neighborhood, be sure to check out the Grandview Mercantile, Collier West and Flower Child for interesting decor choices.
Thanks Jennifer Wray for another interesting interior.
Suzi West
http://www.collierwest.com
Wish there were more pics/info on kitchen cabinets. They look like a redo of that kind of nasty honey colored wood surround with the beige doors with another strip of the honey wood. I can never figure out what I would do if I had to live in a rental with those kinds of cabinets and this looks like a great fix.
Very nice use of orange with the grey sofa (not overdone). Don't let those instruments go too long without playing them... they get lonely. Nice, cool and c o z y!
I can't believe the place is under 700sqft - it reads huge! I suppose the windows help greatly. The accessories make it retro, homey and lived-in.
And who wouldn't want to come home from a long day at work to this place - with puss napping on the bed.
That's just lovely. I particularly love the little "garden corner" in the bedroom.
Omg, is that your building? Its love!
I ADORE the red wrought iron chair, with the iron plant stands....!!! Ive incorporated the same look into my tiny condo (tinier than yours at 579 sq ft, although the realtor wryly advertised it at 600). I can imagine how charming and fluid is that little corner in your early 1900s era unit. And dont you just love when you find a place that has really old wall sconces?? I wasnt so lucky, but when I was hunting I saw a couple places that still had them, along with original kitchen cabinets. They were looooooove I tell you. Just like that door behind your chair, I dont care where its leading to, its beautiful.
And the shelf above the couch--with the leaning frames--I loooooove that. Im so over predictably hung art. I left a 16 x 24 black n white photo on the floor leaning up against the wall. It does so much more in that spot....
Kell
Will you tell us more about your bedroom curtains? Thanks. :)
this apartment is so sweet. you make a good team get married. lol. :)
I sat here perusing it with my own gray and white kitty on my lab- I asked her "kitty! when did you go visit these people and get your photo taken, you ham!"
Love your home!
I like your bedspread. Where did you get it?
The cat. What a crack up - always perfect timing with the baths! And love her name!
'The Cat' makes the place very inviting.
I love everything about your place!! the colors, the cat, everything!!
I'd love to know your source for the throw pillows in both your living room and bedroom. Thanks!
Fancy seeing you here. Love the cheekiness of this poster and seeing it in the kitchen. I think it's a great replacement for Keep Calm.
Your apartment is fantastic. Thanks for the great advice, you've given me a bit more courage.
I live in Clintonville too, and when I am down in the Short North I always wonder about the interior of this building. So lovely!
Great feature representing Columbus - my hometown!
I'm just another person hoping they chime in with the source for the orange and white throw pillows in the living room! They would be perfect in my house. Thanks and adorable place!
Oh my, hurray for the Short North! I have always loved the aesthetic of Columbus. And I don't think I'll ever be "over" owls - love all the winged dudes in this home.
Very nicely done. This really shows how easy it is to bring fabulous color and detail to a neutral and slightly blank space.
Hello AT friends,
I thank you so much for your lovely comments! I'll try to answer your questions as best as I can!
Monpetitchevre: The shower curtain is from Home Goods. Because the bathroom is so small, we only used one patterned shower curtain and left the rest the see-through liner. That way you don't feel too claustrophobic while showering!
Suziwest7: I totally agree with your ideas for places to look for inspiration in the Short North. The price point is generally a little too high for my limited budget at any of those places, but one can dream!
Heatherdazy: The curtains are Ikea (white/black) and Burlington Coat Factory (yellow). I had to modify the yellow sheers to have the same general look as the Ikea curtains I already had...
Jennaelliot: Throw pillows in the bedroom are Target and my own DIY. Throw pillows in the living room (orange and white) are really inexpensive pillow covers from Target ($5-ish). I like pillow covers because they tend to be less expensive and easier to clean.
Veslabeachgirl: I too love the "Fancy Seeing You Here" print. It's actually letterpress (doesn't really register), which makes it extra special, and is available from Sycamore Street Press on Etsy...
Thanks again!
Is this the building with a huge, amazing birdhouse strung out back? I noticed on a weekender in Columbus. Gorgeous!
beautiful bedroom!
Hey! I know that building! Your place looks awesome. My friend lives right off of short north (I'm in Cincinnati) and I pass that building on the way to her house. (Can't remember the street, but you make a left at the White Castle and Northstar.)
I'm only slightly sheepish about admitting that the item that I like most, more than anything else in your entire place, is the gorgeous green dress in photo 32. More info?