- Name:
- Kristina
- Location:
- Los Angeles, CA
- Square Feet:
- 750
- Division:
- Little
- What I Love About My Small Home:
- We made or modified almost everything ourselves in our apartment. The bench in the living room was made completely from scratch. The dresser and night tables were crappy old pieces from Craigslist that we had to fix up. We decoupaged pages from an old dictionary for the drawers and painted/stained the rest. Most of the artwork is original, too. We don't have a lot of money for fancy pieces from furniture galleries so we take what we can for free or cheap and make it our own. Needing to live within our means has fit nicely with our general desire to waste less. f you look around, you might be able to spot a few re-purposed jam jars and things of that sort.
- Biggest Challenge of Living in a Small Space
- The hardest part was dealing with paper thin walls in a cheaply constructed apartment from the late 60's. Kristina teaches piano from the apartment several times a week. The piano gets loud. We couldn't have it up against a bare wall for the neighbors' sake. In order to hide the ugly soundproofing material, we made this stenciled curtain and jammed everything behind it. For good measure we even stuffed an unused comforter back there. The kids seem to love it and the no has complained about the volume since.
Unfortunately, the neighbors haven't been this courteous and we need to deal with their noise constantly...
Categories:
Style,
Main,
2012,
Los Angeles,
Small Cool,
Small Spaces
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Love your place! Where did you get the curtains (with the red birds) from?
Thank you! So happy to be on here! We purchased blank, tan-ish-colored curtains from Ikea and spray-painted the birds (some look like they're bleeding, unfortunately). The rod is a steel pole from Home Depot which is attached to hooks.
One of my favorite apartments so far! The combination of colors, the homey-ness, the personal touches... beautiful.
Wonderful apartment! So warm & inviting.
So, I love your piano...it is absolutely lovely. We just moved to a carriage/laneway house and are downsizing by 50%. I just can't bring myself to part with my scores/sheet music, they cost so much to replace and I haven't digitized all of my library yet, nor do I want to.
As a musician, what do you do with your sheet music/books?
Thank you all for the comments! I actually haven't digitized anything, but I've arranged my scores in alphabetical order in a bookcase (not seen in the photo, but off to the right of the piano). I definitely can't part with my Henle editions...those are a fortune!
Good luck with the downsizing! It's hard but feels good to do!
I don't think anything in your place looks 'crappy'. You've done a really nice job. I'm kinda over the blackboard paint but's that just a personal thing. The only thing I really don't like is that small cabinet in the kitchen with the panels painted red. What the heck is that design on there? Looks like pennies or wine corks.
I really like your 'bleeding bird curtains'. You are too funny!
I love your apartment, particularly the kitchen and the piano! I can identify with your piano challenges, although thankfully my neighbors are all very gracious about me playing. To be fair, I don't teach children, which would make it more difficult--but I love your solution!
Where, oh where did you get the purple Persian rug in the living room!!!!!!!
The one in the living room is from Ikea and the one in the bedroom is a real wool rug from the 1920s, probably the most expensive thing we own.
I just listened to Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto no. 1 a couple days ago. Good stuff.
Very stylish! Note to self: Must stencil curtains...
This is the most darling place. What wonderful taste! I love how you did everything. Amazing. We want to go there and live there too! WOW!
Trust me, there ins't a single crappy piece in your apartment! Everything looks like it belongs. Love the persian rug in the livingroom, totally ties the room together. Cozy and charming come to mind when I see your place. Please share how you did the "chalkoard" above your bed? It's awesome!
Lovely space! And from one pianist to another - rock on! I could never part with my piano or beloved sheet music either.
Great kitchen, and I love what you did to the curtains behind the piano. And your bedroom looks huge in that shot!
two things I loved: the precious living room and that it screams out my favorite color. And, the little space dedicated to the sea.
Thank you again, everyone! Regarding the chalkboard strip in the bedroom, we just taped off a section of the wall, painted it, and then wrote a Rumi poem. Pretty simple stuff!
You have an incredible talent for taking the offbeat and turning into elegance. That is rare indeed!