Hello AT,
Please Help! I have this great, big, white wall -a complaint I'm sure many of you renters can share- and I have no idea what to do with it. I hate that my tv is the focal point of this room but given the layout it is what it is. This is my first 'solo' apartment and as I'm 24 and still trying to 'make it' everything was done on a small budget but I'd still like some creative idea's for what to do with that space... Anybody have some clever suggestions????
PS. As a new single dweller and working on a budget AT has been my favorite site, I'm obsessed! There have been so many great idea's and tips! Thanks!
Katie
Hey Katie. A few things: first, while you say the layout is what it is, could the TV get put
kitty-corner where the lamp (and trunk) is, a little in front of the bookshelves? A cozy chair could (eventually) mirror the TV in front of the other bookshelves, which would create a nice sitting area and move the TV from being so direct. We think the room could use the angle.
White-walled rentals are a drag. Even more so if you can't use nails (The truth is we always do, we just fill the holes before we move out). Our thought for art is something long, say 2'x 6' across that wall above the shelves. It could even be a cool collage-type of image so you don't need a heavy framed piece. Or stretch some beautiful fabric over a light canvas (easily purchased at an art store). Or get 5 or 6 simple, light but large frames, fill them with something pretty and hang them neatly along the wall making sure that the tops (or bottoms) are aligned.
That's our thought. Anyone else?
:D i feel so honored that my living room is on AT!
Alec- Thanks for the layout suggestions it had occured to me but i think i have this preconceived notion that "grown up" apartments are supposed to be balanced...but i'm running home to lug that thing into the corner!
Also, i love the idea of getting funky fabric to stretch out over canvas...i smell a trip to F&S coming on! I'm also toying with the rasterbator.com idea used in the smallest coolest contest...love the new ideas if anyone else has suggestions bring 'em on!
The beigeness and the softness of the room are making the TV the most interesting thing going, too.
I'd choose a really punchy accent color (the red in the pillow would work) and make sure you pick it up in the art Maxwell's recommending, as well as several other places in the room.
Consider changing out the sheers to the accent color in a solid -- sheers are cheap, and the good colors often show up at the super-ultra-discount stores. If you want to live dangerously, do the red as your major accent color (20-30% of the room) and then a second intense or bright color as about 5% of the room, with both appearing together in at least one piece of art or printed fabric.
I'd also consider adding some non-soft textures, such as an earthy ceramic that's partly a highly polished glaze in your accent color and partly unglazed. Most things in the room seem soft, plushy, polished, or transparent, and without a hardwood floor, it seems to want something harder to ground it.
Oops, that was Alec's advice, not Maxwell's! I didn't realize I was reading AT-LA.
*blushes and scurries off*
Haha no blushing!
I appreciate the tips... i'm kind of scared of going "red" but you guys are the experts. I actually lOVE orange so maybe i can incorporate that somehow.... i do want to live dangerously!!! As said this is my first place solo and i really want it to be killer! And yes, the ugly beige carpet is NOT helping at all. This native New Yorker would die for hardwood floors (ok slight exageration) but for what i'm paying I CAN'T complain and have to live with it. I thought that shag thing would help....
Oh, there's nothing magic about red! Any color you like that's either intense or bright will punch the place up.
The one caveat is that, if the accent color is very cool (like icy blue), it needs to be combined with the beige in a couple of objects. A warm accent color like orange will snuggle right into a yellowish beige with no trouble.
I love Alec's idea to move the tv kitty corner (maybe on a rolling cart?). One thing I've always wanted to do is create a fireplace in the living room. If you do a search on craigslist for a mantle, you can just move the mantle into the space where the tv is and place a bunch of tall glass candles. (Maybe someone has a suggestion of where else to find these cheap?) Or search "fireplace" in craigslist and find one of these retro ready made fireplaces:
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/fur/158419643.html
Anyhoo, that's more of a suggestion for changing the focal point of the room rather than adding color, but I had to toss it in. good luck!
I just thought of another thing...how about blik wall decals. I'm partial to the paisley.
http://www.whatisblik.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=B&Product_Code=BL-130PA
Hi Katie,
You could hang a mobile on your empty wall. I love mobiles! Check out my website, I have a variety of different designs to choose from. The mock-up I did uses the mobile called Lustron. Many people use mobiles instead of flat artwork on their walls, plus they are kinetic in nature...moving slowly all the time, making great shadows. A client told me, he has turned off his TV to watch his mobile. Good Luck!
-Julie Frith
here is the photo mock-up.
http://www.humboldt1.com/~mobiles/blog/katie.jpg
Whoa! julie! That's pretty funky! I like how you put it right in the picture cause i really couldn't get an idea just from looking at the website...thanks!!!
And thanks to Simone for the website. Those wall decals are way funky! Now i'm thinking of all the different ways those could work. wow so many ideas!
Hey everyone!
The comments have been so thoughtful and helpful that i thought i'd put the rest of the pictures up. Just click my name and if you can think of any suggestions i would love the help!
The bedroom came out so well!
You have a really cute kitchen, too. Speaking as someone who also has black-and-white dishes in similar not-exactly-white glass-door cabinets... I'm thinking of covering the backs of the cabinets with a paper that coordinates with the colors in the decor, presuming I can settle on a non-invasive way to keep the paper up.
Wende!
Thanks for the encouragement! I need it! I never knew decorating was such an intense process but i love it and i'm trying really hard!
I totally dig ur cabinet idea and infact was thinking the same but then got tuckered out at the thought of painting (this was whilst sitting amongst a pile of uhaul boxes) but there's got to be some other solution...contact paper??? ew i don't know....staple gun? let me know if you think of a solution!
Have you considred putting your bed on that wall? You should place your bed on the longest unbroken wall in the room.
I think your pair of shelves hang on the wall used to be night stands. Have you tried fitting your bed between the hainging shelves? I think it would look great, and balance the room as well.
Here's a thought that may or may not work for you. If the shelves you have in there are ones you installed, maybe you could paint them red or a fiery orange? Or whatever bright color you end up choosing?
Katie, you do know what you are doing, it is obvious from the pictures of your bedroom. Read these suggestions and go with the ones that feel right to you.
On another subject, I could not help noticing that in your pictures your street address, apartment no., and if I'm not mistaken, your complete name are featured along with your picture. I strongly suggest you immediately remove those pictures or block out your information if possible. That is definitely not safe for a single girl in her first apartment.
Please take care.
The white walls are the last thing thats wrong with this room. Everyone seems to be trying to solve that problem, but the real problem here that you have box, and inside the box, youve got a whole bunch of other boxy things (the couch with its boxy cushions, the boxy coffee tables, the tv sitting on top of another box). Then everything's arranged symmetrically in square angles. For the love of god, somebody please throw this room a curve! How about a kidney-shaped or round coffee table?
There are many ways to add color to a room. Everything here that COULD be any color is instead kept brown, beige or black. Hello? The CURTAINS are a great opportunity to bring color in. You can add color with your furniture, folks! Theres always paint and elbow grease. And even Ikea furniture comes in color! Have your couch cushions recovered in orange and do some accents in lime green. (Or wrap just the bottom cushions in a piece of corduroy that you can buy for a few bucks downtown.) Theres a vendor a the Santa Monica flea market that sells some great curtains from the 60s and 70s. Big bold graphic prints. Buy one of these curtain panels, staple it to a frame and hang it up as if it were a big, modern painting on the wall opposite the couch.
Hey lisa-
Good eye, did not realize everyone could see that, thanks for looking out! ks
Katie, I would suggest painting. Usually most places are fine with this IF you agree to paint the walls back to the original color before you vacate the apartment. I've had success with this.
If not, definitely try incorporating some painted pieces of wood to add color. For instance, above the TV you could paint some wood an orange and then put 2 or 3 distinctive photos on them.
Don't forget fabrics either, if you're set against painting, hang some fabrics on the walls. Looking forward to your "after" shots.
thanks for the tips Waylon! I'm not against painting and have begged said landlord who has shot me down...repeatedly lol but i'm loving the fabric and photograph idea. And will def. put up an after shot!!!
hey, don't know if anyone has suggested this yet, but go to www.whatisblik.com website, this is what you and all the renters and even home owners with bland walls or furnitures....the possibility doesn't end! You will love it and I do sell it at my shop, but I figure you're in the States, so order from blik, now! :o)
w.
I used a roll of masking tape and a bunch of my old acrylic paints. First lay the tape down in x's squares and lines, then paint upon them, when satisfied- remove the tape. a kind of diy fresco for a big wall - which only requires a primer and top coat of paint on the move out.
Katie,
It looks like you have a good base/start. One observation: The way the shelves are positioned on either side of the TV is very "structured". Maybe relocate the shelves into more organic/random/offset positions. Also, can the shelves be painted a bolder color?
By moving the shelving around a bit, I think you can add more energy without painting or covering the wall (and upsetting the landlord). It's a small change--and can be combined with some of the other suggestions as well as your own ideas--that should have some impact.
[Example: Move the TV unit to the left to offset it a bit. Then do a column of long shelf--short shelf--long shelf--short shelf to the right. Also, hang the guitar?]
Have fun with it!
Shadd
As a recent college grad, I've had a lot of experience living in white boxes and trying to decorate on a budget! For one of my favorite cheapie projects I photocopied pen-and-ink drawings, enlarging them 400-800% then glued them onto foam core squares. (Maybe you can use the photocopier at work?) I used Aubrey Beardsley but architectural engravings or baroque prints could also be cool. You could also buy cork squares, attach them to the wall with double-sided tape and use as a bulletin board. (Or carpet squares http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=channel3730174&site=blueprint)