apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Well done. I love the use of color and the accent wall is great! Technically this seems to be an efficiency, not a studio. I'd lose my mind in there, but kudos to Laura for making the very best of it. (And on a dime!)

Nice job for such a small space! But I am feeling a litle naseous...I can't imagine living in one room. You are very brave.

so cute...i guess i'll have to stop complaining about my space being too small to bother decorating!

love the glass ball lamps. i purchased very similar ones from target during the global bazaar clearance earlier this year.

jwilli, they have the glass ball lamps at JC Penney too. That's where I ended up getting mine.

Thanks everyone for your comments!

This is where you can get the glass ball lamps. The small one is Urban Outfitters
Urban Outfitters

And the larger one is from Target.com
Target

Oops. The HTML didn't work. Click my name for the small lamps.

.. and the larger lamp.

Applause! Great job for such a tiny space.

Very cool, the colors are great. It's put together but also with an inviting "real people live here" feeling.

Bravo Laura...job well done!
I love love love the blue accent wall.....What brand is that?
I'll stop bitching about my 1100 sq. house now...

hdtx - it's Dunn Edwards Nocturnal Sea.
Thanks again for the complements :)

WOW! Love your place. The colors and style are awesome. Great job!!

love what you have done with your space! Great choices, very elegant!

Dare I ask, what does a studio this size go for (roughly) in LA? (I'm in NYC, so already know the craziness of housing markets! If you care to share, to satisfy an East Coaster's curiousity!)

thanks for bringing us into your home!

This place is really cute and girly (in a good way). However, there is something strange about the kitchen (Laura had no control over this since it's a rental) which I see all the time in apartments: the disproporationately large kitchen and/or kitchen appliances. Here we have a small one-room studio that obviously only one person (probably also young and single) is going to be living in. So... FOUR BURNERS? Why would one person living in a tiny place need four burners? How often will she have four pans of food cooking at the same time... she's not operating a Denny's! If they had installed only two burners she'd have about 25% counter space in her kitchen. There is obviously no thought given to the logic (or lack of): the way people live today, how often are they cooking a huge multi-course meal for themselves? (answer: never) And if all these burners are for the purpose of cooking for guests, where exactly would they sit and eat this multi-course meal? There is no room for a table in this place. Are four people going to sit on her bed and eat dinner?
I live in New York and I go into friends' tiny apartments that have inappropriately huge refrigerators, tons of kitchen cupboards, like you're cooking for 50 kids in an orphange or something, and then not even enough room for a sofa and a tv. And of course no room for a dining table and chairs... Cook a big meal and then go eat it out in the hall!

Very nice living space ... well done. It's pulled together, organized, edited and attractive.

As I started looking at these pictures, I was both admiring what was done with this apartment and at the same time thinking that I myself no way could do 250 sq ft. But then I started reminiscing about one of the best places I ever lived, an equally tiny efficiency in Ithaca NY, when I was a postdoc at Cornell. I didn't have much stuff way back then, and the place had great light, and a wrap-around window where I had my reading chair, and it just smelled good(!) Now I'm wondering if I still have any photos. Thanks for bringing back the memories! 250 sq ft can be plenty.

"And if all these burners are for the purpose of cooking for guests, where exactly would they sit and eat this multi-course meal?"

Jeff is so funny! I never thought of that. I'm curious now. Laura, do you cook multi-course meals?

But seriously, this is a lovely, sophisticated space. If Laura is able to keep it as neat and organized as it looks in her photo set, then it's probably a really comfortable, cozy place to live. Nice job!

Actually, Laurie Colwin, in "Home Cooking" describes dinner parties she hosted in just such a tiny place. Delightful book.

Pasta, sauce, and a hot veg would take three burners, and I'm sure it's possible to come up with a use for the fourth one (dessert?). One of my gripes about cooking for one or two is that every meal seems to require all four burners and an immense amount of pot-washing.

If the stove is electric (which Laura's isn't), you need four burners in order to move pots from "boil" to "simmer."

This adorable apartment has created a moral dilemma -- I try not to do mass-chain retail furniture shopping, but that coffee table is exactly what I want. Sigh. This is how West Elm makes its money, no doubt... cruelly figuring out what people actually want.

Jeff, what a strange comment re: 4 burners. I live in a small studio apt. and 4 isn't enough sometimes. Why would you assume that a single person only needs 1-2 burners? I'm curious as to your conclusion/assumption.

This apartment is downright fabulous. I too live in a very small space and it is great to see what someone else has done with her/his space.

BTW, four burners, rarely use even two. The remaining are covered and become a place for the utensil holder etc and leave more room on the counter.

Laura, You have done a fine job decorating your space. I live in New York and my apartment is about 300 sq. ft. After looking at your space, i'm thinking about changing the the wall color to make a bigger impact.

Wow.. Just got back from a Christmas weekend trip and came back to all this. Thanks so much!

I too wonder why they put in 4 burners in this tiny rental. Not just 4 burners but 4 burners that are oddly placed really far apart. I'm assuming they just had one left over from something or got it really cheap and didn't think it through. I must compliment the manager though. It was his idea to create the closet. It was originally where the kitchen is (no kitchen was here before). Now the closet is using space above the staircase that goes down to the basement in the hallway. It is a very creative use of space and gives me lots of storage which I could not live without!

I chose the dark teal wall color because it's one of my favorite colors. I took a chance and was hoping that it would draw your eye that way and make the space seem larger. It worked! I generally disagree with the idea of using only light colors in small spaces. If the natural light is good (which it is here) then why not use some dramatic color to give the space some life! It really helps.

Apartments in LA are ridiculously expensive. I lived with a roommate from Craigslist for 6 months and couldn't take it anymore. I decided that I'd give the studio living a try since that was all I could afford on my own. Since I sold almost all my furniture before moving across the country, I didn't have a problem fitting it all in to the studio. For those that asked.. it's $900/ month including utilities and it is less than half a mile from the beach. In Santa Monica, that's pretty good. I'm not home often and I'm a very clean/organized person so it works out just fine for me.

Thanks again and happy holidays!

Laura, do you know what the beige color used on the other walls is called?

I have been searching forever for the right shade of beige paint and have bought so many in trial and error that I've lost count, but yours looks absolutely perfect. *crosses fingers*

I think it's Rustic Taupe (DE 6129) by Dunn Edwards. I'll double check when I get home. It took FOREVER to pick that one. I had about 10 different paint samples taped to the wall and looked at them during all different times of the day. I'm really happy with this one.

Oh yes, if you could please, that would be fantastic! I was recently at Dunn Edwards and I'll head right back in again first thing tomorrow morning if I hear back from you before then.

I've got my walls all primered and ready to go and was about to SETTLE for a color I am not happy with at all until I saw yours!

Laura, do you have two different shades of taupe paint color in here? - it looks like the mirrored closet wall is darker than the other.

I like whatever color is on the wall with the thrift store chair and Target curtains - do you remember what that one is called?

I know you said one of the colors in there might be "Rustic Taupe" but you weren't too sure.

I apologize for being a pest, but I just spent the day painting a whole room w/ a supposed beige that ended up just looking white in the end *scream* so I'm dying to know what you used since I know for sure it looks good.

It's Dunn Edwards Rustic Taupe on all three walls and Nocturnal Sea on the other. The color really changed throughout the day and on different walls depending on the light. I would suggest painting a sample area on each wall if you aren't totally sure before doing the whole thing since these beiges depend so much on the lighting.

Great space. I have a bit more square footage that this, but I have an awkward layout so I get frustrated when trying to think of better ways to set up my space. I like the layout of this place much better!

The sheers and chaise give your small space a feeling of grandeur, and the restraint with which you've chosen accessories is admirable - as are your original color choices.
Bravo. I bet your place looks even better in person!

The chaise is fabulous, so small and a great fabric, too. Where did you get it? What are the dimensions -- it looks so minimal!

I love the chaise, too. It's a very elegant little home!

Wow great job, great place!

I'm in love with the deep turquoise and lime green accents agains the nuetral background. Looks happy, cozy, and refreshing.

so lovely! I really like how the backsplash area in the kitchen is painted an accent color. We don't have a tile backsplash like I would love, but now I'm thinking we could paint a nice accent there instead. Kudos on a job well done!

"We particularly love how she used some office drawers to add some extra storage in the kitchen." - Am I blind? I just can't see the drawers (or are they within the cupboards?). Any pointers appreciated.

Spectacular job Laura!

I love it when people have the courage to use bold color creatively. Way to go!

I'm inspired!!

Great apartment! Where did you get the black armoire - I love the clean lines.

Love it! You took a risk and it came out great.

Hi everyone - see that this has been revived recently. Thanks AT! Looks like my two house tours have been combined in the comments so there is some confusion.

The "office drawers" are not visible in these photos but you can see them on the floor plan next to the kitchen. It's just behind the pony wall. I used these from IKEA:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20086663

The black armoire is suprisingly from Walmart and after owning it for 3 years and moving it 4 times, it's holding up very well.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=6051640

The main paint is Dunn Edwards "almond latte" and the teal is Dunn Edwards "Nocturnal Sea"

The chaise was a craigslist find, I don't know the mfg.

Thanks for your comments everyone!

Wow... that is absolutely fantastic! I think I'd go mad with only 250sq (I live in 500 and it's fine, but only just...) but you have done and absolutely amazing job working with the space. The layout and the decor are just phenomenal!

Burners but no oven??????? What if you needed cookies? :)

Oh boy. That would be the only deal breaker for me!

Neat and well organized! As to the cooking discussion, for years, we used to live happily with a 2 burner and a Remoska (electric Dutch oven), hosting dinner parties for up to 20 people.

Very nice place.

But - it seems there is an awful lot of floor space dedicated to walking around the bed? Do you do that a lot?

Anna Europe - no, it is not alot of space dedicated to walking around the bed. Having the bed in the center of that area does create a more open, uncluttered look to the whole space which helps imensely with making it feel less clausterphobic and dorm like.

The space is not wasted however. One side becomes the office with the armoire containing the computer and the other has the dresser and mirror where I get dressed in the morning. That wall with the head of the bed is only 11 feet wide and that's a queen bed. Keeping it uncluttered with strategically placed furniture makes it appear much larger than it is.

Not enough counter space and that makes me cringe, but the colour scheme is such a fabulous choice. I especially love the curtain for a little privacy. Lovely.

LOVE what you've done! My favorite part is the bedroom... beautifully done, light and airy, georgous choice in paint. What I'd like to know is the name of the 2nd paint color... in your original post you said "Rustic Taupe (DE 6129)", while in a more recent post you said it was "Almond Latte"?? I've also never heard of Dunn Edwards... is it a local store???

The paint is Almond Latte by Dunn Edwards. It's a regional company (California, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona). You could go to their website and order a sample and just take it to another paint store to match if you don't have Dunn Edwards near you.

http://www.dunnedwards.com/retail/content.asp?legacy=true&content=80

Laura - point taken.

I was mentally rearranging the furniture trying to fit a desk into the room somehow. The armoire-office is the perfect solution to that.

Again, lovely place!

Ohmigoodness!! It's lovely!! I just painted my accent wall the very same color. I haven't finished my remodel yet, but I am inspired by you! Great job with a small space!

I absolutely love the teal and beige together. It's not entirely dissimilar to the color scheme in my living room! Well done! :)

I love the blue wall paint

and here

This apt is very cool, amazing for such a small space. My daughter is inspired to paint her bedroom wall a similar shade of blue.

As for the burners: when I cook, I do several meals at once, continuing to cook while waiting for one to simmer, boil, whatever. Four burners is a must for this. My first studio was even smaller than this, and had only a toaster oven. It was large enough to hold only an 8 in. sq. pan. I did cook a lot in this place, and even that small rental had a 3-burner gas hotplate! If you have only 2, you either don't cook, or use the microwave A LOT.

Your space is SO pretty. I especially love the dresser/lamp/mirror/blue wall in the bedroom. Does anyone have an idea for a way to make a similar lamp as a DIY project? I can't believe it's only 250 sq. feet! You have really managed to maximize the space.

I wanted to suggest that if you like you could get a toaster oven for a bit of baking. Maybe you already have this and it's tucked away somewhere. I have used my toaster oven for everything from potatoes to cookies to fish (miso black cod, yum!). Anyhow, it's very useful, and I don't even have a fancy one ($20 brand new). Just a thought, but maybe the burners are all you need.

Again, your place is beautiful. Thanks for sharing!

This small space looks so inviting. Love the wall color used here.
Laura has done an excellent job the so lil space.



Jeanne

I love the use fabric to break up the space. Where did you find the little "sofa"? I would love one of those in my small apt.

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It's a nice touch adding color on the walls behind cabinets. Really makes a basic kitchen look alive.

pictures of apartments like this make me jealous that i am not as creative!

Very charmant appartement. I Had already a smal apt like this in Montréal

LuSyll

Bravo!