Looks like Apartment Therapy's love affair with small spaces is catching on. Recently Metropolitan home hosted their own small spaces contest and this Dorothy Draper inspired studio took home the blue ribbon. A mixture of diy and budget minded sources like Target and Ikea brought a 408 square foot studio to this glamorous incarnation. And as swanky as it is, it had a very humble beginning:
Look! Metropolitan Home Small Space Winner
Like we've pointed out before one option for updating your space is to paint everything white which is exactly how this sleek space got started. Tired of blue walls the renter decided to paint the walls white, then some of the furniture, then everything. She loved how clean the white made everything feel. Once everything was white though, the she longed for something with a little more oomph and as soon as she got a taste of Hollywood Regency she started added black accents, graphic details and shiny shiny in the form of mirrors, chrome and glass. We love that she didn't have the end in mind when she began, just a desire to improve her living space. Putting one foot in front of the other she was able to pull off this very put together space.
We wish there were better pictures, but that back wall isn't wallpaper, it's all handpainted (and reminds us of anh minh's project). Using spare accesories and keeping the palette simple, this small studio looks like a hotel lounge and feels luxurious and organized.
See all the swanky pictures on Metropolitan Home.
For more black and white inspiration:
Take another look at Ondine's Top Design Office, this white apartment with black accents, this white room with a black alcove and this more rustic black and white mudroom.
Comments (16)
Daily Email
Top Tours
- Jaime and Carleton's Backyard Palm Springs
- Moses and Jamie's Whimsical Modern
- A Mid-Century Modern Musicians' Loft
- Bryan's Fashionable Statement
- Alysia's Treehouse by the Lake
Top Posts
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
OMG. love.
view missmarie's profile
Posted earlier today. Oops!
view LilyC's profile
This is the most posh studio I've ever seen. WHERE did she get that ceiling fan? It's actually pretty! A ceiling fan that's pretty! My little southern heart beats to the beat of it's blades. *swoon*
view mlleErica's profile
So pretty. But I really LOVE the ceiling fan. I want one. Where is it from?
view kr60201's profile
Lovely. I like this look and love black and white interiors. It's not everyone's taste, but I like that Met Home is showcasing smaller homes and homes decorated on budgets.
Also, I just noticed the trim work on the ceiling. It's obvious the owner/renter put a lot of thought into her home.
And . . . you'll probably hear this many many more times, but this was posted this morning by the San Francisco writer. I do like that you posted links to other posts with black and white interiors - so that's a big plus.
view 4ddh's profile
RE the ceiling fan . . . it looks like she took a regular ceiling fan and secured an Urban Outfitters chandelier to it. The UO chandelier is just crystals and the cord/light kid is sold separately, so she could have just affixed it over the fan's existing light - doesn't seem like it would be to hard. The Met Home story also stated that she purchased items from UO.
I was going to give you all the link to the UO fixture, but it looks like it's no longer on their site. I just saw it on the site this weekend as I was considering it for my home, so maybe I missed it (long day here). I *think* it was $40ish or somewhere around there.
view 4ddh's profile
cord/ light "kit" not kid. cannot live without spell-check.
view 4ddh's profile
Wow! Swanky is definitely a good word for this room. I love the way it turned out!
view Erin Lang Norris/Yellow Canoe's profile
If I remember correctly, Metropolitan Home started as a magazine called Apartment Life. The small space focus seems to me to be a welcome return to their roots.
view RichardinLA's profile
I LOOOVE this. The regency/gilded thing is not my style, but this is so gorgeous and posh. Amazing.
view carolyn_suzanne's profile
I love that it's just a basic mid century, carpeted box with no "good bones" to start with and that she gave it such class and personality. Beautiful!
view oakland's profile
About as interesting as a closet full of white terry towels.
view bromelia's profile
The apartment has a very swank feel. It's amazing how much the owner accomplished on her own, and on a small budget.
I imagine it must be very restful to come home from the hustle and bustle and be in such a serene environment, not to mention the satisfaction you'd have knowing that you made much of it happen.
view heather77's profile
LOVE it! Amazing ceiling fan though I can't imagine it doesn't tinkle when on...
view ndvheller's profile
i love how the people hide the fan by putting that UO chandelier over the light bulb(s) and the medallion over the plate.... it glams it up. and that space is just pretty
view wampler's profile
i love it but I would do something other than whitle.
view Haunted_Studio's profile