apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Find a Focal Point and Build Areas Around It
This bit of advice was from Laure after she saw some photos of the apartment. "Since it's a studio," she said, "The bed will probably be the focal point. Why don't you keep it white and crisp? Create areas around it. By the way, I'm totally driving by my high school right now. Wow, creepy."

Before Photo:
Kelley's bedding was perfectly fine: pretty white coverlet and shams paired with dark charcoal sheets. When it came to separating the main room of her studio, it was pretty easy to figure out what was essential: A DJ area plus storage for her record collection, a place to entertain, a place to work...and all of these places had to be able to be comfortable for both her and guests.

After Photo (shot from the other side of the bed):

The Reading Nook
The one thing that we felt that was really important--and you may feel this too, especially if you are living with your significant other--is to designate a space that is for perfect for quality alone time.

Before Photo:
I know this may sound weird, especially in regards to a studio with a single tenant, but hear me out: When you have a space in your home (like this reading nook) that is just the right space for you and a book or a laptop, it can give that area a sense of purpose.

After Photo:
Kelley sometimes works from home, and working all day in a small space can make anyone susceptible to cabin fever. Even if you designate one area just for work, the simple act of moving into another area--be it the kitchen, the bathroom, or even another sitting area--can give you the mental cues to switch out of work mode.

The Bay Window Sitting Area
A few months ago, Kelley was facing apartment ennui: "I'm sick of my couch."
"Oh yeah? What's wrong with it."
"I don't know, I feel like it just takes up space."

The couch in question was orange, loosely inspired by the Noguchi Cloud sofa (emphasis on "loosely"). It was sitting in the bay window area with the intention of being used as a perch for socializing, television-watching, reading, etc. The sofa was big enough to fill the space...so big that there was no space for another chair, which made the arrangement for socializing a little awkward. Secondly, Kelley found herself watching DVDs from her bed anyway. So when the opportunity came to swoop in on a pair of Milo Baughman chairs, she gladly sold off her sofa, and we created the sitting area with the two chairs. Kelley plans on getting both chairs reupholstered ("One of 'em is leaking foam..."); so in the meantime, we picked up two throw pillows and grey throw covers to cozy up the chairs.

After Photo:
Our initial thoughts for the rug was to try and find something zebra-patterned: We were inspired by Abby's bedroom and how glamorous yet cozy it looks. However, after searching around for a similar, cheaper version, we came up empty. Well, almost empty: Target's Zebra Rug by DwellStudio inspired Kelley to observe, "It looks like they skinned a muppet. Maybe faux zebra is out of the budget?" We went back to Plan B and opted for the Ikea's Alvine Triangel rug in black and off-white. Coincidentally, it fit perfectly with a lot of similar touches in Kelley's space: her African bowl, candles, and her most prized possession from her parents: a handmade wooden side table with a gorgeous Frank Lloyd Wright-esque design inlayed with various woods and metal.

Close up photos of Kelley's bowl and table:

The Curtains
Of all the comments that we received from the first post, we were both pretty surprised about the number of people who vetoed the curtains. Kelley lives on the first floor of an old building, and there's a walkway accessible to the other tenants that goes right by all of her windows. Additionally, the backyard is shared with not just everyone in the building, but also the house behind her building. So, while we didn't get rid of the dingy mini-blinds that came with with studio, we hung curtains to give Kelley's apartment a little bit of texture. For the bay window, we chose Ikea's Ofelia because it was thick enough to deter peepers, and yet thin enough to let the light in. Thanks to the high ceilings, we mounted the curtain rods about 4" above the window (and we didn't have to hem)! Since the side windows were smaller in width than the center window, we just bought two sets of curtains for a total of 4 panels: each side window gets one panel, and the main window gets 2.

Since the kitchen isn't as exposed, we chose Ikea's Stockholm Figure sheers with a subtle pattern design. It allows a lot more light in than the blinds--not to mention, it looks so much better.

Photo of the kitchen curtains:

Taxidermy
As much as we love Kelley's taxidermy collection (and by we, I mean Kelley, myself, maybe a few of her friends, and even some of you readers), we were also aware that not everyone is a fan. So, while we planned out Kelley's apartment, we fully intended to put all of the critters in safe storage and replace them with framed black and white photos of San Francisco and simple, abstract art prints. (Kelley can always put her woodland creatures back after our European holiday.) After all, not everyone will want to be greeted by Winston, Kelley's beloved owl, after a day of touring San Francisco:

Join us tomorrow as we wrap up our weeklong project, round up the receipts, and tally up all the expenses on redecorating Kelley's studio.

Missed what's happened so far? Get caught up here:
Redecorating on A Budget, Part I: Rearranging the Space
Redecorating on A Budget, Part II: The Credenza DIY Project
Redecorating on A Budget, Part III: Repainting the Radiator