apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I loved the chartruse in the kitchen. Gorgeous!

This apartment has a lot of potential. I was delighted by some parts (the yellow kitchen, flower headboard, room divider shelves) but then stumbled over others (the hideous overstuffed blue vinyl sofa, dirty looking striped rug in the kitchen, and the tiffany lamps by the bed). I think some of the stuff need to be edited down.

I really liked some elements, but had a difficult time with others (colour scheme, some furniture choices...). Also, the space is quite a good size (with decent storage!) so I'm wondering about the rack of shoes by the bed?

fun headboard!

funny headboard!

The suitcases are bugging me. Are they always there? It looks staged, and not in a good way.

How, I wonder, can any apartment be cool when it has such a horrific sofa?

And yet this one is. I voted supercool, and I stand by it. And I really want to see more.

There's an individual sensibilty at work here, one that might seem a bit idiosyncratic and rule-breaking. That endears this place to me in a big way. I'd rather live in this space than in any number of chic, minimalist, cold boxes.

AWESOME headboard. Am I mistaken or do they light up?

I have to say as well. There is something I really liked about the vibe of this space despite knowing better and having seen several much more specific-looking homes so far. It is most likely from the description that they are always adding and subtracting and arranging things, it's alive and human to look at, and whimsical without being faddy or childish or pretentious or smothering. I imagine the delights of shopping and getting a new chance to rearrange furniture comes over the dwellers, and it's carefree, and yet I don't get a sense of mismatched space/function fill-ins.

Hi guys, first of all thanks for the feedback so far. Let me answer a few of the questions...
1) Yes, the suitcases are always there, not staged. They hold fabric and other misc sewing things related to a small business I run on the side of my day job (since I don't have a studio for that).
2) Yes, the headboard does light up!! It looks especially rad at night.
3) I have a LOT of shoes...so the nicest ones go on the bookshelf. I don't believe in hiding away your stuff in some false minimalist fashion - you should love everything you own, junk and all. Especially if they are gorgeous shoes!

I think when these pictures got loaded up to the site some of the colors go distorted:
1) The color in the kitchen is a pale, but bright shade of yellow
2) The sofas are a jungle green leather (not overstuffed blue vinyl) that matches the inlay of the coffee table. We actually get quite a lot of compliments on them since they are super comfy and look cool in person - I guess that doesn't really transfer on the site!!

Thanks for the feedback so far, and keep it coming!

I was wondering about the suitcases too. The headboard looks interesting, but I'm wondering how functional it is.

There are some cool pieces/knicknacks, but none of it really fits together for me.

I love your apartment. The yellow (my favorite color) kitchen is great. Where did you find the dining chairs? Did you cover them with fabric? I would love to get my hands on some of that fabric.
And it is apparent that you are a book lover as well.

yeah, i like it too for being creative and showing individuality. and also agree that squishy-leather is a terrible sofa look but this one has been pulled off brilliantly. and, furthermore, this is a cute space and looks like its been organized well.

however headboard = unsanitary and looks like it would catch your hair. suitcases blocking a door = bad feng shui. tiffany lights = just no good. and kitchen hanging fixture = a great opportunity to get a better one, if you like to thrift.

but i mean all of that with love. i think the place looks nice.

Fun headboard--wouldn't work in my dusty house. Love the kitchen color. And I wonder about that beautiful red suitcase--is that a white pattern on the side?

If I ever wanted to just sit and chill with a good read, I'd probably pick this lovely apartment. I think the atmosphere is extremely inviting and I'm sort of wondering if we can become friends so I can come over and relax. Hehe. Great work on your apartment! I'm totally inspired by this!

Great colors--loved the dining area chairs. And the kitchen is terrific. But the suitcases? Even if you use them to store useful stuff--they belong under the bed when not in use. If you want to leave storage out, it needs to look good. Baskets, shelves with baskets, a small bureau. The suitcases don't look staged---just sloppy.

HAHA.. I almost made the same headboard. Then I decided against it.

I'm not feeling the cool here. Nor the small. 850 and it still looks cluttered and unedited. The lamps, the suitcases, some of the tchotchkes - all could be culled down to the essential: what the purpose behind "small/COOL" is. Not just showing off your home, but showing off your solutions.

Some nice things about this place - the crazy headboard, the blue chair covers & the nicely spaced frames above the table!

I love the headboard and the color of the couches. Lots of nice touches. Terrific!

I like the headboard kind of a lot. It looks like you could change those flowers out whenever you felt like it, too.

I voted cool. Anyone who can make an apartment look good with those ugly-ass 80s sofas deserves at least a cool.

I'm sure they're very comfy, but damn.

I LOVE your yellow kitchen! very nice! :)

living with suitcases, good for the mind i think (one packed for travel, one for any hospital stay--puzzles, turban, wrap, snacks, etc--another, empty, or full of art projects...or just cute

sweet eclecticism.

Jooly,

How functional is your headboard supposed to be? If they are supposed to have functions, I wonder how many in this contest fulfill them. I'm pretty impressed that you could read by this one, if needed.

Darn that Jooly, I totally forgot what I came back to ask.

I want to know how you did the headboard? I've seen those light-up branches at World Market but what did you do to work with all of the separate plugs you must have when using that many together? Thanks.

1) The red suitcase is from Diane von Furstenburg's Twig collection - amazing amazing present from my very loving boyfriend Alex.
2) The dining chairs were free - abandoned by an old roommate (but originally came from Ikea I think) - and Alex picked out some fabric to reupholster them. We got the fabric as a remnant - so it was under $10 for 2 yards and I don't know where you could find it now.
3) The headboard was a bit tricky to be honest. They are all set up in vases so they can be taken out and moved around the apt for parties and and what not. But all the cords can get a bit messy. Luckily I have some heavy duty extension cord thing that fits all the big plugs into one, which is then plugged into the wall.
**We inherited a super gorgeous 1930s bed frame recently so the flowers are now in large vases and the trunk is by the front door.