Name: Eleanor (+2 shelter mutts)
Location: Ballard — Seattle, Washington
Size: 490 square feet
Years lived in: almost 2 years (rental)
In the old fishermen's enclave of Ballard, in the city of Seattle, rests a charming apartment building constructed in the 1950’s. Eleanor's tiny home was a popular entry in Small Cool 2010: Eleanor's Everything Important. The structure is so close to the water that a salty breeze greets you outside the door. With its inner courtyards and outdoor swimming pool the building draws in as much natural light as possible, taking full advantage of the sunshine — a very important attribute in the Northwest. Eleanor has lived in this one bedroom rental for nearly two years and has managed to effortlessly blend her love of animals (she has two adorable dogs) and her appreciation for vintage, repurposed décor.
Living in a 50-year-old apartment has its challenges: inadequate storage, dated tile, odd vintage storage compartments that reflect life as it existed a long time ago. Fortunately Eleanor’s apartment has a comfortable floor plan and was designed with large windows facing an inner courtyard. Plenty of natural light floods every inch of this 500 square foot apartment and there is a sense of peace and quiet, despite being located on a busy road in a lively neighborhood. Eleanor’s fondness for vintage pieces works well on a budget and with the exception of her sofa, most of her furniture and furnishings were purchased for less than $100.
Eleanor first shared her space with Apartment Therapy during the Small, Cool Contest and readers loved her style. She is an avid crafter and artist and her spare time is kept busy making things for others. With a true artist’s eye she sees potential where others may not – enabling her to snag great pieces at flea markets or repurpose what friends and family might not want any longer. Her walls house a collection of handmade prints and paintings, reflecting her love of dogs. And she has a real knack for displaying her décor, creating interesting vignettes out of ordinary items like her “arrangement” of paint brushes on the dining table. There is a story behind each piece of furniture: her first dining set purchased for her first apartment, the tea cup from her mother’s collection, her waterfall dresser lovingly restored by a local fisherman for his daughter. Surrounded by stories, Eleanor is living well by the water.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My style: Vintage by default! I have very little that was purchased new (mostly due to my non-profit salary constraints) so over the years I’ve been able to define what I like through other people’s stuff. I love mid-century modern pieces with modern or farm-house style additions here and there.
Inspiration: Apartment Therapy of course! Ready Made, Real Simple, Dwell. I read way too many blogs and covet other people’s rooms.
Favorite Element: This is really hard to answer because it changes all the time. The white sleeper sofa was a big leap for me – I didn’t know if I could pull it off in a room full of vintage furniture, but I love how it all came together. I also love my green reading chair and my waterfall dresser (bought from an old fisherman off Craigslist – literally, a real-life fisherman). And of course Myrtle – my beach cruiser!
Biggest Challenge: Money. Moving anywhere can be expensive – but moving 3,000 miles across the country is REALLY costly. When I moved from DC to Seattle I had only an 8’ x 5’ trailer and the back of my Forester to pack my things in, so very little furniture came with me. I had to be very careful about how much I spent and on what once I got here, but I took the time to find things I really loved. The result is a home that I feel completely myself in.
What Friends Say: The first thing most people comment on is how ‘me’ my apartment is – which I suppose means I did something right!
Biggest Embarrassment: My kitchen table and chairs. They are from Ikea and at least 7 years old – bought by me and my two former roommates in DC when we all moved in together. At the time we thought we were so grown up b/c we stained them ourselves (being an adult apparently meant you stain your own furniture) and I think the whole set cost under $100. They’re so beat up now, but I can’t get rid of them – we have such a long history together!
Proudest DIY: My little yellow nightstand. The fisherman I bought my dresser from threw that in for free because he didn’t want to deal with it. He’d stripped and re-finished the dresser, but only gotten halfway done with the nightstand before, well – I don’t know. Maybe he had to go fishing. It sat in my bedroom for months before I saw a post on a design blog featuring a yellow dresser, and I knew immediately that’s the color mine needed to be. A coat of paint and some new knobs later and I love it!
Biggest Indulgence: I am proud, and kind of shocked, to be able to say that nothing in my home cost me more than $100 – excluding my mattress. A lot of things were just given to me – either as a gift (the couch was a ‘woo-hoo, you moved to Seattle’ present from my parents) or because it was unwanted. The beautiful corner cabinet that holds my art supplies and books is on loan from a friend who doesn’t actually have a corner in her home that it can live in. Most everything else was a totally rad and lucky craigslist or vintage find.
Best advice: Take the time to keep looking! Don’t get caught up in needing something, anything, right now – you can probably make do while you take the opportunity to find furniture you really love. It took me a year to get my home where I wanted it, and it’s still evolving all the time.
Dream source: Area 51 in Seattle (Amazing mix of vintage and new furniture).
Resources: Vicki Nelson of VeganMe – she did the portraits of my dogs hanging in the living room. Etsy. Craigslist. The stack of wooden boxes came from Area 51 in Seattle. Eastern Market in DC. Target (gasp) and Ikea (gasp)!
Thanks, Eleanor!
Images: Anne Reagan
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Yay for a fellow Seattle person!
I love your yellow nightstand.
Your advice is perfect :) I admit to falling in love with you yellow waterfall dresser.
*your* not *you*
Way, WAY too many close-ups! I do love that little yellow nightstand and window/mirror deal. Also, your dog is totally cute.
This post totally made my day as I sit here, sick as dog, totally overwhelmed, packing up to move to Ballard from Pioneer Square. Now I can't wait to get their and fill our new space with all of the awesome vintage finds and locally made art available in Ballard!
*there*, not their
First of all, the dog is super cute. Second, the home seems a little under-done. This, of course, is in contrast to the 5000-square-foot properties decorated by professionals that we've been treated to recently on "apartment therapy" (seems like someone needs to start a decorating blog/website for mansions one of these days). So, while I appreciate the amateur nature of the decorating, and the apartment budget of it (in light of which it is lovely), I have to say that expectations here are getting perverted due to a lack of focus on a particular demographic.
O.M.G! Where did you find those brown cup & saucers?! I have an old set with that exact same design and color except they're tall, full-bodied mugs. Crazy! If those ever become too much of a burden, you know who to call...!
Oh yeah, and-
Yay for Washington!
Interesting- Eleanor sounds like a really need gal. I love that she adopted shelted dogs (yay!) and is artsy. I was just knitting myself before logging onto AT and seeing that preview pic of her needles and yarn.
I agree that it can take awhile to acquire items and develop your own taste. I don't work for a non-profit, but want to. My pay is pretty measly now and it's taken me two years to build up my bedroom. Now I've got a nice bed frame, mattress, small dresser and nightstand, and a bookcase (gift). Who knows how long it will take to furnish the studio I'm about to move into. ;)
*neat gal, not 'need gal'
I love, love that AT is mining the Small Cool Contest for house tours--there are so many entries that deserved far more than five pictures to tell their story.
I love your green vintage chair and cutie-pie puppy.
yay for another seattle person! and another yay for fellow vintage lover/budger shopper. i live on capitol hill. all seattle people should get together and have an AA (apartment therapy anonymous) meeting.
I love it. I am always impressed/envious when people can work their bike into the room. My cruiser is banished to the balcony, but I wish I could fit it inside somewhere that wouldn't be ridiculously in the way.
Ohh this is too cute! And are those old window frames treated as mirrors? What a great idea!
"So, while I appreciate the amateur nature of the decorating, and the apartment budget of it (in light of which it is lovely), I have to say that expectations here are getting perverted due to a lack of focus on a particular demographic."
I have to say, I take as much from these cute little budget house tours as I do from the great big designer decorated ones. It really doesn't matter how much you spend, some people just have a knack for design, proportion, arrangement, color, etc. Remember, money doesn't always buy creativity or talent. Some of my favorite tours have been the ones where the homeowners have done something totally unexpected and awe inspiring. It's the little details, like the arrangement on a coffee table, or the grouping of art on the wall, or even the way a bicycle is incorporated into a living room, that make the place. Not the budget.
i just got back from seattle last week and i have to say it was beautiful! we stayed at the red lion on 5th in downtown, and walked to pike's market every day for delicious food! falafel king was amazing and had the best baklava of the 3 kinds i tried there. we walked to capital hill, went to the capital hill block garage sale, walked to pioneer square, etc.
i absolutely loved the city! :) I didn't want to leave and come home to kansas summer humidity!
love,
vintagedress.etsy.com
giant cardboard ikea boxes? meh
Eleanor's tasteful restraint deserves an award for its performance in the starring role, with critical nods of approval for the piggy bank, the headboard, the bedside lamp, and even the risky business of that sleeper sofa. For every carefully positioned Target clearance item, there is a carefully positioned vintage piece, but vintage objects are not elevated here. The under-$20 shower curtain and the green upholstered chair occupy this apartment as equals; embracing modesty and practicality rather than novelty and nostalgia yields a kind of working class elegance. I really like it!
We know that Eleanor knows that the sleeper sofa was a risky choice, and this collective knowledge makes the piggy bank downright sophisticated. However, Eleanor's amazing personal style IS elevated by an amazing supporting act: the apartment itself. She lucked out when she found it. I'd like to see how Eleanor might handle a more challenging rental interior, a place with beige carpeting and laminate wood-grain ceiling fans with frosted glass tulip-shaped light fixtures ... How would Eleanor decorate a mobile home? Would her Target purchases still inspire us if they occupied a trailer? I don't know the answer, but I'd like to see how Eleanor would handle the challenge of decorating a less lovely space.
I appreciate these things:
- DC to Seattle transplant.
- Seattle Wilco fan.
- Cute doggies!
Go you!
I love it when someone does their own home, their way. Great job, lots of personality.
I really like it. I wish my apartment looked like this. If I had even *some* money, maybe it could.
For the most part I like it - the bike isn't doing anything for the living room decor though.
Yay for Ballard!
Yay for shelter dogs!
Yay for yellow bicycles!
wilco, eh? big points for that! adorable dog. i like the restraint and personalized home - feels like a serene space. thanks for letting us in!
I always love to look at really tiny apartments and how their occupants have furnished them. Thank you so much for sharing. This looks like a nice place to land at the end of the day. And isn't that what we're all looking for?
Love it! Love Seattle! Love Bike as Art!