apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Time Out's Home Decor issue is out, and in it you'll find numerous ideas that reaffirm some favorite efficient, space-saving features of city living. The closet-turned-office trick of Jason and Michael is shown, alongside other essentials like kitchen cooking/storage solutions and working with teeny, tiny bathrooms...

We grabbed this first image from a Country Living article on tips for cleaning, but what really stood out was the use of colored bottles. The visual impact of matching stems in mismatched glass bottles, all against the medium stained wood with sheer, earthy curtains reminds us of the best simple design choices reusing old glass:

Clothes, hats, bags and jewelry make their way into many homes' living decor. If you like to display rather than tuck away, we pulled a few favorite ideas for doing so...

The ladderback is a classic look acquiring continual, subtle updates. From the wood back with woven seat of the Shakers to low, mid-century Wegner, you'll find a great range of looks, sources, ages, and prices:

Lauren Geremia is the creative force behind Geremia Design, specializing in some of San Francisco's most eclectic bars and eateries. With a background in fine art, Geremia treats each space as if she's curating a show (and curate shows she does, as one of the founding owners of the new Collect Gallery in Oakland). Now translating her commercial work into residential designs, we see a lot of intriguing possibilities for home:

We love seeing who lives in what types of homes, and that includes your pets. Each of these pets from five of our midwestern house tours (so many more great pets in our archives!) are enjoying something different about their homes, and they look really good doing it. We've got the the dauschund buried under a West Elm pillow, a cat lounging on a vintage chenille bedspread, and another cat chilling on a record player...

We know that Eddie is killer creative and technically savvy with before & afters, and here's yet another great example. These Salvation Army chairs truly were salvaged with a little vision, some great colors, and strong patterns:

Tonight is Project Runway night at my house. A couple of friends and I gather weekly for some food, drinks, chat, and very attentive PR viewing. We've been involved in other weekly gatherings at friends' homes in the past, and think the ritual aspect is both comforting/chill and entertaining/social...

It never fails that when things break down, stall out, confuse or otherwise throw us off our daily routine, it happens in multiples. This week, it's been: a gas outage in our neighborhood (temps have really dropped, plus we can't cook!), a non-draining dishwasher (not a huge urgent battle except for the puddles of water on the kitchen floor), and unexpected overnight house guests (albeit lovely people). Here's how we dealt:

Currently showing at Collect Gallery in Oakland, Matt Shallenberger's serene, sequenced photography recalls Chinese handscroll painting in its methodical, thoughtful process. As panoramas, these images happen through multiple exposures taken over several minutes, resulting in a measured unraveling of time and a great sense of journey...

From vintage to modern to contemporary, the footstool is one of those functional side pieces that never really goes out of style or grows out of use. Great for throwing your legs up in comfort, useful for extra seating at parties, and a great spot to stack blankets during the winter months, this roundup shows some great stool style both as singular objects and in use at home:

In addition to loving blue velvet, suezq was curious about the fantastic pair of round coffee tables spotted in one of the blue velvet rooms (shown below and here). We don't know the exact source for those, but found a few that might give your living room a similar feel, including the low tray table from CB2 above.

When we think of china cabinets, we often think of grandmothers' homes; of pieces so traditional they might be hard to combine with modern styles (and lifestyles). Some of the more classic cabinets and hutches could be a great counterpoint to otherwise modern art, rugs, accessories (sort of the opposite of adding a modern moment to a traditional room). Here are a few ideas:

Over at Bloesem: Black and White Inspiration, we spotted this amazing room photographed by Frederik Vercruysse. With so many simple design choices executed beautifully, we were reminded of other rooms on Apartment Therapy that used the same elements to achieve similar effects: