apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

What's the stuff covering the bathroom walls? Is it tile? It looks a lot like commercial rubber flooring. Is that it? Very cool!

While at the upper range of the size limit in this contest this is a super cool use of space. Hey, that kitchen looks familiar! ;D

The bathroom tile(?) is very cool! I think the living room with sleeping alcove thing is really interesting. How big a bed do those areas accommodate? Also, is it possible to post a layout? i'm really confused as to how all the rooms connect.

Great place!

PLEASE tell me, what kind of fridge is that? I like the bottom freezer concept and love even more that it is a door instead of a drawer. Was looking for that but never found one. When I moved I inherited one with a bottom drawer that leaked like crazy. Do enlighten!

I love this apt...it looks lived in and cozy, but not cluttered. Modern (like the bathroom) mixed with your own stuff (wall decor, furniture)- this is a mix I really like.

When can I move in? ;D

Hey - those are penny tiles on the bathroom wall. You can get them at Bella, Nemo, even Home Depotin the city. If you like the Home Depot color selection, I think their price is the best at around $4.25 per sq. ft. while I think Bella/Nemo might lean more towards $7.00. And I LOVE the brass accents in the bathroom which look so beautiful with the blue tile and dark grey grout. It also is very nostalgic of my miniscule quarters when I lived in Japan. I love the womb-like feeling of this apartment. I also would like to move in, maybe Miya and I can do a timeshare. By the way, do you live near a park? One of the pictures looked as if there was a park outside the window. Very nice...

There's a subtle sexiness to this place. I can't really put my finger on it, but that's the overall vibe I get from the slideshow... PS, the bathroom kicks ass.

The sleeping alcoves are very clever. Are they former closets or what? And each has a separate entrance into the kitchen? I couldn't understand how it all went together till I reread the description and realized that there are two rooms that each have an alcove. A floorplan would really help to understand this. Are there two people living here who each have one of the rooms? Or is one alcove for guests?

love the cinnamonish? ceiling, color throughout, and the tile. two alcoves, delightful.

my question/comment has to do with the bed platforms- did you build them yourself, and if so, were they hard to build?

(i also love the bathroom)

vermilion pocket doors!!! I want to live here too!

WOW. Brilliant use of space. Love it! Tell us more about the alcoves.

Loved the toilets. Are the cork mosaic flooring a lot of work to clean?

Why some "no ways!"? Please explain people who vote that! I'm curious...=)

penny tile is such a crowd pleaser! (don't get me wrong - i love it!)

This is a great use of space! There is storage under the platform beds, right? Really clever - it seems spacious! My one suggestions would be about furniture arrangements in the Living Rooms-it just doesn't look like a few people could sit and have a conversation. Everyone would be facing in the same direction looking at the TV, right? Maybe I'm not seeing the photos right. Anyhow, I would like to see the walls be a little less stark in the bedroom/living rooms too. the kitchen is, as you know, fabulous, and i LOVE the red doors and green apple walls!!! This is a GREAT apartment, Anita!

i absolutely love this apt. wonderful use of space- and so much character! i love when you can get a sense of someone's personality from their apt. it's beautiful. well done. and i'll jump on the bandwagon and add that i LOVE the shower accents.

great job

d*s

Anita, just wondering if you came up with everything yourself, or if you had help? (The porthole window is such a great idea that it just made me wonder.) Really fun apartment--I love the colors and the faucet (which seems like it might have originally been an outdoor faucet)?

Hi all. Thanks for all your comments. First thing, I did design/build this apartment from scratch, with the help, support, and inspiration of everyone around me at the time I was designing, this included friends, family, sales rep, my building manager and my contractor. The apartment was built for 2 permanent residents, with the flexibility of sleeping 7 total comfortably on the trundle bed and couches.

Fiona- YES! The brass bunny rabbit faucet is originally an outdoor faucet, I bought it off ebay for $5.00 because spigot was spelled wrong and no one could find it, and therefore didn't bid on it. I've seen portholes used in other projects but to finish off the rim, my contractor gave me direction and I followed through and found it in NJ. A PVC pipe that big is hard to get apparently

Seema- Hmm... The space is small and therefore hard to capture well in photographs, but what we do when a bunch of my friends get together is we'll sit in a circle, 2 on the couch, 2 on the ottoman, a few on the floor and maybe 1 person on the bed... the trundle bed underneath one bed platform can slide out 2 feet and act as a low cushioned bench. it's pretty versatile, but yes the space is small, and thus, it's hard to have more than a party of 6 or 7 without the groups getting dissected. We have also played poker (8)around the kitchen table.

Other-

The shower/toilet room floors are the same tile but different color as the wall, and it is penny tiles from NEMO, but I was able to bring it down to HomeDepot prices, a benefit of being an architect, access to contract prices. But if you're a hard negotiator, you can probably do the same with enough preparation.

The Bed Platforms were designed by a college friend who flew out here for a month to help educate me on the intricacies of furniture building. We built an ipe floor for the shower/toilet room, but it ended up not working functionally. But through these experiments, I learned a lot, including the fact that building is quite simple and it's all about practice.

The apartment is across from a city park, so yeah it's great not to have neighbors peering into you apartment, and not having to worry about a big building coming across the street blocking your sunlight.

Refrigerator- AMIKA is the brand, I went to Bloom and Krup on 14th Street, they have a floor model at least back then they did, it's 2'x2' plan so it's space-saving as well. But you can buy it at places like Gringers or Elgot too..

Beds are Full Size and there is still 2 feet clear space for walking on the platform.

I'll try to figure out how to post the layout... Yes it would be helpful. But in brief, it's basically 2 alcoves opening out to opposite directions and each has a closet built off of it and the closets interlock to each other... I'll post a layout, hopefully by monday.

Thanks again for all your support!

maxwell, is it possible to post up 2 more layouts to explain the apt a little better?

I like the outdoor BBQ!

really love the grill on the terrace!!

Anita, I love the simplicity with funky touches such as the change in tile size at the kitchen window, corner kitchen sink (the stainless steel countertop surrounding the sink must not have been easy), and the wood ceiling in the bathroom... they give a personality to the space. The rabbit spigot and porthole window are charming. It's a creative way to bring daylight into the bathroom. Good job!

BTW, just found out, the AMIKA refrigerator products are not so great now... lots of kinks... in 2 weeks I will get better alternatives for the 2'x2' refrigerator similar to mine, but better built now.

As for the layout, maybe if I make it the next round, I'll be sure to include a Plan, to explain it better.

So if you want to check it out, please vote SUPER COOL!!! heheh ;)

Wow. I don't think it's fair to compare your place to the others in this competition. You've got both money and style.

Two suggestions though-- buy a super kick-ass rug or several to cut the glare on your floor and give your room more warmth and visual interest. It's somewhat of a stark contrast to have the warm qualities (like the colorful textiles, prints, asian graphics) mixed with the cool qualities (black leather, marble).

And finally, mix up your lighting. It's hard to tell what kind of lighting you have in some of the rooms because the sources aren't obvious, but the bedroom for example, could use much better lighting that creates a warm feeling as well as adding some visual interest. There are so many amazing lighting products these days it's impossible not to find the perfect lights to complement your design scheme. With the right lights your rooms could look even more amazing. Try not to do the whole track lighting thing. That always turns a potentially warm and inviting room into a cold, impersonal showroom full of flat highlights instead of subtle, soft glows and variegated shades of colors.

Thanks Kelvin! I`ll keep that in mind.

This is just beautiful, and exactly the kind of feel that I try to get (and fail to get!) in my own apartment. It's feminine and sexy, cosy yet uncluttered. I would probably add a rug to the tiled floor in front of the sofa, but otherwise this is just gorgeous.