apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

You need YOU in the environment. And, that does not mean go out and buy stuff.

It means who are you? Are you a nature lover? Go out and collect nature! Interesting pieces of wood, shells, rocks, things like that and create a collection "theme."

Nature is just one example. Are you a photographer? Blow up your images! A knitter? Knit something for a wall hanging. Have stuff from a loved one? Arrange it! A reader? Show your books. (ok, enough with the exclamation marks).

I don't mean for you to clutter it up, but I do mean for you to perhaps buy or build some shelves and put YOU into the apartment. Make a home.

I will say to take care that you don't have a bunch of small stuff on a big wall. That, proportionately, will be difficult to see. Play with proportion and scale. That's an important lesson right there.

This is one approach. You'll also get fabulous other ideas for making your home really striking and lovely, but I'd like you to consider what I said above, and that is to put "you" meaning "yourselves" into the place so that your home truly becomes your refuge.

And, by the way, thank you for the job you are doing for our country and the sacrifices you make.

For me, the most powerful part of a room looking beautiful is it's cleanliness and simplicity. When I started tackling design it was important for me to have a place for everything. Because of this I have closets full of marked bins for things I rarely use and therefore, don't want to see daily. I would suggest putting away your non functional pieces, or whatever it is you're questioning for your own taste. Start with a blank slate. Use AT Smallest Coolest and decorating magazines you admire as inspiration. Go take a walk around a local antique store or flea market for inspiration. Much of what I own was purchased at antique stores and I have a memory connected to each piece (where I found it, who I was with, Usually an interesting story about getting it home...) Decorating your home should be a labor of love, things collected over time.

I'd imagine that two smaller sofas, versus one corner unit, will be more practical as your careers take you to new digs so frequently, so that perhaps is a candidate for change.

Other than that, I'd say resist the temptation to spread stuff out to fill the space (but your picture ledge is a step in the right direction). So, for example, put one of the art pieces on the TV unit wall. Group the two rattan chairs versus separating them. Place the small table in between them in some configuration that makes sense.

Since you seem to have the room, try this exercise: Treat your room like a writing assignment: Only one thought (function) per paragraph (wall).

And TiVo "Home to Go" on HGTV.

One of the things I like about your apartment is that the colors are neutral and calming. You can never go wrong with white, taupe, and camel--some may call it drab, but I think it is very relaxing and soothing. Thank goodness you don't have a bunch of frilly clutter!

I have a few suggestions that you could do today without even spending any money:

1. Move those stools into a closet unless you actually sit in them to eat. (You should be eating at the dining room table anyway!) They are clogging up the traffic flow and it looks like they accumulate jackets and junk. You have spacious rooms with high ceilings but that corner is cramped even with two openings!

2. Take that table with the curved legs that is next to the stools and put it in the middle of the L-shaped sofa as a tea table. It has a nice sculptural shape that should be appreciated in the round and not shoved up against a wall. A low plant or a bunch of fat candles, not too high, would be nice on it. It will provide a center for the conversation area.

3. Take the ledge with the pictures over the sofa and move it down lower on the wall. It would look better absolutely no more than a foot above the sofa. Obviously you don't want people bumping their heads on it, but move it down as far as you can safely. Take everything but the pictures off the ledge and maybe even the small picture. Leave an odd number.

In general, in rooms where you are sitting most of the time, you hang pictures at eye level or a little above (when you're sitting down) unless you have a banqueting hall in a country house. In hallways, entryways, and staircases you would hang them at standing eye level or a little above.

What is that thing in the corner with the bundle of sticks and the floor lamp? It looks like a headless person squatting holding a stack of sweaters! I can't see it clearly.

Post some more pictures, please.

I am also curious as to what your favorite three colors are and what are your husband's favorite three colors. Also, do you have a pet? If not, why is the blanket on the sofa like that?

Also, we really do know that the L-shaped sofa was not manufactured in one piece. That other guy was just kidding about that.

just a little suggestion - if you're keeping the sofa, shelf, and art from the first picture; then I would move the shelf down a bit maybe by 6" and to the right a tad or so unless that would make it feel like the art might fall on you. Maybe add some color ( the vases on those shelves add your art adds nice subtle color.

mr green you entertain me.

one of the top things that helped me is setting up conversation areas - so the way everything is placed right now, the television is the center of the room. you don't want that - you want furniture to come together for people to congregate (i.e. someone above said to move the chairs together). I'd move them so they are next to the sofa.

I have a good friend that is an interior designer - her big tips are that everything in a room should have a purpose. If a piece of furniture doesn't have use or purpose get rid of it. And every piece of furniture needs a companion - i.e. that lone table on the wall next to the bar stools seems mis-placed. I'd put that in between the two chairs. Then it has purpose (drinks/lamp) and has a companion. Make sense?

Also - I'm a neutral fanatic - but this is screaming for some variation! that doesn't have to mean color in the traditional sense, but in my apartment i mix a lot of different shades of neutrals for variation. this is easy through paint, plants, (plants are the best best way to add home-y-ness to an apartment), and area rugs?

And please move all your wall hangings down a foot!

ps. kudos to you and your husband for working for all of us!

Hi Teresa,

A few thoughts:

Sofa: the sofa seems fine to me, looks comfortable, and it's a good neutral color. I'd add an ottoman to put your feet up on and use for a coffee table (add a tray for somewhere to put your drinks on). Also add some colorful pillows with a modern graphic print.

Chairs: I'd group the two wicker-look chairs on either side of the TV and face them toward the sofa. Consider painting these chairs a bright color (apple green, red, something that adds some real color). Remove the single chair pillow, use these as mirror images of each other, for balance. I'd also remove one of the three bar stools to improve traffic flow. I'd remove the chair (?) next to the standing lamp and if those are bamboo or twigs I'd put them in a floor vase. I'd also remove the little table, that's next to the bar stools, it doesn't seem to be serving a definitive purpose so in photographs is reading as clutter.

Artwork: I'd move that shelf above the sofa down until it's about 6-8" above the height of the tallest person who'd be sitting there. I'd put a very large framed poster on the wall (think vintage), something really colorful, or paint a canvas to fill that space (portable artwork that's perfect for renters). Then I'd carefully choose just a couple framed pictures (and layer them rather than line them up like soldiers), or a couple candleholders, and a vase or pot with an orchid on the shelf (something that gracefully arches to break up the straight lines of the picture frames). For above the TV, I'd buy some large IKEA frames (try to match the overall arrangement, 4 or 6 frames, to the size of your TV unit to provide some visual balance), you can paint the mats a bright color with latex paint if you like but I'd go for black/dark frames to match your TV unit. Then fill them with favorite architectural or landscape images from your original home or from a favorite vacation spot. Whenever you move putting these up will make you feel most at home (I carried half a dozen framed images of San Francisco with me when I moved around the World for business). Alternatively, for artwork above the TV and sofa areas, you can paint canvases (striped, swirls, one color) because that gives you bold color on the walls without having to paint walls in rentals.

That's it from me, above all, have fun with it! My thanks as well for your military service, be well.

MrGreen, "other guy here".

I'm well aware sectionals are precisely that. I was talking about the flexibility of positioning. Which you could learn a thing or two from.

Something I've seen in small NYC apartments is that people who have a lot of stuff for any hobbies mount them on the wall, and it becomes a talking point...I've seen it with guitars, and have my first snowboard that i cant bear to throw out mounted as functional art.

Maybe if you are lucky enough to live somewhere in the country with a little more space you have some hobby stuff stashed away?

I like Melissaw's tip of everything having a purpose too!

A rug would be a great way to pop some colour in, and you could take it with you.

The TV wall is crying out for a big piece of art, or a hanging of some kind. If your not looking to spend a lot of money on 'art' there are sites where you can pick a textile or fabric you like and frame it on canvas. See this small cool entry for an example - and i believe in the comments she says where she sourced this particular one, but I've seen this option on more than one fabric site.

http://la.apartmenttherapy.com/la/small-cool-2007-entries/5-jamies-one-bedroom-bungalow-021188

Equally if you are feeling crafty - blank canvases from utrect and the like are quite cheap, and even painting on a single block colour and hanging puts a pop of colour on the wall.

You can also use rasterbater (sp?) to blow up and image you llike and fill the space with. Its been blogged on AT before.

Have fun!

Oh and last honourable mention - some greenery always puts a little life in a room too.

Laurie Ward's Home Therapy would be my supplementary reading recommendation. She's very attached to the idea of rearranging your existing furniture.

Speaking ex cathedra as the Princess of All Things Beige and Square, there's nothing wrong with an all-neutral room. (Neutrals were HUGE in Smallest, Coolest this year, too.) The idea is to use your neutrals purposefully, which means you have to go through all the hassle of mapping a color scheme, only with neutrals. Lynette Jennings' Straight Talk on Decorating does a marvelous job with color scheme planning.

Hi Teresa,

I wanted to chime in with my thanks, as well, for the great job you do for us. It allows us to sit here and pick apart each other's abodes, and sometimes each other ;-).

I don't have a lot to add here because everyone has already said it so well - lose one or all of the bar stools (just because you have the bar doesn't mean that you have to have the stools), re-arrange the furniture so you've got a good grouping for conversation, bring that lovely little table out into the limelight, and be sure to give that beautiful piece of art (the one partially seen in the last pic) a nice, prominent place.

My only other suggestion is that when you are feeling the need to purchase something, check out the base thrift shop first. I'm sure you know how often a TDY will result in a frantic last minute unloading of household goods when the weight limit has been reached.

You seem to have a mix of furniture right now (so do I) but if you're looking to eventually settle on a more of a 'style' or look, do take a look at the links that Maxwell has recommended, save some of your favorite pics, and keep them in mind when you go out shopping. Picking up pieces here and there as you need/can afford them will eventually result in whatever look you're wanting.

Humm... guess I had more to say than I thought. Anyway, good luck to you.

If you use your bar stools often, maybe consider a backless, more narrow version that will tuck under the bar. The ones you have are very large. If you are like me, I didn't want to invest money in furniture when I rented and moved all the time. I never knew what would fit in the next apartment. Therefore, if you want to add pieces but not spend a lot of money try places like craigslist.org for second hand pieces, flea markets, or (dare I say) Ikea. I agree with a post above that maybe a large ottoman (rectangular) that can double as a coffee table could be a nice addition. You could drape a lovely folded throw over it to add color/texture or a serving tray you love in a great color.

The single best thing you can do to your rooms is paint. Find a magazine or furniture catalog that has a designed room you like with a sofa similar to yours and rip off the paint color if you are apprehensive about choosing a color yourself. Then, add some new throw pillows that incorporate the color of your wall and the color of your sofa and any other accent colors that are in your room. Pillows don't require a long committment, they can be changed out easily and inexpensively, so they are a great place to add a bit of color and tie your room together.

Good luck! Designing your home should be fun. The post above about incorporating yourself into it is key. Its your home, it should be a place you love to return to at the end of the day.

Thanks for all the great suggestions! Some that I plan to incorporate:
-I already have the book, just guilty of not making time to read it. Going to read it...
In the mean time:
-Getting rid of at least 1 bar stool.
-Going to bring down the picture shelf to about 6-12" above the sofa.
-Going to paint the rattan chairs possibly red (looking for suggestions of kind of paint and even great bright colors for a punch).
-Grouping the chairs with the table for a sitting area.
-Looking at some vintage style art/poster for above the shelf.
-Thinking of ways to add "us" into the room.

It'll take me a while-since our lives are so busy, but I promise to post some take pictures as I go and post when I am done.

Also, thank you for everyone suggestions and very nice comments!

One other great thing to do is to buy a bunch of decor magazines and rip out everything you like, then go through the pages and see if there are any common threads to the pictures that spoke to you.

Your furniture seems mostly fine, which is a good first step. However, your throw pillows could use some updating. Pretty much anything from West Elm would work, and Ikea also has some good affordable choices - even better, you can get just the covers and use them with your existing pillows (although you should also get a few more for your couch since it is so large).

As a couple of other people have stated, larger art tends to add more excitement and interest to the room, the one piece with the lilies is definitely a step in the right direction. If you do purchase anything new, try to match the period/style of this piece; the more French Impressionist small piece near your bar area is so different I would move it to a different room.

With that piece of art and the wicker pieces you could get a nice tribal vibe going that matches well with some bright hits of color. I second the idea of painting the wall behind the TV a bright red, Pier One would be a nice affordable source for accessories like statues, candles, etc. that can warm up your place.

Hi Teresa, i am Kim from Australia. I have a great idea that can help you to add colour without having to paint, and you can take it with you when you move. Teresa, have you heard of fabric wall hangings? Fabric comes in so many styles, designs, colours, textures ect so why not put it on your walls. For more info see http://www.kimtdesigns.com