apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

what happend to your cherner chairs - I really like them.

Don't be sad about the bird feeder yet - it took a few weeks before birds visited ours too. This past weekend, we got a visit from 2 cardinals. It was worth the wait.

...what about the kitchen? don't you miss the henrybuilt??

congrats on the move....what happened to your old place?

my question is what do you do about a landing strip? i have a similar set up where you walk in the house and you're in. there are no nooks for a dedicated place to deal with your stuff when you walk in. you can't tell from the pics what your solution is. and i know it will be a creative one!

love the blanket over the armchair! where is it from?

I was wondering about the cherner chairs and the kitchen also.

I'd think item number 3 on your best things list would have been number one ;)

The blanket looks like the "Pom Pom Throw" from Calypso...

http://www.calypso-celle.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=17329&category_id=363

lose the 'granny' tablecloth and paint the table high med red like the carpet

As long as you're getting unsolicited advice and criticism: why do people leave their toilet lids up when not in use? It's kinda gross, no? Everybody does it, though.

mamacita: i dont know, i guess the reason why i leave it up is i dont want to touch it to put it down, however i should because the pets will go dunk their head in there. bad clorox water.

oh yeah, what about the henrybuilt? were you in a rental before? i bet the next renter is excited...

I love how casual and lived in your place looks with its aesthetics of the everyday: the towel over the door, the jacket over the chair. Thanks for sharing it with us!

mamacita - not everyone leaves the toilet lid up. I even have my husband trained. It's gross how germs fly around the room each time it's flushed.

It's great to see you making your new place into a home! Your mix of modern and traditional (transitional/moditional?) is refreshing (with so much straight up mcm around these days).

LL

mamacita - we also do not leave the seat up in our apt. A previous apt's toilet would WOOSH with water and spill out a bit when flushed so we just got in the habit. I'm glad though, it is really gross when you think about it!

I think you did a stellar job with your last apartment and you got some great publicity with the extremeness of its smallness and the epic creativity in the solutions for it, and I think it's also great that you were able to realize when you needed to get a bigger place. Since you liked your previous landlady anyway, I'm sure she's grateful for what you did there and you'll probably always be in touch.

In this space, I hope you end up getting a sofa or something more to curl up in, though, but these things do take time, and figuring out slowly what you really need and like can be its own kind of fun. Congratulations.

We leave our toilet seat up because the cat is toilet trained, so while I hate leaving it up, it's a small price to pay for not having a litter box.

I was thinking it looks off without a sofa, but everyone has their own idea of what comfort is and buys furniture they love to suit their own needs, not the necessarily the ideal of what one should have in a particular space. Plus at this point I am sure they appreciate an open floor space where they can stretch out and play with the little one.

I know what you mean about loving the empty space. I am a firm believer that less is more and that you don't need to fill a space just because it exists. If the right piece comes along then so be it, but until then I enjoy the freedom that an unfilled space provides.

it can take awhile for birds to notice a feeder. i suggest spilling seed around & below it. i live on the 2nd floor & i dropped seeds on the ground below & had birds (& a crazy squirrel) in no time.

I am guessing/hoping that you are sofa-shopping now...

1. Love the clock. 2. The birds will come. 3. Our amaryllis is blooming too! 4. A fan or white noise machine might help Ursula sleep through trash collection.

I have the same problem as you: my toilet is visible from my living area. I have read (and beleive) that its very bad feng shui. Does anybody have a solution to this? One friend of mine who had this same prob in an Art Deco apartment literally sawed through the door mid way and left the bottom half closed and the top section open for light and ventilation. Its not a solution I'm akin to. But nevertheless, it bugs me. Oh by the way, its unlucky to and unhygenic to leave the seat up and if you get into the habit of closing the lid you will find more prosperity will attract to you...(sorry to those whose felines are t-trained :). By the way, the light and the sheers over the windows in your living area are just exquisite.

I love the feel of your new place and thank you for sharing it with us. Of course, I want to see more pix as you progress. Anyway, white noise machine YES for blocking out the noise, but also Ursula will get used to it and an added bonus will be once she does, she'll be able to sleep through anything.

Re: the bathroom fung shui issues, put a mirror on the bathroom door so the flow of money will be redirected back into the apartment and not go right down the toilet.

Try as I might, I just cannot stand this apartment. The living room needs at leat a love seat and the height of those curtains is STILL bugging me. At that height, they make the room look even smaller. The wall color...eh. I understand that you guys might be trying to do something different in design but this place is missing the mark. I know it takes time to get a place just right and I know money may be an issue but I'm only pushing you guys because I'm pretty sure you can do better.

P.S. I close my toilet lid everytime. LOL

re: feng shui

Oh, and keep the door close to the bathroom at all times...

fyi, for those who keep the toilet seat up (potty trained cat, how awesome is that) you can be comforted by the fact that germs don't actually fly out of your toilet when you flush it (watch mythbusters).

In terms of the noise/trucks/Ursula, a white noise machine might be the ticket. It really helped with my daughter's naps when she was a baby/toddler.

$15 for a "noise" machine. It has about 10 different sounds (white, stream, rainfall, ocean waves, waterfall, etc.). We saw a sleep specialist for our 5-month-old: she said do not use the ocean waves sound, it is too variable and the wave can sound like a roaring lion. She said listen for and pick the least jarring sound. We use the burbling stream noise.

Hi Neighbors! I live across the street (you can see my window in the birdfeeder pic--so be nice!) and am also waiting for your birds to come (they will)! my downstairs neighbor recently asked me to remove my birdfeeder because she said the birds were waking her up. yep, amidst the cacophany of garbage trucks on our street, the birds are the problem.

i've also used a sound machine and think the general white noise setting works best because I agree the "nature" ones are variable, and are probably more for wakeful relaxation than sleeping. A good non-thundering rainstorm sound works well too..

nice work! you've been an inspiration and I've since started my own home transformation after a year in my apt. There's so much trial and error! Thank goodness for craigslist!

cheers!

We got a noise machine when we lived across from the firehouse on Union St. in Park Slope. The upstairs neighbors were really noisy as well. We found the rain setting was the most soothing and blocked sound very well.

Now we live in the back of our building in Prospect Heights and because it's a duplex, our living room is above us. But because we used the sound machine for so many years, we are now unable to sleep without it.

i love how a reader in a city of millions is your neighbor! what a small world :)

I just love Apartment Therapy! I second the comment made by Joan Vignocchi. It is very cool that your neighbor is apart of the AT community.

I applaud Maxwell and family for bringing us into your world....showing us your new home. It is not easy having so many people view "a space in transition". I know when I posted my house tour on AT, I was very nervous about any negative comments made...since I have so much more work to do. Thank you Maxwell and fam! I think everyone should give them credit for that.

I love your new place. It is perfect. I like how you kept things simple... And since you just moved in, you will figure out where you want things should live in the space. I look forward to updates on the space and more pics.

congratulations on your new home! thank you for the tour!
i'll have to check out your other tours now! gotta see the kitchen. your other kitchen was so fabulous.

The thing I love most about your newsletters and it shows in this tour of your lovely new home - congrats - is that it is real, not botoxed and artificially designed. It makes it friendly, reassuring and encouraging. You may like the rest of us aspire to great and perfect interior design, but you still have to save, live and strive for it too. Thank you for sharing.

wow, really love this home

hello, could you tell me if that rocking chair is comfortable? i've been looking for a chair forever. thanks.