Chris sent this in last week: a pictoral recounting of the makover of his very small apartment in Montreal. We love it and are particularly excited by our site's helping him through with inspiration from us AND all of you.
Howdy AT,
I recently moved from a shared house into a 2-1/2 studio apartment and your site's been a great inspiration! I took some before and after panoramas of the main living area and wanted to share...
I've attached some "Day 1" photos and others taken about a month later, once all the renovations had been done (paint, lighting, artwork, perimeter shelves etc) as well as a floor plan I drew. The superintendent was OK with non-white paint as long as it was tasteful. He's seen my place post-paint and given it a thumbs up.
It's gone from looking like someone tossed a hand-grenade into a bucket of blinding white paint to really feeling like a home.
I highly recommend a remote-controlled light dimmer like the Lutron Maestro IR I had installed. Wonderful for setting a mood while entertaining when coupled with spot lighting like the halogen wire lights I put in.
Chris P. - Montreal, Canada
p.s. the kitchen is next up for a make-over; I'll send more before and after pics if you'd like.
Floorplan
If you have before and after house tour pics of your own, we'd love to take a look. Email us at editor (at) apartmenttherapy (dot) com.
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What is a "2 1/2" studio?
> What is a "2 1/2" studio?
A 2 1/2 studio means (at least in Quebec) 2 rooms and a bathroom (a bathroom count for 1/2).
In which area this studio is located ?
Simon's got it right: a 2-1/2 generally means seperate kitchen and living/sleeping area + a bathroom.
3-1/2 would be same + a seperate bedroom.
(there are 1-1/2's with en-suite kitchens but all the ones I saw were extremely tiny - 12 x 8 feet living/sleeping/kitchen + bathroom)
I'm in Lachine on Montreal's West Island. :)
Very nice! Love the warm colors. Do we get to see the kitchen?
can we see the bathroom?
Hello Sisero and juanito! Thanks for the kind words - it's really starting to be a place I look forward to coming home to.
The bathroom is slowly getting there.
I re-did the caulking, replaced the toilet seat & towel bar and repaired some nicks to the enamel in the tub and sink. Some walls were olive green and I painted the opposite wall with the "Wilmington Tan" I had from the main room, balancing it out a bit. It's up to minimum standards now.
The kitchen is in really poor shape. They painted EVERYTHING white: "fume hood, cabinet door *hinges*, power outlets"... just sad.
First thing in the kitchen will be replacing the 1960's globe lamp with halogens, then painting the walls and cabinets. I'd LIKE to put in a new countertop and cabinet doors but that's costly and it's a rental unit so any investment is utimately lost. I'll have a look at local building supply recyclers - maybe there are some inexpensive options.
I'll definitely send some "before & afters" of the kitchen and bathroom once they're done. :)
Nice digs! Looking forward to the kitchen/bathroom. I'm also in Montreal, Canada. It's great to see a fellow Montrealer on the site. :)
About the kitchen counter/cupboards: You may want to ask the super if you can get a break on the rent if you go ahead and do that stuff. Even though it's a rental, this is your home, and it's worth it to make things the way you want them. Who knows how long you'll end up there?
Just a thought....
nice work Chris.
What was/is your budget
for our whole reno, or per room?
call Arnold Bennett's Housing Hotline if you need- want to know the rules about renos- or rather whet you should reasonably expect from yr. landlord... I'll look for the number and post it if you want- AB is a housing/tenant advocate in Montreal.... I'm in Montreal too ....
It looks great but I just have one request for people sharing their before and afters...can you take the pics at the same time of day? It's frustrating to see a "before" taken during the day with the shades open and the "after" taken at night with the shades closed. I feel like I'm not getting a true comparison.
Howdy all!
clutterfreemiss: I'll take some "after" day photos soon to match the "before" pics but I think you'll be surprised to find the difference is subtle in this room. The white was PURE, BLINDING white and just as searing at night as during the day.
To answer you Zed, I didn't set a total budget but I did keep records and can break it down. NOTE: all figures in Canadian Dollars.
- Lutron Maestro IR dimmer w/remote ~$50
- Ikea "Thermosphere" wire lights ~$90
- Ikea Poang chair & Ottoman: about $300 (the material I went with was, unfortunately, the priciest they had; I just liked the colour)
- bamboo "rug" $25
- Ikea Jarpen shelves in beechwood: ~$120 for all four with the brackets
- door and window blinds: ~$120 total
- paint: about $100 total, Behr "Wilmington Tan"
- Chinese calligraphy scrolls: $30 each at a furniture importer
...about $835 total, with tax. (I'm surprised the chair made such a big part of that...)
I owned the futon already and the German railway posters I got free at a train station there.
I borrowed a hammer drill from work as the walls are concrete behind drywall and proper lead-masonry anchors were a must to support the weight of the shelves.
I had no idea we had a Housing Hotline in Montreal but I'll be sure to look it up. Everyone that's seen the place comments that it could be rented for more now that it's been spruced up. I can't see the landlord being nasty about it but if he turns sour, I can remove EVERYTHING - shelves, lights etc. It would be a crying shame to be asked to leave a place WORSE off.
Your reno is inspiring Chris! Very chic, just what a montreal place should be (imho) congratulations!!!!!
I just bought vintage 1970s condo that hasn't been touched (ew carpet in the bathrooms) and am just now looking for ideas. I love the colours you used, and am really impressed by the addition of the lighting. How does it plug in - or did you remove an existing fixture?
Couldn't find this page before now- gives me an idea about how little/much i could put into my reno with
great results ....
Call the head and hands clinic in ndg(montreal neighborhood) if you haven't found A. bennett's #....
Hey Adriana!
Thanks for the kind words.
I replaced the old fixture with the transformer from the new one.
Another way is to use a regular wall outlet (switched is ideal) and add a three-prong plug to the lighting transformer (the silver globe on the wall) which can sit on the ground.
I've done this in friend's houses with the same lighting.
Email me if you'd like more advice on setting it up!
Chris