apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

It's the little things.

I only recently discovered this site. Every time I come to Apartment Therapy I want to cry with joy. I have found my tribe.

I have the same (or similar) green on one wall in my bedroom. I've been try to unify the room; create some sort of theme. But I keep going in circles. After seeing Rose's space I realized I have been over thinking the whole thing. It is as if someone hit me over the head and I am no longer blind. ItÂ’s true what they say about seeing things with different eyes.

Thank you Rose for letting us look inside your space. This will sound weird but something as simple as seeing the trim painted the same color as the single wall has simplified my life and made my day.

Stupid question, I know, but did you buy the fan in those colors (in which case, where?) or did you paint it (in which case, how?)

Hi, Mardi,
The fan came in those colors, but I'll have to ask my parents where they got it. I'll get back to you on that.

Hi Rose and JS:

Great job. Rose, you truly do keep your apartment very nicely. JS--I think your suggestions are terrific. I realize that there must be a reason both of you have decided to orient the bed outward instead of turning it and moving it against the wall. And JS, since you are the professional, I am agonizing about second-guessing you. Still, my hope is that both of you will take my suggestion as it comes--with great respect.

Were it my space, I would turn the bed for several reasons--first, it would be possible to put pillows on it and make it seem like a second sofa. Second, you would gain floor space. Third, you could still access the books from the bed. Fourth, if you dressed the bed in a fabric similar to that of the sofa, the room would look more unified.

Good luck with the changes!

I think this apartment deserves an Emmy. It is that entertaining. Huzzah young Brooklynite! A Triumph!

I really found this interesting and inspiring - it's looking like I'll be moving into a studio on my own soon, and after seeing Rose's, I have a ton of ideas! I've been freaking over how to pare down the stuff that couples accumulate together, and how I'm going to avoid sleeping on the counter. Rose's place is a great mix of both form and function. Apartments that look like operating rooms give me the willies - I like seeing loved objects and art. Thank you for letting us peek!

I think this apartment is terrible. It has no style. I cant believe people live like this. It looks like it was furnished out of the salvation army and peoples trash bins.

I agree with CLM, this apartment is horrible. There's nothing interesting about it at all. Are we the only ones that are willing to say the emperor has no clothes? Where's some simple/cool design solutions to complex problems? There's no rhyme or reason for anything in there. Horrible.

Thanks for the peek into your home, Rose! I like the layout and use of the space, and I like the colors. It could be unified a bit more, add some smoothness to the starkly defined areas, but there is personality there already, and humble comforts.

I have a studio, too, and I agree with mewindow that you can really overthink things. I am still simplifying and struggling to figure out what to do with my problematic, itty bitty but somehow beloved abode. I hope we see more of Rose's transforming apartment.

Thank you froog for agreeing with me. The point is to give an honest opinion! The post above mine states that they found the apartment interesting and inspiring!!! I will give them "interesting" but come on what did the pictures inspire them to do??? Lets be honest here!!

"Where's some simple/cool design solutions to complex problems?"

Well, no one's going to want to send them in after reading the comments from the two of you. Why don't you just go buy yourself some glossy mags instead? That way, you can carp and complain to your heart's content, without ever putting your nasty and mean comments where the actual resident can see them.

Maybe you should check out Maxwell's book where he talks about the homes of his students when he was a Waldorf teacher - the ones that seemed immediately welcoming, despite the fact that they wouldn't win design awards. The point is about creating home, as well as good design principles.
We've certainly seen examples of apartments that do one of these things better than the other, but they're both pillars of what I think Maxwell calls a healthy home.

"The point is to give an honest opinion!"

Well, I'm so glad you shared yours. I found it constructive and enlightening. Gave me lots of ideas about what to do with my own place. Sooooooooo pleased that you chose to grace us with it.

Sorry, but I fail to see anything appealing here. I agree with CLM and Froog, but wouldn't phrase it quite the way they did.

Dear CLM and Froog -
Allow me to channel P2 here. There is definitely a place on AT for honest assessment. There should be no place for bad manners. Would you walk into a friend's home and declare "This apartment is horrible!" If you wouldn't say it outloud, you shouldn't say it here. That doesn't me don't express yourself. How about "This space still has a lot of potential. I think it would look better if ..." Pretty is as pretty does, people.
Now, that said. Rose has a few nice elements going here. It's clean. She has picked up some very inspired things like the colored fan, the mason jar and small container that looks like a vintage suitcase. The shower curtain is great. The overall view I like best is that tall bookcase nestled right at the end of that little nook.
Suggestions: The items against the wall opposite the couch need to be paired down and unified. I'm not a huge fan of the rug. I think it's working against the space rather than for it and would rather see a bare floor until something more suitable (boldly graphic?) can be bought. Also, a large peice of art or fabric behind the couch would go a long way.
As for you mannerless critics, Rose's place is obviously in progress. When I make suggestions in cases like this, I start with some easy basics. She can worry later about whipping it into magazine shape. It's great that you're inspired, Rose. Thank you for sharing your home.

I'm stuck in the middle here. I like a lot of the stuff (especially that fan!), but there are a lot of exposed wires and general disarray that give me an overall feel that the space is cluttered.

I'm talking about the disorganization of the books, the exposed hanging wire from the piece over the bed, and the exposed files. Maybe get an old vintage metal file cabinet? I have one that's in a green similar to your walls, if you could find the same it'd be another fun addition.

Thanks for the captions :)

Hi neighbor! Did you get to see this article on another Fort Greene resident in the NYTimes a few weeks back?

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0C10FF395A0C7B8DDDAC0894DE404482

I'm with Sharon. I enjoy seeing all the places and I assume that if one decides to show their home, that they might like some constructive suggestions, but not nastiness. One little thing though - so many of these house tours are "reruns" - are there no new people who want to show off their places?

To clarify: I post a re-run 'Inside Out' every Monday and a brand spanking new, never before seen, hot off the press, all eyes on the prize 'Inside Out' every Wednesday.
And yes, it would be great if people could be more constructive, and less malicious when making their comments. Thanks!

i'm one of the ruder AT regulars these days, and even i think it's riduclous to say something like "this place is terrible. it has no style."

firstly, um, everyone has their own style. and the point is that this is Rose's style, not yours. i'm sure if your place was up here there would be things in it not to my taste. and i might criticize the way you'd done certain things. but would i say "oh, this place HAS NO STYLE'? no. i'm a shit, but i'm not that much of a shit.

secondly, seeing Rose in the slide show and beeing a Fort Greener myself, I'm guessing Rose is rather young and probably doesn't have shitloads of disposable income to just order in the whole DWR catalogue or whatever would win your approval. Most non-wealthy new yorkers get a lot of their stuff from thrift stores, stoop sales, the street corner, hand-me-downs, etc. there's no shame in it as long as you remember that just because something is cheap or free doesn't mean you have to take it, you have to need it and love it just as much as if you were in West Elm or ABC. and it seems like Rose has done that. there's nothing appallingly awful in this apartment. there's nothing that looks like it was picked up just because she could have it. nothing here screams 'i couldn't afford a real couch so i took my uncle's puke green velour one from the garage'.

now it's true that i was wondering, as i watched this, what was so special about it and why exactly it merited a tour. it looks a lot like my place, a lot like most tasteful-but-cramped new york apartments i've visited. but honestly, it's homey and cozy, there's nothing wrong with it, and Rose seems happy. i have a few suggestions, sure (i'm with JS on getting a longer coffee table, and i think you should re-cover the cushion on that bench thingie at the foot of the bed). but all in all it looks like a lovely home and i would feel quite at home there.

a seperate note to Rose: in a couple of weeks, Clinton Ave is having their big summer sidewalk sale. June 17, i think? you should be able to find a great coffee table there for cheap, and you'll only have to walk it a few blocks home. i got my coffee table at a stoop sale here in the neighborhood, and it's one of my all time best finds -- $30 for last year's West Elm, and in perfect condition.

My suggestion would be to paint the bottom kitchen cabinets white, so they'll match better with the top cabinets. It'll also make them appear to recess into the wall a bit. I did this in an old West Village apt I lived in years ago and I can't even begin to tell you what a difference it made.

I remember this tour. She received a lot of great suggestions then too. I would like to know if Rose has made any changes since then? Is there a chance of a tour revisit to see the place now? Are you up to it Rose, despite the rude comments?

I think this is a wonderful apartment. It is clearly a well lived in and thoroughly enjoyed HOME.

It's not glossy, minimalist slick (which I tend to gravitate towards) like one would see in a magazine shoot, but it is extremely cozy!

Hrmmm. Jill just urged me to check out this site again, which I hadn't seen since she first posted my apartment review. Glad to see it has inspired some squabbles (see, "CLM", it WAS inspirational!), and thanks for the suggestions, those of you who gave them. I have indeed changed the apartment quite a bit since you last saw it (though I think I'll politely decline to have you over again), reorganizing the closets w/some of Jill's suggestions in mind, and clearing out a lot of clutter. I've also rearranged the furniture several times, most recently because a big tree outside my window was cut down, robbing me of some privacy and relief from the summer sun.

I see this apartment as a first or second draft, so the reviews that treat it like a finished (and disastrous) product feel a bit weird. But hey, if you don't like the way a person constructs a sentence, you're probably not going to like her full novel, first OR final draft.

Anyway, happy blogging/surfing/decorating.

I am also happy to have discovered this site! I am totally addicted!!! I have such wonderful aspirations for the spaces that I inhabit (still a renter) but ultimately I collect so many things I am overwhelmed as I don't seem to have enough space to accomodate them or the time and/or "fundage" to make it happen...I've not thrown in the towel, though!!! Thanks to the creators of this site!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh sweet Rose...have you ever read "If" by Kipling? It was my mom's favorite poem and you examplify it so well...peace

I am so sorry you won't be back, Rose.

The first draft certainly makes me want to see subsequent ones! It's refreshing. I think we share the same design aesthetic--and I'm sure I would have learned a lot seeing this "mature."

All the best.

I would like to say i am very sorry for sounding so offensive in my comment regarding Rose's place. When i read it over recently. i realized it was a very unkind thing to say. While i still do not like the apartment. I wish i had chosen my words correctly and not sounded so rude and unkind.

sincerely
CLM

Dearest Rose,

Honestly, I wish I knew you so that I would be invited over for pretzels and mint juleps. I feel that in your apartment I might be able to pull out your first edition of Judy Blume's "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" from the bookshelf -- settle in and wind down the afternoon with my long dormant teen angst. Your apartment is lovley, and certain to become even more so.

Most definitely better than my west coast dump with its low ceilings and pervasive cobweb issues. Don't even get me started on the next door neighbors' pool -- try waking up on a Saturday morning with 15 children screaming "Marco! Polo!" outside your bedroom window while you lament your lack of air conditioning and wonder if it's possible to actually sweat to death.

Please. I beg you. Invite me over.

Nice Digs...

Hi Rose ~ Great space. I am pretty new to this site and I just love the inspiration it has given me. I also see many not-so-nice comments from people whom I assume don't realize that their words can be painful. I applaud those who have shared their spaces here. I love each and everyone. I see the effort and hard work that goes into decorating remodeling a home. Whether it's a small home or a micro size apt. it doesn't matter. The ideas can be shared as well as useful important info. I hope; like others have mentioned, you come back. Your space is great - and I loved viewing the slideshow. By the way, I am considering painting my apt. and I love the green you have used. Can you share what color it is?

Hi cIeLo,

Fortunately, I just noticed your comment when looking at this site to send to a potential sublettor. The colour, if I recall, was Grasshopper - or rather "sauterelle", but I don't recall the brand, so that might not be so helpful.

Good luck with your painting project.
Best,
Rose.