apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

This looks like my freshman dorm room, circa 1984.

Just like you could say other entries look like their grandparents' circa 1950. Big whoop. I would've killed for a dorm room this nice, and that was in the late 90s.

I like this place...it definitely carries out an intention, even if it's not my taste. And, she IS a student, so it's not as if she's working with major bucks either. Though I know we have had the whole "budget" discussion before. I like the recessed shelves and the mondrian inspired rug.

This just seems like the oddest layout - why would anyone waste all that space with by putting a long hallway in a tiny apartment like this??

I think she's done a nice job, especially considering how weird the space is. I think I would just have convertible sofa rather than a bed and a sofa in that tiny living room though. It has a cosy but minimalist feel - and I like how the artwork is displayed (although I think the posters should be framed or mounted).


But really what they should have done was position the kitchen and bathroom a couple of feet closer to the living room and made the space where the closet is into a sleeping alcove (with no wall separating it from the hallway.

Or alternatively, put the kitchen and bathroom all the way at the end where the closet is and have a larger studio area that could be separated into living and sleeping spaces.

Oh! Another Bergman fan! I wish I could post a picture of 2 vintage Bergman posters I have (Wild Strawberries & Seventh Seal), you would totally appreciate them.

I used to have a similarly configured space, although a lot bigger, and with the front door at the end of the hall instead of in the middle of the living space. I always hated that long useless hallway. I agree about getting rid of the bed- it would make the place seem so much bigger. You might as well use the hall as closet space or something. I'm guessing you can't knock down walls, which is a shame.

Wait a minute, the head of the bed looks like it is right by the entry door. Seems like that would be a little disturbing to sleep in.

OH! Where'd you get that comforter? I love it.

There are lots of touches to your place I really enjoy! The desk picture with the three wall squares (are those shelves?)

Kudos to you... I'd have killed for a place like yours when I was in school.

I love this room, and I do not totally understand why other people don't see its potential.

I am a student as well, so kudos on creating a thing of beauty on a budget. However think of the potential here. If this is what her place is like now, if and when there is more money....well the thought of that makes me need a cold shower.

Grin... you might want to move that wine :)

Still - I dig your place. I bet you're cool to hang out with.

I've GOT to stop coming here during the day. AT is way too much fun. (seriously - tell me about that wonderful bedspread)

Are those the $14.99 per panel tab top window treatments from Ikea? I have them in my bedroom!

I think you've done well with your space, but can't quite figure out where your work area is. That little bitty "desk" with the laptop, I suppose.

I envy your built-ins.

YES! it's beautiful and i love it. classy without being too removed and cold.

I think people are taking the architecture too much into account here. She didn't build the place or design the floor plan for that matter. It's what she did with what she had to work with that matters and I think she did an amazing job.
I agree with Red. If she can accomplish this now, imagine what she can do when she has a real budget to work with.

The more I look at this one, the more impressed I am with how Allison handled what could have been, in other hands, a crappy rental unit.

This is coherent; it has character; it completely distracts the eye from landlord-provided basics; and it was accomplished by thoughtful deployment of limited resources. I'm not fixated on low-budget per se... but I'm impressed by doing so much with so little.

this is my apt. oh em geee!

i would have loved to get a pull out sofa bed of some sort, but i already had these two from my last apartment which was much bigger and shared with two roommates

emily - i would love your posters, those are two of my fav. films

rob - the duvet is ikea circa 2002, and i'm SO MUCH FUN to hang out with

red - having the money to decorate the way i'd really like makes me shudder as well, kind of the way getting a new west elm catalog in the mail does

marianne - yes they are ikea and my workspace consists of my laptop on my lap on the couch...or in the library at school


entering this thing was a bad idea, as if i wasn't already addicted to myspace

I don't think anyone is holding Allison responsible for the bad layout -it was just so strikingly bad, I felt I had to comment. As I said, I think she's done a great job in spite of the bad layout.

ally! i thought the apartment looked familiar when i saw the pic! it looks amaaaazing, so much stuff added since i hung out there last, probably at your cupcake & champagne bday party last year haha. so cool!

-ali (from emerson/NY/LA)

270 sf and this is a student. Well, I'm impressed.

Wende and PB have excellent points. She did not build the apartment. She is a student. Look what a lovely job she did with truly limited space and a bizarre shape. It's attractive, has very clean lines, is organized, has just enough color and the bed is really nice looking. Sometimes, you just need a bed instead of a pull-out.

Kudos Allison. Enjoy

so good to see your apartment you did a fantastic job on a limited budget. can`t wait to see in person.wer`e so proud of you

awwwwwwww - grams and gram. that's so cute!

Love your rug, and the bed on a tilt.Well done on a student's budget.

OK people - what's with the Eiffel tower thing? - this is like the tenth Eiffel tower out of twelve-ish entries. Is this a sign for some kind of secret design society? - kind of like a design 'secret handshake'? What gives!?! ;-)

Wasn't that an Eiffel tower, once again?

is that something in the air? in the water/ do you guys drink the same Perrier?

It mystifies me why, precisely, this apartment is even listed on this site. Those kitchen cabinets are just so wretched. Why is everyone gushing about this place? Do you actually think this or is everyone running for godamned office?

WHOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ALLYSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON COOOOOOOOOOOOOL APARTMENTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU INNNNNNNN MAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! GOY!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Gooooo Brookline!!!

I'm a Boston girl myself!!!

Click my name below to see my design blog, lots of Boston goodies on there.

Nice pad, girl!

xo,
Holly

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SIS!!! i love your itty bitty apt. it's cute. and the couch rules. we have two of them.
erik is retarded.
grandma and grandpa rule.
i can't wait to see you in may.
wait, does that mean i have to get you a present before i go? CRAP.

but you must PROMISE to take erik and i to dunkin donuts and somewhere else that is cool when we get there. TTYL!#&^%! <3

FYI. this posting comments thing sucks,
first i get a message saying i entered the secret code in wrong.
i retype, resubmit.
it tells me i'm trying to repost too soon, so to try again in a few minutes.
a few minutes go by (that is after talking to erik and rus saying i f-ed it up like 3 times), i repost and now there's 2 identical comments from me.

i'm bummed

ohh, ohh, Seventh Seal! My favorite! Oh, I guess I should look at the apt...

ohh, ohh, Seventh Seal! My favorite! Oh, I guess I should look at the apartment...

I think Allison has an excellent eye for clean, simple lines and good design.

She loves Bergman/Nyqvist B&W and successfully incorporated this bold color scheme in her student apartment (perfect solution to a rental unit that she's probably not allowed to paint).

I love the splash of orange and yellow pillows on the floor to add punch to the B&W.

Also like the white framed shadow boxes. (Allison, why didn't you frame the posters in the hall? Budget, or preference?)

I think you've done a tremendous job with your apartment. My college dorm looked and felt like Salvation Army. Yours says Working Professional already.

Now, word is that the tourist shops in Paris are running out of Eiffel Tower souvenirs. Will all contest entrants please return their collections.

I love the Viking helmet on the shelf.

I'd bet that this room looks and feels well put together for the people Allison entertains in her apartment. She's made a great effort at keeping her place simple and efficient with a well-edited collection of furniture she loves and it's made her happy in her environment. To me, this isn't a finalist because it does feel like a dorm room and falls into the great trap of minimalism: simple furniture and a very limitied color palate doesn't not guarantee a space will feel cohesive, fresh, or streamlined in a pleasing way. My advice to Allison is to take the posters down, frame them nicely, and reconsider groupings to create more defined spaces.

Fab student digs. Killer building exterior and view -- is that a train across the street?

Anyone who has something with the Eiffel Tower in their living space gets my vote! Even for a "competitor"! The only thing that scares me is the microwave above the fridge! How do you get the really hot things out of there in a safe manner?
Here in earthquake country I can't even hang anything above my bed without fears of it crashing down on my head in the middle of the night. I also like the bright colors. Very nice job!

I've got my microwave on top of my refrigerator, too. There just isn't enough counter space otherwise. It's a pain occasionally, but nothing outrageously dangerous.

At a previous workplace, the microwave in my area was on top of the fridge. I thought it said a lot about how much thought went into taking care of the staff.

My microwave's atop the fridge, too, due to lack of counter space. If you're tall, it's no big deal -- the bottom of the microwave turntable is below eye level, so it's not like I'm lifting hot food from above my head.

Nice work, Allison. I really like it. I know your intention was keeping it mostly black & white, but I think I would inject just a tad more color here and there. I was thinking, why not paint the backs of maybe two or three (at the most) of the cubbies in your built-in wall shelf unit? Mondrian-style like the rug. And perhaps painting the backsplash wall above the sink a bright red (glossy). Just that little bit would add some more spunk.

Is there something wrong with having your microwave on the fridge? I do too...I honestly don't know where I'd put it if I didn't...my living room?

That's a rad building! I think you've utilized the space well. I like the art!

This is one of those spaces where a little bit of rearranging and a little more understanding of design principles could go a long way.

A couple of quick things: Are those wine bottles against an electric heater? It is not a good idea to put lit candles on a sill behind filmy curtains. Ditto for potholders on the wall behind hot burners. It's a shame that terrific Saul Bass "Vertigo" poster is hidden in the hallway.

Jeffery

oh dear, am I on West Elm's website?

allison, perhaps better to spend less time on finding elvis costello references for your title and more time on finding some individuality.

beeatch,
i want to pee in your corn flakes

nice artwork

beeatch, has west elm started selling viking helmets?

dude, sick!

Ooh, Slapper, you sound kinky! Let's put on viking helmets and do stuff to each other's corn flakes.

beeatch--
If you think this looks like West Elm, then you are not just bitter and needlessly catty, you're totally uninformed and unobservant.

Allison--
This is a fresh, happy space that you should be proud of. I can't wait to see what your futuree spaces look like if this is your starting point.

While this is definitely not a contender, I can still appreciate that effort and thought were put into the apartment. And yeah, Allison is young and IS probably still trying to develop a voice of her own, but at least she's trying.

I think she definitely IS a contender.

Allison....very cool. Don't pay attention to the naysayers here, you have done a beautiful job with your resources. You should see pictures of my first studio when I was your age. It was ice blue with a waterbed mattress on the floor, no frame and a couple of those thin bedspreads from India on the wall. I do agree about the candles in the window behind the panels, don't catch on fire! Love the Viking helmet. Would love to share a glass of wine with you someday cutie,
Auntie Vicki.

I really like the look of the place. Simple & (mod)ern. The only thing I would do would be to spring for some poster frames. You can find them cheap on ebay. I have a couple of vintage movie posters up in my place and I just think they look a little classier framed. I think I have that Vertigo poster in my closet somewhere. ;)

i love it! right down to the glass of wine on the table and the vans beside the bed. I like the whole black and white thing with splashes of color....you really do have a good eye


all that is missing is the shout-out to myspace ;)

katie

I think you utilized the space well with what furnishings you have and your budget.

Considering she is a renter, I doubt there was anything she could do about the kitchen cabinets or the lack of counter space. I used to live in an apt. with a kitchen the size of a closet and no counter space. My choices for the microwave were either put it on the tiny stove or on top of the fridge. Sometimes layout overrules design. Luckily my fridge was about 5 ft. so it wasn't difficult to reach or get hot things out.

There is not much you can do with 270 sq.ft. But you made the best of it.