apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I am not a hug fan of the paint color, but I like the use of space and I LOVE the bathroom! Isn't that pathetic? I want to come play on the multi-level floor and I agree that the big tiles have the desired effect.

Did you really put in 250 lights? Kudos. I am also a big fan of the use of light. Personally I prefer up light v. down light in small spaces, but that's my quirk.

Must do work. Must stop logging on to AP to see every new comment made to each and every entry. Must stop. Must stop.

i think the color is wonderful. after all, this is in Minneapolis where most of the year is white!

Holy moly and congrats on the color!

Minneapolis gets bone chilling cold, but your colors feel like a warm spring day. I gave you a WOW vote just for that! Part of the contest is about overcoming challenges, and it looks to me like you've battled the outside world and won. Kudos!

I think this is so cheerful and cute. I like the colors and the bathroom.

sorry but I don't like the bed.

I'm also not crazy about how the bookshelf is placed - it looks awkward to me.

I would move it and use it as a separator between the sofa and the kitchen - or hang a curtain against the wall behind it so it sits against a solid background. Or put it against the wall where the table and chairs are now (assuming the wall is long enough).

but - again - i think it is adorable and love the colors

I like how bright this is, and I think I like the kitchen table being near the low part of the wall, since sitting down is still no problem, but I can't quite get what's happening with that wall unit and the space behind it.

Not fond of the shelving unit placement as it doesn't really fit that space well. I would move it over (or maybe move it to the other wall but it's hard to tell since it's out of the picture frame) and place something else to separate the kitchen from the living area (like a translucent screen to let in the light). To create even more space, the dining table could flip down against the wall. Overall the colors are fantastic and love the exposed brick, but think the arrangement and furniture could be better. It would be nice to see some custom designed furniture built into an aparment like this to maximize the space you have available and bring some cohesiveness to the design.

Would love to be squirreled away in an apartment like this on a winter weekend... very cozy, in a manly kind of way.

No doubt the color palette is a great antidote to the long Minnesota winters?

You had me at "warm tender green paint!" I like this a lot, esp the color. I agree with others about the dividing unit in front of the kitchen area. As I went through the photos, I said, nice...nice...what? when I got to that one. Everything else is so light and clean. Maybe if it was in white...maybe. But, besides the color, it also seems too big in that spot.

Well, since the shelving unit is something he likes best about his place, I don't think he's going to change it! It struck me as odd looking too, but maybe it "feels" different when you're there. I think he wants to make it so that it doesn't seem as if you're in the kitchen when you're in the living room--which you are!

Though i'm by no means a green fan, it really works in your bedroom...I think it's overall a cheery space!

I like the toilet altar very much; it makes the whole thing look spiritual :)

I once lived for a bit in a room that had slanted walls. I hated it.

But I like this space, maybe because there are so many elements that coordinate with the slant of the walls - even the door frames! And I am a sucker for green walls and nice light, it feels like a vibrant, happy place. I am in agreement with that large shelving unit by the entryway, though - either I would find another home for it or that would be where I sink money into some perfect bulit-ins for the space.

Attic apartments are tough ones. I'm not crazy about this bed, nor the bookcase placement but I have a feeling the photos aren't doing it justice. The color is warm and bright and the place is neat and clean and everything seems so tidy.

It looks as though when the door is closed that the kitchen is easier to appreciate and that it is a comfortable and cocooning type of place. Against that cold weather, I'd say this is really nice. I can easily imagine someone walking up those stairs, out of the cold, and sitting on that throne...and feeling good.

It took me a while but if you look at the first picture and then the fourth picture you'll see how the shelf unit is arranged. If I'm right, the first pic you're behind the shelf, the fourth you're seeing the front of it.

I don't think this is one of my absolute favorites but I do love certain touches and, like Patrick, this feels like a cozy place to hunker down in a snowstorm in Minneapolis

I think you did a really nice job. But when I looked at your bed the first thing I noticed was the box spring! Get yourself a plain fitted shit to go over it if you aren't into the whole bedskirt thing and I think I will add some finish to the room.

I love the color in the bedroom. I have a studio with walls like that, and I've been thinking of a pale green too. I like the way the green goes with the small brick area. I'd put a painting or something with some color there, or perhaps a mirror.

The bed really brings it down, it looks a little sloppy and could use a new comforter.

Overall it feels like a very pleasant place to live.

Christy wins today's prize for funniest typo.

I think she meant "sheet." ;)

The green is totally working for you.
I think the place looks sweet, and is probably nicer in person.

I think maybe he had to stand outside to take the photo (smallest and all that) so we don't get the idea of the fridge behind the shelves making an L shaped kitchen.

And yeah, you need a fitted sh*t for the bed.

thanks for sending your place in!

Hmm... I also have a green like that, possibly brigher (in the bathroom),and I am from a cold and snowy place. The angled door frame is great!

I think the problem with the wall unit is its dark color; in a small space like this one the overall effect is way too jarring. He would have been better off to get a birch-colored one and also get some kind of add-on piece in the same color for the TV. The end result would have seemed much more spacious, rather than drawing your eye to a large object interrupting such a small space. But these are pretty colorrs and a clearly heartfelt effort!

I'm happy to see a fellow Minneapolitan. I like how the non-white walls, to contrast with the molding, play up the architectural features like the unusual door shape in picture #2.

Sadly, those of you in NY have seen more snow than we have this year, though those colors help when we're stuck with a bunch of grey and brown outside, like it is right now.

The space itself is quirky and fun. But outside of the bedroom, I don't understand the furniture choices (except that it almost all comes from IKEA) and placement (why, again, is the shelving unit in an such an awkward position?). But it ultimately looks like a nice place to live and work.

Aloha Ya'll,

Nice divider between kitchen & living room, pleasant colors and interesting elevated toilet.

Mahalo for sharing and good luck!

Cooking Cajun

Thanks for the great comments everyone so far,

I read everyone of them with great interest. You all have some great insight into what works and what doesn't!

I love the paint. It feels like when I get home, I've gone somewhere special and not stuck inside during 10 degree days.

I totally agree with the fact that having a dark wood shelf and tv stand attracts to that point in the room and makes you think, why doesn't he want me to look here. A lighter color wood shelf and TV stand would definitely help take away from these points. It was hard to tell that the dark furniture was going to attract to it when I was painting the apartment and had already bought and had the furniture. If I win, I will get lighter pieces and remedy this.

I tried placing the shelving unit in other places in the apartment, but it didn't work as the none of the walls could hold this large shelf. The shelf is a somewhat must, as I really don't have another space for food and misc. storage. Another thing I like about the shelf is that it hides very nicely the refrigerator behind it and somewhat the sink to the left of the picture. It also makes the kitchen area seem seperate.

Good point about the box spring, I will be getting a sh*t for it soon as possible. I've had trouble getting rid of the bed frame. It was given to me be my father. It's cast iron from a burned out house in South Dakota. It holds a special place in my heart. But it seems like it's time is coming to an end. Time to get a king size bed, hopefully I win a prize and can do this soon!

Things I have done since this pictures were taken have been. Getting a picture to cover the electrical box on the first picture as well as to take up empty space along the wall left of picture 1. Putting in cable ports on the walls, as the cables for cable TV were previously just coming out of a hole in the wall.

I did want to put wood flooring through out the whole apartment, but my landlord didn't go for that :P Shoot

Thanks Much everyone and keep the comments coming!

Side Comment: The bathroom toilet use to have a banister next to it, and people called it the throne sh*tter, seems like it has retained that name even after the tile.

Oh Joe! I have a bias towards Midwesterners, especially from Minneapolis, you guys are the smartest and nicest people in the country.

However, I don't see alot of design risk-taking here, 'cept maybe the ceiling color. The interesting details all came with the apartment (door to laundry shoot/dumb waiter, toilet pedestal). I would've wanted some variety in the furnishings.

Joe:

I can imagine where a lot of people would consider this difficult space to work with given all the angled walls/ceiling. However, IMHO you have pulled off the furniture arrangement very well. The green on the walls is not something I would have thought of (normally I like neutrals) but it works and contributes a lot of pizzaz. As far as (hopefully) constructive criticism what about floor to ceiling white curtains across the wall behind the TV and then back of the wall unit to create the appearance of a wall? Maybe the curtain behind the wall unit could be semi-transparent (translucent?) to let some light through yet read as a wall. Some decorate boxes (even nice looking file boxes) to hold the food items would help and maybe arrange to rest of the dishes as much as possible to appear as display not storage.

Walt in very upstate NY

There's a gorgeous use of color and a really cute quirkiness in this apartment.

I've been to Joe's apartment - he's my little brother. The pictures don't do it justice, it's really a great place. The wall colors look great, and I love the shelves that are built into the walls in his room (you can see those in the bedroom pictures next to his PC). I copied his bathroom in my basement - we have a throne in our house too! Really cool apartment - especially for a bachelor!

I think the bright colors are nice for the cold and long days of MN. I LOVE the bathroom. At first I looked at it and was worried about stubbing a toe or kicking the elevated tile, but the style won me over. -t

Totally love the green! Great place to go during winter, I bet. That bathroom...got yourself a great little throne there. Complete the look with a small purple rug and a sceptor TP holder. :)

Please tell me where you go those great shelves that you used to separate the rooms.