apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I like the mix of old and new. Did you do the tree painting yourself? And also, what are the paint colors?

Sophisticated and warm. I love the idea of being able to sit underneath the tree.

I think your bedroom is one of my favorite rooms so far in this contest, and I usually go for modern minimalism. It's perfection!

What lovely color sense you have! I am charmed by the mix of colors and patterns in your bedroom.

I love it! Can you give the paint color in your bedroom? It's exactly the shade I've been looking for for my living room. Very nice!

Elegant, comfortable, beautiful. I think you've done a great job of combining your two styles. I love the damask bedspread.

I love what you did with the sofas and the bookcase. The symmetry and orderliness of your rooms is so restful.

Nice attempt at merging two styles into a cohesive whole.

Not my style at all but I think it's absolutely gorgeous. Love the colors. What a wierd shape your apt has, how did that happen?

I like your place, but "yet another good spot to consume our lattes on Saturday mornings"? I mean, really? Who are we writing for here?

I hate to be a nag, but the "pitch" is only supposed to be 100 words or less. I could see a few words over, but this is more than that. Just saying...

On a less nagging note: It's a lovely orderly home:0)

Love the colors used in the artwork, pillows in living room and the success in which you mixed old/new. Very appealing, comfortable feel in the bedroom as well.

I'm relieved to be seeing more traditional, eclectic designs after so much mid-century modern. That said, I feel the living room could use even more editing-those shelves jammed behind the sofa just bother me.

Caitlin, yes the tree is my creation, so it is the arcrylic painting over the sofa. The tree was a Christmas gift to my husband, who is partial to all my work :-), and the idea was that in front of the sette I installed a cloud pendant(can see the corner on the pic), so when we convert that corner into a dining room the cloud and the tree make one feel like the outdoors. Needless to say it is my husband's favourite spot to sit with his latte made by Puffing Billy :-) (a wheezzing old Pavoni expresso machine we named :) No Starbucks for us, thank you very much (oh and the coffee is definetely Illy - in case some coffee buff will ask me:)

The living room color is Sherwin Williams OldSalem. The bedroom... I have to check agains the swatches.

Thank you to you all that have given such encouraging comments :-) it was hard to make it all work together.

Nathan,
What exactly are you taking offense at, is it the fact that we drink lattes at all? or is it because we make them in a old hand powered expresso machine????

mjoe :-) you are right. It is a weird shape. We actually bought a house. We live on the top apartment and rent the other two. The house was built on this shape as it was allowed by the land plot. I wish so much I had an extra bedroom... but it is a start for us :-) thanks for the kind words.

The tree is lovely, and I think you've done a graceful job of blending your individual styles. I would have liked to see a little more color and a little less (variety of) pattern in the bedroom, but overall this is a beautiful apartment.

The opening photo is striking and beautiful (love the sofas and the punches of red)

The next two photos don't seem to match the same standard though. Painting is nice in bedroom, but the linens and bedding do not match the luxurious feel of the lovely living room.

Nice tree painting in #3.

I like. I like it very much precisely because it is merger of styles.

Love the tree! this is really nice - understated glam merging two styles. love!

Not my style, but.... its So Beautiful , great mix of new and old, traditional and modern. love the art work, not to crazy about the Ikea bookcases in the corner. overall great job!

Where's the cloud pendant? You talk about it a bunch but I don't see it in any of the photos. Am I missing something?

I *love the tree* (is that in a metallic gold paint?) and also seeing something that's eclectic and not ultra modern.

I think that this appartment is very aractive, but besides a few dual purpose pieces I see zero inovative solutions for living in a small space.

I like it - a lot - it has a very nice feel to it

My favorite so far, totally my style! I love the mix of old and new and you do it so seamlessly. The tree on the wall is my favorite part. Gorgeous!

I adore the bedroom and would love to know where you fot the damask counterpane. Beautiful painting over the bed.
I agree with other comments about the ikea shelves, but don't edit, any home needs books somewhere of other, maybe just change to a more unobtrusibve colour.

sorry, "got" the damask counterpane

Sofia,

I think you are asking about the bedspread? It is not a damask, it is a woven silk and I had it purchased a few years ago. Thanks for your positive input.

We do not believe in consumerism, so we had to do with what we had - The result is a very unique blend of styles. I reupholstered the sette and the dining chairs (the later I bought in flea markets and upholstered them myself - you can see one in picture #3). I think the innovation in our space is in having to do with what you got. I spent a small budget in accessories and the Eames Lounge Chairs, but that was it pretty much.

this is a beautifully decorated apatment--I love the tree!
however, I agree with other posters that it's not clear what space constratints were creatively overcome by the inhabitants (apart from editing a collection of beautiful furniture).

this is becoming a very tough competition!

what happened to the "100 words or less" rule

that third picture - love the tree painting and the loveseat underneath it!! i want it :)

beautiful place --
anusha, I would buy a stencil of that tree from you if you cared to sell it...
some comments (all over the site) are so needlessly harsh. people have different taste; some are more eclectic, some are more tolerant of useful clutter, some like lattes. lighten up.

pam h.

I'm not sure what needs to happen to count as "innovative" in this contest. Yes, it's lovely to see people build lofts and collapsible kitchens, but not everyone has the resources to do that (or the 10-to-12 foot ceilings loft life requires). Fitting two people and their stuff into 500 square feet (or 400, as some contestants have done without building up), and providing comfortable zones for living, sleeping, dining, and so on seems innovative enough for me. This apartment has THREE different conversation zones--maybe I'm easy, but that impresses me.

Also, tree = pretty.

You ladies are so sweet. Thanks for the good comments.

Cassis, I feel exactly as you verbalized. Some people do not like to achieve the loft look - I respect it, but I am not going to show pictures of my closets, to show the world how I organized myself, how I created built ins to fit everything. The flat has a triple and a double closet. That is enough for us. If we don;t use it, we donate it - no need to clutter the space. The picture doesn't show the surround theatre system that my engineer husband designed all to fit in a one foot deep space and all the boxes hanging on a shelf under the plazma tv. It has everything one needs, cords out of sight and I even covered the sub-woofer with a sound approved thin silk so it blends with the wall. Same thing applied on all the wires. I HATE wires. :-) May I blow my horn here, but we have two eating zones besides 3 conversation areas - still keeping it uncluttered. We daily eat on the kitchen counter on two stools (or the balcony when nice like today) but when we have guests, we get out the card table and dine there.

I hope I make it on the other round, so I can show all of you more pictures and explain why this was a tough task, keeping everything we had and not throw anything out.

Pam,

I hand painted the tree without a stencil. That said, I would be interested in sharing with you, but making a stencil out of it, it would be quite laborous.... hmmm thinking

Your furniture is so elegant! I love the desk and the chair beside the bed. You choice of fabrics is also lovely.

I would love to see more pictures! (esp of the media and the kitchen!:> But I understand you wanting a little privacy. Yes, sometimes people are mean because its easier to be mean to people when you are anonymous. I absolutly love the tree...I want to try it in my house.

I love the conversation area with the "tree-painted" wall. I can just imagine people milling around during a party. Wonderful job on mixing the old and new and really giving the space wonderful personality. It looks rich without being pretentious. Job well done!!!

Tell us about that settee! It looks like a real antique English piece...George I...am I being fooled? Very pretty!!

Katy, the sette is a reproduction, not a real antique at all. My husband had it in a very male blue and burgungy wide stripe pattern, that was old and not appealing at all. I hired an upholsterer and found the fabric myself. I searched high a low, as I wanted a linen material, but also had this clear pattern in my mind, classic, but wanted something more contemporary and color (my kitchen is in yellow). Finally thru my many visits to the D&D building in New York I found the fabric at Goffignons (sp??) They are woven in Florence and they have some very cool classically inspired patterns, but when upholstered right, look very modern. They were the only store in the whole building that would sell to a non-designer, (otherwise they only sell to the trade...) which I don't think is cool at all. Just the fabric cost $500 and same for the upholstry work. But I am very glad that we rescued this piece. It is the favourite spot for a lot of our guests. :-)

I LOVE that tree. Its wonderful! Your apartment reminds me of one of the advertisements for the Eames lounge chair, in which its set in a Victorian livingroom. A very classy combo of Modern and Victorian, with a nice contemporary twist.

This is a fabulously done apartment! The creativity and elegance with which it was designed is incredible for an apartment of any size, let alone a small New York apartment. The full use of the space with which she had to work with is used to its fullest, while keeping it tasteful and maintaining it's homey feel to it.

The blue in the bedroom is really beautiful, and I am tempted to paint my bedroom this weekend. Can you let us know the color?

The furniture remix is the highlight of this entry. You wouldn't think the antiques would work with the rest, but they do. Good stuff.

Anushka, I would love to have (i.e. buy) a stencil of the tree painted on the wall, have you thought about creating one?
Or do you have other ideas on how you can share it?
Thanks.

couldn't u have just said "drink latte's" instead of "consume latte's"?