apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Three photos are for me in this case not enough. I do not get the feeling of the atmosphere.

The first photo didn’t grab me, but the second two help. I only wish that photos showed more of the surrounding space to give us context. But major bonus points for living in this place with the two kids and making it work!

Also, where do you eat? It isn't clear from the layout.

I like it, I think we've seen it before right? Cute cushion and those lucite tables are such a great choice in there. But maybe there should be a link to the tour that *I think* was featured before (I know I've seen this-and liked it!), there's not enough info here really...

The second photo of the living area appeals to me, with it's simplicity and built-in storage. But I'd like to have seen a photo of a whole room rather than just details - it makes it harder to get an overall feel for what the place is like.

My first thought when I saw your plan was to switch the master and living room, then remove the hallway walls between kitchn and big room so you can have an living/dining/kitchen area.

Lovely colors!

From looking at the plan I thought the living room and master bedroom were round the wrong way too!

Need to see more, love the carpet. But have to say not exactly 'small cool' with 2 bedrooms!

Oh I want that desk! Where is it from/How did you come by it? I must know!

Wonderful place!

Love the Floorplan pic.

Xeno, the floorplan shows a dining table with four chairs in the kitchen.

And Nicci, a converted 650 sf 2 bedroom seems pretty small to me. I live in a 600sf 1 bedroom and though I find it adequate for 2 people, it's not exactly roomy.

Re Nicci -- The rules allow homes up to 650 sq ft. What's smaller and cooler: a 650 sf studio that holds one person, or a 650 sf 2-BR that holds four?

I agree with the others: need more pictures!!!!

Would love to see how you fit two kids into this space.

I have to agree with Wende--major bonus points for getting 4 people into 650 square feet as opposed to 1 in 400 (or 650). I also agree with the suggestion of flipping the MBR and LR and taking down the walls, but that is obviously not an option if this is a rental.

I would flip the bedroom and the living room as well - especially since the bedroom is so close to the kitchen. But it seems from the floorplan that there is no closet in the current living room, so I figure that could be the reason.

We've seen the bedroom for this place in Bedroom month I think, and also a tour, so I pretty much remember those, but agree the 3 pics limit was a bit tight this year. I think it was more like 4 or 5 last year, but I'm not sure...

I love this place though... It's very sunny and light and looks lived in...Plus uncluttered (with 2 kids??) Great job.

am i missing something - are these the one couple of pictures? i'd want to see more before i could really judge the space.. ?

Lots have already said what I had wanted to say last night: This entry really demonstrates the need for more than three photos in the initial round. Each of the three included here are photos of (very nice) corners. But I seem to remember that there were other shots of this apartment posted on AT - I think there was one of the double doors opening onto the bed. It would be helpful (indeed, I think, essential) to include something like that along with the above selection, to give us a more accurate sense of things.

On another note, it's interesting to me that this family emphasizes corners. I feel certain I would be drawn to emphasizing my doorways. It used to interest me quite a lot what architectural elements people gravitate towards. I used to dream of staircases, though not anymore - and there have been no stairs in my homes for a long, long time now. Besides, I like doorways and entryways in general now.

Great color sense, but these pics aren't adequate to convey the space, as many have mentioned... particularly because they are all pretty much "detial shot."

bluetoes... all entrants are limited to three pics and a floor plan.

oy... "detail shots."

Hi All,
Thank you for your comments! I appreciate the feedback.

Jamie, The desk top was custom built by my husband. The legs are from Ikea.

Hazygrey, thank you for clarifying so many points. You're exactly right. And thanks for the props Wende in Phoenix!

Regarding flipping the bedroom and living room, we tried that arrangement. It seems to make sense, given the location of the kitchen, I agree! But having the master bedroom so close to the front door felt strange and we sleep better with this arrangement. Maybe one day we'll switch it again. I'd love to have a living room right off the kitchen. The closet in the bedroom is a custom freestanding armoire, so it could come with us, should we decide to switch.

We've also thought about taking the hallway down but for now, we've decided not to do a major renovation. The separation of space comes in handy especially now with the kids, and it makes the rooms more private. Plus, right now, the hallway is our bowling alley. It is an intriguing idea, though!

My apartment was posted for bedroom month and as an inside-out tour where you can see more pics.

seem like cool tenants and a nice design sense...but i cant tell a single thing about the space from these pics....

I remember this place from the house tour and these pictures don't begin to do it justice (for example, the kitchen was really cute, yet isn't represented at all, and there were a lot of built-ins that aren't emphasized here). Why such close focus?

Still, it's amazing and impressive, period, that they fit four people (and a pet! if I remember correctly) into 650 sq. feet.

I have a problem with the moldings in picture 2.

I've seen this before: people build in over moldings without reconstructing them -- they end up truncated.

Kudos on 4 people in the space

I agree that 3 photos isn't enough here, or did they simply not shoot the right parts of the apartment?

And kudos to anyone with 2 kids. Period. 2 kids in 650 sq ft. make you saints in my book.

The floorplan is amazing. Based on the photo of the kids room, it looks as though these people know what they're doing but its difficult to judge because the other photos are somewhat bland.

Good luck though because it seems you did a great job with the amount of bodies in the amount of space.

I too have a 650 sq. foot pre-war 2-bedroom, with a nearly identical floorplan: the bedrooms on the diagonal from one another. It's nice to have them separate (and allows my livingroom to have the corner with two exposures, while the kitchen has the back corner with no windows.) All the neighbors manage to fit 2 or 3 people per unit. People are skeptical till they see it.

So it's really fun to see yours! Thanks.

Love the corner desk too.

Everyone else has covered my responses: can't get a great take on the space, but kudos for getting four people comfortably in there! I totally understand your sleeping better in the back room, even though it's across from the kitchen: I'd do the same. Hope this goes through so we get to see more!

Loooooove the picture of the floorplan.

I find I can't vote for or against, because although I like the second photo (couch, carpet), I don't know if it's a cool apartment. Others have mentioned the narrow focus of these three photos.

Sigh.

Can I kick myself harder for not posting more informative photos? sigh...

And thanks for the floorplan love. Now I know my one semester at FIT is not for naught.

thanks again, everyone. You all rock.

It's incredible!!!! I have 850 sf. and yet from your pictures you have what appears to be more room!! Lesson learned! And I'm only the only one here and you have four!!!!! G-D bless you! Great Ideas!

Sorry, but the photos don't give an idea of the space....only some nice elements of it.

I think you deserve a special prize for fitting 4 people into such a small space! Your competition are single people or couples, you've taking space saving solutions for a family into the next dimension. You rock! Especially for making an apt that is stylish and family friendly.

As the husband/father living in this space, I'm pretty amazed at the transition from an apartment that was becoming too small for two people into an apartment that fits four in relative comfort, all thanks to Elise's creative vision.

The thing Elise has left out of her descriptions that I think she deserves the most credit for, is that all of the changes we've made to our apartment were made on a shoestring budget and with the understanding that we have to live in our place during all construction. She has made our place look fantastic and feel spacious despite tight purse strings and construction limitations.

Thank you all for the great comments. It's an honor just to be a finalist at all! And kudos Elise on a great job! You do rock!

Shame - I'm sure it's lovely, but I can't tell from the pictures...

ITS AWESOME!!! W00T GO THESE PPL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! KEEP IT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think these pics show enough that it is definitely surprising that you can have 2 small kids and still be able to keep the house so neat, orderly, and nice looking. Also, LOVE the hand drawn floor plan. I definitely vote stellar on this on this one!

Everything about this house is amazing. The lovely colors, patterns, and use of space make this house look perfect. There is no way this house can lose.

Sweet apartment! Looks great! Hope it wins! :)

hey there! where did you get those clear plastic coffee tables? i've been looking for something like that forever!