apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Love those curtains!

This is super cute! I love the blues with the contrasting splashes of orange. Where did you get your curtains? My only complaint would be the four-poster bed. In such a small space it makes me claustrophobic- I'd go with something really low, preferabbly a slat bed without a boxpring. Just makes the room feel bigger.

Otherwise, a nice personal space. Classic pieces without overdoing it, and good artwork. Oh yeah, Go Cambridge!

So sweet! Love it!

Love the curtains!!

Love your place! Those curtains are to die for and the blue on the walls is so soothing. Just one question, where did you get your red dining chairs? I really like them!

Curtains I think are from Anthropologie.. I recognize the comforter from them.

Very cute! I would enjoy living in a space like this.

I love the blue walls. Such a cute place...very girlie. :-)

Kayla here -

Thanks! Indeed, the curtains and the duvet are both from Anthropologie. The duvet is Dwell but this version for Anthropologie has brighter colored birds than the original.

The Air Chair dining chairs are actually orange and came from Room & Board (although DWR and several other stores sell them).

great entry! thanks for taking photos that show the rooms and not just details...

The blues make this a very serene and lovely space. Well done! I like the artwork you've chosen, especially the piece in the entry hall.

The only element that gives me pause is the table and chairs in the corner. For some reason, that space looks lonely and bleak in an otherwise gorgeous and comfy apartment. Hmmm. Not sure of an alternative ... chairs facing outward more? A mirror? Maybe the checkerboard is unnerving me.

In any case, a beautiful apartment -- the reading nook is fantastic. Thanks for sharing!

i love the art work.. very cute.. you've done a lot with such a little space.. good job!! :)

Thank you Kayla, back on track with the competition. After yesterdays train wreck of a mess at Wes's place in Boston, and a few others that have been no better, I felt we were doomed this year.

Your place is definitely charming, well laid out, has great color contrast, and actually tiddy...

sorry...tidy-

Love the dunce caps in the corner!

Hi Kayla,

Are the Air Chair's comfortable?

Thx!

What cute little place! I especially love the light blue walls combined with the white, and touches of bolder color.

Charming! What are those floating book brackets on the wall by the television? How are they affixed to the wall? I really like how they provide space for books but keep the look light.

I LOVE the bed frame, I don't think it's claustrophobic at all. It's a little tight in the small space, but I like how much color and drama it adds.

great design! What colors of paint did you use? I love the blue in the bedroom and the light green too.

I love the bedroom wall color. Do you mind sharing the name of that color?

I love your bed and those orange curtains!

I'm trying to figure out how you came up with 400 sq. feet though. It looks much larger than that. Did you count the closets and stuff?

Love the checkerboard table and red chairs against the blue. Is the kitchen checkerboard too?

This is my favorite entry so far. Great job with color and artwork. I'd love a glimpse of the kitchen.

This is my favorite as well. I LOVE the colors and the furniture seems appropriately-sized for the space, and there's not too much of it. Would have liked to see a picture of the kitchen and bath, but I truly love your style.

Ah crap. Now I REALLY want those curtains.

Your place is really cute and I like the color scheme you've got going. Very nice.

It's decorated nicely.

Hi All -

Thanks again. I'll try to hit all the questions:

Yes, the Air Chairs are very comfy dining chairs (and work chairs - I grade projects at the table and find it quite comfy). I agree that of all the spaces, the dining area is the lacking. I wish I had another window in the living room for the table but in the end, it meant more to have the cozy living space by the window. So I decided to poke fun and put my dunce kids in the corner. We actually pull the table out frequently to eat so we're not always facing the corner. Its much cozier at eye level when you actually sit at the table.

The walls are actually 3 different paint colors, all Benjamin Moore. The entry is a small square with 4 doorways so I went bright with Liquid Blue. The bedroom is from the new line of Aura paints, called Amsterdam. Its rich and deep at night but bright and refreshing in the day - it also helps that we only painted up to the wall trim, not the ceiling. The living room is a custom mix - we took Liquid Blue and cut it in half with the base white to create more of a neutral.

The shelves over the TV are the Flying V shelves which you can now buy from DWR although I got them from Design Public. I love them - they're fun and functional. They did require a super long bit for the drill - the screws are hidden behind the books - but it wasn't too hard with 2 people.

The 4-poster bed is much roomier in person and creates a wonderful play of space within space - not claustrophobic at all. I toyed with the idea of hanging a light fixture coming down through the top but thought that might hurl the girly-factor over the edge.

It is almost exactly 400 sf (architect fiance measured it) including everything.

The kitchen floor is black and white checkers but the cabinets (came with the apartment) are bland dark wood.

You can see a few more pictures on our blog here:
http://hbrdshry.blogspot.com/2008/04/hers.html

A quick note on the "neatness" of my place: It hardly ever looks like this! I live hard in my small space and work and life usually get all over the place. Wes' apartment is actually much more impressive given that that's what his place looks like everyday (not just on days we take pictures). I live between extremes, he lives in consistent order. Given that tidbit, his "cluttered" space is actually quite remarkable. Everyone has their opinions but I just wanted to add my own...

Thanks again, all.

A quick p.s.

Those curtains are worth every, single penny (for those who went and saw how much they cost). They are incredibly made and the fabric is wonderful to touch with the combination of linen and raised velvet.

That is all :-)

lovely space - i think it's very well put together and feminine without being OVERLY feminine which is a fine line (for me). However, I do agree with clancey above who commented:

"The only element that gives me pause is the table and chairs in the corner. For some reason, that space looks lonely and bleak in an otherwise gorgeous and comfy apartment. Hmmm. Not sure of an alternative ... chairs facing outward more? A mirror? Maybe the checkerboard is unnerving me."

I agree. However, having said that - very lovely space. Hope you make it to the finals so we can see more :)

Nice mix of trad/mod and a really fine layout. I think the smart space planning makes it seem larger than it is. The decor is personalized, but with a plan. Love it.

Wes here-

I can vouch for the 400 sf. The living room is only about 12x12 and it shows with the table in the corner and there is no room for a coffee table between the locker and couch... we went through every option (with 3D models) for how to deal with the table and the round table works the best.

For those still lamenting about my train wreck apartment you may be horrified if you actually look at Kayla's pictures and see that she has floor to ceiling wall to wall open shelves on one wall of the living room that display all sorts of handmade pottery, books, and other person inspiration. It's not quite as minimal as your quick judgment assumes.

That aside, I love her apartment the the merger should be interesting.

I find this competition really interesting now, and I thought very funny that someone should pick Wes out for a "train wreck" while unbeknownst praising the design of Wes' fiancee to save the whole contest.

I think just a few pictures to get the "idea" whether or not someone has any sense of taste makes it pretty fierce to compete not to be eliminated in the next round. What people choose you not to see in the first round can be more interesting than the set of pictures they do enter, especially when your opponent is also your fiance, who spills the beans. ;)

yikes, someone needs to delete that link she included for the extra photos! isn't that against the rules??

love this apartment!! you did a great job-- not a fan of the v bookshelves or the dining area, but i loooooove your bedroom and the tv area.

voting super cool-- good luck!

I agree KTG - it is interesting what one choses to not show in these first 5 images. Although, to my credit, you CAN see the wall to wall, floor to ceiling shelves in the long hallway picture - its the wall on the right :-)

I would love to make it to the next round and show off all the other bits I couldn't include here - the minimal and the messy.

I like you Wes. Just my Boston/NY fighter coming out:)

That said, I did not notice the "activity wall" you claim exists. I will look again.

Indeed I have a feeling the merger will be interesting. I feel so involved now that I almost have to request photos after the joint venture. Should be able to raise some capital from the sale of items, in turn allowing you to buy more defined pieces of furniture should you go that route.

Yeah KTG "foot in my mouth" I will admit. Had no idea that this entry was the fiance of Wes...

I think I may make this my last comment till the contest is over since things just keep getting more bizzare this year:)

Where'd you get your bookshelves (the ones that run the length of the wall). I need those! Love the use of blues and little pops of color.

Your little friend in the bed is cute.

The blue colour is soothing. My concern is that the scale of furnishings is off. In the living room the sofa could be smaller so that it does not dwarf the dining table and the four poster bed is dwarfing the end tables in the bedroom. Apart from these good job.

Kayla,

I love your place. I think it is "Super-Cool". What is the blue color on your bedroom wall?

Nevermind about the bedroom color. I just noticed you have already commented on the color.

I love it so much.

I like.

I really love it... the colors!

one day i will live in a space I can paint!

how did you decide for everything to be blue?

Kayla here...

The shelves are from IKEA and were another item worth every penny. They have lots of shelving systems and this is the least expensive - its more industrial in feel but I like it a lot. Its a tension rod system between floor and ceiling so it doesn't involve infinite holes in the walls (and finding studs), just a few holes in the ceiling. It takes at least 2 people to install, though.

I didn't conceptualize the apartment being all blue - it was actually blue and green at first. The bedroom was a very bright green that was a complete disaster so we redid the whole thing in the deep blue (originally inspired by a friend's nursery color) when I got the yellow bed. I hesitated initially, thinking 3 blues might be ridiculous but in the end, I love that the small space is a play of tone on tones as you move from room to room.

Are those paintings from the black apple?

the dinning table is adorable! the whole place really.

sadly, the slideshow page won't load for me.

C.U.T.E.!!!!

Excellent color sensibility. And love the Penguin book print.

uhhh...i hate to be a jerk, but usually AT polices the comments for additional photo links. i adore this apartment, but its totally unfair that there is a link to additional photos.

hello?
anyone?

My apologies - we had images posted on our blog for friends and family previous to this contest. We have since removed them.

Nice color scheme.
Nice high ceiling.

re: that pair of chairs and table ensemble.
Since you say you do use it, just face the chairs outward.
It's instantly a little bistro setting look.
(The humorous approach you comment on by having them facing in still portrays an unsettling look regardless.)

Love. Feminine apartments are wonderful.
I see you have some Black Apple art there. I'm a fellow etsy addict. There's some great art to be found there.
I love the poster bed, btw.

Wow! The interplay of colors is great, and love that you grouped all the "messy" stuff into one big group of shelves. My only minor quibble is how jammed into the corner the dining table feels. But you've really fit a lot into a small space.

Where oh where did you get that bed???

Lovely place, wonderful choice of colors. Where did you find that print with the three figures? Etsy?

That print is actually a limited edition Alvin Lustig print of the book cover he designed for "The Three Lives" by Gertrude Stein.

Fabulous use of space, and I appreciated the poster bed in such a tiny room, it gave it presence but the scale was spot on! A bold move. Loved it!