apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

love it!

Is that philidenron and devil's ivy you have? I have some just like it I can't bear to trim. How do you keep the cat from eating it?

That pink task lamp over the sink is such a great idea, and is probably a lot gentler than overhead fluorescent lighting.

10 'not my bag' votes, and not a single explanation.

i think for the size and layout, the space is nice. but i just think it's cool. the orange hallway is a bit too bright for my taste, but i do love all of the green.

I think you should apply for the "I've got color" contest later... but personally, it's not my bag because there is too much going on in such a small space without a cohesive feel

There is too much going on for me. The bamboo wallpaper/poster could have been cool without the added plants hanging...maybe you were just going for the jungle look.

I think it's a cute apartment - but considering the other entries and remembering how so many people have used small spaces in such ingenious and stylish ways... I feel like this space doesn't really stand up against the competition. It also feels a little disorganzied to me, so I voted "not my bag."

I do like the shelving in the kitchen - and the art above the dining area looks great!

I love how you've created a green enclave around the head(?) of your bed: the plants, the bamboo wallpaper and the green pattern of the window curtain work together quite refreshingly. The miniature black 'panther' provides a nice contrast to the white/green.

Your bed is gorgeous! I like the colors in the kitchen too. The rest is a little too boho for my taste. I'd prefer to have more minimal furniture with clean lines so it doesn't clash with the colorful walls.

Thank you for finally convincing me NOT to paint any of my walls orange. I like the area around the bed a lot, but the rest? Not so much...

Nothing in the apartment flows.

it was actually my favorite detail in your home- the jungle bed corner in the first picture... i mentally prepared myself for a nature-inspired ,organic and serene place corresponding with simplicity of vintage cotton bed cover, aged terracotta pots, weathered natural wood floors and a cat lazily basking in the sun...only to find that the rest of the place is from the different story, or it looks as it occupied by different person. it's like stepping from the spa into a circus. but the first picture is superb and very inviting.

Orange corridor is great, but otherwise, there was too much going on and not enough cohesiveness. The jungle theme is a bit overdone. (It's hard to control.) Kitchen looked great. Why? There was order and thought behind the shelves and enough white space to enjoy everything else.

too hodge podge

I love this- this is very warm and inviting - it makes me feel like who ever lives here must be a warm fuzzy, and there are too few warm fuzzies in the world. :)

Oh, I like this. I like the use of orange, personally, because I go for bright colors. I agree that it could be a little more cohesive, but I really dig the profusion of green. It's done in a more intentional way than I usually see. So, "Cool," but not quite "Super Cool."

Hey Man,

it's very 60s/early 70s Haight-Ashbury.

Plants, books, and a cat make a place feel and look lived-in. I love your oasis. This is one of the smaller entries in the contest and yet it doesn't feel tiny.

The place isn't my style, but the colors and plants make it cheery and I love that you've surrounded yourself with your own artwork instead of just picking stuff out of a Pottery Barn catalog because the colors match.

I voted Cool. The kitchen and picture of the bed were my favorites. I really liked the idea of the pink lamp in the kitchen. I love orange, but I felt that it didn't really go with the rest of the scheme of your place. But all in all I enjoyed the tour.

i voted super cool because i like everything in this place. with a tight budget, even though everything doesn't "go together", it does. it shows more personality than a lot of the places with more money and matchy furniture.

and i have a plant problem myself, so it's nice to see that it can be pulled off and really work.

the only thing i would've eliminated is the second piece of jungle paper on the living room wall. otherwise, very cozy.

love! pure and simple :)

I loved this. The green-and-white picture with the bed and plants and bamboo poster just blew me away. The others were nice too (I love the orange wall and yellow kitchen on a gray day like today; it must be lovely to come home to that), but that green-and-white picture was inspiring. Combining the real plants with the bamboo poster was brilliant -- you gave the impression of a jungle without actually having all that many plants, and it also looked like you were encouraging your plants to grow (Come on, guys -- you can do it!). I also loved how you used one or two taller potted plants as a screen around the bed -- it was a great effect that also seemed completely practical, as if it wouldn't actually harm the plants the way you placed them.

I love the idea of living in a green and leafy bower indoors, but it's rarely practical to do anything but plunk plants on the windowsills. You get tons of points in my book for being creative and actually making this work! I voted SuperCool. And I want to steal some of these ideas.

This is the single most beautiful example of contemporary design, I am inspi... (bursts in laughter, seriously)

I voted supercool, mostly because of the plants in the bedroom and because it's such a departure from the surefire crowd-pleasers (sleek and modern! MCM and eclectic!). I agree that there's no single theme unifying the entire apartment, the orange wall looks garish (I'm guessing it's poor lighting for the photo rather than a poor choice of paint) and I wouldn't decorate in this style, but there's a lot of personality in this apartment. I would hang out here. Thanks for sharing!

I voted not my bag for the same reason martita pointed out. Too hodge podge for my taste.

Any apartment with plants gets my "super cool" vote. Anyone can look in a West Elm catalog and imitate the MCM look. You went in a different direction and stood by your design choices. From what I could see, your sunlight is pretty indirect, so good work keeping the plants alive. Can you get plants to flower inside your place?

Makes me smile.

I really like the shot with the plants and the bed. The rest of it is pleasant, but not for me. Good job, though, in making the space feel much larger than it is. I think it could be really great with just a few changes.

Shades of The Cozy Thicket! I voted "Super-Cool" on the basis of the wallcovering behind the bed, and being able to have plants hanging around with an obviously very live cat.

Too random for me, but at least you photographed your space, not just vignettes.

I love the picture of the bed with the plants and bamboo wallpaper/poster - where did you get that?

The rest isn't really by bag, but it averages out to a cool vote.

Plants and a cat (and no vignettes!) save this for me and earn a 'cool' vote. Too haphazard and for me to earn a the prized 'Super-cool'

A little bit of editing and thought, such as unifying the plants with common planters or consistent window covering) would go a long ways. After all, it is just as easy, if not easier the to throw a bunch of random things into a room as it is to parse through a catalogue.

I love the orange color. It gives the hallway a nice Autumny feel. The green in the rest of the apartment is cool and refreshing. And then there's the peaceful feeling that comes with a feline stretched out on a beautiful white spread.

The plants and life the apt has are incredible, and merit a "super cool" vote all by themselves...I do agree a bit with some of the criticisms regarding flow in the rest of the rooms (and the orange), but just love the greenery so much and the warmth of the space.

Love it - Anti-depressive living.

I really like the idea of a green oasis, I just think that it's taken a bit too far: one wall with the green bamboo wallpaper would have been enough in a such a small space.

Your cat is awesome though!

hi, everyone!

thanks so much for your feedback!

i was super nervous to show you my place before i was finished paring things down as i work through The 8 Step Home Cure but i couldn't wait another year to submit! :-)

yes, its current hodge-podgeyness is why i'm saving up to create a more unified look. i'm encouraged by your lovely reaction to my bed area because that's the look i'm going to focus on creating for the rest of the space. gotta keep it simple and serene!

for those who asked, i bought the bamboo forest and bamboo leaves wallpaper from here:
http://www.designyourwall.com/store/search.php?mode=search&page=3

they send you wallpaper powder mix with some of your orders which helps. but i used self-stick velcro tabs affixed to the back of the prints and to the wall so that i could move pieces around and not be committed to any one look forever.

roger kitty and i say, "thanks, guys!"

I love the hallway and the bed corner is great. But the first thing you gotta do is ditch that gold lamp! : ) Be happy though.

I am drawn to your post because of the plants, art, and cat. :-) It looks like you actually live in your space, and have hobbies that involve more than watching the telly and cruising for modernist furniture.
The furniture looks thought out in regard to the space it's in. I do wish the tv tray looking table were substituted with something else.
I really love your kitchen, especially the slanted wall with the window, and the pink piano light above the sink. Your dishes add to character to that room. Your home is very personalized, as a space should be; try not to unify it too much.

I think it is interesting to put an apartment to a screenname. i always see heatherleaf's comments and now it's like we see alittle bit of her personally attached the the screenname.

Your apartnent layout is so similar to the apartment layout of my first apartment in NYC -- how could I not vote it Supercool!
( my apartment was 50 or so blocks north of yours)

Love the first photo of the bedroom and love your plants.

I love that you took risks and have a strong sense of style. I appreciate the "no vignettes" and that your pictures give a good sense of your home. Cute cat.

It seems awkward and cluttered...dunno

Great job, I love the kitchen and the hallway especially. Your bed corner also looks like a great resort holiday cabin.

I agree with flower222, join the Color contest too. Remember to take some new pictures though, don't just reuse these or you'll hear about that in the comments.

Good luck!

I like all the art, but there's something a little make-do about the choices of furniture, as she said due to her budget, at discount outlets, etc. Maybe keep an eye to the sidewalk or the flea markets/yard sales, "upgrade" a little on the dropleaf and the tray tables and some of the lamps (I like the pink one in the kitchen, it is awesome), without spending a whole lot more money, it would certainly enhance the design. "Cheap" doesn't have to look it, as evidenced by others' entries. I like that she likes plants and light, and suggest tightening up the theme rather than going more overboard. I guess what I'm saying goes against the nature of the environment, but it looks like the habitat has taken the upper hand to some degree. It should pair more with the artistic license of the rest of the space.

I like the bedroom vignette and kitchen; particularly the bedroom, where it looks like you've pulled off the use of houseplants very well. I don't usually keep them inside the house (I've never had the right conditions/kill them), but I do enjoy how you have incorporated them into your sleep area.

I love your apartment... just ignore the snobs. First apartments are always a bit hodge-podgey, so you're following in the fine tradition there. Most importantly, you've put your imprint all over it... bright, cheerful, full of cherished personal items, like that picture by kitchen sink. It's obviously a well-loved space, and that comes across and makes it look very welcoming. I love the treatment you did on the wall at the end of the bed, and the bed curtain too. Makes it feel a bit like a forest alcove, and a lovely place for an afternoon nap.

Cool space, thanks for sharing it with us! :)

thanks, Joanna D.! I'm just mad at myself for sending in photos before I had finished perfecting the area along that one troublesome wall behind my arm chair. grrr. that's what i get for being impatient.
i think what perhaps might have been overlooked was that i entered because i know i could benefit from the nice furniture from the contest sponsor. oh, well!
DWF, you're so funny, that lamp is already waiting to go out to a charity, lol! good call. :-)
thanks for the suggestions on entering the next Color Contest, i just may!

I like it--unique and colorful, very personal. You'll find better/more interesting furniture in time. I think you're off to a good start.

I voted cool, I love places with color and personality. Good job!

One thing to note, for those complaining about seeing pictures of smaller chunks of rooms - one thing I've noticed when photographing my own space is this: since it is quite small, there's very little choice but to photograph small parts of the apartment, since I can't back up to get a whole section at once - there are walls there.

That is all. Carry on.

I really love the comforting feeling of having some plant life inside my home. I think people neglect plants often too much in their homes.

Environmental cute. :)

I LOVE the first picture, and was pleased that's the look you'll be going for in the rest of the apartment. Of course, the black cat makes the photograph in terms of contrast!

I agree with a lot of the above posters in that there isnt a really cohesive flow throughout the space. For me, tho, the most annoying thing are the wall murals. They're half-assed. I know they arent cheap - but you need to either do nothing, or do the WHOLE wall! Having the strip of mural end halfway down the wall makes it feel dorm-roomish. I think if you edited some of your pieces, played with some of the color throughout the space, and exploded the murals you'd have a contending entry for next year.

Ps. Was i the only person who noticed the crazy zombie portrait of Andy Warhol? love it!

i wld love to come home to this
its comfortable looking, lived-in and warm
i miss having plants now that i have a puppy who eats everything :(

Love the art work above the dining room table, but the wallpaper was a bit too much.

This one made me smile.

Great fun was had here.

Maybe stick with these established ideas but now think about bringing it all up a notch:
Upgrade to better plant containers in the bedroom, etc, (eventually).
Frame your art...masking taping it to the wall is going to tire quickly.
Kind of a fun,tropical vibe going on here?!
Show us your changes some time.

hi, *heather leaf* here -

:-)

just wanted to follow up on a couple of more recent posts from you guys.

Modfan - yes! you spotted & mentioned the Andy Warhol (i was beginning to think no one would). that's a painting i did in high school .. *cough*.. oh, about 19 years ago. it's on a plank of wood. i once used it as an over-the-closet shelf. he was positioned face-down which was cool because you had to walk underneath him.

paulmuscat - i know which masking tape bit you're talking about. if you look closely, you can see that the print itself is of an image surrounded by masking tape which is overlaid with a sort of handwriting. pretty cool, eh? so i thought, 'hey, if the print is of an image bounded by masking tape, why not continue the theme and bind the whole poster with masking tape?' if you saw it in real life you may discover that it somehow 'works' to continue that effect.

i was hoping someone would mention the Rorschach ink blot prints in the hallway. darn! my grad degree is in forensic psychology and since i received training on the Rorschach and love their imagery, i put up prints of them on wall as an homage. :-)

oh, & p.s., my boyfriend was very cross with me for having the audacity to submit a kitchen photo with such a disheveled tea towel. :-D

I LOVE the bed idea of bring outside in... reminds me of the idea of a bed in the middle of paradise. I love the orange nook hallway. Cute cat too:)

Love how you bring nature inside. Bold colors keeps the room interesting.

Where did you get the first picture? it gives the sensation of space and of course nature....