Thanks for sharing your space with us. It's got to be scary because you write for the site and people (for whatever reason) expect a lot and can sometimes be ...mean? I like that you've tried different things - trial and error is what it is all about. My "advice", such as it is, would be to maybe take down a lot of the little shelves that are everywhere in your apartment - take advantage of the nice big walls that you have. Maybe hang some larger pieces of artwork instead and then put the smaller items onto one bookshelf somewhere. I'd love to see the shelf removed in the master bedroom and to see the art hung lower and centered (cool piece, btw). All in all, keep experimenting and trying new things. It WILL come together eventually. --Tara :)

I like it, but I feel like a lot of the walls are really in need of some artwork. Something's off. Also, I wish you has shown a picture of the bookcases in their "closed" position! It seems like a great idea.

Wow. So you don't think you've succeeded in creating a cohesive look - I'd definitely agree. I just see tons of little stuff, little shelves all over with little stuff on them. But you say your advice is to only have items you truly love in your apartment. Do you really follow that advice?

I mean, do you really love the multiple votive candles? All the stuff on and around the couch? You don't love the red couch - so stalk CL until you find a replacement you love and sell that red bastard!

I follow the "love" rule for the most part. My living room was empty for nearly a year except for a Probber coffee table I loved. Recently an orange couch I love was added. There are three accessories - two large vases I love and an iron dog statuette thing from Pottery Barn that my husband is crazily attached to. My dining room has no light fixture - because I haven't found it yet. But when I do, I will love it. Or I won't bother buying it.

Of the things I have that I don't truly love, they're at least functional. Two couches (that I used to love in our condo) in the family room so we don't have to sit on the floor. A bookcase that I suspect I'll love when I repaint it to hold books and stuff in a nursery. A dining room table that we've just sold on CL once we found one we loved. Etc.

Anyway, I love your rocker and your balcony. Neat bookshelf door thing too - I think it could make a better focal point if there wasn't as much clutter.

I feel there is a lot going on here. The many items not really relating to each other feels a bit disjointed - the colors also. Maybe go with one color story (lavender and cream? - I see it in your home) then go with that? I feel my eyes go from here to there to there to there, not really sawing the whole place continuosly.

With that said - it's a helluva lot better than my home! Mine is still half empty because we can't decide on anything! We also have a wee budget too, of course :)

Great job trying out so many ideas and being brave with it! Keep having fun!

http://www.donkeehouse.com

I love the homemade version of the bookcase doors in the first photo! Also wondering how you installed you floor to ceiling drapes? I'm looking to do the same thing to divide up my space but can't quite figure out how to do it!

love the landscapes - i'd feature them more cohesively and prominently

and i agree with tara1979: try hanging the artwork lower , edit the small stuff, and think BIGGER as you grow into your space

good luck!

Here's my two cents- I say good job with the paint colors in the kitchen/living room and I am soooo jealous of your floor to ceiling windows. My biggest peeves are, as someone mentioned before, the lack of cohesion in the color choices (what is going on with that wallpaper??) and the bed. I think the duvet is pretty and luxurious. Now you need to buff it up with some layered pillows and some sumptuous sheets. Also, don't forget to pay attention to the lighting in the room. Maybe some pretty side lamps? Then the room will look like a great retreat!

http://www.tangiedecor.blogspot.com

i think it's only reasonable to expect a lot from a contributor to a design blog. after all, if you don't get design, then don't write about design.
having said that, i'll have to agree with most commenters - your home features lots of little things, disjointed and scattered looking vignettes and please, please, please do something about the wrinkled rugs all over the place. they are lovely but do they have to be so wrinkled?
in the living room - get rid of the shelves, hang some BIG paintings and get a bigger coffee table. maybe hang that beautiful mirror somewhere instead of all the knickknacks.
i love the bedroom wall colour and would also say get rid of the shelf. it's not like you need it, your bed has built-in bedside tables, and that gorgeous painting needs to be front and centre. the bedroom curtains look very nice though.
the pink chairs, brown love seat, blue wallpaper (fabric?) and floral rug in the spare bedroom just look like you've thrown everything in there that did not fit elsewhere. EDIT.
overall - shelves, shelves and more shelves with doodads, knickknacks and tchotchkes means that some of the truly lovely artwork you have gets lost. think fewer but bigger.
good luck.

Thank you for posting a tour of your home! I've been having a terrible day- and your place made me happy :)

agree with the above comments, great space, nice colors, but too much little stuff on open shelves. Bigger, lower art or some sort of accent (paint treatment, tall bookshelves, or items on shelf). Adore the windowseat/shelf things in the bedroom windows. So cozy looking

thank you for (bravely) sharing your private space. it's fun to see a work in progress and inspiring to see that someone enjoys --and employs -- different ideas with a spirit of art and adventure. have little kids come to your place? they'd love the sliding bookcases (as would "big kids" with a sense of play). thanks for the smile today.

I love the color choices for the walls in the living room. What is bothering me the most is the matchy matchy look of bed and the walls. I think it would look better if it contrasted me, something more complementary to the color, rather than having it be the same family of color. I mean, I wouldn't want yellow walls and a yellow bed.

That being said, I love the way the curtains are done in the bedroom, and the look of the green chairs against the wall and the windows. That's a great nook you have going there.

I do agree that there seems to be a lack of unity, but overall, I think there is an eye for great color choices and combos, and I think with just a few things, you could really bring it together.

P.S. Get some plants!

rachel, thank you for being brave and sharing your home! i love the quirky layout, views and paint choices. you can tell that you love your space. :)

i also feel that the little shelves are used way too much in the space. i am all for storage but a little goes a long way.

would love to see that gorgeous mirror over the couch with the paintings currently hiding on the top shelves around it. still eclectic but more living space than 'storage room'. also that tray/table you are using for a coffee table would be great under the bar shelves which i would leave. a bigger coffee table or set of small tables would be nice. have you tried putting the green modular chairs in the bedroom together for a couch instead? would look great with the other pieces already in that room. not a fan of the red couch either.

in the bed room also agree putting the large painting right above the bed and removing the useless shelf would look more pulled together.

best of luck and thanks again for sharing your work in progress!

where did you get the great trunk that you are using for your tv stand? i love it!

I love your place..I agree you have a lot going on...Stick with what you really can't go without....I only have what I could not walk away from when I was deciding if I should buy it or not...Thanks for letting us take a peak...

asinner--please, submit for a tour of your home.......

I love picture 23, especially those window seats around that gorgeous window and view. Were those an AT DIY or something you bought?

I agree with the editing suggestions in a lot of the posts. You have such great bones and taste that simplifying should allow your house to reveal its beauty.

The only think I actually dislike is the blue and white curtain... seems a little sci-fi to me for some reason.

I actually think that puffy red couch is fun!

csmoura - no way! I'm aspiring to have one of these eclectic, interesting homes one day, but right now it's all just potential and a lot of open space with a few key "wow" pieces that we expect to have forever.

Ummmmmm...

dc at its finest.

What everyone else said about all the little objects and picture ledges and high-hanging art.

And the wrinkled rugs---Crate & Barrel makes a really good thin rug pad that has some sort of grippy coating on both sides. It looks like very thin quilt batting and it's GREAT for dhurrie-type rugs. You can also get the same kind of pad from Lowe's and Home Depot for half the cost, BUT theirs left a sticky residue on my maple floor that I could not remove entirely even with paint thinner and Goof Off. It was SO not worth the savings over the Crate & Barrel pad.

I don't know your age but I'm guessing as you mature so will your taste as this get up reminds me of something a rebellious teen would throw together.

I'd also love to know what the mechanism for the sliding bookshelf doors is! Please share. Love that idea!

Definitely agree with your assessment re: the lack of cohesiveness. I notice from your list of furnishings that you seem to have a good mix of expensive (e.g. Noguchi) and inexpensive (e.g. Ikea) pieces. Maybe try to visually highlight one or two of your expensive and/or interesting pieces throughout your home, so each room has a focus. Right now it looks like a lot of little, unremarkable things in a huge space. A practical tip: try floating shelves instead of ones with brackets for a tidier look.

There are some really wonderful details here! I absolutely love your bedroom curtains and your fearlessness regarding colours on the walls is great too.

I agree with previous posts in that there is a lot of small stuff cluttering the place (especially the walls) up, so maybe go for a shelf of squares, 4 by 4 or such, to collect knick knack into groups but still keep them on display?

Belatedly here to query how those barn door/bookcase hybrid is working out for you? Forgive me, but it looks incredibly impractical. Load it down with books, and you wont be able to move it. Trick it out with the little "things" you seem so fond of, and they'd fall over every time you slide the doors closed. Well, that'd be my guess anyway. Has experience proved any different?

I don't like it. That is the bottom line. The furniture choices are a bit too 'different', especially that red leather couch, not crazy about it. It's just everything looks a bit too much like garage sale meets ikea.

However, I do like your master bedroom's enclosed seating area, and your bookcase sliding doors.

I like the wall of glass blocks, and the couch is very awesome.

from washington state.

I hate being critical of someone who obviously cares about design...but I see almost nothing I like here. I think the scale of many of the furnishings is totally wrong for the space. And I don't like the use of color at all.

On the up side, you seem to be very open to experimentation and recognize that not everything is working yet. That tells me that in time you will come into your style and develop confidence and end up with a really great home that you are proud of and that elicits many positive comments.