I second the confusion there on the $15k. Why not use that as a downpayment on an actual home?
Anyway..

Might I point out the age old "paint"? That place is looking pretty white. Switching up some of that oak furniture might make it feel a big more mod.. or, you could play up a country feel perhaps? And I don't know about you, but I can't stand parquet flooring. You might consider a large rug to bring some visual interest / cover that stuff up.

I agree that the first thing to do is paint! The accent wall by the dining area is drawing attention away from the windowed wall, so I'd give the whole place a new color. The windows and door to the terrace look very boxy in an environment that is not too modern, so I'd try to soften them up with curtains. Even just placing plants on either side might frame them better. It seems like the dining area blocks the door to the terrace--is it possible to move the table and chairs to the opposite wall and put that credenza or something else where they were? The rug in the dining area works well, even though I think you could find a better pattern. The living room rug is too small!

Hehe- In NYC, 15k is nowhere close to a down payment.

My guess is that Scott wants to invest in better furniture/art and perhaps throw some paint or window treatments in there to unify the look.

I agree that paint is needed (the red on the accent wall is a bit dated looking and makes the rest of the apt look particularly washed out) and would suggest re-matting all of the art (and new frames for any that don't match the existing black) in white- and getting the print above the couch cropped and matted so that the text doesn't show (allowing the focus to lie on the art, not the info on the print; and making it look a little more mature.) Next up is the editing phase- go through everything in your apt and decide what you want to keep and what needs to be replaced (your couch is lovely and classic, but those side tables are- imho- blech) and if you want to replace things exactly as they are, or switch out pieces (ie- the small table next to the door- do you want another table, or perhaps a bench/coat hook combo to act as your landing strip?)

My other suggestion is that you should go through AT or other design sites and save images that appeal to you, in order to get a feel for what sort of style you'd like to move towards while redoing your apartment (do you like furnishings that have clean, modern lines; industrial details; Spanish/Moroccan elements; etc.) That way you can buy individual pieces from a variety of places, without succumbing to the urge to buy every shiny new piece that strikes your fancy for the moment. Of course, thats no disincentive to mix and match, but it will help you be focused during your hunt.

A few things I would do...
First think about how you want your place to function. What do you want it to be able to do for you? Do you entertain a lot? Cook a lot? Work from home? Then decide on a floor plan and furniture arrangement that would best meet those needs.

Then assess all your furniture and accessories and choose what you love and want to keep/work with. Think about why you like them (color, texture, style, function, etc) to help with future purchases. For the stuff that doesn't make the list, can it make the list with some changes like paint or new upholstery or putting it somewhere else?

Third think about what the space lacking. Do you need more storage, etc.

Fourth what do you want to play up. You've already highlighted the view. Perhaps a window seat along the length of the windows for seating to enjoy the view that also doubles as storage.

Then slowly start switching things out and replacing with pieces you love.

This apartment is great, but it seems very brown to me. And it looks like it gets great evening light, which is by definition an orange light, which is bumping up the brown.

Definitely that dark terracotta feature wall has to go, but so does that table by the front door and the TV cabinet (which seems too high for comfortable TV viewing anyway).

It's hard to tell without a floorplan, but it does look like you could rearrange the living area furniture to the living area to the area in front of the windows, to the right hand side, so you'd always have the view.

Move the sofa so that it faces the windows and put the TV on a new, lower TV cabinet underneath the windows. The armchair could pretty much stay where it is, but further into the corner. You could put a bookcase or console table behind the sofa, facing the front door.

That would give you a "third" area, which you could set up as a proper entryway and where you could also put some storage furniture, which judging by the bits and pieces in the rest of the apartment you quite badly need.

I would also suggest putting a mirror in this back section, as it will probably seem quite dark compared with the brightness of the front section.

In line with the general de-browning I would paint the whole place white and put simple white roman blinds on the windows, in a semi-sheer material that you can use if the evening sun becomes too much. They will also frame the view without detracting from it.

If possible try not to have too much of your new furniture be warm-toned wood, as that will just add to the browneyorangeness. Good luck, it's a great apartment.

I second Talby in that you need to determine your style before buying a whole lot of furniture. I've been reading the "Domino: The Book of Decorating" recommended on a recent entry here and it's been very helpful.

The white walls definitely need a paint job, perhaps a neutral color like gray or off-white. I kind of like the red wall as an accent wall, though another color might work better (like peacock blue or even a vibrant wallpaper).

I think a long, rectangular dining table running parallel to the window might be what you need to draw attention to the view. If you're worried about blocking window with too many chairs you could use benches for the long sides. The red accent wall area I would use for either a desk, a wet bar, a striking bookcase, or a large piece of art. I suspect new window treatments are also needed to enhance the view, but again, that depends on the style you're going for.

@ShannonAshley:

Rented apartments ARE "actual homes"

Rather than reiterate some of the excellent points already made, I'll mention a few that weren't. Going forward, choose larger area rugs. You should go with at least a 6'x9' for the living area. You want all of the seating to at least "kiss" the edge of the area rug. As for artwork, try to keep some walls free. If the wall is smaller than 36", go without. Group things together more so it's not one straight line throughout the apartment. Maybe stack one of the other, lean one piece over another, etc. You could use some more lighting, too. I'd go with wall sconces that plug in. They'd look great arranged with artwork on the wall above your sofa.

Talby hit it right on. Follow her advice and you'll do just fine. I love the old building your unit is in (or at least it looks that way from the pics) along with all of the details that reflect it's time period, like the parquet floors. There are certain details though that I find helpful to replace when trying to make a rented space reflect your personality, that's lighting and window treatments, sometimes even cabinet hardware. They're easy fixes but they go a long way in adding personality to your space. Making those changes can be tricky depending on your lease and your landlord, but I've always been able to get away with it. I just make sure to return everything back to the state it was in when I originally rented the unit before I give notice/vacate.

One other note: 15K can go pretty fast but you should easily be able to accomplish your goals for the space (if they're reasonable) within that budget or less. Not sure how you feel about modern design, but you're space seems to be calling out for it. I love using clean, modern pieces (not cold 90's modern, but colorful, now, modern) in older units. You'll need to pair down the clutter to make it work and really put some effort into space saving organization, but I love the look and think it might work well. Blu Dot and Ligne Roset usually show some good examples of that in their advertising/marketing. Also check out remodelista.com for further examples of that look. Of course, AT always does a great job of showing smartly designed spaces of all shapes, sizes, and personalities to fit the modern world... So do your homework.

Good Luck!

anything but special... :(

dining table area pretty

I agree with Idontdobeige, since you enjoy your view, move your living room area to the windowed side of the apartment and move the dining room area to the space now occupied by the living room. If you turn the dining table perpendicular to the walls, this should create a nice entry area near your door where you can establish the much advocated "landing strip".

In locating the couch, place the couch opposite the windows, assuming you can enjoy the view while sitting on it. If the windowsills are too high, locate the couch along the red wall (repaint please) so that while sitting on the couch, you can enjoy the view through the glass terrace door. This will also be a good location for guests to sit while you are cooking in the adjacent kitchen.

As also suggested by queenbee1230, replace your rugs with much larger ones sufficiently sized to cover the floor of the activity area and extend beneath the fronts of your furniture. The rug beneath your dining table should be sufficiently sized to enable someone to push their chair away from the table and stand up without the chair leaving the rug. The optimal living room rug size should cover the entire living area defining that space from the dining area.

Since you apparently have strong afternoon sunlight through the windows, consider replacing the current woven shades with a translucent solar shade that will reduce the sun while preserving views.

Good luck!

I can see why Scott wants to update. Much of his decor seems to be trapped in the early to mid-90s.

Still, that's a great couch, and I like the honest, slightly rustic nature of the window treatments.

1. Ditch the Santa Fe look dining room furniture and rug.

2. Ditch that leather reclining armchair... and the wood side tables, the bookcase, the TV unit and most of the art. Sorry.

3. Search for replacements in natural materials (wood, stone, leather, raw linen etc). I'm thinking patchwork hide rugs, driftwood lamps, club-style leather armchair, wooden furniture that's Shaker or Craftsman rather than Country.

4. Sparingly use refined materials as accents - sharp designer throw pillows for the couch, maybe a marble-topped Saarinen table or similar for the dining room.

5. Paint the walls a warmer but neutral colour. Get a couple of pieces of really good modern art with a sense of energy and aggression (think Basquiat's or Pollock's style without their price tags).

6. Use those big plants to frame the windows, drawing the eye toward them.

I would agree with the previous comments on painting. A soft grey would be beautiful and there's been a few posts lately about the use of grey.

I like the idea to get a longer dining table and setting it up parallel to the windows --you could have some fabulous dinner parties or breakfasts with a view like that! It appears the window sills are too high to take advantage of the view from the couch and dining chairs would provide a better vantage point.

I would remove the rolldown blinds as they are foreshortening your view. I would suggest a single rod with floor length curtains/drapes that would typically stay to the far left (left of the door) and far right of the windows. If Scott ever has guests stay over and needs to set up a guest room in the living room, a working set of window treatments would shield the light for your guests.

A long bar or buffet under the window would provide tons of storage space (underneath) and entertainment space (on top), without blocking the view.

Definitely invest in a smaller unit for the tv. (Question: isn't that unit designed to hold the tv? why is it on top?) An area rug that covers from just in front of the couch to just in front of the tv unit would anchor that seating arrangement. Two small armchairs on either end of the coffee table would create a complete seating grouping. I would suggest a pair (matching, unmatching) of mid-century modern (Danish) wooden chairs or one of those with a small club chair, which are large enough but won't overpower the space like the black chair you have or a large arm chair.

Color: pick a color you like (is it red, like the wall, or something else --peacock blue would balance the warm light, imho) and make it your accent color (pillows, window treatments, other accessories) and keep other things neutral (grey, natural woods, beige, cream, oatmeal).

Have fun! Keep us posted!