apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

that pic from domino is my living room inpsiration!

LInk is not working!

grrr bad link!

the link to Domino is missing the http:// in front of it :)

Link fixed.

anyone know what that wall color is?

What does anyone think of Behr Grape Green, for a living room accent wall? Sorry no picture attached.

There are some good tips in there.

Many are set up for owners, not renters. And sometimes I have to laugh at their idea of "small":
http://www.dominomag.com/galleries/2007/05/smallspaces?slide=29

Love all the ideas in those pics but like you, TRUE BLUE, I find some decorating magazines' opinions of what a small space is a bit unrealistic! That patio is probably the same size as my entire apartment.

I have been toying with the idea of getting rid of my sofa and putting a full sized bed in the middle of my room as shown in the domino slide show, but since I don't have much space to work with I am a little afraid to take the plunge. Other than buying a sofa bed does anyone have any ideas? Any one used this technique before? Should I give it a go or am I doomed to wake up with numb limbs from sleeping in a single bed for the rest of my time here??

Maybe I should put some photos up of my room and see if Apartment Therapy will start a thread for me....

@OliviaTokyo, It's a tough call. The bed takes up a lot of space, and when you're sleeping, you don't always need a huge bed. You aren't conscious. You aren't aware of the size of the bed or the size of the room.

If you are having real physical symptoms from your bed, you might want to check with a doctor. And check into a different mattress. I know that much of the time, if I lie on my right side, that side will go numb. Not so with the left side. So it wouldn't matter how big the bed was, I think it has to do with pressure on certain nerves???

If you use your home for just you, as in: You don't entertain a lot, rarely have people over, go for it. Put in a giant bed. It's YOUR space. YOU get to decide how to divide it or arrange it.

It doesn't MATTER how other people have their homes arranged. For instance, people with giant TVs have their sofa facing a wall with the giant TV. If you didn't have a giant TV would you have your sofa facing a blank wall? Maybe, maybe not.

I got rid of my dining table and chairs. I realized I didn't use it as a dining table. I never had people over to dine. And the table had become the landing strip that was never sorted, piled with mail (junk). Or piled with laundry before laundry day. There was no reason to have a table.

There are in between things you could think about too. Such as the wall beds. This place has many different styles to look at:
http://www.flyingbeds.com/

There's one there that has a queen size bed on one side, and a bookcase/desk/table on the other side, and it opens and twirls to allow you to select which side you want out. Here's the direct link to that one:
http://www.flyingbeds.com/14.SmartBeds/Twirly/TwirlyBed.htm

It's kind of expensive. And I'm sure it must be attached to the wall rather securely. Ha!

And be careful of which model you choose, as it appears that with this particular model, you also get a portal into an alternate dimension:
http://www.flyingbeds.com/05.MurphyBed/murphy.htm

Anyone have any clue where the coffee table "cube" in slide 28 is from?
http://www.dominomag.com/galleries/2007/05/smallspaces?slide=28

Olivia, a few ideas. We made our own murphy bed, it was a simple pulley system (though we were helped by being able to drill into a stone wall - I'd seek advice about a partition wall). Remeber all those high school physics classes? It was a fraction of the cost of the ones you buy. I also like the idea of getting a couple of matching height antique architects' plans chests - and putting a mattress on top of them. Hard to get get matching height, but you could always put a smaller one on top of boards. Beautiful and fantastic for storage. You've presumably thought of and rejected getting a good quality sofa bed that makes up into a double bed - maybe because it' s such a hassle to make it up every night. You could get a king size duvet to use instead of a bottom sheet, and a second duvet to put over you. Both go into a wicker chest (together with your pillows) during the day - this should be something that doubles as a coffe table. An easy way to make up a bed. There's the Ikea high sleeper, where your desk and shelves go underneath, but hard to pull off without seeming to be an overgrown teenager. You could always go for a slightly morroccan-themed decor, and have a low bed piled with cushions, and a few low tables, kilims and low lighting dotted around. Good luck!

Danger Dorge: That is an older picture from 2006. Quick search turned up this table:
http://www.westelm.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?partNumber=WE-PRODf283&cmsrc=rel&storeId=17001&langId=-1&catalogId=17002&viewSetCode=E

From this AT article:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/look/look-west-elms-silver-033851

There are also these ones, which I don't like as much:
http://www.grabcart.com/product/homegarden/furniture/1541056/Avenue-Six-401010-Slick-Cube-Occasional-Table-White

That was the best price I could find. Here's the worst price:
http://berktree.com/AvenueSixSlickWhiteCubeOccassionalTable-FreeShipping.aspx

This price is pretty good and it's a known company:
http://www.homedecorators.com/detail.php?parentid=60952&aid=froogle&CAWELAID=201574187

Thank you True Blue!! I love AT...

A Murphy Bed is the perfect solution to cramped living spaces.

I highly recommend this company, Old Creek Wall Bed Factory.