apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I'm very sympathetic to works in progress since there's no way my place will get to enter this contest. However, this place is bland and badly lit.

Congrats on owning an apartment though! This place has some great bones and I think you can do wonders with it. Good luck with the decorating.

So what you're saying is that I should have waited until I got the bright new rug down before taking pictures?

-And it's not badly lit, I just didn't turn on enough lights when taking the pictures on a typical rainy Seattle afternoon. Sorry, I've never been much of a photog.

Beige with dramatic accents is a concept that works for me... you look like you're about where we are, post-move, though, with the big pieces in place but the accessories that make the drama not fully arranged or acquired yet.

Your home is pulsing with potential! What a delicious moment for you. And good for you for putting it up here -- that takes guts.

The wood floor and the window in the first picture are so pretty. Those red chairs on the black-and-white floor (the kitchen, yes?) are tantalizing hints toward...I'm not sure what, but you could sure have fun playing with them.

Wende - I'm currently fighting the urge to buy accessories because I REALLY want to retile the bathroom (the previous owner wasn't kind to them...and loved caulking). :)

Happilyever - Thank you for the kind words! (especially considering I tapped most of my "upgrade" money before I moved in to have the floors refinished)

Everyone - I didn't expect to win this contest, it was a shot-in-the-dark so to speak. Really, what I'd be greatful for are any suggestions, especially those involving very little money.

I plan to repaint the two canvas' any good ideas?

Thanks!

Considering the so many great submissions in the small apt. contest held months ago, I'm surprised that we're getting so few really good color submissions.

What I'm seeing in a lot of these submissions is that people seem to think that it's enough to simply paint your walls in a color other than white or else have some crazy, screaming color scheme. What we need more of is creativity and color balance.

I think it's a good start, but not quite there yet (exactly the reason I didn't enter my almost-fabulous-but-2-months-from-done room in this contest). I think more contrasting colors, more texture (lots of hard surfaces in there) and a little more personalization will make this a great space.

Oh, and I'd hang the pictures lower, but that's a personal thing.

Mat -- I know the feeling. Not that we can retile in a rental, though I just blew $40 on a steamer to get the grout icy-clean. But there's that point in a new place where it seems like it costs $100 just to leave the house, and there are so many things clamoring for their turn.

Your choice of a rug is going to be *the* defining difference that really shapes the living room.

Anon - Or maybe it's just the people that could really, really use a fat gift cert are seeing a good opportunity. I mean, what is someone who is "done" with their place going to do with a CB2 gift card for $2500?

Shanabanana - Thanks! I actually just ordered a rug with some great contrasting shades or red that should hopefully even things out quite a bit in the living room... Now if UPS could just deliver that darn thing! :)

i agree-- this place has A LOT of potential. That kitchen corner looks really sweet and even though I think the pictures should go lower, those black canvases (what are they exactly) have a weird minimalist vibe to them. As if the placement of the object transforms the wall into an art object... that kind of thing. (Can you tell I went to the Dia:Beacon recently? goodness)

it seems so rich. i really like it--the wall balances well with the floor. what IS that color? it looks brown or green or yellow depending on the light it seems. is it the same color in both pictures? because it looks very different but i can see how that might be a trick of the lighting.

Saya - Thanks!

The black and gray canvases literally are primed 2x3 canvas waiting for a better color/design/something. I put them there as placeholders of a sort so that I could try and generate ideas. (regardless they need to be lowered for sure)

I think you're right about the pictures in the kitchen too. I'm going to lower them this weekend!

Johnny - Thanks! Those are different colors... The first picture is "olive green" for lack of a better description, and the second is "butter yellow".

I suppose I should have mentioned that once I get some brighter contrast in here this house will be my defense against the gray Seattle winters.

...And dare I mention that, much to my dismay, the house is currently a peach sherbert on the outside? It's like someone built a 50's American rambler in Italy or something :D

I always love b&w flooring, am wondering if I can get away with it in my own kitchen. I think this place is going to be adorable and is definitely a work farther in progress than my own. But I hope you can get some red pillows or something once you get that rug, I'm not feeling those couch pillows.

For me there just not enough color work going on here. Nice place though.

As a fellow Seattleite I'm sooooo jealous of anyone buying real estate in-city right now! Do you own a bulldog?

I like that wall color and I can see adding lots of little paintings and other art in that little kitchen corner to make it a really cool place to munch.

I like your space -- it's very clean and nice in appearance. A rug would and curtains would be nice to add a little warmth. The pictures are hung a little to high (6-9 inches from couch).

It's just not ready for prime time yet.

are the walls chartreuse? if so, bravo.
i think that much larger pictures or mirrors or texturized what have you mounted much lower on the walls would make the space seem freer.
no rugs is very classy and the floors are beautiful. you don't need curtains either -- they can be and often are the sign of stuffy respectability. i think i'd make the black window frames go away; without being special they dominate the decor. love the kitty.
i'd go for some thai silk covers on the couch pillows; if you're going for monochrome i'd vary the textures -- beige fur, beige thai silk, beige satin, beige linen, and choose a complimentary color for one outrageous accent. (i like dove grey with chartreuse.)

p.s. i'd pull the table away from the wall, give it a mexican oil cloth cover, (or anything else from st. theresa's fabric shop -- all beauties) and stick a mirror with an elaborate (cheap old falling apart) frame, and/or a really good hubcap (to match that thing you have on the table) or three. (garnish in odd numbers.)

http://www.sttheresatextile.com/oilcloth01.htm

Sela - I have a cocker spaniel that thinks she's a bulldog :). I know what you mean though, buying in the city limits is tough... I lucked out being able to do it.

Lynn - A rug is on the way, and curtains and/or blinds are on the "to do" list. The windows are blank right now because the blinds the previous homeowner left were less than satisfactory.

Purejuice - They're Olive-y under low light, but get lighter variations (including chartreuse) under brighter light. Unfortunately I think the black window frames will be there for a while as the windows work and thus are in line behind upgrading items that don't :(. Thank you for the suggestions though, I like some of those color ideas!

Hey, I like your place. There is something to be said for taking your time, letting the space speak to you and figuring out the patterns of your use of it, before making decor decisions. One suggestion I have to is reorient your canvases so they are hung vertically. Maybe even add a third one. I think it would better emphasize the height of the room as well as the appealing windows. Keep on trucking!

Clearly this is going to be a great place when it is finished. You'll never regret spending the $ on those great floors. Good choice. Lot's of potential here! More than a nice start already!!

Well, I chose Insta Finalist for this one cuz I think they could put the gift card to good use. I know that's not the point of the contest, but it's my vote, so oh well. I love the kitchen table and floors.

Ed,

I like that idea, and furthermore, your suggestion gave me an awesome idea of what to finally paint on those canvases! Thanks!

Thanks KAJP!

Thanks Amanda, you're right, I would be able to put it to good use! :)