apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Mirrors! Just plain, rectangular frames. Then place your candles, etc in front of them. That should add light and nighttime ambience!

You could also add various artwork and empty picture frames.

You've answered your own question..."little trinkets seem to get swallowed up".
Use larger pieces- vases, sculpture. paint the shelves a contrasting color and make a statement.

What a wonderful dilemma. Prop paintings. Large graphic ones and large vases. This is a great opportunity to add punch and color. But a few large pieces strategically placed throughout should do the trick.

Good luck. Hope to see an after post.

i know you've got plenty of storage, but i'd still put in custom sized bookshelves and doored cabinets in select locations. there are too many surfaces going on, too many angles. more flush looking surfaces will bring some calm into the room. i'd use the new storage to get rid of as much floor furniture as possible, thereby increasing the spaciousness of the room. (doored cabinets could hold wicker baskets that act like dresser drawers.)

then i'd put down a very large, bold rug. pick two colors out of the rug and paint the remaining recesses. hang art in those recesses (big art - fill the recess) with ceiling mounted "art lights" to chase the shadows away. more than anything, what will improve the rooms is good lighting - all the soffits and beams going on on the ceiling cause shadows to be cast from the harsh central light, which detracts from your decorating.

i also like Lady J's suggestion of mirrors. and instead of painting, you could paper the recesses with your favorite wrapping or art paper - the recesses aren't that big, so it wouldn't be too hard. add some tiny molding to cover your paper edges, and it could look really sharp.

these bedrooms are a great challenge, which means they'll be doubly satisfying when you finally come up with something you like! :)

and if you're a renter and don't want to pony up for cabinets or shelves, try curtains. use the wire systems for hanging curtains, and mount it on the ceiling! you could indulge in some luxurious, tactile fabric and hang it only an inch or two from the front edge of the recess (again, to make a more flush looking surface) and hide all kinds of things behind the curtain. or heck, bring the curtain all the way to the front of the recess and run it to the floor. some very expensive hotel rooms have floor to ceiling fabric like that...you could work the boutique look.

I'm in total agreement on the trinket delima that you have going on. All of it are just that, trinkets, tiny and look out of place. Go bold with larger pieces, such as pillar candels in bold candle holders, as suggested mirrors to reflect said candles when lit, bold artwork, all of that in medium to larger sizes should help a lot and if you are renting and can't paint, work with that and see if you can do something temporary to add color to the upper part of the walls.

At the very least do that and then add color in bedding and other treatments as part of the problem now is too much putty/tan/gray type color scheme going on which isn't helping the situation any.

I agree that adding shelving is the way to go, but I also agree that custom cabinetry for a rental is a bit much. IKEA has a variety of different shelf extensions you can buy for their various shelving systems. You can start by checking out the ones available for the BESTA and BILLY systems, which you can find by searching their website using the keyword "extension".

If you really REALLY don't need extra storage (not even for books? Then how about getting more books?), then I second the recommendation to prop up large pieces of art. They don't have to be expensively framed. You could just have prints and posters mounted on foamcore.

I may have missed it, but I don't think anyone has suggested plants. I think a well-placed, appropriately proportioned plant or two would really enliven your space.

And yes, for the most part, kill the small trinkets. Though I personally would be tempted to use one of the smaller cubbyholes as a stage for creating some kind of weird tableau. :)

the biggest issues are, i think the lack of color in the space and the lack of textures. the first things that come to mind are what folks have already mentioned: paint the backs of the recesses a color, or more than one, or use mirrors to expand the space.

using the ledges as surfaces on which to prop up bigger pieces of art, or as a long book shelf would also be good ideas.

your knick-knacks are too small to hold their own on the vast shelf space. group them together so that like things are all together [bunches of candles, bunches of books, bunches of figurines]. don't be afraid of empty space between groupings.

Agreed to everything above, but want to especially promote getting rid of the bookcase and if at all possible, the dresser. They don't "go" and take away from well...everything. Sorry to be brutal, but it's how I feel.

That one dark piece, a coffee table(?) looks better in the space than the lighter shades. In my experience, with darker, subterranean types of places, impact is important. The lighter pieces just don't have it. Maybe paint the tops of the "shelves" and the door a dark brown to match the coffee table? You could do the same with the bed head/footboard. Then maybe a pallette of 2 or 3 colors and you're off!

Even if it's a rental, you don't want to lug around dorm-style furniture until you own. That simply ridiculous and nothing anyone who reads AND comments on this site is about.

Anyone agree with me on that?

These are all great tips. I completely agree, these rooms need more color (they are the rooms that definately need the most help in the whole house) - you are right ciddyguy, way too much tan/putty. Hadn't really thought of that, it all fit in much better in my last place...

Yes, as I'm renting, I don't know if I can really paint the spaces, but that is a great idea, and maybe I could get away with it if it was tasteful and not the whole wall. I had also thought of the idea of the curtains, lindsey kathlene, and still like that idea. I did worry that it would make the space seem smaller, but maybe it could be used for one wall.

Okay, the trinkets are out! As is the empty bookshelf in the 2nd room! I do like the idea of getting rid of the dresser and converting one area to dresser storage.... I'll have to think about that!

Could you some how turn some of the spaces into "light boxes" - find a semi transparent covering and put lights behind it.

post pictures when you make progress!

Kudos from the likes of us MUST have positive impact on your landlords:-)

Remember, no matter what you are gaining valuable design experience and that always counts for something.

Good luck and I can't wait to see what you come up with.