apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

People say, "nice." Now, what the heck does that mean? It's a tiny house with a 70s vibe.

I don't think my friends have any appreciation for my decor. Though I adore my friends, their sense of style includes heading over to Rooms 2 Go, picking up an entire living room and plopping it in their own space. YAWN. I think they feel sorry for me...that I don't really own much that I bought brand new. But I love my garage sale finds and upcycled Craigslist projects and splashes of color all over. Little do they know my space is much more fashion forward than theirs.

People tell me "it looks great - I could never do this." I tell them it's just figuring out what they like and obsessing over it. Then they say "oh, but I still can't do it."

It's not that hard to find what you love!

People seem to like my quirkiness. Like you, kmbsmith, I have nearly nothing new - 90% or more my furniture and decor items are cobbled together from Ebay, Craig's List (free or cheap), thrift stores and (before NY became Bedbug Central) found on the street.

People tend to enjoy my displays/collections of vintage pulp fiction book covers, vintage advertisements around certain women's issues themes.

Since I just moved, I'm going to need to save up and buy new bedroom furniture and decor. I'm hoping that when I'm done with the new bedroom, eventually, people will think it's as fabulous as I do! (AT ran my question this past week about how I plan to design the bedroom with inspiration from Inara's ship from the dearly-departed show, Firefly: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/good-questions/good-questions-recreating-a-scifi-boudoir-los-angeles-084978 )

People are shocked that I have antiques. Probably because my style of dress is so radically different from my sense of decor.

My friends visted from Pittsburgh and said they wish they could telleport my apartment to their house. As soon as someone comes into my home they start wondering around looking at all my stuff.."did you make this?"... "whats that?" and I love it! They want me to do their homes too! Im also very proud to say that most of my stuff is garage sale /thrift store finds, or diy!

I live with my sister, but she doesn't care much about decorating and lets me pretty much do whatever I want to our apartment. A guy she used to date once told her she was high maintenance. When she asked him why he thought that (since she's not) he said "well look at your place - it's REALLY nice." She thought that was pretty hilarious given that most of our stuff is either Ikea, hand-me-downs, or bought majorly on sale. Hey, I'll take a compliment whenever I can get it :)

www.swankydigs@gmail.com

Oops.... I really shouldn't post when I'm tired:

http://www.swankydigs.blogspot.com/

People say they want to spend a long rainy weekend here with nothing to do and no where to go and read all my books and watch all my DVDs and listen to my music. I consider that a great compliment!

They say:
"so clean, so beautiful!"
"a peaceful place"
"looks alike you"
"simple and organized"

I dont have friends here.The visitors often say '...but its old' looking at all the 'patina'.yeah...they're that ignorant.

Hmmmm, I guess maybe I'm bad at paying attention to what other people think of my home... or maybe I don't have enough people over. I think mostly people say it's really nice or it's cute.

So much art! It looks like a gallery!

"Beautiful place" "Love the layout" "Feels like home here"

Mostly because of the open floor plan and vaulted ceiling is why people like it. We tried to pick comfortable furnishings since I care a great deal more about being comfy than I do about what is currently a fad. So everyone feels welcome to come in, slip off their shoes, and curl up on the sofa or in a chair if they wish - and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I had a girlfriend who used to tell me, "My kids would rather go to your house than go to Wal-Mart." We'd laugh, but my house is kid-friendly and comfortable for adults, too.

People have said it's "peaceful", tidy and looks like me :) A couple others have been surprised by all the art I have on the walls (it's not an absurd amount, but definitely more than the average person).

Weirdly, everyone seems to go nuts over the fact that I have my couch perpendicular to the wall so that it acts as a kind of divider for the room. I don't know why everyone thinks that's so innovative.

My oldest son (11) said that all the kids in his class wanted to come live at our house.

Most people in town know exactly which house we are when I say "stone house on 8th Street." Not too many stone cottages in these parts. :)

Usually instead guests ask how I have time to do everything, since we have so many projects.

My favorite comment was "Like a really pretty Pee-Wee's Playhouse. With great art."

And I get "You have great taste." a lot. Best compliment ever.

One friend said "Wow, you're really committed to your color palette." What can I say? Pink & turquoise rule.

A guy I was dating said "You'll never keep a man with a pink bedroom."

I dumped the guy and kept the bedroom. No complaints since.

They say it's "so home-y" and "really reflects my passions" -- bright, with big theatre-posters (many Shakespeares), books and movies. They also covet my East River view!

Comfortable is one of my favorite compliments. Mostly because before I moved into the place I'm in now, I tended to be crap at decorating so the idea that I'd put a studio together in a way that makes you want to come over and hang out is makes me really happy. I also get variations on 'awesome' a lot, which is partly me and partly the fact that my apartment itself is in, in fact, awesome. The other thing that I've been told is that my apartment reflects me really well. Which I think is pretty much the most important thing to get out of your space.

"Wait, when did you move in?"

The friends we've had over so far are amazed that we've been living here only for a couple months... And not because we're packrats with mountains of accumulation that seem decades old. We've managed to make a sweet, comfortable, and useful home in a very short amount of time that feels like we've been living here and "figuring things out" for much longer. For me, there is no other choice. I can't live somewhere until it feels like a home. Even if it were just a tent...

Although there are several things I would love to change about my furniture and decor (I don't like my dinning room set I would prefer something more organic and ethnic), I do get many compliments on my home. They say it very comfortable and peaceful. I just wish i had more closet space :(.

The biggest compliments are on the screen porch. It's airy and open with a vaulted ceiling, window frames and doors are a creamy white, has lt. grey stained floors. It's the best place to have company in fair weather. The ceiling fan keeps it from getting too hot on humid Indiana summer nights. I love to read the paper and have morning coffee out here.

I hear "your backyard looks like a park!" and, "this is such a great party house" and "I need you to come help decorate my house!"

Makes me feel very proud:)

Most people say my house is very home-y. I guess that's a compliment. ? My favorite comment was when my friend Michael said, "It's like festive elves live here" (a reference to my smaller-scale vintage furniture).

My Boyfriend says: "Looks like its from a photo in a magazine"

I had a group of co-workers over for game night - a couple of people had moved here (Denver) from L.A. where smaller apts are the norm. In the Denver market, my place is teeny tiny - where in L.A. or either coast it would be considered, Big, spacious, or good-sized.

The comment I loved best was from one of these transplants who said, "... and you've done such a nice job of keeping it uncluttered."

My least favorite comment was, "You need something on this wall."
No kidding?! But I'm not the type to buy something just to fill a space. I have to love it. And 5 years after buying this condo, I finally found art for that wall.

Actually, went through two rounds - the first was a batik that I found at a thrift store, and saved from it's unflattering, monochromatic framing and matting. Everyone who saw it said, "Oh it's so beautiful! Where did you find it?"

Now I have replaced that with two abstract paintings... and the comment from my friend's sister cracked me up... "Ooooh. Where did you get the beeauuuuutiful one?" Funny because I think they are both beautiful! It's interesting to see what in your home speaks to other people.

i totally get the proudest warm-fuzzies when friends come over for the first time and (almost always) exclaim either "Cutest.Place.Ever!" or "It's SO like you!"

...mmmmm....success!

"It's so eclectic and funky!"

"I wish my apartment was this inviting."

And my personal favorite: "If you ever get tired of the ______, I'll take it!"

"It looks just like two graphic designers live here. So creative."
-Friend

"That color...hurts my eyes a little. Was this intentional? It's so...day-glo. Whew, maybe I'll get used to it."
-Landlady

I get a lot of, "cozy" and "comfortable" and "home-y." This makes me happy.

Also, "Wow, it looks bigger than I remembered..." (not bad for 40 square meters). Seriously, one friend says this almost every time she comes over!

I'm a student, so a lot of my student friends say that my house 'feels like a proper home' because they haven't really made an effort in their temporary accomodation (which isn't really so temporary-I've been in the same place for three years!). And they say it's 'very me' whatever that means, also always comments on the number of books we own!

I get favorable comments on my ceiling (it's a pale aqua and seems to make the 8' ceilings appear much higher), on the eclectic furnishings and art (inherited and collected from world travels and my own travel photography), the restful color palette (Gustavian-inspired with hot pink and apple green accents), and my fabrics (lots of linen and pet friendly fabrics). I do get encouragement to switch the wall to wall carpet to hardwood floors but I won't do it until I can simultaneously install radiant heating/cooling (and I'm still saving).

"It is NOT that small! At least, it doesn't feel small!"
and a lot of
"You HAVE to come help me organize my place!"
and once in a while
"The kids must love it!"

I got : "Oh you just moved in, did you? All your walls are so empty"
I work in a community radio station, where every centimeter of wall is full with posters, leaflets, flyers and stuff, so I need my mostly empty walls.

Rucy - if you're still reading this, I have to ask what wall color you found works well with those pale aqua ceilings? An do you remember the color for the ceiling? I am seriously tempted to paint my ceilings that color but can't decide. Thank you!

"This wasn't here last time", "you didn't have that last time", "it's changed since last time". Yes, I love changements!

"Are you sure that's dead?"

Everyone says 'aww, it's so cozy!' I guess it's to be expected (600s.f 2-bed), but I'd prefer a more impressive adjective.

Things like "Oh you are so creative to think of using (found object) for a (everyday piece of furniture)" and I'm usually thinking (Do you guys know about the internet? because that's where I heard about it.)

Or my least favorite which seems to be what people say when they can't think of a real complement is "Oh this is just so DIFFERENT!"

I've had comments ranging from ".... but where's the bedroom?" (someone didn't understand the concept of a studio apartment) to "it's kinda artsy" and "cute" and "cozy".

New house, not that many visitors yet, but the one comment that sticks in my mind was "wow, you have such a Grown-Up house!" (I decided that meant pulled together and without a lot of concessions to the children we don't have...) (I mean, there is a dragon under the lav vanity, R2D2 in my pantheon, bunnies in the basement... some would think there are a lot of non-grown-up aspects to see...)

they say it is always fresh and they look to look for the little things that i change. The colors too, but after all, my daughter is an interior designer.

For wally3:

Walls:
For greyed stone: I went with Restoration Hardware's Stone from their graphite collection. I loved the Gustavian-inspired pairing of pale aqua & stone.
If you want something warmer: go with a taupe, mushroom, sand (just avoid green-tinged paint if you're pairing it with aqua).
If you want something more vibrant and playful: spring green, grass green, apple green. A clear green, like one of these colors, looks great... but if introduced within the beige family it just made everything look muddy & seasick.

Ceiling was tricky, I tried virtually every aqua paint on the market!, in the end I had the paint shop custom mix colors to match two fabrics (Robert Allen) and tried those out. You may consider trying Ellen Kennon's line because her aqua paints, some of which are expressly blended to be used on ceilings, were really stunning (I'd ordered the large size samples to try):

http://www.ellenkennon.com/colorsanduses.htm

Flip through two links to "Coastal Colors" and "Nature's Palette" for the aquas. Essentially you buy the 'recipe' from Kennon and your local paint shop mixes it into whatever quality of paint you choose.

Also some commercial colors were beautiful:
Pittsburgh Paints (Aqua Tint, Peaceful Night, Plateau)
Benjamin Moore (Jamaican Aqua, which I had to mix with varying degrees of white to get to work).

In the end having the paint shop match to the two different fabric samples, and then blending something in between, worked best for my purpose. The choice of aqua does help visually lift the ceiling but it also balances out a rather intensely colored rug I inherited (and love but am always adding colors, aqua and dark brown for instance, because they help temper the coral pink in the rug).

I've got a few nice comments... I think one was "come to decorate my place", but the most funny one I got is this one (i have it because it was on a blog):
"Very erotic sensibilities, methinks. You have a odalisque stashed somewhere? I bet it's gorgeous tonight when the sun is low. "

It must be the reds and purples ;-)

warm and funny, which are the highest compliments to me!

We rent a 650ft apartment, the building is 1yo and faces our University campus, so we get tons of light coming in (nothing between us and the sun, and south-viewing windows). The apartment came (unfurnished)with 2 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, parking space and a storage room in the basement. The three most repeated quotes are:

- "And I thought you were kidding when you said you had to wear sunglasses in here"
- "350€/month? I'd pay 4x that!"
- "Your kitchen is bigger than my place."

"It's so European" (translation: small)

"It's very Zen" (especially the patio, which draws a lot of impromptu visitors, so must always have wine and appetizers ready)

"You're so creative--will you help me decorate my house?" (except then whatever I suggest they don't do and instead go back to their timid, "safe" decorating with bland colors and run-of-the-mill furniture and art)

I got the "interesting" comment, which means the visitor didn't like it... I must admit I say it too, when I visit a place that's not my style, but not bad either.

I also got a lot of "it's so spacious and organized and artsy" (I hate clutter and favor a few great artpieces over small items).

My personal favorite: "it's clean". (I'll never ever go and visit that particular friend, even if I really like him, until his girlfriend has a go at his place. That's a bachelor comment all right).

'is there another room?' or, most commonly, 'it's sooooo you!'.

"This is great." " Your place is amazing" "I love it." You have so much cool stuff" "It has a...vibe..."
( bohemian splendor apt in brooklyn)