I love how she used low bookshelves to hide the bed because they keep the space between the living area and the windows open. Her choice of white allows the shelves to blend in rather than looking clunky.

Well done!

Really like the touch of green at the windows and, as always, it goes so well with red tones and white and I like that she chose a natural for window shades rather than white.

Lovely looking space. And I must ask, who makes those great shelves above the cutting board in slide 10? Please tell me it's IKEA, and please tell me they are sturdy, and I'll get myself to Elizabeth tout de suite! Been looking for something like that for my own white foil IKEA kitchen for years.

Lovely. Question: is the hot plate all there is to cook on? Or is the real cooking surface being hidden under the cutting board?

Overall very well done; I really like the use of color. The curtains and window treatments are standouts.

Great job Dante!

Aw, man, what a spiffy place! I also love the way she used the low bookshelves to divide the room without visually breaking up the space. And I love the color of the couch and chairs.

Dante, how have you found that fold-down IKEA dish rack? Is it stable? Does it hold much? I've been thinking of getting one, but am not sure if it's hefty and large enough to hold more than three or four items.

Cute kitchen. Dante, how did you hang up the wall of fabric? I've been looking into hospital tracking...but wondering if traditional window hardware is less expensive.

A chick named 'Dante'?

That's rad!

Love your place. The white piping on the hot pink is crisp.

I love this little apartment!

Dante has done a great job, particularly with the kitchen shelves. One note - Dante obviously is not married and/or does not have a male significant other as a man would certainly be like a bull in a china shop in her bathroom. Things on the shelf would be undoubtedly knocked over into the toilet bowl. Just an observation and not a critique.

Signed - a married woman.

My husband has never knocked over anything on our shelves over the toilet, but the survival rate for gnomes in the medicine cabinet would be low. (I kind of like them, though.)

Really nifty handling of the bedroom nook -- I didn't realize what it was from the LR photos.

Very nice Dante! I love the suitcase you use for a small table and your creativity. It inspires me.

Dante, did you make the window shades? If so, could you let me/us know how you did it? If not, where did ya get them?

You've done a wonderful job with the space.

Thanks!
Sarah

How long until opoponax yells at her for having an Eames sideshell?

Are those needlepoint pillows?

I would love to wake up there. And I like the vignettes.

Dante, I love the track lighting! Just what we have been looking for to put over the kitchen island. Would you let me know where you got it from? Lovely place!

Looks great! I love the pop of color from the seating. I'm curious about the breakfast bar/table---where'd you find it?

I want to replace a pottery barn-esque white and glass medicine cabinet above my toilet with open, floating shelves. My mom keeps saying it isn't a good idea and things will get knocked into the toilet. I just cannot imagine that is true. Like Dante, I am living alone chick (buying into the assumption above), maybe you could check in a few months from now to let us know if there have been any toilet-related fatalities?

Super cute place.

Lovely! How am I supposed to get any work done now -- so many ideas I want to try out. . .

(But the video made me motion-sick.)

Lovely lovely lovely!!! Wrought iron furniture indoors. I LIKE it.

Beautiful!! Where did you get the aluminum stool?

Your apt. is lovely. Congratulations!

Another "where did you get that?" question:

The low white bookshelves dividing your room, please! Thank you.

re: Ikea dish rack...........

right now it's holding a cast iron skillet, three plates, four mugs and assorted ladles, spoons, knives. much sturdier than i expected. screwed into a plaster wall with those plastic things that you pound in first then screw the bar into.

Where did you get the wall-mounted dish rack? Great counter-space-saver!

becca

This place in great. I love the vibrant red. and the shelves as room divider.

I'm amazed at how quickly you did this!

I have that dishrack, installed by previous owner, and it is amazingly strong. It holds everything I put on it, including multiple, heavy pots and pans.

loooove the white pieces on the top shelf (slide 12)

I love your dark floors and crisp white walls. The light, from both the windows and the track lighting, is beautiful. The shrubs in the window really make the place feel homey and well cared for. You've done a wonderful job. Your place looks clean, well organized, very pretty and extremely relaxing.

When is AT going to throw another party?? I want to meet all of these cool DIY designers!!

very homey, and inviting, you should be happy to return home every night!

avacado, re: things above toilet. i am not undainty, nor am i a ham-handed man, but i've dropped many items into the toilet from shelves above same, in the morning or late at night, when my motor skills are not at their best. do i have to tell you toothbrushes won't flush? ew.

and yes, the shelves are still there. ever the optimist, i am.

LOVE this space! Congratulations, you've done an amazing job! I love the "lawn furniture" best, I think...though it's hard to choose one thing. The couch is also pretty great. Is it red like another poster mentioned, or is it hot pink? Anyway, well done!

Really, really love your place. You've made good use of each available inch of space you've got. The colors are cheery and not overpowering. The whole place reminds me of a cottage by the sea.
I'm curious though, are you able to cook much with the double burner? Or perhaps, living right in Chinatown, you really don't have to cook much. You can pretty much find cooked food everywhere.

add me to the chorus that LOVES lawn furniture indoors(especially when it's as cute as yours + the whole apt...) and yr name!!

The only snide comment that I'm going to make is that the neighborhood is Chinatown, not pretentiously named East Soho or North Chinatown, just Chinatown. I can't stand the trend towards renaming neighborhoods so that they are more "acceptable," and "chic" to the "larger" world. It's like that nightmare "bococa" that I loathe. Ugh.

Other than that, nice digs... Love the crystal lamp and that beautiful white round table.

East Soho! Aaaahhhhh. Who came up with that, the realtor?

Great use of color and very economical use of space! I love it.

Dante, thanks for revealing the track lighting source. Unfortunately, I do not live in New York. Would you be kind enough to post the brand/model so that we might be able to hunt it down by googling it? This light is EXACTLY what we have been looking for in a long time and not able to find. Thanks so much! - Sheryl

One more question, Dante! I have the same wrought iron furniture but I've had a very difficult time finding the cushions to go on them like you have. Where did you get them?
Thanks,

maria

I'm not Dante, but you can get cushions to cover at fabric stores and craft stores. Also outdoor furniture cushions work for some people. But the best place to get good cushions can be an old sofa. I have a girlfriend who will not give up her sofa, but her cushions have suffered through children and animals. She found an old sofa of the same depth as hers for nothing, discarded the sofa, and recovered the cushions. I couldn't believe it.

Thanks for your detailed (and generous) reply Dante. Looking forward to your "how to" for window shades.

I was thinking: stuff won't fall into the toilet if the lid is kept down when not in use.

A sound policy.

Dante!
congrats is looks terrific
love it
Bricey

Regarding the low bookcase room divider: I've considered doing something similar but am concerned about the backs. Did you dress up the backs with something, or just leave them as is because your bed is against them?

JefferyK:

If you can spare the cost and space, a neat solution is to arrange duplicate sets of the bookcases back-to-back. That's what I did and it looks great, provides storage on both sides and a larger top surface.

I love what you have done with your apartment! It is just so sweet and cozy and modern too. Great use of the space. I especially love your choice of lamps! I would love to have one of the lighted tables that you designed.

Dante, where did you get that metal container under the sink in the bathroom?

I love the indoor use of the patio furniture, too. I especially love that white table next to it. Good job!

Hi Dante,

Where did you get your outdoor couch and chair? I love them!

Thank you for all the kind comments!

To address your many questions:

-All kitchen counters & cabinets are from IKEA. So far, they are wearing well.
-There is nowhere to cook in the apartment except for the two hotplates, a George Forman Grill & an electric crepe maker. I have plans to get a toaster oven. The vision is to turn this into an office in the near future, so I did not want to invest in much kitchen infrastructure.
-The IKEA dish rack isn't great. It holds a fair amount of weight, but things fall off it easily. I've already broken a couple pieces. Best for a very small space where you only need to do minimal washing.
-The long curtains which cover the closet areas are suspended on 1" electrical pipe. I just sewed a tunnel at the end of the fabric and threaded it though the pipe. Very easy.
-Window shades were very easy to make. These will be explained in greater detail in a coming AT post.
-Metal (breakfast) table is from the Bowery, from one of the many kitchen supply stores.
-Track lighting is from lighting store on Canal Street. (North side of street, west of Mercer). Good prices.
-Bathroom shelves have a bit of a lip to them, so objects can not fall off. Have never had a jumper.
-Metal stools are also from one of the many kitchen supply stores along the Bowery.
-Low white bookcases also from IKEA. They come w/ tall, thin legs which I did not use.

Thank you again!
Dante

i will have to try this arrangement with my bed and buffet sideboard (which i use as clothes storage) to demarcate a 'bedroom'.

jeepers, that will take me a long while to do considering i have way too much stuff under my bed. and will have to figure out how to slide things out from the FOOT and not the side.. oh, dear..

wende - you are no longer in phoenix but in sanfran now??? or is that a different wende?

yes, i too am perplexed by "EAST SOHO". does that refer to any street before Bowery? ha!

love this apt... i was inspired by dante's layout when i got my studio apt a year & a half ago. i love how the low bookshelves allows simultaneous separation and openness in the space. turns out i love hot pink too... separated at birth, dante? :)

Maria - I just ordered custom sized cushions from www.customcushions.net and they were really reasonably priced and completely customizable in size. They also have a variety of sunbrella fabrics to choose from.

Great apartment, Dante, and Jill you did a great job in showing it. The photos and everything were really clear.

Hey where did you get the white floor book cases from?
Thanks

Hi dante - its soo pretty, wondering how you got your AC above in the window? did you have someone mount it for you? and does this mean its permanent? or can u take it in for the winter?
thanks!

I love the bed behind the shelves. Looks so cosy! What model of shelves are those?

Oh this space is so cute! I just love it!

I saw this on Small Space Big Style on HGTV. I didn't care for it then. I don't think my feelings have changed.

Does anyone know where the crystal lamp in the living room area may have come from? I've been looking for one all over NYC and on the internet, but everything is either too big, too gaudy or too expensive. I love that lamp and hope someone sees this post and can help, if not Dante herself.

Thanks!

sorry, but what's the big deal?
Tidy. organized.
But no WOW factor anywhere in this place.

How about a big splashy piece of art on that big empty wall or something?
I like it when we critique here and nudge or inspire each other to take bigger steps.

Congratulations from Spain! I like so much your studio.
Well done!

Carmenchu

It's okay.. I just really would like to see some wax on those wood floors. Shine is okay!

Very pretty.....but how do you operate the air conditioner?

Such a great apartment! Just seeing how you used the shelves to separate your bedroom area may just save me from looking for a 1-bedroom this summer. I have been putting it off because I love my place, its just small studio. Maybe I should just send you the broker's fee I just saved??

I am scouring the Ikea website for the book cases. Can't find them. Do you know what they were called?

Has anyone else found them?

Thanks!

Does anyone know if a how-to was posted for creating window treatments like Dante's? I would be forever in debt...have searched without finding one.

ACE - yes, look at the most recent post about dante being included in the new AT book for a link.

does it not bother anyone that the stools are bar height beside counter height surfaces!?!? how does one comfortably use them?

Dante - I hope you're still reading this (a few weeks after it was posted) .... One more "where did you get it" question, but this one hasn't been asked yet! The low, round, wood coffee table in your living room. I love it! It's exactly what I've had in my head for months now but was beginning to think it doesn't exist. Any source ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Since this tour has been posted again (after 1 1/2 yrs!!), I want to say it's one of my all time favorites. It's layout is one of the best uses of space ever.

The low book shelves as a room divider that still makes the room look big... I believe AT used it as an example of one of the cleverest ways to layout a studio apartment.

Yes, an AT Classic