Apartment Therapy Archive: Jan 2012

Name: Carly, Chip and their dog Lucy Location: Pacific Heights — San Francisco, California Size: 1,200 square feet Years lived in: 3 — rented Carly, Chip and Lucy live down the street from Alta Vista Park, in an apartment set on the hillside overlooking San Francisco. On top of their serene location, there is something about this couple’s home that draws you in and makes you want to stay.

Name: JaneAge: 8 (she’s Charlie’s twin)Location: Los Angeles, CARoom Size: 15′ x 15′ When Jane moved into her brother’s room (her brothers now share a room), she wanted to have a say about decorating her new bedroom. Interior designer, Kristin Panitch, helped her realize her dream space. The chalkboard wall was left over from when it was her brother’s room. Like many girls, she wanted light pink walls and all the artwork in her room is her own.

There are regular chores and then there is, ya know, that other stuff. Those tasks that aren’t really day-to-day cleaning but still need to be done. When you come across them during your daily routine, you’ve surely said, “I’ll get back to that later”. Well baby, it’s cold outside and you have nothing to do but watch Firefly on Hulu, so why not tackle these 20 things too?Some of the best improvements we can make are in the small details of our home.

Many of us are IKEA fans but do you ever wish there were more finishes and colors to choose from? Sure, some DIY IKEA hackmasters may be able to put orange cabinets on their Expedit shelves but for the rest of us IKEA is a universe dominated by white and birch. Until now. A new company called Panyl is giving IKEA lovers a way to personalize and customize their favorite flat-pack pieces.

Interior Designer and host of DIY Network’s “Kitchen Crashers,” Alison Victoria has a lot going her way. She tells us the most important areas to address in a kitchen, the coolest tech she’s designed into her projects and the old-school way she stays organized to meet her goals. • Kitchen Crasher Alison Victoria Apartment

Is your mattress on a regular rotation schedule? If so, here’s a simple trick to help you remember how and when to turn your mattress.Mattress manufacturers recommend a mattress flip because over time, mattresses can wear unevenly from users sleeping in the same position every night and leaving permanent body impressions. By the time you notice your mattress start to sag, it’s too late to correct the problem.

Coconut oil has amazing health benefits, adds a subtle richness to foods and doesn’t break down at high temperatures. But, it’s also great outside the kitchen! Here’s some of the ways you can use it around the house. • Non-Edible Uses For Coconut Oil Apartment Therapy

Name:Tommy Chambers InteriorsLocation: West Hollywood, CaliforniaSize/Room: 1,250 square feet Years lived in: 10 years A couple of weeks ago, we got a peek inside the home of Tommy Chambers, where he puts his skills to personal use in his own abode. Next door to his flat is another apartment which houses his interior design business. Mirroring an identical elongated floor plan, this office is a root of inspiration.

Name: Charlie and Henry Age: Charlie: 8 Henry: 10 Location: Los Angeles, CA Room Size: 15′ x 15′ Bunk bed love! Charlie and Henry share a room, but each have their own area in the shared space. Designer Kristen Panitch designed built-in bunk beds and a bookcase/desk, which helped maximize the space and keep the room organized. The design of the room is definitely all-boy, but check back in tomorrow for their sister’s (Jane) pink bedroom.

Coconut oil’s been getting a lot of press lately for its amazing health benefits. It’s great to cook with, adding a subtle richness to foods and doesn’t break down at high temperatures meaning that it’s perfect for frying. And, it’s also great outside the kitchen! Here are some of the ways you can use it around the house. As a body lotion and moisturizer: Smooth on the room temperature oil and watch it melt into your skin!

When it comes to most things I buy for my home, I am pretty flexible. But with certain products I am very brand loyal (even when my budget tells me to be otherwise). Do you have brand loyalty with certain household products? • Who Has Your Brand Loyalty? Apartment Therapy

When I was a kid, I always got stuck doing dishes while my brother and cousins climbed trees outside. My grandma told me it was women’s work and I told her that was a bunch of hooey. Yet here I am, many years later, a part-time homemaker. Truth be told, I agreed to the arrangement.

Name: Heather Chontos, Kodie (12) and Zana (3), and dog MarvinLocation: Clinton Hill — Brooklyn, New YorkSize: 1000 square feetYears lived in: 3 years — rent If this post title seems to have a lot of adjectives to describe the home, we felt it only fitting consider the creative woman renting this space happens to wear a lot of hats herself.

With a $20 price tag and simple design, the Lack table from IKEA is just screaming for customization. Ssshh … listen carefully. Can you hear it? Please, dear DIY diva, take me from a cookie cutter cheap-o table to a beautiful, one-of-a-kind piece of furniture! Lucky for you, little table, Lizzie heard your pleas. Oh, humble IKEA Lack coffee table. How we do love to see what clever DIYers can do to enhance your simple little design.

This kitchen was a total disaster when owner Dorie bought her 1916 bungalow in Mesa, Arizona. Check out her gorgeous kitchen after the remodel… • Dorie’s Dynamite Kitchen Redo Apartment Therapy

Katie bought this table 4 years ago for $30 at a yard sale, and has been using it in all its scratched glory in her master bedroom ever since. Now that she is redoing that room, she knew the time had come for the table to receive a little TLC as well. Unwilling to go through the time consuming process of a full refinish, Katie was able to transform the look of this table with just an hour of work.

Every fashion-addict dreams about it: a custom-designed closet, preferably walk-in, with all your clothing, footwear and accessories in sight and at arms’ reach. The kind of space which makes getting dressed in the morning feel like shopping on Madison Avenue. It can be yours with a custom closet, but it doesn’t come cheap. If your’e thinking of taking the plunge and going custom, here are some things you might want to keep in mind.Pros1. They’re designed for your stuff.

Good closet space is key to living well in any size home. But just because it’s behind closed doors doesn’t mean you should let your closet become a mess. Maintain your sanity and maximize your storage space by keeping your closet the same as any other room in the house — neat, beautiful and organized.Whether it’s bedroom closets, coat closets, linen closets and anything in between, we’ve rounded up 10 great examples tidy storage spaces.

In much the same way that moving your sofa from one wall to another can elevate your space, making some changes to your computer desktop can make your workspace a more pleasant place to spend time. And as a Mac user, customizing your desktop for efficiency and appearance can be as simple as pressing, Ctrl+click!A wallpaper pasted from the web can do a lot for your desktop style (try matching your desktop wallpaper to your decor!).

Caspar David Friedrich, Woman At A Window (1822) There was a time not so long ago that glass was a precious material, so highly valued that only the wealthiest homes had glass in their windows. And for millennia, of course, people had no glass at all in their windows. So how did we get here from there?

Upon hearing this question, our minds probably jump to white. It’s a color commonly used in messy areas, but after two years of living in an all-white apartment, I realized that white kitchens and bathrooms also mean constant cleaning since white shows every molecule of dirt. • Do Certain Colors Feel “Cleaner”? Apartment Therapy

Name: Mila (6 weeks)Location: Glendora, CaliforniaRoom Size: 9 1/2′ x 14′ Designing the perfect nursery can be a little overwhelming. Alex and Jackie decided to let interior designer Jenika Kurtz take over the process. Jenika has experience designing nurseries for friends, so they were really excited to get her help and advice on their special room.How would you define the style of the nursery design?Parents: Contemporary and super cool!

This kitchen was a total disaster when owner Dorie bought her 1916 bungalow in Mesa, Arizona. The builder-grade cabinets and oven were fixed awkwardly in the center of the room while a huge custom wine rack took up the entire back wall — perhaps because it required serious wine goggles to look at that room without cringing? Dorie’s new kitchen is gorgeous even when you’re stone-cold sober.

The bad news is that there is no quick and easy way to remove candle wax from anything. The good news is that with patience, elbow grease and a little knowledge, you can remove wax from just about everything. • Remove Candle Wax from Anything Apartment Therapy

When it comes to most things I buy for my home (toilet paper, for example), I am pretty flexible: I will buy what is at Costco or what is on sale, including generic or store brands. But with certain products I am very brand loyal (even when my budget tells me to be otherwise).Do you have brand loyalty with certain household products?

Second only to Christmas, Valentines Day is a baking holiday. This year, I’m trying out a different kind of baking: garden baking. Not for human consumption, they still let you mix and blend and get your hands dirty and are perfect for a heartfelt DIY valentine. • Valentine’s Garden Recipes Apartment Therapy

Name: Cory and Kristine HankinsLocation: Bucktown — Chicago, IllinoisSize: 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom + denYears lived in: 9 months — rented In a short amount of time, newlyweds Cory and Kristine Hankins have managed to turn their one-bedroom rental into a calm, inviting space. Kristine tends to favor a classic look, where Cory’s style is more modern, but the two have come together to form a cozy, surprising mixture.

Fabrics, hardwoods, walls, oh my!

Finger painting is a classic activity for kids, exercising the artistic and tactile parts of their brains at the same time. But the reality is that most days, it is hard for parents to just abandon themselves to the complete mess that ensues. Here is a way to get some of the rewards of finger painting with no clean-up required.It took us a couple of seconds to get what was going on with this project over at Lovesome, but once we did, we liked what we saw.

Pulling out my cheap(ish) white dinner plates for a party this weekend I was once again irked by the little grey scratch marks that have cropped up over the years. I did a little web surfing and found someone who had successfully tackled this very problem with an easy solution. • How To Get Marks

Bathrooms are something of a catch-22 when it comes to remodeling. On one hand, unless it is one solely intended for guests, not many people see it besides you and your family. But on the other hand, since it tends to be the room where contemplation occurs most naturally, thoughts often drift to how much better it could look with a bit of work.

You haven’t even read this post yet and you’re already poised to leave a comment along the lines of “What a first world problem.” I get it. I do. But for those of us who are napping challenged — unlike my dog, who regards afternoon snoozes as his birthright — the inability to doze during the daytime can be a real drag. There’s a whole lot of research documenting the many health benefits associated with napping. Did you know that most mammals nap?

What happens when you take over your sister’s bedroom? You scramble to rid the space of everything pink and girly. Even after a great deal of elbow grease had already gone into this space to rid it of girl cooties, Max’s room still needed a little punch of hip and cool to better represent the grownup teenager he’s become. Want to see what it looks like now?

When Ann Marie decided to take on a project for her son’s school auction, she was lucky to find this old entertainment system for free on Craigslist. After some hard work and for only a $15 investment in supplies, she transformed this unwanted piece into a showstopping French kitchen that any child would love.

Kids love to imitate their parents. This is never more true than when cooking or baking. So it makes perfect sense to have a play kitchen located in the actual kitchen somewhere. Here, a built-in wine storage area became the perfect play kitchen location. • Play Kitchen in the Kitchen Apartment Therapy

Name: Rachel Pally (the designer) & Kevin Circosta (the musician) Location: Los Feliz – Los Angeles, California Size: 2500 square feet Years lived in: 7 years Rachel and Kevin’s love story is right out of a movie. They met in preschool, lost contact after high school, and reconnected again after college and fell in love. Their parents are close friends and both families have similar values.

Name: Kenzie Francey (3.5)Location: US Rachelle is a cool hunter extraordinaire of all things stylishly kiddie. So naturally when it was time to design her own daughter Kenzie’s room, it was going to be, well, cool. The result, with so much white and a number of references to snowy mountain tops, is a stylish, colorful, quirky room epitomizing a proverbial breath of fresh Swiss Alps air.

Name: EmilyLocation: Covington, Kentucky Although I can’t actually live here, working on this mini home for the past few months certainly makes it feel like I could curl up on the tiny couch and call it home. The idea of a renovating and decorating a dollhouse was interesting to me because it allowed me to decorate rooms and transform spaces in days rather than weeks/months and to be honest, I was looking for a project with a little more instant gratification.

In search of the perfect bedside fixture I’ve developed a minor obsession with task lights. Versatile and sleek, they are a great fit for the bedroom. For a little eye candy, check out this collection of bedrooms from our house tours.

False smoke alarms happen to everyone at least once–whether you’re a skilled home chef, a frozen pizza in the oven type of cook, or someone who likes a hot, steamy shower. Here are a few ways to shut them up safely. • Smoke Detector False Alarms Apartment Therapy

How many of us fellow renters have dreamt this very same idea: covering up an ugly rental unit carpet with wood flooring? Is it even possible? Seattle renter, Sumit Basu, covered up his low pile apartment carpet with a snap-in laminate floor, sharing tips of the process with a how-to video documenting the upgrade process… Bored with the dark, bland, low-pile carpet in my living room, I decided to install a “wood” (laminate) floor to cover part of my living space.

What happens to all that great old wood once a bowling alley closes? In this happy ending, it gets a new life as handcrafted furniture. • Reclaimed Bowling Lane Furniture Apartment Therapy

Name: Carolyn MillerLocation: Hancock Park — Los Angeles, CaliforniaSize: 2700 square feetYears lived in: 5 1/2 years — rented Born and raised in the heart of Los Angeles, Carolyn has a love for all that this bustling city encompasses, from the diversity and culture to the helicopters and constant sounds buzzing all around. As a writer and filmmaker, Carolyn does a lot of work from home — she’s created her surroundings to be a place of inspiration.

Name: Kristy Ahumada of Volatile Photography + her trusty assistant LeweyLocation: Petaluma, CaliforniaSize/Room: 11ft x 13ft bedroom + workspaceYears lived in: 26 years Kristy and I met 6 years ago when I was working in Petaluma. She was an aspiring photographer quickly building a great local clientele and reputation for her stunning imagery.

If there’s one room in your home where flooring really matters, it’s the kitchen. Aside from aesthetics, the material you choose needs to be durable, comfortable to stand on and easy to clean! We’ve put together six of our favorites as a good place to start. • Kitchen Flooring Choices Apartment Therapy

Two things I love for breakfast are a cafe au lait and scrambled eggs. Two things I hate are cleaning the pan I use for warming the milk and the one I use for cooking the eggs. My mornings used to a be a dishwashing battle until I discovered two tricks that make clean up

Name: Music industry executive Sam, designer Anne & Vizsla pup Indiana Location: Bouldin — Austin, Texas Size: 2400 square feet Years lived in: 2 — owned You could say that creativity’s been in the center of Sam and Anne’s relationship from the beginning, when one of their first conversations centered around their mutual love of design.

Name: Matt DeLeva Location: Silver Lake neighborhood, Los Angeles, California Size: 400 square feet Years lived in: 1 1/2 years, renting When Matt measured his home to give me the exact square footage, we both couldn’t believe that his place was only 400 square feet. Even though his house is small and a rental, he took the time to customize it to fit his needs. He is so proud of his small home and it shows!