Apartment Therapy Archive: Mar 2012

We’re wrapping up our bedroom coverage this week and next week we’ll start digging in on small space posts. As a bridge between the two subjects, we’re looking at our favorite stores for essentials with creating a bedroom in a small space – daybeds, futons and sleeper sofas. Whether you’re trying to carve a boudoir out of a studio or set up a guest room for the mother-in-law, check out these retailers for small space sleeping solutions.

Name: Rachel, Marc and daughter Freya (2) Location: Chiswick, West London, United KingdomSize: 2250 square feetYears lived in: 2, owned Rachel and Marc are no strangers to renovation; the couple have refurbished and sold several properties in the UK in the past few years. So when it came time to buy their own home, they knew were looking for a project.

Keith describes his style as a “stew of modern (the geodesic dome/IKEA kitchen) meets contemporary (we have a lot of contemporary art) meets folk (that hand-made thing is big on our list).” • Art-filled Dome Home Apartment Therapy

I have many happy memories of hunting for candy-filled eggs in our backyard with my sisters on Easter morning. I want my son to enjoy the same fun, but it’s not quite the same when you live in an apartment.We actually do have a teeny backyard, but at this time of year it’s just an empty slab of concrete – not ideal for concealing anything – and most of our friends here in New York don’t have any outdoor space.

Even if you’re a casual photographer, you might be familiar with the term ‘bokeh’ — the artistic use of out-of-focus backlight to surround your subject. When done correctly, you can create a gorgeous professional image that really pops off the page (or screen). We’ll show you how to customize the shape and style of your bokeh with your very own makeshift bokeh filter.For this DIY to be useful, you’ll need to already have on hand some specific equipment.

image:13a5b1303beed73bb71bad482856885e2764aee1 w:540 s:"fit" class_name:"mt-image-center" show_pin_button:"true" show_image_credits:"true" Is there anything sexier than a girl who knows her way around a guitar? Or a guy who can write a song? I mean, really write a song? I have to admit, I’ve always crushed out on musicians, because apart from having enviable talent, they’re just cool. They tend to follow the beat of their own drum, sometimes to a fault.

Since we’re so connected to our devices, the internet, email and apps all day long, it’s nice to have a place of sanctuary that doesn’t include tech. It makes sense for the bedroom to be that sanctuary, but often times tech seems to find its way in there anyway. Here, in our experience, are the pros and cons of keeping tech in the bedroom.

The bedroom is not typically known as the most intuitive place to store massive book collections. That’s what a “library” is for. But let’s be honest: who actually has a proper library these days? For some, sleeping with their books is the answer.There are multiple routes to go, depending on your reasons for storing the books in your bedroom.

The nightstand’s quite a personal piece of furniture. It’s your silent partner while you slumber, holding the things you need right when you wake up or housing a good book or two to help you fall asleep. If you haven’t found the right one or two to fit your bedroom yet, take a look at these DIY ideas to see if there’s a customizable option for you!

My guy and I are both blanket tuggers resulting in a middle-of-the-night tug o’ war. Up until a recent Europe trip, I never even considered using separate blankets in bed the way Scandinavians do. • Two Blankets on One Bed Apartment Therapy

Wall panels aren’t a new concept, but they are a great solution if you have an ugly, problem wall that needs covering or if you simply want to add texture and shape to a room. Often described as 3D wallpaper, once installed, you can leave the panels as is or you can paint them any color you wish. Some can be easily removed, which makes them a great solution for renters. Here are 6 green versions to consider:1.

Florals soften things up and, of course, remind folks of that favorite time of year, spring. But how do you add floral patterns into your home and not make it look outdated? Easy. Update your bedroom with florals in a modern way. • Modern Florals Apartment Therapy

When my wife and I built our house, we added two small bedrooms upstairs with kids in mind somewhere down the road. As I was framing the closets in each room they took on a weird shape, due to the fact that the house is a cape with a short knee wall and the upstairs rooms have steeply sloped ceilings. As a result, the closets are long, angular affairs, with one end 30 inches high and the other about eight feet.

Whether you can't afford a new bed or just want to give your current bed a bit of a romantic makeover, here's a plethora of DIY ideas for a canopy bed.

Earlier this week I experienced personal property theft at my home. Some industrious thief crawled under my car, which was parked right outside my apartment, and stole the catalytic converter. As I’ve learned, this is an all too frequent phenomenon. So after the theft happens, now what?I’m actually grateful that the theft didn’t occur inside my home. There’s no worse feeling than the sense of violation when your home has been burgled.

When it comes to home design, I usually prefer a very buttoned-up and tailored approach. But if there’s one place where I might loosen up a bit and add a little punch of tongue-in-cheek humor, it’s the bedroom.Livening up your private retreat with an unexpected pattern or whimsical design adds a uniquely personal touch which may encourage you to shake off the stress of the day and relax, or perhaps spark some playful passion. But what do you think — clever or never?

Fusty light fixtures are a surefire way to show that you haven’t freshened up your decor in a while. A long while, in some cases. When Kristine, the talented Aussie behind The Painted Hive, wanted to brighten up a little nook off her parents’ master bedroom (a “retreat” for her mum), she knew this fixture needed a serious makeover.It’s hard to believe it’s the same wall sconce!

When it comes to decorating, the bedroom is always my favorite part. Maybe because it was the first room in which I was allowed to flex my personal design freedom, but also because it is just that — very personal. • No-Stress Bedroom Apartment Therapy

Name: Daphne (1 month)Location: Charleston, SC Size: 10′ x 13′ Many nurseries start off as home offices that are then bequeathed to the newest family member upon their arrival. This was the case with Deirdre’s office which she used for three years before finding out she was expecting. Luckily, the paint color worked well for the nursery she had in mind.How did your office become Daphne’s nursery?

I’m making some updates to my son’s room including changing the current artwork. I think it’s time to go big. As I think about exactly what I want to hang on the wall, I turn to reader rooms with big art for inspiration. • Big Art in Kids Rooms Apartment Therapy

They weave together fantasy and reality, interpret vast emotional landscapes, capture the endless hues in setting suns and fleeting moments of bliss; they grapple with the darkest places and our darkest hours; they get us thinking about color and symmetry and form. We might expect an artist’s bedroom to reflect the passion it takes to create worlds of new ideas. Yet I was surprised to find a restrained simplicity in their places of respite.

When it comes to decorating, the bedroom is always my favorite part. Maybe because it was the first room in which I was allowed to flex my personal design freedom, but also because it is just that — very personal.A bedroom should be your favorite place to rest. A luxurious (whatever that means to you) place to tuck yourself away from the world. Below are a few tips to help you have a relaxing, stress free bedroom.BED & BEDDINGIt all starts with the bed and bedding.

After taking a break from furniture refinishing for a year to have a lovely baby, Cathy decided to get back in the game when she found these wooden nightstands listed for sale online. Solidly built but not very attractive, these nightstands were crying out for a makeover.Cathy sanded everything down to remove the old finish before using her paint sprayer to cover the bases in Benjamin Moore Moon Rise. She chose to retain the original wood tones of the top, staining it with Minwax Red Oak.

Lately we’ve been seeing lots of unexpected lighting choices in the bedroom — and we’ve found that ditching the standard ceiling fan/light combo or boring flush mount fixture can work miracles with the overall feel of your space. • Chandeliers in the Bedroom Apartment Therapy

Even if you consistently fall asleep each night to the soothing sounds of a South American rainforest or a raging thunderstorm, you might not know why your white noise machine works for you. Is there a scientific reason artificial soft sounds can lull us to sleep? Or is white noise like an aural placebo, providing rest and relaxation just because we’re convinced it’s relaxing?It turns out there is a reason that white noise machines can help you fall asleep, and stay asleep.

The world is comprised of two kinds of sleepers: the logs and the feathers. I’m here to share a little wisdom with all the feathers of the world on something that has made a big difference in my quality of sleep. • Sleep Advice Apartment Therapy

As part of my ongoing quest to add some color to my grey living room, I picked up one of these inexpensive tv tray tables at Target and decided to give it the before and after treatment. Yes, there is spray paint involved. And lamp finials. And rope. Intrigued? Click on through to see my nautically-inspired end result.The goal was to transform this $9 table from ‘college girl watching sitcom reruns and eating popcorn’ to something a little more yacht chic.

What better way to customize your bedroom than to create your own bedding? Whether your motivation is to personalize your space with your own style, make bedding out of killer fabrics, or to save money, these tips and tutorials will help you get started. Make a pillow cover from a button up shirtAdd style to your bedding with a pillow or two made from button up shirts. This tutorial from Apartment Therapy takes you through the entire process.

A new restaurant is being built in my building, and as excited as I am about having vegan-friendly food available right downstairs, I’m less thrilled about the construction that’s happening directly outside my bedroom window…In a lot of ways, I figure there’s nothing to be done — having guys throw old floor tiles in a dumpster one at a time (why?!) mere yards from my sleeping head is just part of living in a city.

I live in a one bedroom apartment with no pull-out couch, so whenever guests come to stay, either they or I usually end up sleeping on my inflatable air mattress. Due to these adventures, I have collected a list of tips and tricks to make the night more bearable (and perhaps even comfortable) if you’re sleeping on an inflatable.See below for my list, and of course add your own.1. If you haven’t yet purchased an inflatable mattress and are planning to, splurge and get the double.

While keeping colors light and cool and keeping furniture sparse are definitely ways to add serenity to your bedroom, they aren’t the only things you can do to create a relaxing bedroom, as these gorgeous examples from our house tours show. • Relaxing Bedrooms Apartment Therapy

Name: Elizabeth Krueger & Brent SandersLocation: Ukrainian Village — Chicago, IllinoisSize: 1,250 square feetYears lived in: 1.5 years — rented The downturn in the housing market has left many high end, new construction apartments and condos sitting empty.

Nothing quickens the DIY spirit like a headboard. The web is full of creative ideas for what to do with the end of your bed; here, we round up some of the best ones. • Non-Traditional Headboards Apartment Therapy

If there’s a place to embrace all things romantic, whimsical and dreamy it’s the bedroom. Create your own fairytale inspired boudoir using some of these simple solutions for bringing on the bedroom romance.Think about the way you want your bedroom to feel from the angle of your bed. Since this is where most of your time here is spent, it makes sense to consider this perspective. A canopy bed, for example, creates a dynamic enclosure, that’s completely three dimensional.

Crystal loved the price and concept of IKEA’s CIRKUSTÄLT play tent, but she wasn’t a fan of the loud primary colors especially to use in her daughter’s softer-hued bedroom. She picked out fabric she did like and got busy with her sewing machine…Voila! She used the same “bones” of the tent, but completely new fabric that is more her style.

There must be a conspiracy in the electronics industry to keep making those annoying flashing LED standby lights bigger and brighter. They want to keep us from falling asleep in a peaceful and dark bedroom — just so we’ll stay awake and watch more TV or do the internets or something. But not anymore!We have a line of defense five lines of defense against too-bright standby lights keeping us from a peaceful sleep.

Last week’s post on How to Watch TV in Bed Without Disturbing Your Partner really hit home. Even if you ban TV in the bedroom as we do, debates can still happen over reading late into the night with the light on.We’re looking for options other than sleeping in separate rooms. We love this list of 10 Best Bedlights for Readers, but want a light that doesn’t disturb a sleepy partner. Some options: task lamps, headlamps or book lights? Force your partner to wear an eye mask?

Your bed doesn’t have to be the biggest design element in the bedroom. Large art packs a correspondingly big punch and immediately works as a focal point and visual anchor. • Big Bedroom Art Apartment Therapy

image:c1252ba4ef78621a945fe0c7100c14d28276dbd8 w:540 s:"fit" class_name:"mt-image-center" show_pin_button:"true" show_image_credits:"true" If you sleep 8 hours per night, you’re in lying in your bed 2,920 hours per year. If you’re going to be in one place that long, you’re going to need to dress it up. Luckily, there are a million resources for bedding out there. Maybe a few too many. We’ve rounded up 10 of our favorites to narrow it down a bit.

Seeing potential. Not everyone has this gift to see beyond an aged surface, weathered finishes, a far from perfect interior space, or even damaged furnishings.

When the folks at Fixing It Fancy bought their home in Hudson, Wisconsin, they knew they had a lot of work ahead of them. They powered through the wood-paneled home room-by-room. Here’s a look at what they dreamed up in their bedroom… They began with tearing down the wood paneled walls. They decided on keeping the panel on the ceiling and painting it white, which really gave a nice, open and airy quality to a once claustrophobic room.

These homeowners did a great job of updating their dated 1960s kitchen while keeping the design true to the home’s midcentury roots. Take a look. • True to the Roots Reno Apartment Therapy

It’s true; we find the secret lives of others fascinating. Especially if those others are writers. We get to know them through their work, and we yearn to learn more about them as people… We feel a kinship, with their experiences or with their characters, and we begin to imagine what their lives must be like. We read biographies about them, tour their homes and visit their graves, all in an effort to gain insight into their own particular genius.

image:145e70a740919c9062effe503037d3d3a50b3332 w:540 s:"fit" class_name:"mt-image-center" show_pin_button:"true" show_image_credits:"true" I’m one of those people who always needs to sleep with a blanket. While my husband and I cherish our down comforter for cold nights, he’s more than happy to throw it all off during warmer months. Our happy medium is the summer quilt: just enough weight to keep me comfortable, yet light enough to keep him from breaking out in a sweat.

After we created the the interior design app roundup for smartphones we knew we had to follow up with the tablet edition. After all, with their larger screens and accompanying great apps, they’re fantastic tools for helping you decorate your home.iPadHome 3D for iPad: This app lets you recreate your home in 3D, then decorate it with furniture.

When Alisha and her husband decided the time had come to rearrange all the bedrooms in their house to better suit the needs of their growing family, they were lucky enough to have some old family favorites to help set up a new room for their toddler son that could double as a guest room when necessary. Alisha knew she wanted to reuse the beds that had belonged to her husband when he was a child, but also knew they needed an update to fit with her vision.

Two friends and I all live on one floor of an apartment building — or, one script away from our own sitcom. This allows us the benefits of having a roommate — including communal dinners. • Communal Dinners Apartment Therapy

Name: Axel (6 months)Location: Denton, TX (about 30 miles north of Dallas)Room Size: 13′ x 13′ Anna and Luis took every opportunity to be bold and playful in their choices for decorating their son’s nursery. From the wonky chevron wall to the handmade wall decor, everything they did works to create a masculine space that can grow with Axel.