Apartment Therapy Archive: Jan 2015

We know that some of you have very…err…strong opinions about painting wood furniture, but the owners of these dramatic before and after projects might disagree with all you naysayers. Especially on damaged or cheap wood, a coat or two of paint is an easy, cost-effective and super-cute strategy to refresh tired pieces. Watch me prove it seven times. Claire’s campaign nightstands got a new blue and a new purpose in another room.

Name: Amy Location: Atlantic Beach, Florida This mid-fifties, concrete-block cottage is located in a walkable, beachside neighborhood of eclectic homes in Northeast Florida. Its 900-square feet pack in lots of character: beamed ceilings, a painted brick fireplace, and plenty of built-in shelving.

A lot of the kitchens we feature on this site are dramatic and beautiful and… well, huge. So today we’ve rounded up a selection of kitchens that are on the smaller side (some on the really small side) to inspire those of you who want a beautiful room for cooking, but don’t have infinite space. Above: this Parisian kitchen could not be any cuter, and is a great reminder that having a small space doesn’t have to mean skimping on style.

This vintage chair was in rough shape, but when the Craigslist seller ended up living across the street, Vanessa knew it was meant to be. With some patience (and a lovely surprise!), the chair has a new life: From Vanessa: I found this worn-out vintage chair on Craigslist and when I found out the seller lived across the street from me, I knew it was meant to be!

What’s the difference between collecting and clutter? I ask myself that question often as I’m guilty of buying multiples of (too) many things. You can avoid clutter status by putting your beautiful collections on display. Here are 16 examples of great collections—including my own tea cup collection!

Malcolm and his parents have been all over the world, collecting souvenirs like this Brazilian rug. When he moved away from home, Malcolm took it with him and initially hung it behind his bed as a pseudo headboard, then decided to find a more permanent home on the wall as art. The rug is pretty big, and somewhat heavy. Which raises the question: how does one hang it?

Name: Brigitte Location: Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, NY I moved into this space in 2008, so I’ve had a solid 6 years to settle in and make it my own. The look was initially far more minimal, but over time became increasingly dense and layered. I attribute this less to my design sensibility and more to my lack of self-control. Whenever I come across a unique piece of art or an interesting object I think, “I can find a spot for that!”.

Project by: Allison Harlow of Curio Design Studio Project type: e-design Location: Miami, Florida This space provided lots of challenges! It was long and narrow, did not have a natural focal point and the budget needed to remain around $1000. To make things more complicated the client wanted to keep the gender of their baby a surprise and create a nursery that was modern, gender neutral, mature and utilized mostly neutral colors.

Each week, we work on our homes, tackling small cleaning chores, DIY projects and more. You can work on the assignment delivered each Friday through the email newsletter, or you can show off whatever home bettering project you’re working on with the hashtag #ATweekendproject.

Before we all get caught up in our busy lives again, please take some time today to look around and appreciate the effort you put into your home in the past month. There will always be more to do, but it’s important to appreciate where you are at and see how far you’ve come before moving on. I know, in lots of ways, big and small, your home is a better place than it was a month ago, thanks to YOU. The January Cure is just coming to an end and, as always, I’m going to miss it.

Although I am not participating in the January Cure this year, I have taken on the large responsibility of cleaning out my childhood home and getting it ready for market. It’s been a year-long undertaking and the end is in sight: we have empty rooms, freshly painted white walls, and last week we started moving Mom into her new apartment at a nearby senior living community.

I’m anything but a minimalist when it comes to my wardrobe, so I’m always fascinated by those magical people who can look great with so little. Such was the case when I came across a denim expert who only owns three pairs of jeans. Want to know what they are (it’s not what you think)? “This Year’s Jeans,” “Last Year’s Jeans” and “The Year Before Last Year’s Jeans.

Project by: Erica of Dwell Beautiful Location: Seattle With the new year beginning and the days getting longer, I got inspired to tackle one of the bigger projects that’s been on my to-do list for over a year: our master closet. Our master closet is unique in the fact that we have to walk through it in order to get to our master bathroom. There is no door on it of any sort, and I can see directly into from my bed.

(Image credit: Leela Cyd) From The Kitchn → 10 Easy Cocktails for a Crowd

Of course cooking with coconut oil is great, but there are so many other ways you use it around the house — just think of it as an all-purpose product!

What’s the best gift you can give to a generous host? A compliment. (Although wine has to be a close second!) We all know how good it feels when a guest praises our taste. Make it a habit to spread the love the next time you’re invited to a friend’s home, and let’s see if we can start a movement. I became a chronic complimenter after hosting a couples’ game night late last summer.

Using technology to help manage the household can add up to a good amount of time and money saved—not to mention a significant reduction in things (paper calendars and planners) and clutter (all those papers!). Here are the top four apps I’d hate to live without. YNAB stands for “you need a budget.” And let me just say: You do. You can read more of my thoughts in Basics of a Household Budget that Works.

Name: Danielle Rowe, Patrick Flannery and son Pete. Location: Berkeley
, California Size: 1,380 square feet Years lived in: 2.5 years; Rented The home that Danielle and Pete share with their son hits all of the right notes: it is modern but maintains a sense of warmth, lived in but not messy, collected but not cluttered.

If you’re nodding off at your desk right now after another sleepless night in your noisy home then I have good news for you: it will get better. As you may or may not know, Nancy is a new New Yorker and she’s in the market for a new place. Since that’s our speciality ’round here, we were recently sitting around the Apartment Therapy offices giving her our best New York real estate advice and remembering our own big-city traumas. My biggest? Noise.

This children’s rocker had definitely seen better days… like during the bygone decades when marbled vinyl was a thing. Charlotte plans to reupholster a lot this year, and thought she’d literally start small and tackle this kids chair. See how she did: From Charlotte: I’ve had this yellow vinyl rocking chair in the basement for… a while. But 2015 is going to be the year of upholstery for me so I decided to start out on this little piece.

(Image credit: Sara Kate Gillingham) From The Kitchn → 5 Important Things You Should Know About Guacamole

Q: We recently moved into a 1972 townhouse that is just blah. No interesting architectural elements or really anything interesting at all! Other than paint, what else can one do to perk up a home without looking out of date (I like old homes but it doesn’t seem like putting in elements from the 1900s would look “right”). Sent by Jessica Editor: Leave your suggestions for Jessica in the comments – thanks! • Have a question for our community?

You’re just minding your own business, reading Apartment Therapy when boom! I come along and tell you that even the things you think are good habits are actually bad! But give it a minute. I think you’ll find that letting go of some of these ideas will make it easier, not harder, to be virtuous. Tidy is one thing, but germ-free? That’s not gonna happen anytime soon so why are we so worried about disinfecting everything?

Name: Jessica & Milo Location: Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, NY My boyfriend and I moved into this space less than a year ago from two separate (much larger) apartments. We knew it was going to be time to downsize when our existing sofa couldn’t even fit through the door! Our new space is around 400 square feet and is technically a studio, though we’ve designed a curtain divider that splits up the space nicely.

I never fail to be impressed by the ingenuity of city dwellers living in itty bitty teeny tiny spaces. Especially now that I’m shopping for apartments in New York, and all I can think is… where do you put the furniture? Here are five apartments belonging to real New Yorkers who have solved that problem in creative ways, and managed to squeeze a lot of living out of a little space. I really like what Linsey’s done with a fairly typical New York studio layout.

Hopefully by this point in the Cure you are an outbox convert, like me. I believe it really is the easiest way to break the hold that things can have on us and create a less crowded home. You’ve been filling ’em up for the weeks now and it’s finally time to take the last step and let go. Today is the day to make a plan to empty those outboxes.

Love it or hate it, vacuuming is a household task you can’t really escape and one that makes a big difference in both seen (bye-bye dust bunnies) and unseen (see ya, pet dander and pollen) aspects of cleanliness. I personally vacuum in one way or another just about every day. Whether it’s a quick sweep of crumbs with a cordless after dinner or a thorough dust-zapping with the crevice tool, these tips will help make your vacuuming easier more effective.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) When Chantal of Devane Design started in on her client’s oak-filled Twin Cities kitchen, she knew it was going to take a major update. From The Kitchn → Before & After: A Plain Oak Kitchen Gets a Luxe Upgrade

From Apartment Therapy → 5 No-Fail Tips for Uncluttered Counters All Year Long Messy, cluttered counters are just less functional than clear, organized ones. Here are five ways to keep your counters in order all year long!

Everyone knows that moving is the worst, but sometimes your current place just isn’t doing it for you anymore. So should you to go through the trouble of uprooting your life to get an apartment upgrade? Get a reality check with this common sense equation. Let’s think about it like this: Basically, it means you should consider the benefits of a new place against not only the old place, but also the hassle and cost of the moving process itself.

The well-organized pantry: for some, a far-off dream to hold dear while battling against mess. (For others, it’s a far-off dream to even have a pantry.) It’s a new year, so whatever space you have to work with in the kitchen, get it in gear. From walk-in wonders to slim spaces, feast your eyes on these clever pantries for some organizing inspiration. TOP ROW: An under-stairs cupboard becomes a generous pantry, as seen in Shawna’s Glamorous Custom Kitchen.

A $20 IKEA “as-is” bed frame had served its purpose, but Kerry decided to give it a new use. By adding cushions and wrapping the mattress, she now has a sweet reading spot: From Kerry: I’ve had this ultra bland Lillehammer IKEA twin bed frame for several years. I’d gotten it in the ‘As Is’ section for only $20 to help stage our home when we sold it.

Name: Michelle Lin Greenip Location: West Village, New York Size: 1,100 square feet Years lived in: 6 years; Rented Out the window, there’s a tumble of rooftops and a church steeple or two. Inside, a palette plucked from Ladurée, lavender fields, Hermés boxes and champagne labels, with a bit of gilding for good measure. While it’s one part atelier, including an artist’s garret of sorts, it’s the West Village, not the Left Bank.

Dear Alice, My boyfriend and I recently broke up but we have 5 months left on our lease. We moved into this place together and both of our names are on the lease so there’s no real clear-cut answer about who has to move. We both want the apartment (or actually, who knows, maybe we just each don’t want the other person to have it). Right now we’re co-existing but it’s pretty strained. What should we do?

Design blogs (Apartment Therapy included) often feature photos of beautiful spaces inhabited by beautiful, creative people. But the design of a space is only part of the story. If you’re like me, you may often find yourself wondering, as you flip through photos of apartments in New York or San Francisco or Paris — how in the world can these people afford to live here?

If you share a small home with a partner, then chances are you don’t have a lot of space that is just for you to enjoy all by your lonesome. Here are a few ideas you may want to try to give yourself just a little more breathing room. Even crazy-in-love couples may need a few minutes (or hours) apart every day and it’s okay to talk about it. Try staggering your schedules to carve out some time when each of you gets to be alone in your apartment.

Changing tables aren’t usually very memorable which is why we like this simple idea for customizing and adding color to one. This nursery DIY is quick, non-permanent and only requires a pair of scissors and some yarn. The folks at bedding company Little Auggie gussied up this IKEA Gulliver changing table with four colors of yarn which they wrapped around the side dowels. You can create any pattern you fancy – perhaps an ombre or just one single color you love.

Coconut oil is increasingly a go-to ingredient for cooking and body care, but this versatile substance can work wonders in a number of different contexts. Read on to discover 14 ways that you can use coconut oil in every part of your home. KITCHEN Season a cast iron pan. Cast iron needs a protective surface to stay in good working order.

Name: Theresa & Marjo Location: Atwater Village, CA The house was built in 1928 and there are so many parts that we want to gently tear down and rebuild. We did, however, decided to renovate the kitchen and that was a 6 week journey partly due to our committing to the idea of an all-white kitchen. It’s the first room in our house that we renovated and has become our proudest home project.

Winter can make everyday kid stuff even more time consuming and unorganized. Teachers accustomed to wrangling a room full of kids have honed their classroom habits and routines, and borrowing some of their best ideas can streamline arrivals and departures while keeping clutter and dirt at bay. At school it’s a cubby, here at home we do a combination of hooks and baskets. Kids take responsibility for keeping track of their stuff and pride in contributing to an organized space.

Going vertical with your storage is a great way to save space, but sometimes even that just isn’t enough. When you need to eke out just. a. little. bit. more. room for your stuff, seek slim solutions that fit tidily into unlikely places. Here are seven moments where narrow storage is the new normal… 1. This tall bookshelf is just what was needed in Beth’s Teeny Tiny Peek-a-Boo View home, which is only 365 square feet in total. (Lead image above). 2.

From Apartment Therapy → The “Just Isn’t Me” $500 Kitchen Makeover Even though there was nothing wrong with this kitchen, the owner did a few small, easy changes to make it more her style.

Project by: Negar of Space Harmony Location: Vancouver, Canada This is an interior design and renovation we did for a client, a professional and avid skier who wanted his 1600 three-level town house to feel like a chalet. Because of the space limitation and ceiling height, we couldn’t use the real bold and robust materials used in chalets so we created an “modern chalet” instead! Our goal was to create the same cozy and comfortable ambiance on a smaller scale.

Name: Duffy Stone, owner and designer at Studio Duffy + Cat, Gummo Location: East Austin; Austin, Texas Years lived in: 1.5 years; Rented After seeing her House Call from a few months back, I knew this home needed a full tour. Known for her work around town, Duffy Stone has a knack for creating eye-catching environments. Her home was certainly no exception. Filled with color and intriguing objects, my eyes were drawn to every inch of every room.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) From The Kitchn → 10 Kitchen Islands That We Wish Were in Our Kitchens

We tend to think that big, long-lasting change in our lives involve big, overwhelming tasks that need tackling. In some cases, sure. But not always. In fact there are a handful of ways that you can make a tiny, subtle change that will have a huge effect on your life — making it just a little bit better than it was. We’ve picked out some tiny tweaks you could implement in every room of your house…see how your life might get better this year!

I know it’s the middle of the week and this is pretty much no one’s favorite job so I’m sorry to be sneaking this cleaning assignment in here near the end. But, I’m looking at it this way: if you can power through this one final cleaning blast today or tonight or even tomorrow (aka, whenever you can grab some time and energy) you’ll have it out of the way, and can spend an extra 45 minutes relaxing in your Cure-d home this weekend. Deal?