Apartment Therapy Archive: Nov 2015

There’s reason to believe that people who over-think things may be more creative. But, man, you’re not doing yourself any favors by dwelling on that email you need to send. The best thing you can do to combat overthinking is simple: Take action! Make a decision or just do the thing you’re turning over about in your head. Here are eight things I know I’ve personally gotten my brain stuck on before… Which clothes to purge and donate.

It’s hard to ignore the stigma of what’s cheap. We’ve been trained over the years to equate price with value. When faced with two options–for a chair or maybe a picture frame–our minds are hard-wired to think of the more expensive option as being of better quality or more beautifully designed. That is, of course, not always the case.

We spotted two dining rooms with a sophisticated designer decorating trick that anyone can do in their home, no matter the style. And it’s the kind of trick that’s subtle and smart, but can have a powerful visual effect on the look and feel of your space.

Fabric is simply clothing for your furniture. Take time to create unique, one of a kind pieces that are a reflection of who you are and how you live! We took an “old and dirty” club chair, cleaned it up, reupholstered and made it “fun and flirty”! When we wear clothing, sometimes we dress casual, fancy, or sporty. This chair was created with a working woman’s apartment in mind. Someone who has traditional values while living an adventurous and colorful life.

If you’re lucky enough to have a guest room, chances are good that you’ll be hosting someone there this holiday season. Of course you want your guests to be comfortable, but even the most dedicated hosts sometimes forget a few things. Before your guests arrive, take a look at this checklist of six guest room must-haves to make their stay as enjoyable as possible. Blankets. Probably the biggest potential source of discomfort for your guests is your home’s temperature.

Name: Cindy Location: Marrakesh, Morocco I am a Southern Girl Gone Global. I loved my home in Nashville; but when my children left the nest, I decided to fly away, too. And landed in Africa. I enjoy Marrakesh—a multicultural, mysterious mesh of Arab, Berber, and French influences in kaleidoscope colors. Here I teach English and write about my adventures on four continents. Living abroad means living light because one day I’ll go home toting the same four suitcases I brought.

Though there are some downsides to living in a studio apartment — not having as much space for your stuff, feeling like you’re living in your bedroom — it can be a cozy and fun living experience, too. Stick to these design tricks when decorating a studio apartment and you’ll love studio living. Don’t have a bedroom but do have a closet you can fit a bed into? Or is there a way to drape curtains around your bed to create a private bed nook?

Name: Nuria Montblanch and Ricardo Duque Location: Little Portugal — Toronto, Ontario Size: 1,100 square feet Years lived in: 1 year; Rented After meeting in Europe and living in the UK for a several years, Nuria and Ricardo decided to move to Canada. They first landed in Nuria’s hometown of Montreal and stayed just long enough to begin collecting furniture from local estate sales and markets.

(Image credit: Emily Han) From The Kitchn → 11 Refreshing Smoothie Recipes for Your Post-Holiday Restart

Name: Julie Location: Palmerston North, New Zealand I absolutely love my home. After traveling around the world with hubby and two small kids and living in Ireland and England we moved back to my hometown into this cute little 1920s art deco home. It’s little at only 140 square meters (1500 square feet), IT WORKS PERFECTLY for our growing family and everyone has their own space. It’s also a sun trap and cosy in winter with our wood burner.

Q: A year ago I became a Southern transplant to NYC. Gone are my days of garages, basements, decks, and driveways in and on which to do all the DIY projects my heart desires. Heck, I barely even have space to store power tools in the tiny apartment I share with roommates. My question is this: does anyone know of any shared spaces in NYC (preferably Manhattan) where similarly spatially challenged folks can go to work on their DIY projects?

When Megan and Sam bought their New Orleans Victorian two years ago, they decided to tackle a complete bathroom renovation on their own. Thankfully, Sam has a lot of construction and renovation work under his belt, so the job was familiar terrain. Here’s what Megan had to say about the project: After ripping out all the ugly brown and beige tile on the floor and walls (and one trip to the hospital for stitches–always wear work gloves!

Name: Jen Clark and Kirstie Innes-Will, George and Bob the dogs, and Ruby the cat Location: Preston; Victoria, Australia Size: 200 square meters (2,153 square feet) Years lived in: 2.5 years; Rented When I first entered the home of graphic designer Jen and her partner, Kirstie, a senior editor at Black Inc. Books, I was greeted by their two dogs: the photogenic and well-behaved greyhound, George, and a small, white terrier called Bob.

Name: Sofia Location: Stockholm, Sweden We live in a white Art Nouveau house from 1907 in Stockholm. It’s drafty and high maintenance, but we adore it! In my profession as an Interior Decorator (Tretow Deco) this house provides me with all the creative challenge I need – I constantly move things around and create little vignettes, it’s my favorite thing! The style is very Scandinavian and classical with a bohemian/rustic touch.

Your living room is a place for connecting with friends, spending time with family, relaxing by yourself and more. What it shouldn’t be is a place for any of these five things. Take a look at this list and banish any of these if they’ve been taking place in your living space. Do you start apologizing for a mess, for the pet hair, for the unfinished DIY projects, for the sofa that isn’t quite your dream sofa yet?

Forget flower arranging classes or that afternoon you spent failing at Pinterest tutorials. All you ever needed to know about how to decorate for the holidays, you learned in kindergarten. Break out the scissors and paper, cut out a dozen of your best paper snowflakes and then check out the sophisticated ways you can decorate with them. Above: Snowflakes made from coffee filters taped up into a window on Mom.me. A pretty hanging hallway display crafted by I Heart Organizing.

Name: Jill and Dan and their 2-year-old, Branson Location: Hillsdale; Portland, Oregon Size: 4,100 square feet Years lived in: 6.5 years; Owned When Jill and Dan moved from a small condo in Portland’s Pearl District to their brand-new home in the Hillsdale neighborhood, they weren’t in a hurry to fill the house up with furniture and things that didn’t have meaning for them.

There’s something so intoxicating about the turn of the calendar into a new year. It’s a blank slate and a fresh start. A time to reflect on lessons learned in the past and make ambitious promises to yourself about the new year. How can you — any of us — really ensure not just a great year, but perhaps one of the best years ever? Focus on these three things now and in the new year. The world is hectic. Scary. Overwhelming.

Name: Annie Location: Brooklyn, New York I just moved to Brooklyn after 10 years in Los Angeles, a cabin in Colorado, and a few years of wandering. My belongings sat in storage for almost two years before moving here. When I finally did open up that locker, I purged so much. It has been so refreshing to only hold onto to the things I really love and start over. My space has three tiny bedrooms and one shared living space.

Q: My husband and I have been on cloud nine since we found out we are expecting our first child! How exciting it has been to think of baby names and pick out furniture and accessories for the nursery. We are going to be a family of three! Then one day my husband casually said, “let’s not buy too many toys, we are going to get a lot of gifts.” It immediately registered that we will be sharing our little apartment with a tiny little human that will have a TON of stuff!

When’s the last time you tried something really bold, design-wise, in your home? These nine daring design moves could be just the thing one of your rooms has been needing to take it from boring to exciting. If you have a design element you LOVE, don’t be afraid to go overboard with it. Too many times we restrain ourselves and stop our daring decorating at just one bold color or element. But if you love it, don’t stop yourself.

If you ever feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done, this makeover will make you think again. Monica from East Coast Creative and a small crew took this old and unpolished room and transformed it into a completely unrecognizable nursery in a matter of 24 hours. The finished look is nothing short of amazing; it’s been transformed into a modern, fresh space that will easily grow along with baby Victoria. Aren’t you just dying to see?

The first time I heard about a white elephant gift exchange (sometimes called Yankee Swap), I thought it sounded crazy. “Wait, you open a gift and then someone can take it from you?” I’ve always felt that the “winner” wasn’t the person who went home with the most sought after gift, but the person who brought the gift that everyone was vying for. And what’s the perfect white elephant gift?

Name: Jennifer and Hans Location: Bos en Lommer — Amsterdam, Netherlands Size: 60 square meters (645 square feet) Years lived in: 5 years (Jennifer), 2.5 years (Hans); Rented We got our first peek of Jennifer and Hans’ apartment during their their House Call in June, and we’re excited to share the full tour today. When Jennifer moved into her apartment five years ago, she shared the space with a roommate.

Fall is the time when decorations come out, and they seem to change every few weeks. My blog roll is full of suggestions for how to decorate the mantel, how to add holiday lighting, and where to put all the decorative gourds—but I’ve never been that big on seasonal decorating. Here’s why… Now, I’m no Ebenezer Scrooge, shouting, “Humbug!” at the nearest person who will listen.

Kind of hard to believe this is the same house, right? When Kezia and Jonathan bought their home, they were seemingly stuck with a material they hated that couldn’t be removed. Instead of throwing up their hands in despair and settling, they got creative and gave the facade of their home some major curb appeal. From Kezia: We bought a cookie cutter house and redid the kitchen and facade ourselves – we call it the Kimono Project (because our house is on Kimono Ridge Drive).

When: December 9, 6:30pm Where: Subculture, 45 Bleecker Street Attending: 150 total tickets available SOLD OUT (Standby for any released tickets) Dear Readers, Next week we’re going to honor our first ever Top 10 Under 40 makers and influencers of the year. These ten (actually 14 people, but 10 companies) have been carefully nominated and selected by our editorial teams and outside experts* to represent what’s up and coming in our world of design and food.

(Image credit: Rachel Joy Barehl) From The Kitchn → 6 Tips to Reduce Stress from the Mess That Cooking Makes

Along with lower temperatures, holiday decor showing up in stores annoyingly too early and Christmas jingles already starting to worm their way into my consciousness, the beginning of holiday season is also the start of feeling guilty about never doing enough. Overwhelming yourself with to-do lists and comparisons with people who always seem to be kicking holiday-butt are frequent bedfellows. But let’s say goodbye to comparisons. Let’s forget about not feeling enough.

There's nothing like a little cinnamon to make it smell like home for the holidays.

Thanksgiving: Pilgrims, Indians, harvest, yadda, yadda, right? From your tender pre-school years of handprint turkeys (perhaps graduating to a construction paper cornucopia), you’ve been fed the basic narrative of the Thanksgiving holiday. And this narrative has gradually morphed into the modern traditions of turkey, pumpkin pie, football and watching a parade on television.

Name: Neryl Walker and Tim Haynes and daughter, Ivy Lee Location: Balaclava; Victoria, Australia Size: 1,000 square feet Years lived in: 10 years; Owned Neryl and Tim’s 1950s house is the perfect backdrop for their various collections of vintage nostalgia, magazines, packaging, furniture, flea market finds, and artwork created either by the couple or their friends. They have kept many of the original 1950s features plus some of those added in the 1970s.

When we bought our house two years ago, I was very excited about the thought of having a windowless air conditioner in the bedroom to keep us cool throughout the summer. However, I soon realized that an in wall a/c unit was very hard to hide, especially since it’s the first thing you see when you enter the room.

Name: Kristy Location: Morningside — Edina, Minnesota We bought our 1928 Dutch Colonial home about five years ago. We were relocating back to the Twin Cities from Boston and I was five months pregnant with our son, Harrison. The moment that I stepped foot into the house and saw light pouring in through the living room windows, I knew this was our home. All the great built-ins further sealed the deal.

(Image credit: Melissa Ryan) From The Kitchn → 5 Thanksgiving Side Dishes to Make on the Stovetop (Not in the Oven)

Candles can get expensive, and there can be a somewhat disturbing synthetic aroma that lingers in the air long after the it’s been blown out. If you’re ready to cut ties with your favorite candle (or just take a break and mix it up a bit), check out these six ways to use natural fall scents to get your home smelling wonderful. The best way to get your home smelling wonderful? Bake something with apples—specifically, this Brown Butter Apple Loaf.

Name: Amy Location: San Diego, CA Room: Outdoor Space Size: about 2/3 acres This is an update from the #MakeoverAmerica road trip! We’re traveling across the United States to tell people about Complete + Happy Home, In San Diego, we visited with Amy, who needed some help outside. With a lot of land to work with, she wasn’t sure where to start. Amy and her family moved into this San Diego home a year ago, and while the inside is lovingly decorated (no help needed there!

Q: Hello Apartment Therapy! Our oldest child has disabilities, and at the end of the day, we like to snuggle as a family on our sofa with a chaise (he gets the chaise to stretch out). Our current sofa is a Room & Board York sofa with chaise but our son is outgrowing the chaise in that it is too narrow. I would like to get a reclining sofa (sectional with a reclining side would be preferred) where he would have more room to stretch out diagonally and snuggle with mom, dad, and the dog.

Gift giving can be tricky. Let’s say you have a friend who loves to cook, and you want to get them something you know they’ll use. But of course, since they love cooking, they probably already own all the kitchen tools they need. Instead of getting your friend an ice cream maker or a pan shaped like Santa Claus, why not give them a lovely, luxurious version of something they already own? (We wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to pick up a few of these things for yourself, too.

Jeremy and Elizabeth’s West Los Angeles townhouse has a lot to offer: high ceilings, a large roof deck, and loads of space. The pair likes to entertain and cook, so they spend a lot of time in their kitchen, which until recently had a few drawbacks. Cabinets over the range meant that there was no ventilation for the stove top, and they also prevented natural light from the kitchen window from passing through into the dining room.

The kitchen in the photo above is pretty much my dream kitchen: black and white color scheme, wood, a section of open shelving—just throw in a copper or matte black swan tap and I’m sold. But you know what really gets me about the space above? The mix of cabinet types. Perhaps I’m just being greedy, but I love seeing more than one cabinet style in a kitchen. It’s irreverent and cool and oozes personality.

Name: Melissa and Sonny Location: Trent Hills; Ontario, Canada Size: 1,700 square feet on 5 acres Years lived in: 2 years; Owned Melissa never imagined that she’d trade in the bustling city life of Toronto for a homestead in the countryside. However, a few years ago the desire for more space and a slower pace of life crept in, so Melissa and her husband Sonny moved their lives 1.5 hours east of Toronto to the rolling hills of Trent Hills, Ontario.

Repeat after me: Magazines are not real life. Magazines are not real life. In fact, magazines have got nothing on real peoples’ real homes. Because real homes have life. And love. And so, so many finger paintings. The next time you want to compare your place against a room that’s been impeccably styled for a big photo shoot production, don’t.