Apartment Therapy Archive: Jan 2016

We’ve all tried the money-in-a-jar thing—but it doesn’t work that well. Or maybe you’ve tried the envelope system like I did, and found the envelopes soon wore out and were abandoned. How does one really save money? Like, real, serious amounts of money? Here are the tips that really do make a difference. 1. Prioritize paying down debts. If you have a debt that is accruing interest, and you’re not paying it back as quickly as you can, you are wasting money.

When my wife was pregnant I started looking for inspiration for the nursery. I found some nice designs for a cradle, but really fell in love when I found images of a moon shaped cradle. This cradle was made by someone in France and also featured on Apartment Therapy. I decided to try and make this myself based on the images I could find online.

One of the beauties of IKEA products is that their simple design also makes them endlessly versatile.

Name: Marie-Claude and Martin and 7-year-old Romane Location: Notre-Dame-de-Grâce — Montréal, Québec Size: 1,400 square feet Years lived in: 8.5 years; Owned At the age of 17, Marie-Claude went to Venice, Italy on an exchange to study art and sculpture. This experience changed the way she saw the world around her and deepened her appreciation for art and design. Marie-Claude is a interior design fanatic, and it’s no surprise that the trade runs in her extended family.

As a life-long dog lover, I need not tell you that I am assertedly pro-pets-at-weddings. Furry friends are a part of the family! They’ve been there for so many milestones in your relationship, so why shouldn’t they be part of the big day, too? If you can swing it, the best way to get pets involved in the wedding is to invite them. Ines and Wes, above, were married poolside at a private home in Texas, so it made sense that their cocker spaniel, Gatsby, got in on the fun.

Name: Jesse and Dan Moskowitz and their dog, Stormy Location: Roxbury — Boston, Massachusetts Size: 750 square feet Years lived in: 5.5 years; Rented When you enter Jesse and Dan Moskowitz’s comfy and colorful apartment in Boston’s historic Roxbury neighborhood, two things immediately stand out: the records and the pup. “It’s her apartment,” Dan states matter-of-factly, referring not to Jesse but to Stormy, the four-year-old Moskowitz dog.

Pedro took his dark, somewhat hodgepodge, living space to a very clean and bright room with a unified look. And he managed to do it all without covering up or distracting from the rooms interesting bones! From Pedro: This is the project about the remodeling of a living room in my house in Oporto, Portugal. I painted the walls gray, put in a new laminated floor, painted the ceiling and the doors in white and put molding on the ceiling.

Name: Irwin Location: Washington, D.C. I live in The General Scott in Washington, DC. The building was built in 1941 in the Art Deco style. After renting for almost 8 years, I finally bought my condo from the owner in 2014. Kitchen renovation was completed in 2015. My unit is a junior one bedroom and is about 495 square feet.

Winter ruins a lot of plans. You can barely leave the house! Or you don’t really want to, at least. Sitting under a blanket on the sofa sounds like a much better idea right now, thanks. At some point, though, you should really get up and get going on some tasks around the house. These three things, specifically. The cold winter weather actually makes doing these home projects easier.

Beach, ballet, vintage, travel, safari, Star Wars—these are just a handful of the nursery themes we see now and then on Apartment Therapy. And while tried-and-true nursery themes often yield wonderful results, what about all of the other possible themes? Read on for eight nursery ideas we’ve yet to see. 1. A Wes Anderson-themed nursery? His films have the most lush designs—surely some would be easily adaptable to a kids’ room. The Life Aquatic? Rushmore?

I’m happy to share with you the DIY makeover of my compact apartment kitchen, which went from dark and red to bright and white (mostly). The only thing professionally installed was the countertop, and the rest was a lot of hard work over a few months. For cost reasons, the layout, appliances, and cabinets are all the same. The details are as follows: Cabinet molding: F.D.

For those times when you want to make your intentions abundantly clear, a Netflix & chill-themed room has popped up on Airbnb. The New York loft space rents for $400 a night. The West Village apartment is an art project by ART404 + Tom Galle, and they’ve really committed to bringing the full Netflix & chill experience.

By now you probably know about storing things under your bed, or hanging them on the back of a door, or in boxes in the awkward space between your kitchen cabinets and the ceiling. So for this post we’ve endeavored to bring you some small space solutions you might not have already thought of, clever little tricks that will help you get the most out of your home no matter its size.

Inspired by some of the popular content that floats around the internet at the end of every year, this month I found myself inspired to think about all the objects I brought into my home to help decorate and furnish it in 2015. Being someone who has not yet mastered budgeting (or any real future financial planning) and having moved into a new apartment this year, I was curious to know what the final tally was.

I’m convinced that there truly is something magical about the start of a new year. It’s like a big shiny reset button, just waiting for us to hit it, which allows us all to feel free to start fresh and move our lives toward whatever we see as ideal. But, in reality, that mindset can be an everyday one.

Project by: J. Wheeler Designs Location: Atlanta, Georgia The 850 square foot apartment designed by James Wheeler of J. Wheeler Designs is located in Midtown Atlanta and is the homeowner’s first home. It was chosen based on its location and the amenities, including accessibility to entertainment options, security of a 24-hour concierge, and ease of maintenance.

Project by: Diana Kennedy of Diana Kennedy Interiors Location: Wakefield, Massachusetts Chances are good you might make a design mistake (or two or 20) in your life. While the lessons you might learn from these mistakes will certainly benefit your future decorating, if you can get away with learning the lesson without making the mistake, why not take the opportunity?

Even though I’ve lived in my apartment for almost a year I still haven’t finished decorating, a slowness that can be attributed partly to the fact that I change my mind about what I want pretty much constantly. But right now I’m convinced that the perfect thing for that last blank wall would be one of these breathtaking modern mirrors. Above: This colorful oversized art mirror is by Brit Van Nerven, in collaboration with Sabine Marcelis (via Sight Unseen).

This week on Ellen’s Design Challenge, we lost one more great designer (that’s the nature of competitions), but really proved that anyone can go at any time. Bradley won the first challenge, but presenting one stool instead of his intended five cost him. The catchphrase creator and king of green room commentary took the time to chat with us: From the being the winner to going home— What were you feeling in that moment? I was shocked; I still am shocked.

Name: Paul and Katie Alexander and their daughter, Mabel Location: De Beauvoir — Shoreditch, London Size: 850 square feet Years lived in: 3 years; Owned Katie and Paul searched for a flat in London that was close to both their work in the city and the nightlife of Shoreditch, and they ended up finding the perfect compromise: a lovely flat in the leafy De Beauvoir neighborhood a stone’s throw from the exciting city life.

You’re probably used to seeing penny tile in the bathroom — but what about in the kitchen? These tiny tiles are a great way to shake up your look, and add a little texture and pattern to your kitchen.

Let’s banish bare walls. Because after seeing professional organizer Fay Wolf’s Silver Lake apartment, there’s no excuse for leaving a naked wall anywhere in your space. Instead, fill your big wall up with lots of little pieces that you love. You don’t even need frames, just grab some binder clips and tape and let’s go. The expanse above the sofa is a tough place to fill for a lot of home decorators.

If you have a place dedicated to crafty endeavors, or any sort of hobby, look to these rooms from our tours for terrific organization and decorating ideas. They each marry function with style, and have a lot to teach us about making over our own creative spaces. Above, a room that was once a guest bedroom and is now a dedicated space for work, projects, and creativity.

Name: Gary and Chelsey Knight and their cats, Scout, Boo, Atticus, and Ella Fitzgerald Location: Astoria, New York Size: 1,000 square feet Years lived in: 2 years; Rented Musicians Gary and Chelsey Knight’s open and airy Astoria flat boasts two features that many big city apartments lack: natural light and space.

February is shaping up to be a month of love and heartbreak on Netflix. Check out what’s heading to the streaming service, and what you need to watch this weekend before it disappears on Monday. The TARDIS flies off to other worlds on Monday, so say your goodbyes to the Doctor. The Oscar-winning biopic sings its last song. Though hopefully, he’ll be back.

As someone who is often reluctant to listen to my sibling, I have to give Sanja’s sister major props for both her beautiful bathroom transformation and her ability to take her sister’s advice. Impressive on all accounts. From Sanja: My sister had a really cluttered bathroom, so I suggested she gut it and turn it around. It is a small bathroom (1.30m x 2.55m/ 14ft x 27.5ft) that was converted from half bath in the eighties.

Rental apartments aren’t known for crystal chandeliers and beautiful statement lighting. Instead you get (almost always) awful and (frequently) unflattering light with shadows that turn even the prettiest people into Bela Lugosi — not to mention dated fixtures desperately in need of an aesthetic upgrade. Learn how to improve your lighting situation with one of these solutions.

(Image credit: Celeste Noche) From The Kitchn → 5 Things You Should Buy for Your Kitchen in February

We’ve written about modern classics that are great for small spaces and the best IKEA products for small spaces — but furniture doesn’t have to be new to be a great fit for your little apartment. Whether you’re hunting at an antique store, a garage sale, or in your grandma’s attic, here are seven vintage pieces that are an unexpectedly great fit for a small space. China cabinets/armoires. This is a great way to add a little extra clothes storage (and shoe storage!

Are you familiar with the hot phrase of 2015, Netflix and Chill? It was pretty ubiquitous last year (along with being a little provocative and NSFW, if you’re hip to its meaning). But while I loved the modern turn of phrase, it feels like we need an update for the new year. I’ve taken the liberty of coming up with some alternatives that are more useful (and can be enjoyed with friends or solo.

Name: Jenn Location: Goleta, California Ten years after I fell in love with Santa Barbara, my husband and I managed to scrape together enough to buy a home in the area. However the home we could afford had been abandoned for 10 years, when we moved in there were no doorknobs, no light fixtures, and the property was covered in shoulder-high weeds.

Looking for something to do with all of those online shopping boxes? Stef, of Non Toy Gifts, walks us through this super cute and super simple cardboard town. Skill Level: Easy Time Required: 2 Days Project Cost: $30-$40 1 or 2 cardboard boxes, depending on the size Paper for stencils Craft paint and brush Craft knife Hot glue gun Start by creating stencils for each type of house and use them to cut 6 cardboard pieces for each of the houses.

Q: I’m about to move into a new apartment building and I wanted to know whether leaving letters for my new neighbors would be a nice gesture or come off as weird/forward. In the past I’ve always fully intended to do a nice introduction with my neighbors, including giving them my contact info, but the first few times we’d bump into each other they or I would be hurrying off to something and we’d only really exchange names.

When you think of a quilt, you may think of something a little old-fashioned and antiquey. But lately a handful of modern makers have been re-inventing the quilt for a new generation. The two quilts above are from a studio called Louise Grey, whose uber-minimal works I first admired at last year’s NY Now show. Their quilts, which start at $395, come in six different patterns for draping over the bed or hanging on the wall, and you can buy them on their website or at West Elm.

Stainless steel countertops are surprisingly versatile. They’re perfect in a sleek, modern space, but can also add a little edge to a kitchen with more traditional styling.

Name: Bill and Kristina Sager and their dog, Wisco Location: Fletcher Hills, California Size: 2,400 square feet Years lived in: 2 years; Owned Creative duo Kristina and Bill breathed new life into their San Diego area Mid-century modern home while also lovingly preserving its gorgeous original character. Both Wisconsin natives, the couple met while working together in advertising in Milwaukee.

Sarah of Salt House somehow manages to live and work and host cooking classes, workshops, and other food-centered events in her modestly-sized apartment—and do it all with enviable style. Want to make her fabulous and flexible dining room your own? Here’s (approximately!) how much it would cost… Extendable dining table: Z Gallerie via Salt House $1,500 Chairs: Overstock.com via Salt House $143 x 10 = $1,430 Custom neon sign: Lite Brite Neon $?

We first met Jessica when we toured her family’s whimsical Storybook Tudor in Fullerton, California. Being immersed in the fashion industry thanks to her company, Swish & Swoon, may be the secret to what keeps this entrepreneur, wife, and mother-of-two looking stylishly pulled together on a daily basis, but we wanted to know more about Jessica’s personal fashion inspiration. From Anthropologie to the Olsen twins, this lovely lady dishes on her love of fashion after the jump.

Name: Kenya Moncada and Conner Jay and their dog, Hugo Location: Marina District — San Francisco, California Size: 900 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years; Rented When Kenya and Conner aren’t traveling for work, they can be found at home in their top floor Marina District apartment in San Francisco.

We recently purchased our first home, a 1950s ranch in Clifton, New Jersey, that needed updating to the main bath and kitchen. The existing bathroom was, quite frankly, hideous and couldn’t be salvaged. We used a contractor for all of the work and I based my design off an inspiration photo I had seen on the Internet. The black tiles (made by Lungaro) were purchased at Standard Tile in Totowa, NJ (who are fantastic to deal with!

When you live with a “less is more” mindset, the thought of scanning away in stores for a wedding registry sounds a little overwhelming. Before visions of a crowded home get you down, let these guiding principles soothe your simplicity-seeking soul: Encourage guests to go in on significant buys together, like the couch that will become your binge-watching haven. SimpleRegistry, for example, allows your loved ones to easily allot their desired amounts toward your pricier picks.

While many people associate seasonal allergies with the proliferation of pollen in the spring, winter is actually a really rough time for those with allergies. Worse, winter allergies are mostly associated with our homes, where we tend to up holed up during the cold months. Here’s how to minimize the allergens in your home and make your house a cozy place without the sneezes.

(Image credit: Kimberley Hasselbrink) From The Kitchn → 5 Smart Tips for Making a Tastier Pot of Soup

Of course, there never is a magic bullet for anything. Having a clean, organized home takes effort, no lie. But, it is possible to help keep your place more firmly on track by spending just a couple of minutes on it each day. No matter how clean and well organized a room actually is, it can look and feel like the opposite when the surfaces are cluttered with everyday stuff.

Not my wardrobe. Sigh. (It belongs to Amanda of Chocolate Heels.) In the middle of 2015, I wrote a post on ways to reduce clutter in the closet and money spent on clothing. Among the ideas presented was the Capsule Wardrobe, an idea which has long been hanging around the internet, but which really took off that year.