Apartment Therapy Archive: Apr 2016

Q: I am wondering if it’s unlawful for a pest control company to take photos of a tenant’s residence while they are spraying the apartment. I was informed recently from my landlord that the exterminator takes photos while he sprays, and reports the photos back to the landlord. Is this even legal? I noticed flashes of light while he walks through my unit, but I’ve never actually caught him taking pics. Thanks for your reply.

Every home has something to teach and each small home in the Small Cool contest holds lessons and tricks for living well while living small. Below is some wisdom from today’s crop of entries including many lessons on curtains: how to use them to best effect in a small home and when maybe you don’t need them at all. Sure, putting a loveseat at the foot of your bed isn’t typical, but it works in Chelsea’s small studio and that’s all that matters.

Name: Hilary Location: Back Bay/South End — Boston, Massachusetts My couch, purchased from Zonal Furniture (R.I.P.) in Hayes Valley in San Francisco, California is oddly my pride and joy. I mean, who wouldn’t love a couch made from sustainable materials, delivered by local neighborhood drivers, sold by a Canadian ex-pat from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan? Maybe it’s become my pride and joy because it fits perfectly in my tiny rental studio apartment in Boston, where I live now.

Lead paint is nasty stuff. If you live in a home built before 1978, it’s very likely that layers of lead paint lurk on the windowsills, trim around the doorway, or walls. Not knowing if you have it in your home is scary — especially if you are pregnant or have children — so it’s worth finding out. Inexpensive kits are widely available, and testing is easy, so fork over the $10, be the responsible human you are, and put your mind to ease.

When you’re low on funds or time or both, vacationing in your own city starts to sound like a really sensible way to scratch the summer vacation itch. “Sensible,” of course, is not the word most people want to use to describe their travel plans. So we’re here with five tips to help you turn your sensible staycation into something that’s also spontaneous, stimulating, relaxing and rejuvenating.

Can you spot the amazingly adorable, easily doable, room divider situation in this Oakland loft? It’s a simple idea, but also incredibly smart storage-wise. And the result isn’t just a fresh room divider idea for an open-space loft, it’s an idea that could help divide space or add additional storage in a studio apartment or bedroom.

Name: Taylor and Steph Location: Santa Cruz Mountains, California Size: 560 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, owned Some people dream of living off the land, going off grid, building a home by hand — getting closer to nature and being more sustainable. Taylor and Steph (Find them on Instagram: @nomadic.roots) have done just that.

For some, the choice of what type of coffee table is easy; an intuitive design decision. Or, maybe it’s even been decided for you, if it’s been inherited from a roommate, partner or family member. For others, any number of variables—from unusual living room layouts to oversized furniture to kids or pets—can confuse the issue. Do you need a coffee table to set stuff down on while you watch TV or entertain friends? Or does the room feel too open or naked without it?

Yasmin hit all of the magic words with this project: DIY, IKEA, Storage. And while it may seem counterintuitive to open up your laundry room to the world, it works wonders for Yasmin’s space. From Yasmin: The laundry situation was not very glamorous before. A stacked Washer and Dryer in a tiny dark closet, with no built in storage space. The potential was great. We ripped out those ugly brown doors that were keeping the space so closed.

From Apartment Therapy → A Simple & Natural Bridal Brunch

Sometimes front doors can be a little exciting, but usually the doors inside your house are just boring, utilitarian slabs of wood. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Here are 11 interior doors (and doorways) with a little pizazz, to make getting from one room to another a truly unique experience. Above:: This sliding steel-and-glass door (spotted on Nova Te Asesora) is especially striking in a minimal space. This may be just the door into a closet, but it is gorgeous.

Nothing says “yum yum” like a lingering, unwanted smell in your kitchen. Yet despite your best efforts, there are several spots that get grimy no matter what — where gunk, dried liquids, and old food combine to form the perfect storm of stink. Now that it’s warming up outside, higher temps also nudge these odors out of the realm of merely annoying and into an entirely new noxious category.

Every home has something to teach and each small home in the Small Cool contest holds lessons and tricks for living well while living small. Below is some wisdom from today’s crop of entries including the importance of furniture with extra storage, a studio with style cohesion and a lesson in restraint.

Q: My dog has chewed the corner of this mid-century modern coffee table [see photo below]. Since the top is wood veneer, it can’t easily be sanded down and re-stained. Should I repair with wood filler and paint the top a glossy white, leaving the base as is? Cover with a piece of marble or other stone?

Name & Location: Lizeth in San Diego, California My Favorite Room: Mini Home Office Specs: 300 square feet, rented My home style has evolved to a mix of modern furniture with organic and eclectic decor elements. Since we rent an apartment and do not have the luxury of an extra room for an office, I wanted to incorporate a mini home office into the living room area as organically as possible.

(Image credit: Quentin Bacon) From The Kitchn → A Nourishing Homemade Facial Oil

Preserved flowers keep on giving. The long-lasting, low-maintenance loveliness these preserved blooms offer might sway those looking for the never-ending flower.

I always love a good tiny house story, but all the articles about people living in tiny houses, whether it’s a single person or a couple or a young family, are only a snapshot of a particular time in their lives. What happens to the tiny house perfectly adapted for one person when you get married? What happens to the tiny house that works for a young couple when the family starts to grow?

When Cara and Jared moved into their Chelsea apartment, they weren’t too excited about the kitchen’s inefficient layout and dated finishes. But the last straw was when the mosaic tiles (the result of a former homeowner’s DIY project) started falling off the wall.

You’ve done it. You’ve finally moved out of mom and dad’s house, and you have your very own apartment. And of course you want it to look like all those beautiful spaces you see on the design blogs you love, but there’s one problem —you don’t have any money. Here are a few tips for getting the look that you crave, without blowing your budget. Be patient! No one has a perfect home two weeks after moving in.

Name: Matthew Hodgman and his dog, Brinkley Location: Northeast Minneapolis, Minnesota Size: 700 square feet Years lived in: 3 years; Rented Have you ever walked into a rummage sale, antique shop, or flea market and spent hours admiring every little piece that evokes a bit of nostalgia? Have you ever wondered what it might be like to live inside an antique shop? Wonder no longer—Matt’s historic loft is your answer.

We’ve spent a good part of April bringing you travel tips and tricks, and I hope you’ve been inspired to plan a little get-away! With the internet, planning a trip seems almost too easy, no travel agents needed, apps that send you flight deals, you don’t even need a map when you get there anymore. But I still think you can get a lot of value out of guidebooks, especially for big trips.

Chris Scheurich and Ali McNally have lived in the Uptown neighborhood of New Orleans for four years. They are lifelong musicians, extremely stylish dressers and (I can personally attest to them being) kind people. They’re also the co-owners of Neon Heart, a boutique selling unique-to-New Orleans home goods and accessories (and Chris does custom framing).

Of all the tasks that come with maintaining a garden, watering seems like it would be a no-brainer — you just aim a hose and spray, right? But inconsistency in watering is often a prime factor in plant failures, so let’s take a look at the how, what, and when of watering your plants properly. This simple question leads to several answers, most of which hinge on the type of plants you’re growing and what kind of garden you have.

Before: My previous kitchen was outdated and nonfunctional. I had a –very!– red textured backsplash with mahogany cupboards, two different styles of floor (red and black tiles and wood parquet) that visually shrunk the space. Lots of different heights and depths among the cupboards created an overall sense of confusion.

The latest project from our friends at Young House Love has us sharpening our colored pencils. Check out their adult coloring book, Color at Home, due out this fall. Sherry & John Petersik worked with illustrator Joan Borawski to create the coloring book, which they see as being just plain fun, but could also be used for decorating.

(Image credit: Ashley Poskin) From The Kitchn → 10 Important Things You Should Know About Your Dishwasher

Upgrading to a bigger space? Good on you! You’ll love waking up every morning without the guarantee of smashing your shins on the foot of the bed as you walk around it. But you might find your old stuff looks a little, well, small in that new, more spacious apartment.

Q: Hi! I am a grad student, and I am writing a paper on sunburst mirrors for my object theory class. I see sunburst mirrors in houses on design and interiors blogs (such as this one) all the time, and I was wondering if you knew what the appeal is. I am fascinated that so many people have them and I would like to find out why and when and who and a bit more why. Many thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Every home has something to teach and each small home in the Small Cool contest holds lessons and tricks for living well while living small. Below is some wisdom from today’s crop of entries including using customizing your furniture to fit your space, disguising your bed, and mounting furniture to the wall to free up your footprint. Choose furniture that truly fits your space. And if you can’t find something that works — make it yourself.

We’re card carrying members of the string light appreciation society and Therese’s fun and inventive DIY is a great way to add another whimsical light source to your home. Skill Level: Easy Time Required: 1 hour Project Cost: Around $10 LED Lighting Chain Metal Wire Hanger Pliers To get the frame for my cloud I bent a metal wire hanger in the cloud shape I wanted. You’ll need some strength and patience to finish this step.

Is it just me, or has there been extra awesomeness in our recent house tours coming from Australia? Their success is no doubt due in part to our talented photographers capturing these spaces, but these homes seem to have an effortless, breezy sense of fun in them which makes them memorable. Lots of colors, fun patterns, interesting shapes and more aren’t restricted to just kids rooms.

(Image credit: Erin Alderson) From The Kitchn → Why Spring Garlic Is the Best Garlic

We rounded up eight outdoor furniture sets that can each seat two people for a quaint meal outside (on even the smallest of balconies).

Whether your reason for wanting to take more steps is to be fit or just to stop your Fitbit from nagging you, here are some ideas.

Break out of the box when considering a coffee table. Round coffee tables bring a lovely organic softness to a room, and can help visually balance a space that has harsh straight lines. They look particularly great when contrasted with a boxy sectional, but round coffee tables can look good in a variety of different living room seating arrangements. Peruse these photos of living rooms getting round coffee tables right and use them as inspiration for your own space.

Name: Ryan (a landscape designer) and Joanna Herm, and dog, Dori Location: Minnetonka, Minnesota Size: 2,400 square feet Years lived in: 3 years; Owned Immediately after purchasing your first home it is temping to jump feet first into a project or two. It is fairly common for a new homeowner to walk in the door for the first time and rip up all of the old dingy carpet to expose the natural wood underneath. But not Ryan and Joanna.

Like the wedding cake itself, a cake topper is something you definitely don’t need to throw a wedding. But here’s the thing: If you do it right (that is, cheaply and without a lot of hassle) a peppy little topper is the perfect way to accessorize your wedding cake – or a birthday cake or a cake for mom for mother’s day.

Hooray, it’s planting day! Once you’ve prepped your space, finally being able to put all those seedlings and starts in the garden feels like a great accomplishment. Whether you’re transplanting your own seedlings started from seed or young plants purchased from the nursery, there are a few simple steps to take to ensure the little guys will survive the move. Transplant shock occurs when a plant is moved from one location to another, placing environmental stress on its system.

Mix together a dash of plaid, a scoop of inspiration and a sprinkle of You Tube and you have the recipe for a gorgeous office chair upgrade. From Steph: A friend gifted me a great old desk that her mom had found on the curb years ago and everybody knows if you give a girl a desk…she is going to need a chair. I found this chair at a local Goodwill and knew it was the one. Even though the vinyl was cracked, I lived with it for a few months until I found a remnant I liked.

Quite unassuming from the outside, you’d hardly guess this building was the creative refuge of The Purple One. But at Paisley Park in suburban Minnesota, Prince recorded nearly 30 albums. Take a look inside: 55,000 square feet on nine acres, Paisley Park was completed in 1988 and houses four recording studios, a video editing suite, and a 12,500 square foot soundstage.

(Image credit: Kelli Foster) From The Kitchn → 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Buying, Storing, and Cooking Mushrooms

Q: When my fiance and I moved into our rent-controlled San Francisco apartment together three years ago, we were broke. Our downstairs neighbor got very pushy about our noise level through the old hardwood floors. She was so aggressive that we ended up making very thoughtless purchases on area rugs.

Every home has something to teach and each small home in the Small Cool contest holds lessons and tricks for living well while living small. Below is some wisdom from today’s crop of entries including using windows for storage, an easy trick for using shelves as a room divider and making use of even a tiny corner. Combining a work space and a closet is not an easy task, but Shelbie totally pulls off this “cloffice” space.

Name & Location: Bre in Erie, Pennsylvania My Favorite Room: Nursery Specs: 120 square feet, rented When I started thinking about how I wanted to decorate my daughter’s nursery, I knew I wanted it to be modern but still warm and inviting with some subtle pops of color. I didn’t want it to be super girly but also didn’t want it to be completely gender neutral. This space evolved into the perfect room for my daughter and myself.

Funerals, of course, are not a happy occasion, but they serve an important purpose: they give the bereaved a chance to celebrate the dead person’s life, to mourn together, and hopefully, to begin the healing process. When a pet dies things are a bit murkier. For a human death there’s an accepted script to follow: for a dog or cat, no so much. But anyone looking for a fitting way to mourn Fido or Fluffy might be heartened to hear that cat (and dog!