Apartment Therapy Archive: Jul 2016

You may have plenty of ideas for the backyard of your dreams, but those infinity pools and sunken fire pits and outdoor kitchens — well, they cost money. We’ve got some ideas for budget ways to get the features you crave, so you can enjoy your outdoor space without spending a ton of cash. If you dream of: A backyard swimming pool… Try: A stock tank pool, like this one from Tractor Supply.

Almost a year ago, my husband and I moved back to our hometown of Long Beach, CA. We found a gorgeous two bedroom 1930s apartment in our favorite neighborhood. Our landlords updated the space with grey floors and fresh paint. It was almost perfect . . . except for the terribly outdated entryway. It’s the only carpeted, unpainted space in the entire home, and the first thing you see when you arrive.

Sure, we all remember our first childhood crush on a human, but what about the very first time your heart pitter-pattered for a house? No? Don’t recall? Well, by all means, take a stroll down memory lane and peruse this list of our top 10 favorite homes from the movies that filled our VHS collections.

Name: Jamee Jones (and his six housemates) Location: Oak Tree — Oakland, California Size: 1,691 square feet Years lived in: Rented 2 years When Jamee greeted me at his doorstep before his Apartment Therapy photoshoot, he had just finished his daily commute from San Francisco, where he works at Urban Outfitters as a social media manager.

Sometimes, you’ve just got to take a chance. When Pati’s sister offered her a large and somewhat underwhelming dresser, she was on the fence. Pati decided to go for it, and with some smartly selected paint, turned this dresser into a gorgeous credenza. From Pati: My sister bought this on our local Facebook classifieds. She decided while moving, she no longer had room for it. She offered it to me and I was a bit undecided. Not only was it heavy, it needed some work.

We regularly ask readers to share their experiences with various household activities and home projects. We hope this collective information proves helpful to anyone needing to get a basic sense of how much certain items cost, how much you can expect to pay for a service, how long a project takes, or how often you should be doing something. How Much Does It Cost To Install New Storm Windows? If you can, let us know the type of windows you chose, how many you installed, and specify materials vs.

As you’re snapping back into your fall routine, you’re going to need a calendar to keep you on track—and to make your desk look pulled together, too. Some of these calendars will inspire you to get creative (there’s an origami-a-day option!), while others leave plenty of room for jotting down appointments.

I love having a well-stocked craft cupboard (or room, tote, or closet), but find myself locked in a never-ending battle with my craft supplies. A box from IKEA holds all my embroidery supplies except my oversized hoops, my twines are all in a tangle, and there are pompoms everywhere. Here are a baker’s dozen ways to keep your stash organized, accessible, and even aesthetically pleasing.

Audiophiles, time to geek out. This week, Crate & Barrel announced The Listening Room, a collection that includes furniture, audio equipment, and a collection of classic albums on vinyl in partnership with Capitol Records.

Small space or not, you will likely glean some inspiration from Morgan and Andrew’s Atlanta home. They’ve kept their small home feeling peaceful and surprisingly spacious while chock-full of plants, textures, and light at the same time.

Name: Ana Elena Garuz Location: Panama City, Panama Size: 1712 square feet Years lived in: Owned 9 years There are amazing people around the world; people with extraordinary talent. Ana is one of them. This incredible Panamanian woman has great energy and knows how to transform it into beautiful art pieces. She’s a woman with good taste and she’s committed to everything she does. Art is Ana’s passion and she’s filled everything around her with that spirit.

What if you stopped thinking of your backyard as a tiny bit of lawn, trapped by a fence, and instead began thinking of it as an outdoor room, with dirt for a floor and the sky for a ceiling? This is an approach that works particularly well for townhouse backyards, and it can work for you, too. Here’s a little inspiration.

Marni Epstein-Mervis has been an Angeleno for 11 years now. She and her husband moved to LA’s Highland Park Neighborhood nine months ago after a number of years in neighboring Echo Park. Marni’s an architecture journalist and owner and Principal of STRUKTR Studios, “where we create content and communications for companies in architecture, design, and real estate.

Clutter easily falls under the radar…until it’s impossible to ignore. Make a daily habit out of filtering out the bad, and organizing the good by creating a space that you’ll want to really use each time you come in to your home. You’ll stay ahead of the mail, bills and items coming in to your home and also, feel more coordinated on your way out.

Stop buying accent pillows. Buy an accent COUCH.

Name: Genevieve Wearne Location: Kyneton, Victoria, Australia Size: 70 square metres Years lived in: Owned 5.5 years Genevieve and her husband Sonny made the move from Melbourne to Kyneton, in country Victoria (approx 1.15 hours from Melbourne), almost six years ago.

I’m an unapologetic, diehard IKEA catalog fan. Over time, a special section of my bookshelves has become dedicated to them, neatly there chronologically lined up in a row, dating back to 2003. And, ever since I’ve been at Apartment Therapy, I’ve been happy to share my geeky fangirl love of the new catalog with all of you; the annual launch has proven itself to be cause for a little collective design celebration each summer.

Name: Jody Location: Carlsbad, California Our mid-century modern home is located in South Carlsbad, California. It was first owned by musician Harry James and model/actress Betty Grable and was a hangout for The Rat Pack. It was later owned by Dustin Hoffman. What initially sold me on the house was the 15 foot copper doors and giant wall that leads into a courtyard. The home is 2,900 square feet and mostly windows or doors that open up to the outside.

Welcome to The Stacked Barn project where I lead you through a year-long odyssey that I’ve never been on before: the building of a new house. I’m going to show you how my new home gets built – step by step. This is Chapter Three. I’ve always loved my old house and didn’t want to change the layout too much, but I definitely wanted to use my design chops to figure out how to make it work EVEN better.

From Apartment Therapy → Stylish and Functional: Best Dish Racks and Drainers

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) From Kitchn → How My Tiny Kitchen Taught Me to Love Cooking

Name: Roman Anthony Location: Mar Vista — Los Angeles, California Room Size: 12.5′ x 11′ First there were two, Amy and her husband, Corey. You may remember their inspiring Echo Park home. Then baby Marlowe made three. Remember her playful nursery? Now the couple are ready to welcome the newest addition to the family, baby Roman, in a new Mar Vista home. Amy put all of her creative stylist skills to work on decorating his academia-themed nursery.

Apartment Therapy Media (ApartmentTherapy.com & TheKitchn.com) is actively looking for a Social Media Manager, Apartment Therapy. A passion for interior design, cooking and our websites is a big bonus! AT Media is an innovative consumer-based media company with category-defining brands, including Kitchn (thekitchn.com) and Apartment Therapy (apartmenttherapy.com). AT Media is searching for a Social Media Manager to join us in our fun and airy Soho office!

It’s almost hard to believe that this is the same room! Becki decided to make the most of the room’s gorgeous natural light and create a boldly white and bright space. Yes—they removed the stairs! As Becki states on her blog, this was an additional staircase, and really, “who needs two sets of stairs four feet apart from each other?

There is nothing more glorious than jumping into the water on a hot summer day, and while the crispy hair, dry skin, and faded swimsuits are more than worth the relief that chlorinated or salty water provides, they can be avoided by following these 14 tips. My personal tip would be to wear your suit into a cool post-swim shower. Once you feel thoroughly rinsed, take off your suit and turn the water up to a comfortable temperature.

Central air conditioning can be a lifesaver for keeping our homes cool in the summer months, but the look of the air conditioning units themselves leave much to be desired when it comes to backyard ambience. With our home being a duplex, my husband, Ken, and I had double-trouble air conditioner units located next to our backyard patio, and we needed to find a solution for hiding them in plain sight without interfering with their efficiency.

(Image credit: Emma Fiala) From Kitchn → 10 Questions to Ask an Old Friend at the Dinner Table

Lots of articles about decorating your dorm room feature pictures of studio apartments, or styled sets, or just plain old bedrooms — in short, not real dorm rooms. So for this particular post we thought we’d turn for inspiration to some real life, bona fide dorm rooms. All of these are dorm rooms occupied by actual students, and all of them were spotted on F*** Yeah, Cool Dorm Rooms, an irreverently named blog that you should definitely check out for even more inspiration.

Name: Rashelle Roos and Joe Agati Location: Miller Beach — Gary, Indiana (Southern tip of Lake Michigan) Size: 2,800 square feet Years lived in: Owned 6 years The moment you step through the gate of Rashelle Roos and Joe Agati’s getaway house on the south shore of Lake Michigan, you have the overwhelming feeling of having arrived somewhere very special. Perhaps it’s due to Joe’s monumental sculptural work, Looking Through, which greets you in the front yard.

Inspired by the ‘50s, ’60s and a touch of ’70s, Chris and Neil’s Melbourne home is a colorful, textured, patterned delight. You can get their look, too, thanks to these shopping resources.

So you’re thinking about decorating your dorm room, and you’ve tons of big plans but, unfortunately, not tons of money. Take a look at these 17 DIYs — colorful, fun and stylish projects that will make your dorm room the envy of your floor, without blowing your budget. Above: DIY colorful stacking drawers from Sugar + Cloth on Instagram. DIY hanging half frame from Design Sponge — perfect for classing up those posters. Colorful shag rug DIY from eHow.

An adventurous family remodeled this 115-year-old Victorian house to have comfy, modern farmhouse vibes. And they did most of the work themselves!

In their original states, a white pendant lamp and an unframed mirror are blank canvases for creativity. Add the beauty of natural woven fibers and some hits of eye-catching color, and you have a sunny lamp that will brighten any room and a mirror that will turn heads. Put these two DIY ideas on your summer project list so you can enjoy the results all year long.

Home decor tends to be one of those things that some people consider “superficial” and maybe even inconsequential. But we here at Apartment Therapy understand the real power of a well-designed room. Coming home every day to a place we are proud of and that makes us smile, and heck, even helps us to live our lives well, is something we do not take lightly. Neither does Emily Henderson.

Do not go gently into that good (cold, fall) night. Soak up every last drop of warmth left in the air instead by decking out your backyard with a fire pit/bowl or chiminea. Remember, the fun doesn’t have to stop when temps drop from sweltering to pass-me-that-blanket chilly. Stay outside (and warm) well past sundown with 15 of our favorite fire features for every budget.

There’s no shortage of stunning photography on Instagram—but sometimes, sorting through all the selfies and brunch pics to find the true gems gets tiring. So for all of you design-lovers out there, we’ve compiled a list of must-follow accounts that are capturing inspiring interiors, colorful DIYs, and the lushest floral installations we’ve ever seen.

Name: Amy Location: Ballard — Seattle, Washington My husband and I (plus our two puggles) live in an 800 square foot loft in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. The location drew us in, but aside from the array of charming boutiques and restaurants just outside our building, we immediately fell in love with the soaring ceilings, exceptional natural light and covered outdoor space – a huge bonus given Seattle’s notorious rainfall!

Despite all the love we have for beach hair, beachy cocktails, and creating a beach house vibe at home—even in the middle of Denver—the beach needs to stay at the beach. Frolic on the sand all you want, but then try these nine tips for keeping sand out of your home and at the beach where it belongs. The number one thing I came across whilst Googling “how to get sand off feet” was “baby powder.

(Image credit: Samantha Bolton) From Kitchn → Why I Hate B&Bs

For the most part, gone are the days of blue-light specials, “Attention Kmart Shoppers” as an oft-repeated catch phrase, and stylish partnerships with the likes of Martha Stewart. It’s been bad news after bad news for years now, and stores are closing left and right. So when I saw a recent catalog for Kmart Australia, I did a double take and was surprised by what I saw.

We think of entryways as functional first, where incoming mail, coats, groceries, and other clutter comes to rest. It’s often not a pretty sight — which is a total bummer when it’s the first thing you see coming home. Instead of sighing and averting your eyes each time, find ways to make your entryway prettier, more organized, and inviting.

At this time of year, nothing is nicer than having your own, private outdoor space. And you don’t have to have a giant backyard to create a beautiful outdoor retreat — it’s possible to make an inviting space out of even the smallest balcony. Take a look at these 10 very inspiring (and very small) outdoor spaces. Above: This Swedish balcony from Mainstreet Stockholm looks like a great place to enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning.