Apartment Therapy Archive: Nov 2017

Maybe you're glad to see it go.

Name: Sara, Damien, Vincent (7) and Lawrence (5) Location: Bentleigh East — Melbourne, Australia Years lived in: 2 years, owned Sara and Damien purchased their home in Bentleigh East three years ago, and it’s been a great first family home for the couple and their two children. In fact, the process of renovating the house actually sparked Sara’s interest in interior design — so much so that after completing the reno she embarked on a “back to school” journey!

Every little bit helps.

Name: Zachary Ioannucci Location: Greenpoint — Brooklyn, NY Size: 1000 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, renting I live with my boyfriend Travis. We’re both into interior design and I’m sure we both wish we could start over again and do that. The furniture is a mix of his and mine. Nothing was really planned. We just went forward with what we already had/found and built around that. Also, fun fact — we had seen twenty six apartments before seeing this one.

Are you part of a co-sleeping family, but things are getting a little too snug? There’s a mattress for that. Are you and your partner both over 6’5” and sleep in starfish position? Yep, there’s a mattress for that. Are you single and just want an endless expanse of bed all to yourself? There’s also a mattress for that. The Ace Collection has released a family sized bed that is 144 inches wide. That is 12 whole feet of bed.

Name: Dean Sameshima Location: Berlin, Germany Size: 1,044 square feet Years lived in: 10 years, renting When Dean Sameshima came to Berlin in 2007 to put on an art show with Peres Project, he didn’t expect to stay put for so long. What started out as a one-month stay quickly became three months, and luckily, he found this gem of an apartment at the end of his trip.

Ever since Marie Kondo’s Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up was published in 2014, her KonMari method has sparked joy with countless millions all over the world. It’s been such a phenomenon, it’s even been turned into a graphic novel. Now, the decluttering doyenne is teaching Katie Couric how to organize her closet.

Have someone in your life who seems to already have everything? Or perhaps they’re the type of person who you deem hard to impress (because likely, they’d never admit to that moniker)? From Airbnb gift cards and vintage-inspired tech to social media-friendly photobooks and beyond, you can’t go wrong with anything on this roundup of gift ideas for the hard-to-buy-for friend/family member/boss in your life.

While it might not be as nightmarish as Toronto just yet, the real estate market in and around San Francisco has been getting worse for years. Here’s what homes are really selling for: The backstory: My cousin and her family have lived in Berkeley, Calif., for several years, renting because they couldn’t afford to buy there even five years ago.

As any ’90s cartoon fan can attest to, Nickelodeon’s beloved football-head hero, Arnold, lived an idealized, but pretty realistic urban life. So how exactly did the show get city living so right? In an interview with City Lab, series creator Craig Bartlett discuss the making of Arnold’s idyllic urban environment. The landscape of the show was largely inspired by Seattle, where Bartlett grew up, and Portland where he attended art school, with pieces of Brooklyn and Chicago.

If you’re the type of holiday decorator for whom it’s a real tree or none at all, then get thee to the nearest nursery, stat. Experts are predicting a Christmas tree shortage this year, thanks to the impact of the Great Recession on tree farms starting nearly a decade ago.

Like something straight out of a storybook.

In a world of overflowing inboxes, communication is often instant, nearly constant, and usually “urgent.” And brief, if we’re lucky, because the daily struggle to get to inbox zero is all too real. Sure, you can get your flirt on via text or email, or send off a quick thank you or congratulations, but what happens when you want to communicate in a more personal, romantic, lengthy or memorable way?

Feeling like you're always battling dust? These simple secrets will keep your space dust-free.

Floor to ceiling bookshelves are on many a design enthusiast’s wish list. This diagonal, climbable bookshelf not only looks great, but it is also part of the structure of the home. Designed by Shinsuke Fujii Architects, this home is made entirely of reinforced wood and concrete, with its bookshelf wall serving multiple purposes. The bookshelf is built on a diagonal wall that is part of the structural integrity of the home.

Name: Isabella and Oscar Location: Wembley, London Size: 870 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 year, owned Having grown up, studied, and worked in Hong Kong, Isabella and Oscar went on a trip of a lifetime to Iceland, fell in love with Europe and decided to relocate to London together to pursue their dream of traveling around this little continent.

How many times a day do you stop what you’re doing in order to wonder where in the world Diane Keaton hangs her many hats? What kind of furniture is she sitting on when she sips either the red or white varietals of her wine, The Keaton? Well, thanks to a feature in Wine Spectator, our Diane-design related questions have been answered. A serial house flipper and Pinterest enthusiast, it’s no surprise that her home is a stunner.

In a day and age when social media and inspiration-heavy sites like Pinterest make you feel like everything you create for your home or how you decorate for the holidays has to be (literally) picture perfect and super chic, there are rays of hope that sometimes the internet is up for something slightly ridiculous. Case in point: the recent obsession with not-the-least-bit-elegant-but-maybe-pretty-great giant balloon Christmas lights.

The “stranded island test” is a good way to think about the products you use that you really, truly love. I asked the Apartment Therapy editors what one small appliance they’d bring along if we were all whisked away to an island in the middle of nowhere (where electric outlets may or may not exist, but that part isn’t supposed to matter).

Name: Rajiv Fernandez Location: Brooklyn, New York Size: 540 square feet Years lived in: 3 years I am a freelance architect, artist and children’s author. I founded my company Lil’ Icon in 2017 that does design to make you think and wink. The premise for my design company is evident in the apartment — sophisticated in base palette with pops of fun in the accessories. I originally hail from Iowa and moved to NYC for grad school 10 years ago.

I love old houses, and I love a good Before and After, so I particularly love this story about a small-town Texas home that was lovingly and painstakingly restored. In Texas, where land is cheaper and new construction is common, many homeowners prefer building a brand-new house to dealing with the quirks of an old one. But one homeowner fell in love with a 1920s cottage in the small historical district of small-town Hillsboro, Texas, and became determined to bring it back to life.

Advice from design writers is great and all, but what’s useful is learning about what people who are actually dealing with real rental issues are doing to overcome design dilemmas. Since the worlds of rental issues and small space problems can often overlap, why not look to folks with stylish spaces for ideas on how to make the most of the rental space you have?

Before soon-to-be duchess Meghan Markle met Prince Harry, she was already a style icon. The American actor and humanitarian started lifestyle blog The Tig (named after her favorite red wine, Tignanello—which, if your keeping track, isn’t actually pronounced with a hard ‘g’) back in 2013. She shut the site down back in April 2017, but thanks to the wonderful internet archive, we can still sneak a peek at some of her timeless advice. Here are ten of her best tips.

How many times have you heard that renters are “just throwing their money away”? Well that’s not true, for a few reasons. First, owning a home is expensive. There’s a mortgage — which, in the early years, is more taxes and interest than actual equity (i.e. the first few years of owning a home is also throwing a lot of money away; I broke down my actual mortgage payment in this post, if you’re interested in reading more about that).

These get our vote for stylish space savers.

Sometimes the easiest people to shop for can be the hardest. Case in point: dads. Usually content with just about anything you wrap up—heck, even if you didn’t wrap it, they’d be happy—the options seem endless. Enter paralysis of choice. If you can’t decide between the tool kit, that new piece of tech or those cushy slippers this year, we narrowed down our top picks to give dear old dad (no ties allowed).

A good multi-floor vacuum can be a game changer for your daily housekeeping routine. Along with freshening up your home in a matter of minutes, a quality vacuum can help control dust and other pesky airborne allergens hanging around your home. However, high-quality vacuums often come with a hefty price tag to boot.

Name: Courtney Gallagher and family Location: Riverside, California Size: 1252 square feet Years Lived In: 3 years, owned What started as a mild mid-century modern obsession has turned into a full-blown side hustle for mother and resident MCM expert Courtney Gallagher, She uses her successful Etsy furniture store, Not Another Mod Snob, as an excuse to rotate new vintage pieces in and out of her family’s 1951 ranch-style home in Riverside, California.

The galley kitchen of this Brooklyn apartment wasn’t in terrible shape, especially compared to some kitchens we’ve seen. But the builder-blah ’90s color scheme made the space seem dark and dated, and the wide-set floor tiles left lots of room for grout, which means lots of room for collecting dirt.

Growing up, my dad was a firm believer of that if you were paying for a hotel room, you were entitled to take a few towels for the road. Turns out, dad laws aren’t real laws and stealing towels from a hotel room is not only frowned upon, it is technically illegal. So what is fair game? Hotels actually want you to take toiletries—they’re not going to re-use them and it’s a good way to spread the brand around. Everything else, though, is strictly off limits.

For anyone who’s ever excitedly bought a tree that turned out to be a serious needle dropper/too heavy to carry up the stairs/completely devoid of any festive scents — this buying guide is for you. Aesthetics are one thing, but there is so, so much more to consider. You know the deal: you walk onto a Christmas tree lot, find a tree that seems like it’ll fit in your home for the right price and boom, you’re done.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all? If the answer is someone you need to buy a gift for, it probably seems nearly impossible to sift through the endless beauty products out there on the market. Heck, it’s hard enough to find products for yourself that you love, let alone as a gift for someone else. So we’ve done the homework for you.

If you love Hallmark movies during the holidays and Freeform’s 25 Days of Christmas, you need to know about A Christmas Prince, Netflix’s new holiday rom com that’s so bad, it’s good. This movie about an American woman falling in love with a super hot member of a royal family technically came out days before Prince Harry proposed to Meghan Markle, but we’ll take an American princess fairytale anywhere we can get one.

Millennials get a bad rap. We killed chain restaurants, doorbells and, if you take this recent study at face value, we’re killing neighborly love. But not according to me. The team at Safe Home surveyed 1,000 Americans to discover how close we are to the people that live near us.

It’s been an eventful year for IKEA’s humble, hardworking blue bag. So we really should’ve seen this holiday themed hack coming. The FRAKTA fracas started when Balenciaga released their $2,100 leather “knockoff” of the 99 cent tote. IKEA then responded with a pretty hilarious print ad on how to spot the real thing.

If you just can’t wait for season 3 of Stranger Things — or have tiny humans in your life who don’t understand what all the fuss is about — Sesame Street has got you, with a kid-friendly parody of everyone’s favorite ’80s horror revival. With Cookie Monster headlining as The Cookie Gorgon, the latest Netflix parody from the muppets is a pretty spot-on (if far less suspenseful) rendition of Stranger Things — called “Sharing Things.

Name: Angel and Ben Location: Fremont — Seattle, Washington Size: 580 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, renting The first thing you notice when walking into Angel and Ben’s Fremont studio is the huge floor-to-ceiling windows at the far end of the space, letting light pour into their living area.

If you’ve been missing your dose of witty brunettes full of snappy comebacks since her other shows wrapped up, worry not – writer and director Amy Sherman-Palladino is back with something new. The mind and voice behind Gilmore Girls and Bunheads brings us an Amazon original called The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and season one drops Wednesday, November 29.

It’s official: USA Network renewed Suits for an eighth season, sans Meghan Markle. While we’ll find out what happens to Rachel Zane and fiancé Mike Ross (played by Patrick J. Adams, who will also not be a series regular for season eight) when the remainder of season seven comes back on March 28, we might just miss their apartment most of all. One of our favorite things about TV is getting to peek into our favorite characters’ spaces.

It’s way too easy to let closets get out of control. After all, you can just close the door on the mess. But whether you’re getting something out or putting something away, being greeted by an orderly closet is an instant mood booster. Not to mention you actually know where stuff is can get to it! Here are ten strong suggestions for how to keep your closet in check. Keep a small laundry basket or even a paper bag in your closet to toss in clothes that don’t make you feel great.

Cyber Monday might be over but it appears the awesome online sales are only just beginning. Case in point: For today only, Target is offering a whopping 40% off of every item from their bed and bath department. This means that everything from bath towels to sink organizers to pillow shams and mattress pads are majorly marked down until midnight, so you can upgrade some of your home essentials without breaking your holiday budget.

Perhaps owing to less-than-pleasant memories from the ’80s of growing up in homes full of chintzy florals and duck borders, Americans have been shy about wallpaper for a long, long time. Recently the pendulum has swung back a bit, helped in no small part by the appearance of some very badass prints. But wallpaper in the kitchen is still a bit of a tall order, because I think we tend to be a bit more conservative with the design of a kitchen than say, a powder room.

There are a lot of delightful things about the island nation of New Zealand—including its landscape, people, and contributions to the global pop culture economy. The country of just under 5 million has given the world an abundance of gifts: The Lord of the Rings movies! Jane Campion’s body of work! The most romantic song ever! Taika Waititi‘s everything!

Shopping for mom is a tricky, tricky thing. When you ask her what she wants, the answer is always the same: “Just a phone call here and there would be nice.” And while picking up your cell to say hello is well and good, she can’t unwrap that when everyone is passing around gifts, now can she? For the mom who claims to want nothing more than your love, here are a few ideas should you want to spoil her with a treat or two.

It’s been a marathon shopping weekend, what with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. But if you missed some sales, don’t fret—plenty of retailers have extended their discounts anywhere from one day to a whole month, so there’s still time to snag a steal. Today, Target launched daily deals that run through Saturday, December 2.

Name: Melanie Power Location: Plateau Mont-Royal, Montreal, Quebec Size: 700 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, renting When Melanie Power, a poet from St. John’s, Newfoundland, first moved into this compact apartment, it was a neglected space. Over the years, she has collected items and furniture from thrift stores across the provinces to revive and restore it, creating a place full of magical whimsy and intrigue.