Apartment Therapy Archive: Apr 2018

There aren’t a ton of excellent restaurants where I live. But there’s little traffic, I run into people I’ve known all my life at the grocery store, and my friends have been my friends nearly all my life, so for what it lacks in dining, it makes up for by simply being the place I want to be. But good lord, trying to find a decent salad a shade more interesting than a Caesar is a struggle, which is why I’ve had to really brush up on my at-home salad skills.

If you’re one of Cara Delevingne’s 41.1 million Instagram followers, you’ll notice that she’s usually jetting off somewhere. That doesn’t mean the 25 year old model didn’t want a place to call her own when in her hometown of London—and just like her, it’s the opposite of cookie cutter.

All of the interiors are luxe.

When it comes to affordable art that still feels unique, Pop Chart Lab is one of our favorites. The Brooklyn-based print company turns charts into art, with cheeky infographics on everything from the taxonomy of typography to a flow chart of all the ways you can make and consume coffee. Prints typically start at around $29, making it an inexpensive way to add some color to your walls. But now through Wednesday, you can do it for even less.

If you think Texas real estate is all ranches and mansions, this Houston abode will blow away all your stereotypes about the Lone Star state. This refined, masterfully renovated home has an elegant (if unassuming) exterior, but on the inside, it’s full of huge windows, beautiful built-ins and sophisticated finishes.

If you’ve ever worked while on vacation, you’re definitely not alone. According to a recent study, 60 percent of Americans admit to working at least somewhat on their last trip. And while the desire to relax and the need to keep connected can be at odds, the trend of workcations don’t seem to be going anywhere. Like with many trends these days, we can point to millennials for the increase in workcations.

Architect Talia Braude went all out with her home's color scheme.

The latest collaboration between millennial stationery giant Rifle Paper Co. and chef-favorite culinary company Hedley & Bennett is debuting just in time for Mother’s Day — with matching kitchen-pro aprons in Rifle’s iconic floral prints for your favorite mom and her mini-me. Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co.

Fact: There are several steals at Costco that are so cheap and versatile, it’s almost a shame not to buy them. While I don’t allow myself to buy the 10-pound tub of organic coffee every time I go (I know I’d never drink it all before it turned rancid), there are a few things I always buy. Bonus: They’re all $10 or less, and they help me stick to a healthy diet between trips. Read about my favorite finds — and how I use them — below.

The hall bathroom in Mary Ann and Frank’s Upper West Side apartment was a bit of a Monet: cute from afar, but kind of crumbly and weird up close. The apartment was built in 1929, and all the fixtures in the bathroom were original. This meant that the tiles and tub had both seen better days. After living in their apartment since 1992, Mary Ann and Frank were ready for a bathroom that was a little more ‘wow’ and a little less ‘it’ll do.

It’s no surprise that moving across the country means that not all of your things can necessarily move with you. For my partner and me, area code hopping from Toronto to Vancouver meant forsaking all of our home furnishings to make room in the car for keepsakes and clothing. So where do you start when you sign the lease and you have nothing but wardrobe changes and some family photos?

Name: Nathan Miller Location: Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah Size: 758 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years, renting My day job is in healthcare marketing. On nights and weekends, I’m a print-making, Polaroid-taking, road-tripping, 20-something-year-old with a mild plant-buying addiction. My apartment is located on a side street in Downtown Salt Lake City, and sits above a row of local shops, artist studios and small businesses.

Preparation is the key to success. The next time your favorite sweater shrinks or you smear sauce on your sleeve at dinner, instead of furiously Googling for a solution, you’ll remain cool, calm and collected because you committed these five in-a-pinch laundry hacks to memory. No garment steamer? No problem. If your clothes are just a bit more wrinkled than you’d like them to be, don’t break out the iron, just use your dryer (if you’re lucky enough to have one at home).

Is there anything worse than the sun in your eyes? Feeling the sunshine on your skin is amazing, but looking right into the burning gas star will make you want to claw your eyes out. Now, imagine living somewhere that no matter the curtains you bought, the sun just beamed right into your house and blinded you daily. These tiny homes have come up with a workaround for that issue. An Israeli-based architect has designed a tiny home that combats the glaring sun in Isareal.

Sure, that old Victorian home seems great now. It has original floorboards and the crown molding is so charming. But once you purchase, every creaky step will send a shiver up your spine: One wrong move and the whole place could crumble down faster than you can say “poor house.” It’s a scary thought, but you’re not alone. In fact, threat of costly repairs is the number one stress for homeowners.

Avoid these six very common mistakes.

Life is better in Finland. Proof? A recent report from the United Nations finds that the Nordic nation’s inhabitants are the world’s happiest, as Finland ranks highest in top indicators of well-being, like income, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust and generosity. (Norway, Denmark and Iceland take the next three spots, so clearly we should be taking these Nordic countries out for coffee and politely asking them to tell us everything).

Living in the city is not cheap. Any adult who has even glanced at the numbers knows this. You don’t have to crunch data to understand spending $900-1,800 a month to share an apartment is kind of insane. Still, when there’s a plan in place for affordable housing in New York, we should expect it, right? Maybe not.

BUK & NOLA co-founder decorated her house with a mix of influences ranging from Scandinavian, minimalism, quirky, and boho designs.

Chill in style like it’s 1999.

Flower arranging is lost on me. No matter how much time I spend trying to make bouquets look good, I usually wind up just plopping the flowers in a vase and calling it a day. So I love simple, quick ways to raise my flower game, even a little bit. Learn these five basic hacks and get the best arrangements of your life. Letting leaves rot in water is one of the best ways to bring your flowers down.

Reboots can either be the absolute worst, or they’re the best thing to happen to TV. It’s frustrating that some showrunners just won’t let a series end. But then there are instances where they know what’s best and bring back the show we really needed – thank god Trading Spaces is back! In a world where HGTV reigns supreme with 20 different house-flipping shows, the Trading Spaces reboot is a breath of fresh air on TLC.

Amazon Prime is perfectly great for two-day shipments of everything from granola bars to hairdryers to toilet paper. But if you’re looking for something a little more unique, or even handmade, you’ve probably turned to independent artists on sites like Etsy. In a move to fill this void, Amazon launched its Handmade section last year with more than 80,000 items—and we have to say that we love what we see.

It's true: Dusting seems futile. But that's no reason to let it go. Here are two ways you might be dusting wrong.

Trader Joe’s is a magical, cutesy wonderland full of great products that are really good at making people say, “I’ve never had that before, but now that I see it, I absolutely must try it.” Last time I was there, I went in for Brussels sprouts and left with camel milk soap, lavender dryer sachets, and four different kinds of dried fruit.

Here at Apartment Therapy, we write about tiny houses a whole lot. Sometimes, I find myself wondering if we’ve reached peak tiny house. Are these adorable little dwellings on wheels just glorified trailer homes? Are they destined for the pages of Craigslist in a few years, once the mania dies down? Or are they a reflection of a cultural shift in the way we look at our homes, where bigger isn’t always better?

How many times have you seen an airfare sale and thought, “I am really just going to book this trip and wing it!” Probably at least 100 times. I see a deal just about every other week and wish I could do this. The prices are always amazing and the destinations look beautiful. But the catch tends to be you either leave in 5 days or 10 months from now. Can’t there be a deal with a happy medium? It seems, today is that day!

On the face of it, shopping at Costco seems like it should be a very straightforward experience. With any luck, you avoid impulse-buying a handful of diamonds on the way in (yes, Costco sells diamonds), and then you check out and stop for a $4.99 rotisserie chicken and a $1.50 hot dog at the food court on the way out. But some of Costco’s deals are better than others, and nobody knows that as well as Costco’s own employees.

We all have to start somewhere, and that includes Chip and Joanna Gaines. The Fixer Upper stars might be worth millions today, but they were newlyweds once, and just getting started out as a young couple while living in Waco, Texas. And apparently, their early homes were a far cry from their current sweet farmhouse setup. We recently asked Chip what he remembers about the first home they shared back in the day, before there were all the kids and animals running around.

Is there anything worse than being tired but not being able to fall asleep? Honestly, your mind is ready to rest, you swear your body is ready too, but then it betrays you and you lay awake at night, tossing and turning. It is the most frustrating dilemma that we can face at night and it can be happening for just about any reason! Did you realize the temperature of your bedroom could be at fault? We’ve all been there.

Feeling nostalgic for those Wonder Years neighborhood vibes, or the cozy camaraderie of Friends-esque living situations? Or maybe you just don’t know what to do about all those other people who also happen to live on your street.

Friendship is an amazing, incredible, frustrating, annoying, and beautiful thing. Each friendship that you have is different from the other. You might have one friend you’ve known since you were five that knows every embarrassing childhood story possible. But then you can have a best friend that just knows you on every single level, even though you’ve only known each other for a year.

Name: Krista and Daniel Location: Little Italy — San Diego, California Size: 1400 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, renting Krista runs Hand Meets Sky, “an online boutique specializing in authentic turquoise jewelry and jewels for the modern, boheme bride.” She’s an Apartment Therapy reader who submitted the home she shares with her partner Daniel. In her own words: Daniel had been living in the building for over eight years or so.

You might regret putting these items in your shopping cart, according to people who have used them.

All too often home makeovers require serious time and money. So we put together a room-by-room decorating punch list that can actually be accomplished within a weekend, for those of us that are short on time and even shorter on cash. Sometimes a few key items — or simple decorating moves — can really make a big difference. But if you want to sit this one out and just relax on your couch this Saturday and Sunday, well, that’s fine, too.

In case you don’t remember, last year, there was a fashion frenzy over FRAKTA. In April 2017, Balenciaga released a $2,000 knockoff of the big blue IKEA bag, and almost immediately, the internet exploded with other ways to wear the bag, including hats, Air Jordans, and yes, even thongs. But now, another IKEA staple is poised for its day in the spotlight, thanks to RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Got a bad case of wanderlust? Maybe you’ve always dreamed of living abroad and wandering the stone streets of a medieval village or taking in the vistas of Iceland’s remote and unspoiled landscapes? Well, now you can live your dream. WOW Air, the Icelandic budget airline, has launched a competition to find the creator for its new Wow Travel Guides.

While season two of The Handmaid’s Tale was shot in Toronto, its events are set pretty heavily in Boston so far — or at least, in former Boston. The first two episodes of the new season of Hulu’s original series about a dystopian future dropped this week, and a new episode will air each Wednesday until all ten are live. Slight spoilers for the first two episodes follow.

Seeing your face on TV can be an exciting and surreal experience — but if you’re an artist, seeing your work on TV might possibly be even more exciting. Apartment Therapy reader Lauren Williams is a textile designer and artist, and she recently had the honor of seeing her artwork featured on HGTV’s most popular show, Fixer Upper. Here’s how it all happened: Back in August 2017, Lauren was doing a little networking.

Four days after his birth, Kensington Palace announced the name of the newest addition to the British royal family. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have surprised everyone and chosen a French name for the infant, Prince Louis Arthur Charles. We asked a baby name expert what the royal moniker means for its future popularity. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles.

Name: Leti, Julian and Helenita Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina Size: 1,184 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, owned When it came to starting the project of renovating their apartment for their new family, Leti and Julian were all in. They worked with an architect to help with the layout of the space, but the couple was very hands on: “We chose every material in this apartment.

It's SO much warmer and more inviting than before.

The trend of tiny living is well, huge. Whether it’s municipalities looking to solve affordable housing crises, or individuals looking to live a simpler life in the woods, tiny homes seem to be the answer to nearly every question these days. Now the tiny living phenomena has inspired equally tiny, yet incredibly functional and beautifully designed, kitchens for modern living.

Some of you may remember this post I wrote, asking you if I should break down and get one of those ugly-as-sin kitchen mats, even though they offend my eyes. (If you haven’t read it, I’ll wait while you do!) Despite the popular advice to just break down and do it, I’ve been hemming and hawing over the decision for months. And I’m glad, actually. Because I’ve just come across something that is a million times more attractive than the typical kitchen mat.

Few things say, “I love you” like a fresh bouquet of flowers delivered on Mother’s Day. But what do you do if you’re looking for an arrangement that’s a little more unique than say, than your average bouquet of a dozen roses? Don’t worry friends; we’ve got you covered. We searched the web high and low and rounded up some of the coolest, boutique-y online spots to order flowers for Mother’s Day.

There are no shortage of mattresses you can buy online these days, with prices ranging from a couple hundred to a couple thousand dollars. But in an ever-expanding sea of competitors, one bed-in-a-box has managed to make people really happy for not a lot of money. The Zinus memory foam mattress starts at under $100 for a basic twin, but the most popular one is the 12-inch model. Typically priced $239 for a full, it’s currently even cheaper.

Name: Jenny Kakoudakis, husband Anthony, eight-year-old son, and Black Labrador Bella Location: Warlingham — London, England Size: 2150 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, owned Our home is a detached five-bedroom property in the outskirts of London, in the village of Warlingham. It is located in a quiet cul-de-sac alongside similar properties and fantastic neighbors. It’s only three of us (plus the dog, Bella!

Many undone household tasks go the way of the proverbial frog in boiling water: We don’t notice the difference at first, but over time, the cumulative effect is drastic. This week we’re going to address one such effect in our kitchens. Apartment Therapy Weekend Projects is a guided program designed to help you get the happy, healthy home you’ve always wanted, one weekend at a time. Sign up now for email updates so you never miss a lesson. First things first.