Apartment Therapy Archive: Jan 2019

House tours are a great way to scope out trends, inspiration, and design ideas for your home. It can also be a great reminder that great style isn’t out of reach. Some people featured are all DIY or thrifted, but lots of people rely on the kinds of stores and websites millions of the rest of us use every day like Amazon, Target, or West Elm. And speaking of Amazon, we also appreciate any help in finding hidden gems on their massive online marketplace.

We all need a reminder that warmer weather is in fact in the (hopefully) near future. And while we can’t provide everyone with a discount plane ticket, we can offer you a brief respite from the cold by way of Anthropologie’s spring home look book. Called “The Life Within,” this collection is all about personal expression, whether that means bold color choices or a retreat back to nature.

In my many years of living in apartments and houses that tend to include windows (ok, they have all had windows), I’ve long found myself underwhelmed by curtain rods. If I do what’s practical and just buy something affordable, the materials yield an almost hilariously flimsy product.

Looking to make a major lifestyle change? It’s as easy as clicking your mouse–thanks to the many prefab houses available on eBay. (Okay, maybe you’ll need to send a couple e-mails back and forth and send in some paperwork.) Here, five modern-looking tiny houses you can buy on eBay right now, which encourage a minimal lifestyle and are typically eco-friendly to boot. And just a quick caveat: know what’s included when you buy (and what’s not).

Welcome to Design Spotting. We’re on a mission to find and tour the coolest spaces and places out there. Whether it’s a high-tech office space or a highly-anticipated art pop-up, we believe design inspiration is everywhere. You know Etsy as the online marketplace to get the most unique (and sometimes handmade!) decor, gifts, clothing, jewelry, artwork, and vintage finds from craftspeople and vendors all over the world.

Name: Cluny Ferguson, husband Rowan, two teenage sons, and Ricky the dog! Location: Clifton Hill — Melbourne, Australia Years lived in: 10 years, owned Ten years ago when Cluny and her family first moved into their double-fronted weatherboard house in the Melbourne suburb of Clifton Hill, it looked a lot different. A lot.

There’s something instantly alluring about celebrity-backed lifestyle interests. Clearly, we can blame that on our collective overwhelming need to know everything – down to the tiniest detail – about famous folks and how much they may (or may not be) just like the rest of us.

If you’re thinking about buying a home this year, you’ve probably already come to terms with leaving city life behind to take advantage of those sweet suburban prices. But if you can’t bear to part with walkability, public transportation, a lively food and entertainment scene, or any other of the many benefits to living in a city, there is hope: Some cities are more hospitable to those entering the real estate market than others.

Name: Sofia Gil, my husband and two daughters: 1 and 4 years old Location: Valencia, Spain Size: 1184 square feet Years lived in: 4 years, renting We are a Portuguese family living in Valencia, and we love it here. Our flat is very bright, and my husband and I decided to use pastel colors for the decor. A lot of the furniture is second hand and painted with chalk paint; we love to combine old and new.

This bathroom was quite cool, but had a lot going on: dark marble, metal scrollwork, a sculpted sink bowl, a divider wall, and lots of tile. Now it’s lighter, brighter, more serene, and far more spa-like. Christina and Robert of New Darlings—@newdarlings on Instagram—have created such a fresh new look. Removing the partial wall truly opened up the space, letting the light flow through beautifully.

Like all the best trends—velvet furnishings, pastel kitchen appliances, even low-carb diets—animal prints have cycled in and out of style over the years (and centuries). At times they’ve been perceived as luxurious and expensive, at other times tacky, outdated, and even a little scandalous, but they never truly leave the cultural lexicon (most recently, Tom Ford’s 2018 Fall Ready to Wear Collection relied heavily on those wild patterns).

On Thursday morning, Apartment Therapy rolled out our very first pattern of the year: The New Animal Print. Part vintage nostalgia, part updated take on zoomed-in animal markings, its something we’re predicting will only get bigger in 2019. (“It’s like the perfect marriage between accessible and out-there,” Apartment Therapy design editor Bridget Mallon wrote.

The internet tells us plenty of ways to improve your morning cup of joe: carefully monitor the coffee to water ratio, don’t use water that hasn’t boiled yet, and a number of other tips. But there’s one thing coffee-making connoisseurs fail to point out: let someone—or something—else do all the heavy lifting. This nifty coffee brewing alarm clock will wake you up and get you caffeinated.

I spend entirely too much of my free time looking at real estate listings—even though looking at them is a good chunk of what I get paid to do here! But even though I know what I’m looking for, even I get lost clicking through dream homes: “I should move to Detroit and buy this $20,000 fixer upper!” or “If I save now, I can totally can afford this $2 million apartment in Brooklyn by the time I’m 30!

If you’ve been patting yourself on the back for living minimally in a studio apartment in the hopes of squirreling away a couple of hundreds of dollars every month for a down payment sometime in the future, brace yourself: I hate to break it to you, but you might actually be losing money. At least according to a new analysis from HotPads, a Zillow company that focuses on apartment searches, the median price for a one-bedroom apartment in most cities is actually cheaper than a studio.

The January Cure is all about refreshing and organizing your home for 2019. We tackle one assignment each weekday throughout the entire month. You can visit the Cure page to catch up with the assignments so far. We did a lot this month with the January Cure. But if you didn’t quite get where you wanted to be, don’t sweat it. Each day in 2019 that you can do something—anything!—good for your home will help you make a difference.

If you’re planning on doing some updates around your home this year, you’re probably figuring out which projects are worth sinking reserouces into: Is that subway tile backsplash going to be a waste of money when it’s time to sell? How about those new fixtures in the bathroom? Thankfully, Remodeling magazine puts out a Cost vs.

Name: Miya Kusumoto, my kitten, Poppy Location: Riverside — Jacksonville, Florida Size: 900 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, renting The Riverside House—Rochester House as it was originally known—was built in 1869 as a boutique hotel that could accommodate up to 40 guests. Perhaps the most famous guest that stayed at the hotel was Mary Todd Lincoln—reportedly she came down South to recover from arthritic pain.

The best way to ensure your Valentine’s Day goes smoothly this year is to get prepared well ahead of February 14. That means no attempting to make last-minute dinner reservations or frantically perusing the picked-over cards at your favorite drugstore. On the other hand, you should definitely put some sincerity, time and effort into selecting a suitable card for your sweetie, and there’s a Valentine’s Day card pack to make the choice a little easier.

In case you're wondering, they aren't super snobby when it comes to sourcing decor items—they often shop in the same places with an eye on price—just like you!

Kitchen counters are clutter magnets—plain and simple. As I look at my own countertops, I see seven-ish different piles in the works (kids’ art, unopened mail, recyclables on their way to the bin, etc.). It’s never-ending. And despite being a fairly organized, clean-surface kind of girl myself, and literally interviewing dozens of experts on the subject, there are only two times my countertops ever get clean. Oh, is it midnight the night before an article is due?

The shortest month of the year is upon us, but the Netflix queue is as long as ever. Here’s what we’re excited to watch on—and sad to see leave—the streaming service in February. One of the biggest franchises of all time returns to the Netflix waters, and not just the original. You’ll also be able to stream Jaws 2, Jaws 3, and Jaws Revenge starting in February.

My hair is anything but easy—I’m constantly on the hunt for shampoo and conditioner that will give my limp locks some extra volume, while keeping my unnaturally blonde shade looking healthy. It’s been a daunting journey to say the least. So imagine my surprise when my longtime—and life-changing—hair stylist, CoCo, examined my limp locks and declared that my hair care products, in fact, were not the problem.

Name: Debbie and Martyn Wright Location: Clevedon, North Somerset, United Kingdom Size: 3200 square feet Years Lived In: Owned for 4 years After the children left the nest, Debbie and Martyn Wright decided it was time for them to create their dream home. Having searched for four years, they finally found this 1960s bungalow, which sat on an amazing plot with uninterrupted views of the countryside.

You’ve saved a good chunk of money, or at least are on a path to do so. Now, you might be wondering what’s better: Invest in real estate or put your money in the stock market? It’s a question you can wrestle with to no end since several factors come into play. Helping to frame the debate and lend advice below are a host of real estate and finance experts. Here are six questions they suggest you ask yourself if you’re exploring your investment options.

Save yourself some time and money with this one tip.

Anyone who has seen “Sex and the City”has coveted Carrie Bradshaw’s overflowing closet, but at least it was fake—no one could have such a perfect room in real life! Except, apparently, Mindy Kaling. When prepping with her team for this year’s Producer’s Guild Awards, Kaling took a few getting-ready photos in her dreamy closet.

Ok, so maybe this isn’t the world’s tiniest bathroom, but it’s close. When Lara of The Unprofessional set out to renovate her tiny attic bathroom, her issues with the space weren’t just cosmetic. Thanks to its small size, the bathroom had lots of unusual quirks: the vanity door wouldn’t open all the way, the bathroom door swung out and blocked the hallway, and the toilet was so close to the door that doing your business was a bit uncomfortable.

I’ve always been a bit of a book hoarder, but recently, my stack of coffee table books alone has begun to rival my collection of novels, biographies, and memoirs. And while the internet often makes it seem like you can’t purchase a gorgeous design manual or two without spending the equivalent of a week’s worth of groceries, that certainly isn’t the case. I’m letting you in on my little money-saving trick: shopping for coffee table books used off of Amazon.

Custom framing can be mind-bogglingly expensive when you're trying to dress up your walls on the cheap.

Name: Lauren Murphy, cat Tulip Moonbeam, and my dwarf rabbit, Alfee Location: South Norwalk, Connecticut Size: 300 square feet Years lived in: 1 week, renting My name is Lauren, and I am a nanny/graduate student getting my Master’s in teaching. I just moved into this apartment to be a bit closer to my school. Although very tiny, this home allows me to have my first real bedroom since college, which is huge for me!

The January Cure is all about refreshing and organizing your home for 2019. We tackle one assignment each weekday throughout the entire month. It’s not too late to sign up, and you can visit the Cure page to catch up with the assignments so far. Sometimes all you need to declutter is a fresh perspective. Once your things are yours, letting go of them can feel like a loss. A loss of money or preparedness or potential. And those are very real feelings.

Here at Apartment Therapy we’re always scoping out good sales and deals, but there are some brands we get especially excited about. West Elm is one of them–they’re reliably one of our favorite sources for accessible, good quality pieces from couches all the way down to vases. That’s why we’re loving their current decor sale, starting at 25% off all in-stock items. Check out what Apartment Therapy editors are recommending below, and browse the rest of the sale here.

There are a lot of things you might think of when you hear the word Tinder. The phrase “swipe right” definitely comes to the forefront of your brain. You might think about the worst aspects of online dating, or maybe it’s is exactly what you like about dating in 2019. Whatever your feelings, we can bet you never would have expected Tinder to be immediately followed by the word candle. But sure enough, it is 2019 and anything can happen.

Going on vacation can be one of the best things that your family does together—you can make memories that will last a lifetime. As much fun as traveling can be, the flight costs to your destination can be crippling for a family, especially ones with multiple kids. Children over the age of two are charged a full-price ticket by most airlines, and even if that 3-year-old is going to demand to sit in your lap the entire time, you often will have to pay for a seat for them on the plane.

Major blizzards or no, spring is on its way. And the first harbinger of warmer months? Spring collections rolling out at stores. Like a breath of fresh air after a long winter, it’s the perfect excuse to revive your space with pieces that are lighter, brighter, or just plain newer feeling. Urban Outfitters began to quietly roll out their spring collection last week, and while the full collection won’t be online for a few more weeks, much of it is available now.

Few things are more exhilarating than moving into your first real home. But as fun as decorating it can be, it’s also easy to make a lot of rookie mistakes. So to help make the process of decorating your first home go a little smoother, we called on a few of our favorite designers to share the mistakes they (and their clients) seem to always make. From awkward furniture arrangements to picking the wrong paint color, these are the decorating mistakes we all make in our first homes.

Name: George Mendes and Siamese cats, Roscoe and Daisy Location: Downtown Brooklyn, New York, New York Size: 950 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years George Mendes knows good food. He’s the chef behind Aldea, the Michelin-starred New York restaurant whose offerings reflect the cuisine of his parents’ native Portugal. He’s also the inhabitant of a beautiful Brooklyn apartment that seems an embodiment of the mantra “less is more.

Who is Carrie Bradshaw without a cosmopolitan in her hand? Until recently, we didn’t know her to drink much else! But times change and it looks like Carrie is changing with them. Sarah Jessica Parker just donned her Carrie costume once again and sadly, it wasn’t for a third “Sex and the City” movie – but it was for a good cause. SJP teamed up with actor Jeff Bridges as their most iconic on-screen characters for Stella Artois’ Super Bowl commercial.

Sure, there’s plenty of parental advice that will never grow old: Learn to prioritize your time. Follow the Golden Rule. Wear sunscreen. But when it comes to financial tips, some of those age-old lessons fail to fit in with a millennial’s reality.

Your personality can help you focus your efforts on a certain thing or category of items, so you can dig in and really start to make an impact in your space.

Imagine if all of your favorite Disney princesses were modern day badass ladies. Thanks to e-design company Modsy, we can actually see what the homes of Moana, Elsa, Snow White, Belle, Cinderella, and Mulan would look like if they were here in 2019 and not fictional characters.

Buying a home can be an overwhelming experience. There’s no shortage of advice on the process out there—especially from friends and family members just trying to help. Unfortunately, not all of it is good. Thankfully, three experts have cut through the clutter.

Depending on where you live in the country, you’re probably still recovering from the Arctic temps of last week. While icy weather can feel bleak, there’s much to embrace about the cold snaps: flannel PJs, hot drinks, and, perhaps most importantly, the universal acceptance of staying in. If your bed has become your sanctuary (or at least, more so than usual), fear not: last week’s bedding sale at Target is back for another two days—and it’s been increased to 30%.

I purchased my first home a couple of years ago. Like most split-levels from the 1970s, it was built economically, but not luxuriously. The closets throughout the house—which were untouched when I bought it— had flimsy dark-stained doors on tracks that didn’t quite line up reliably. They each had disgusting carpet, and particle board shelves supported by DIY brackets that didn’t cut it.

As January turns into February, it would seem that the harsh cold weather is here to stay. One day we have temperatures in the 40s, and the next, it’s a frigid 5 degrees. With these fluctuating temperatures comes dry skin and brittle, damaged hair. The winter weather can even take a toll on those who don’t color or use heat tools, or those who already have silky hair. One way to combat dryness is using a hair mask to help keep your locks hydrated.

This little ’70s bathroom had some serious space limitations, poor ventilation, and failing plumbing. Though its owner admired some of its best features—that teak vanity!—it was time for a functional overhaul and a major makeover.

We talked to the inventor of the “spark joy” translation to get to the bottom of it.