Sarah Coffey

Here's how to make this bold, cheerful color work for you.

It’s no secret that IKEA offers an affordable, off-the-shelf alternative to a custom kitchen. With the flexibility to mix and match finishes and styles, the Swedish store is a go-to source for renovators, but it’s also ubiquitous. Fortunately, there are lots of ways to personalize an IKEA kitchen, and we need look no further than the Apartment Therapy house tour archives for ideas.

Room dividers can be useful in a shared kids’ room, a studio apartment, or a large loft — but they’re often very pricey. If you’re on a budget and searching for ways to separate space, here are 10 options under the $100 mark. IKEA Their thin, sheer panel curtains can be hung from ceiling tracks to create room dividers that separate space but still let light through, and they carry nearly 30 styles and colors.

We know — you’re tired of seeing IKEA on every single affordable furniture list we pull together. It’s one of the biggest and best sources for modern furniture on a budget… but, yes, it can get old. So, to make up for the IKEA overkill, here’s a list of sources for cool furniture on the cheap. We tried to stick to non-obvious sources. (Don’t worry — there’s no West Elm or CB2 here either.

Subscription gifts might seem a little dated, but there’s something really appealing about giving or receiving a gift that lasts beyond the holiday season. Plus, with the proliferation of online catalog companies, there are plenty of options now that are a little cooler than the old-school monthly fruit basket club. MicroBeerClub Beer clubs give connessiours a chance to mix things up and try brews they might not otherwise have tasted.

Children generally enjoy having a space to “work” like mom and dad, whether they use their desk for drawing, reading, or playing with toys. Here’s a quick guide to some of the best pint-sized desks, most of them designed for children ages 2 and up, with a couple that can even make the transition into grown-up furniture.

Recently, Consumer Reports started reviewing induction cooktops alongside electric and gas ranges, while IKEA released their first US model. Welcome to America, induction cooking. Historically, the biggest barriers to buying an induction cooktop were price and accessibility, but as this style of cooking gains momentum, more affordable cooktops are appearing at Home Depot, Lowe’s, Sears, and the kinds of stores where most Americans shop for appliances.

Renovation and rental are two words that you don’t hear too much in the same sentence, but even though you might not be able to completely overhaul your rental apartment, there are ways to cover up that old avocado-green tile, add storage to your small shower, or transform an ugly overhead light without making your landlord angry in the process.

Bedside lamps or sconces are the norm in most homes, but space constraints or a flair for drama might lead someone to take a different approach. Here are ten bedrooms that where the “mood lighting” is tasteful, unique, and inspiring. Liz’s bedroom uses globe lights clustered in a corner to add an ethereal quality to the bedroom. Lighting doubles as artwork over the bed in a North London home.

Small spaces = less cleaning. It’s one of the best benefits of living in a tiny apartment. The only problem is that living small also means less storage space, so you want to streamline your cleaning supplies into a kit that can be easily stowed in a kitchen cabinet or closet.Here’s our basic checklist for everything you need to keep your tiny home clean… Broom, Dustpan, and Mop: These are the basic tools of floor cleaning. We use a small interlocking broom and dustpan.

Cabinetry usually adds up to about half of kitchen renovation expenses, so if you have a small budget, you’ve got to find ways to cut costs. Shop sales, check second-hand and salvage stores, try a demolition auction, or find ways to get a custom look from big box sources.For kitchen cabinet sources, click here. Home Depot Big box stores like Home Depot have frequent discounts on stock kitchen cabinets.

New kitchen systems vary widely in price, depending on materials, types of fittings, and (most significantly) whether they’re custom made or off-the-shelf. Here’s a guide to several modern styles, from the top of the line to basic budget options.Going the custom route costs more, but it also allows you to choose exactly what you want in terms of storage and style.

Time to take a mini-vacation. From Josef Frank’s Stockholm shop to Liberty of London on Regent Street to Marche Saint Pierre in Paris, we’ve gathered some of the best “destination” textile showrooms from around the world. This is just a starter list — add your favorite high-end fabric shops in the comments. Svenskt Tenn: Stockholm Josef Frank and Estrid Ericson worked together at this fabric and furniture store, which remains today a bastion of Swedish modernism.

Paging through our archives, we realized we’d never done a comprehensive “best of” list for outdoor furniture stores. With heat waves happening across the country, it’s now or never, so we scoured our listings for favorite stores and sources, organized into three categories: high-end ($$$), mid-range ($$), and budget ($). Curran Based out of Seattle, this online/catalog retailer has a gorgeous selection of high-end furniture for the yard or patio.

A good barstool is hard to find — often made for commercial use, barstools can lack the smaller scale and warm materials of home furniture. Here are 10 that range from inexpensive industrial metal models to painted wood to upholstered seating, at price points between $100 and $1,000. Design Within Reach Designed by Xavier Pauchard in 1934, this classic metal cafe stool was updated in 2009 by Tolix designer Chantal Andriot.

Sometimes the best way to keep your laundry off the floor is to find a bin or bag that you really love using. Whether it’s a laundry basket that’s good looking enough to keep on display or a back-of-door hanging bag that’s functional and easy to use, the right system can make all the difference. Here are eleven options, from hampers to drawstring bags to industrial baskets.

It’s the New Year, and for those of you in organizing mode, we’re pulling together shopping guides to help you get your home in shape. Wall-mounted desks and shelving can be hard to come by, so for those who live in tiny apartments or have a closet-sized home office from which they work, here are some of our favorite options. Resource Furniture New-York based Resource Furniture specializes in space-saving designs for bedrooms and home offices.

We tend to use our shower curtain rod as a drying rack for hand-washed clothing. It’s not the most attractive solution, but it works. For those who want a more organized system, there are several wall-mounted drying racks made specifically for the bathroom.

If you don’t own a dishwasher, invest in a good dish rack—it can mean the difference between whether or not you enjoy doing the dishes. No, really…it sounds like hyperbole, but I’ve been through the experience of upgrading from a cheap model to a nice dish rack (from Simple Human) and it changed the way I felt about my daily dish-washing chores. Simplehuman Most of Simple Human’s dish racks come with 5-year warranties.

If you’re working with a limited budget, shelling out lots of money for a rug that might get ruined or wear thin over time is a scary prospect. Fortunately, there are lots of sources for stylish but inexpensive rugs that won’t leave you trembling in fear of a red wine stain. h.71 s.centercrop src="https://cdn.apartmenttherapy.info/image/upload/at/archive/1ed50a2ce3eed0a222659416b01456430061ad1b._w.94_h.71_s.centercrop_.

If you’re looking for a modern bed on a budget, a platform bed is a good bet. You won’t have to buy box springs since platforms require a mattress only, and the simplicity of the design means that you can find well-made beds for under $1,000. Click below for our picks…Top: This Campo Queen Bed is $899 – $999 at Room and Board (full size is $799 – $899). Available in maple, cherry, or walnut, this is a very solid bed.

When you’re shopping for curtains, it’s pretty common to experience sticker shock. Prices can run surprisingly high, and when you need multiples it really adds up. For anyone who’s felt squeamish just thinking about the cost of curtains, we’ve rounded up some budget sources for a wide selection of drapes under $50… Wild Things: This online-only store carries a huge selection of beaded and fabric curtains, most around $30 to $50.

With the proliferation of online art galleries, novice collectors have more options now than they’ve ever had before. Independently owned art galleries and print shops offer editions for as little as $10 or $20 — or even original paintings in the low hundreds — and it’s easy to browse images without having to set foot in a brick and mortar space.

Welcome to bedroom month! To start March off with a bang, we’ve updated our annual list of the best bunk beds. These are our current favorites — from Italian space savers that are so slick they’d feel at home in a modern bachelor pad, to basic budget options that fit in with almost any decor. Resource Furniture These bunk beds are expensive (you could drop $10k on one), but they’re pretty amazing.

The sofa issue can be a huge elephant in the room when you’re setting up a new apartment with next to nothing. The truth is that sofas are expensive and real treasures are hard to find (unless you’re Dana, whose apartment is shown above. She always seems to find the best sofas for under $200 at thrift stores.) To help you with your search, we’ve compiled a few tips…Before you start shopping, measure your space.

Comfort and durability — that’s what most people want out of an office chair, since such a huge percentage of time is spent sitting in it. If a chair is attractive as well, so much the better. In case you’re shopping for a new seat, here are 10 good sources to check out. Steelcase Store They’ve been making office furniture since 1912, and their office chairs are well made, with a 10-year limited warranty.

Dehlia’s tiny bathroom is typical of a city apartment: a 4 x 6 foot space that benefited from a functional, small-scale redesign. The floors are slate, the walls are seaglass, and the fixtures are well proportioned for the room. It can be difficult to find small tubs, toilets, and sinks for a bathroom renovation, but combing Dehlia’s source list as well as a few good posts from the Apartment Therapy archives, we’ve found some relevant resources.

Hex tile, clawfoot tubs, porcelain pedestal sinks. These are few of the elements that make up our idea of a “classic” bathroom—the kind you might find in a pre-war apartment or a New England farmhouse.The nice thing about a classic bathroom is that it’s not going to go out of style anytime soon. Materials like subway tile and marble counters are long-lasting and tend to survive the cycle of trends.

Painting is the first “low expense, high impact” project most decorators recommend for home improvement, but lighting can make just as big a difference. It’s all too common to live with one ugly overhead fixture for years without realizing that a few well-placed lamps can make a home SO much more livable. If lighting is on your home’s shopping list, here are 20 places to look — from high-end stores to budget sources.

While we’re on the subject of color and bedrooms, how about some ideas for turning up the volume without spending too much. Bedding is one of those things that you can find on sale at any time of the year, makes a big impact, and is easy to change when you’re ready for something new. Here are 10 places to look when you’re shopping. Target They’re everywhere, they’re affordable, and they’ve revolutionized the concept of designer labels for the masses.

Lyndsay and Fitzhugh are talented designers who renovated their Brooklyn home and built much of the furniture themselves from reclaimed wood. Even if you’re not gifted with the ability to throw together a handmade sectional sofa, you can still be inspired by their accomplishments… and you can rely on our shopping guide for a similar look.

Last month, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences phoned Jean-Luc Godard to tell him that he would receive an Honorary Oscar at their November 13 Governors Awards event. Characteristically, the French film director (who’s been known to scoff at Hollywood before) seemed not to care — so much, in fact, that he didn’t return their phone call.