Heidi's Bright, Airy Space
Name: Heidi Postma
Instagram: @heidipostma5
Size: 315 square feet
Home type: Apartment
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
What you're looking at:
This is the view of my apartment from the entryway. The entrance hall is pretty cave-like, but the way the apartment opens up with all the bright light from the almost floor-to-ceiling windows really stops you in your tracks. (Image credit: Heidi Postma)This is the view of my apartment from the entryway. The entrance hall is pretty cave-like, but the way the apartment opens up with all the bright light from the almost floor-to-ceiling windows really stops you in your tracks.
No furniture was specifically acquired for this space, and the emerald velvet sofa is the only piece of furniture purchased new. The rest is vintage, either found on Marketplace or inherited from family. My bed frame is from my grandparent's wedding bedroom set, and the quilt was sewn by her as well.
Years lived in: Since November 2021, rented
Household: Two cats: Squash and Lenny
Have any design professionals worked on this space? No
Do you currently live in your Small/Cool space full-time? Yes
Describe your space:
Does having a full-size sectional sofa in a 315-square-foot apartment seem like a good design choice? I didn’t think so either. However, after facing the reality that I would not get the house after my divorce, I was willing to go to some extremes to keep my beloved sofa. In addition to the sofa, the apartment is completely puzzled together from pieces I already owned. The guest bed became my own. A dresser became a TV stand and storage unit. The coffee bar became my whole kitchen workstation. All of it came together to be a quirky but complete space — with my beloved emerald velvet sofa as the anchor.
Did you DIY anything in your space? And, if so, what's your favorite DIY?
I refurbished and refinished most of the wood furniture in the apartment. The coffee table is a future project. My favorite DIY restoration is the gunsmithing table I use as my kitchen workstation and bar. The top was heavily gouged so I poured epoxy to create a smooth surface while preserving the worn character. The legs of the table are cedar, and a clear coat of polyurethane gave it a lovely, warm glow.
How do you make your small space work for you and feel bigger than it really is?
Twelve-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows do a lot of heavy lifting in terms of making my space feel bigger. Because my apartment is in a historical building, I can’t hang things on the walls. This helps reduce visual clutter — or that’s what I’m telling myself. This also allows the fabulous plaster moldings to stand out. To save space I really try to lean into multipurposing items to maximize storage and minimize space requirements. I use a lowboy dresser as a TV stand and for storage ranging from kitchen utensils to paperwork. My step stool also double-dips as an end table.
How does your home reflect you?
All of the furnishings in my apartment are steeped in meaning for me. The print leaning behind my TV is actually an original plot of my small hometown in Iowa. My bed frame is from my grandparent’s wedding set, and my grandma sewed the quilt. The seafoam stool is an old family friend’s, which they used for canning. My ex-husband and I bought the emerald sofa for a space we renovated. My apartment and the furnishings are in effect a beautiful representation of my post-divorce life. I am using fragments of my old life in new ways and in new places to build something different and beautiful.