Decorating by Room

Name: Ben Kaufman, Founder of Quirky Location: West Chelsea, New York, New York Size: 45,000 square feet Years worked in: 2 years; Rented Quirky’s offices occupy the top floor of a great old industrial building in west Chelsea — a former self-storage site that once housed the famed 1980’s nightclub The Tunnel.

Small, windowless apartment (and house!) bathrooms can sometimes be dark, boring and incredibly uninspiring. Fortunately, there are ways you can add some life and interest to tiny bathrooms, even if they don’t have windows to add light! Here are six things you can do or add to a tiny windowless bathroom that just might help brighten the feel of it. 1.

Some parents share a room with their baby by choice (especially those who choose to co-sleep) and others by necessity if they live in a small home. Perhaps you have a long-term plan to move into a two-bedroom home, but are staying where you are for now. Or, like my family, you’re not quite ready to have your infant share a room with an older child.

A tiny kitchen (in my opinion) is one with a small refrigerator, a sink and a stove, with little to no counter space. I’ve had plenty of tiny kitchens in previous apartments and despite their coziness, I always dreamed of the day I would have something a bit bigger — in case I might want to make two pies for the holidays that year. However, I would give that dream right up for the chance to cook a meal in one of these stylish kitchens.

Bedrooms are a place for resting, for reading, for getting down. And besides a bed and a lamp, there’s nothing else that must go into it. So there are a lot of options for how much or how little you want to incorporate. We’ve gone the route of keeping it simple with no artwork; just dark walls, patterned curtains and a white bed. But there are lots of options for packing style into a small space: 1.

We live hard in living rooms. It’s where we entertain, relax in the evenings, watch TV, and do countless other activities each day. Yet when we get sick of our surroundings and need something different, it’s tough to make big changes in the context of our busy lives and small budgets. That’s when small, cheap tweaks come in handy… Here are eight small ways to switch it up at home, on a budget: 1.

Sometimes, a room just doesn’t quite feel right, but it’s hard to put your finger on the exact reason why. The most beautiful rooms are often perfectly balanced compositions of a number of different elements, and you probably wouldn’t be surprised to know that when one of those elements isn’t quite right, a room might feel a bit “off.

Looking to make a bold impact with your bedroom decor? We showed you unusual items to use as nightstands last week, but the sides of your bed aren’t the only place you can make a visual statement in your bedroom. Why not show off your personality with an unusual headboard, too? We’ve got 12 fun ideas you could DIY today. Top image: Hang a shag rug!

Have you ever come across a cool thrift store furniture find — perhaps a filing cabinet, desk or credenza — that had your style, but also had a lock with keys long since gone? Or have you lost your keys to a piece of furniture in your home? It’s not impossible to restore locking function to vintage and antique furniture finds; here are a few tips on where to start from a locksmith.

What is a nightstand, anyway? Of course we all know what the pieces identified as nightstands at the furniture store look like: little tables, usually with a drawer or shelf. But all a nightstand really is, at its most basic, is a place to put the stuff you may want immediately before you go to bed or right after you get up, so you don’t have to lean over awkwardly and pick up your iPhone from the floor.

Name: Natural Curiosities, an art house/art studio Location: Echo Park, Los Angeles, California Size: 5,200 square feet Years lived in: 2 1/2 years at Jensen Recreation Center’s Bowling Alley Space. How do you imagine your dream office? Lots of light? A historic old building? Lots of hidden nooks and crannies filled with things to discover? Working with a bunch of talented and creative people? Check, check, check and check! Welcome to the wonderful workspace of Natural Curiosities.

Today, I’m sharing some great insider info found in our comments section. Drew wrote: I worked for IKEA for four years—one as a kitchen planner, three as an interior designer. If you buy an IKEA kitchen, specifically the Akurum fitted line that the rest of the world outside the US calls Faktum, you can get a great product. The question is what’s your time worth to you?

Pale pink may not be a common color for the dining room, but I absolutely love it in these inspiration rooms. It’s such a calming and demure color that I can’t imagine not having a relaxing meal in a room so delicate. The pale, peachy hues shown above are subtle, yet unexpected enough to be unique. See below for some colors that can help you get this look. Inspiration Rooms: 1. Yvestown flickr (Licensed under Creative Commons) 2. Kishani Perera for Style Me Pretty 3.

This post is all about gasp-inducing details – elements that stop you in your tracks, take your breath away and, in one fell swoop, transform an ordinary space into an extraordinary one.Some of the details are architectural, and some are the result of dramatic furnishing choices, but each provides an undeniable “wow” in the experience of the room.TOP ROW:1.

Just like suitcases with wheels, recessed power outlets are one of those “I can’t believe it wasn’t around ’til now” inventions. But even if you know they exist, you might not know how to use them. Here are five places around any home, apartment or loft where you should install this space-saving electrical hardware.Recessed outlet hardware has a faceplate that is set deeper into the wall than a regular outlet.

Small spaces are often tricky, and given how much gear goes into the kitchen, it’s undoubtedly one of the most difficult areas to keep compact, functional, and stylish. Here’s some inspiration to help you infuse your tiny kitchen with character and convenience.Obviously the aesthetic possibilities of the kitchen can range just as widely as that of other rooms.

Names: Bri Emery of Design Love Fest, Brian Morrow + Jonathan Lynch of Sharkpig, Steve Pappin of Son Of A Shark Pig, Max Wanger of Max Wanger Photo, Michael Antonia of The Flashdance & Yeah! Rentals and Emma Robertson of EmmaDimeLocation: Atwater Village — Los Angeles, CAWorkspace Type: Loft StudioYears worked in: 1 year When you gather up seven awesome creatives to share an office space, you will surely have a colorful, eclectic, fun atmosphere.

I live in a one bedroom apartment with no pull-out couch, so whenever guests come to stay, either they or I usually end up sleeping on my inflatable air mattress. Due to these adventures, I have collected a list of tips and tricks to make the night more bearable (and perhaps even comfortable) if you’re sleeping on an inflatable.See below for my list, and of course add your own.1. If you haven’t yet purchased an inflatable mattress and are planning to, splurge and get the double.

Name: The Design OfficeLocation: Downtown Providence, Rhode IslandSize: 750 square feetYears occupied: 4.5 — rentedWhile working from home offers many benefits like a short commute and being able to spend all day in pajamas, it can also get a bit lonely.

If you’ve ever been separated from your loved one, or been in a long distance relationship, you know how hard it can be. For me, the worst part is always at night. When the busy-ness of the day recedes and it’s time to settle down and go to sleep – that’s when I miss my sweetheart the worst.

With three kids, I can’t keep a tablecloth clean for more than a few hours, and my adorable Orla Kiely for Target tablecloths are completely stained with various food splatters. I need a tablecloth that can be wiped clean but doesn’t look like a cheap, plastic picnic table cover. The answer to my problem? Laminated cotton!I just read a great article about this wonder fabric over at Oilcloth Addict.

Name: Maegan TintariLocation: Los Angeles, CASize: 12′ x 13′Years lived in: 1 ½ Maegan’s home office started off like many rooms designated for work use: it was thrown together. Back in January 2010, the style+design blogger and her husband moved into a new house, designating a spare room for double duty as both a home office and dressing room.

This project was completed by some regular readers from Seattle: “In March 2010, I came upon the ever-popular Penny Tile floor post on your site. At the time, we were in the process of renovating our 1950s rambler and I was unsuccessful in finding a contractor to complete a concrete overlay (thin-set concrete) design on our master bathroom floor.

Name: Kyle J. Avarell, Erin Berteaux, and Buddha the catLocation: U Street Corridor, Washington DCSize: 594 square feetYears lived in:1 ½ years, rented Down to their beautifully blue-eyed cat’s food dish, Kyle and Erin have brought style and personality to every aspect of their penthouse home. In turn, the modern apartment makes a great backdrop for their collection of locally sourced vintage furniture, strategic Ikea buys, and handmade projects.

It’s not always easy to create a multi-monitor setup with 3 or more screens, but Mitch Haile’s updated attic home office sees your three monitors and raises you two more. Not many people use 5 monitors all at once, but the overall look and feel of his home office accommodates for the wraparound display with some thoughtful planning (if not a little obsessive).

The 1940s were a tumultuous time. It is impossible to understand those years outside of the context of WWII. The war not only defined the decade but from a design perspective, split it virtually in half. During the first half of the decade, new design was halted, as supply shortages and rationing demanded that all available resources — material and otherwise — be directed towards the war effort…Socially, the decade featured a similar split.

After years of perusing FLOR’s catalog and website, I finally bit the bullet and ordered the carpet tiles for my entryway and kitchen. The Problem: I have gone through about five different rugs in my entryway. With one pitiful rug pad and two overly-welcoming dogs that rush the front door every time they hear a noise — I was forever straightening, fixing and flattening the front rug.

Name: GusAge: Still cookin’, expected July 2011Location: Minneapolis, MNRoom Size: 110 sq. feet After seeing Alison and Jeff’s house tour and the playroom they created for their son, Finn, we were thrilled to finally see the big reveal for the nursery Alison created for their new baby (due in July!).

Name: Ave RoseAge: 5 monthsLocation: Santa Monica, CARoom Size: 12′ x 9 1/2′ Leah took a different approach when designing her daughter Ave’s nursery. She designed the space to easily transition into Ave’s toddler years. Leah also wanted to create a nursery that was minimalist and very organized. It is a small space, so it can easily get cluttered.Working on a tight budget, Leah had to make compromises and get creative to make the most out of the design.

Names & Ages: Simon (4) Levi (3) and Josie (7 months) Location: Seattle, WA Room size: 95 square feet This month has been all about Small Spaces at Ohdeedoh and this Room Tour is the perfect example of not letting small spaces deter you from creative possibility. Rebekah and her husband knew they needed to fit their three children into one space (with little sister on the way!) so they made it work.

Names: Jeremiah, Samuel, and Augustine Ages: 6, 4, 2 Location: Texas Awhile back we featured a room that took all of us here at Ohdeedoh by surprise. Jaws were dropping, we were forwarding the link as fast as we could to friends and family — we were flat out amazed. We’ve since gone behind the scenes and today you can see more of this room filled with color, hanging bunk beds and the opportunity for extreme fun!

Name: Darian DarlingLocation: Queens, New YorkSize: 800 square feetYears lived in: 2½ — rented Taking a break from her busy and glamourous entourage duties on Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball tour, lifestyle blogger, makeup artist and nightlife hostess, Darian Darling, graciously gave us a peek into her glittering abode. A direct reflection of her glitzy and engaging personality, Darian’s unique and inspirational home is full of eye-candy in every corner.

Name: Mike of Unplggd & Other Communications and Sadie the cat.Location: Rittenhouse Square — Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaSize: 360 square feetYears lived in: 1.75 years Studio apartments are common in a city like Philadelphia. The thing that sets them apart are the fantastic bare bones of the spaces that studio dwellers are given to work with. Original architectural details are a gem, but when you’ve got a knack for design like Mike does — they hold their weight in gold.

Name: Graham Age: 7 weeks Location: Michigan Room size: 10’x10′ At first glance you might not guess that this creative, colorful space is primarily a mix of Ikea and diy projects, but it’s true. Amy and her husband Andy transformed a guest bedroom into a bright, perky, modern space for their newborn son, Graham, and we’re entranced by the results.

Metal framed beds often get a bad wrap, and not without due cause. Pillows are always slouching through the headboard bars, and metal is certainly no match in comfort with its plush upholstered counterparts. Thankfully there are a few easy ways to work around their flaws or change their look without breaking the bank.

Name: HarperAge: 18 monthsLocation: Gig Harbor, Wa. “Choose things that you love, and it will come together,” says Harper’s mom. And this room certainly has come together- not in a forced, overly planned way, but in an organic way with lots of special touches from mom and dad.

Name: Andrew FlynnLocation: Chandler, ArizonaType: Home office When we saw Andrew Flynn’s amazing home office, we knew that we had to do a tech tour of his place. The great DIY features really set this home office apart from all of the rest. A faux-wall to hide cables and wires, a Mission Control center console to hide and store peripherals, and three floating monitors are what makes this home office quite ingenious.

Name: Chris NguyenLocation: Houston, TexasSize: 500 square feetYears lived in: 2 months There’s big and then there’s Houston BIG. In a city known for embodying the idea of gigantic Texan proportions, Chris Nguyen’s extremely modest sized 500 square foot apartment is an anomaly.

Name: Adam SelwoodLocation: Melbourne, Australia Now here’s inspiration to clean out that basement or attic and make better use of the space. Adam was kind enough to share his work-in-progress renovation, a DIY conversions of a basement once stuffed to the brim with typical “stuff” into a sleek and multi-use home office for both him and his wife.

click for more picsCrafty IntentionsShe painted the space from a harsh purple to Jamaican Sea from Behr, then installed Ikea Lack shelves to hold all her crafty goods including, rhinestones, sequins, little fabric trim, beads, metal and wood accessories, etc. pom poms, tools and glitter.The bottom shelf includes stair-like levels Megan got at Lowes. These allow her to store more small jars in the space.