This Open DC Apartment Has an Incredibly Cool IKEA Hack
This Open DC Apartment Has an Incredibly Cool IKEA Hack
Journalist Christina Ruffini says she “got really lucky with landlords and neighbors,” when it came to this 900ish-square-foot apartment she’s rented for five years. “I got the apartment right before the pandemic and it was more than my budget, but I thought meh, I’ll stay here for a year and then move somewhere cheaper. NOPE. Never been so lucky to have a balcony ever,” she admits.
The apartment came with a gorgeous balcony, but not a lot of actual walls. It’s the home’s very open floor plan that Christina says has made it a little “tough to figure out how to live, and work, and workout in all one space.”
“When I first moved in, all the furniture kind of faced the same way. But then the pandemic hit and I was here all the time and realized I needed zones,” Christina begins. “I pulled the sofa away from the windows and floated it facing the fireplace (better for TV and now I spend more time watching the birds in the tree outside). I traded in my square table for a round one and created a little breakfast nook with some paint and temporary molding.”
Christina also did some light updates like painting the kitchen cabinets (which she describes as being a “hideous red” before) and finally taking all her art out of storage and creating a large gallery wall in the entryway, to name a couple of projects.
But her best update might just be a brilliant room divider hack. “That wall that divides the dining room and the office did not exist,” she begins. “It was just an open space with an awkward column. If I owned the place, I would have had a steel and glass one installed, but I don’t. So I faked it. It’s an IKEA PAX wardrobe door, plexiglass from IKEA frames, electrical tape, and wood scraps from the hardware store. I love it … just don’t look too close. It’s VERY DIY.”
Shop This Home
BEDROOM
- Bed — West Elm
- Rug — Rugs.com (on sale!)
- End tables — Amazon
- Chair — From a church down the street that was being demolished. It was crazy heavy or I would have saved more than one, but I could barely get it home.
- Candlesticks — Crate and Barrel magical clearance section where I buy all my accessories
- Bedding — Ettitudes sheets and Crate and Barrel blanket
- Mirror — From a friend
- Lights — IKEA
- Art — Made
- Bookcase — IKEA (first piece of furniture I bought for myself when I moved to DC)
- Bedside table accessories — Books and Johnathan Adler pill box
BREAKFAST NOOK
- Table — From her brother
- Art — Goodwill
- Wall — Made by me
- Chair — Amazon
- Bench — Target
Thanks, Christina!
This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
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