My entry in Apartment Therapy's Small Cool Contest 2015:
Posts about decorating ideas and the design process for my apartment:
FLOOR PLAN
Here's a rough floor plan of my apartment. It's the first floor of a lovely, little Victorian house. The labels here are what the rooms were intended to be. I'm actually using the "living room" as my office, the "second bedroom" as my bedroom, the "dining room" as my living room, and the "first bedroom" as a big, empty storage space / guest room right now. The kitchen and bathroom, of course, are used for their typical purposes. ;)
LIVING ROOM BEFORE:
When I moved in, this room was painted a light, sage-like green. I immediately fell in love with the big, bay window. Lovely!
One of the former tenants unfortunately painted the original hardwood floors black. (Who would do that?! I know, I know, painting hardwood floors has trended before. But I could never bring myself to paint original, one-hundred-year-old wood floors! Oh well...)
Through a pair of double pocket doors, the living room leads into a large bedroom, which was painted lavender with giant purple diamonds. (Allegedly, it belonged to a teenage girl... which explains the choice of design and colors.) More on that later.
Here's looking through the other double pocket doors and through to the kitchen. The black floor doesn't look bad (aside from some scuffed/chipping sections that show through to the wood below), but I still cringe at the thought of painting century-old hardwood floors.
LIVING ROOM NOW:
I painted one wall a very dark plum color, and decorated with an orange, turquoise, and plum color scheme. Currently, I've thrown some green in there, too.
The other walls are painted Pale Plum from PPG.
LIVING ROOM POSTS:
FRONT ROOM BEFORE:
This room was in the worst shape. Previous tenants hadn't let my landlord know about water damage on the walls, then right before I moved in the upstairs renters overflowed their bathtub and caused damage to the room's ceiling.
FRONT ROOM FOR A WHILE
(WHEN IT WAS JUST A SPARE, EMPTY ROOM):
I painted the room Siesta Rose from PPG. It sat empty for a long time... furnished by only a side table by the door, Dahlia's cat toys, and the folding screen that hides her litter box.
FRONT ROOM NOW:
Now, the front room functions as my office / writing room / library. The Birth of Venus screen provided the color scheme: coral, creamy white, and bits of sea green and teal, grounded with some gray. There's also a comfy, black, winged chair in the room for reading and cuddling Dahlia, but it's not pictured.
I really love this corner for writing. Turquoise and coral just go so well together, in my humble opinion. :)
FRONT ROOM POSTS:
BATHROOM BEFORE:
I lived with this bathroom for over a year. It was painted a dusty, bland brown. The trim was mismatched and unfinished. The oak vanity was not bad, but boring builder grade.
BATHROOM NOW:
I painted the entire room Seal Skin by Sherwin Williams. It's a very dark, almost-black charcoal that actually makes the teeny-tiny space feel bigger. I painted the trim white and the builder-grade cabinet black -- all using chalk paint.
I really, really love how it turned out. It feels bigger, classier, and more "me."
I especially love how my turquoise mermaid shower curtain pops against the charcoal.
BATHROOM POSTS:
BEDROOM BEFORE:
The room that I now use as my bedroom has undergone several transformations (much like the other bedroom space). Originally, it was painted a buttery yellow. It wasn't bad, but yellow is just one color I can't live with on the walls.
BEDROOM FOR A WHILE:
(WHEN IT WAS THE OFFICE)
Initially, I used it as my office / library. Looking back, I really love how the charcoal and white helped to tone down the bright yellow-green walls, which are painted Pollination by PPG.
I also really loved how the turquoise desk worked with the chartreuse walls.
But because of the floor plan and my two cats needing to be separated (they don't get along), the office got moved around a couple times. This space works best for the bedroom.
BEDROOM NOW:
I'm not sold on whether I really like the bright walls with equally bright bedding. The wall color is there in the quilt along with red, forest green, gold, and white. So it is color coordinated. It just feels like too much color for a bedroom.
But I do really like having the bedroom in this space. It's a tight room, but it's cozy. And it's really only used for sleeping, getting dressed in the morning, and occasionally reading in bed.
I use a vintage screen door to hang necklaces and earrings. I go back and forth about whether I want to downsize to a smaller dresser, since my mid-century one feels soooo humongous in this room. But for now, I'm keeping it because I need the storage and it just barely fits.
BEDROOM POSTS:
(Former) Updated Bedroom Tour
SPARE ROOM BEFORE:
This is the spare room in all its purple diamond glory. It's a nice, big space, and I initially used it as my bedroom.
SPARE ROOM FOR A WHILE:
(WHEN IT WAS THE BEDROOM)
It worked great as a bedroom, but my cats don't get along. Since this room is right off of the living room, I didn't like closing it off to keep Cotton out. (Keeping Cotton out of the bedroom is a must. She sheds sooo much long, white, fluffy cat hair! Too much for the bedroom.)
Looking back, I much prefer my bedroom furniture and decor in a gray room as opposed to green. The gray just provides such a great neutral backdrop to let the floral quilt and red accents really pop. I'm keeping this in mind as I plan on painting the chartreuse room a different color more flattering for the bedroom decor.
The dresser fit in here much better, too!
SPARE ROOM FOR A WHILE:
(WHEN IT WAS AN OFFICE)
When I swapped the bedroom and office, I was quite smitten with the arrangement. Again, I really love this room in the gray room, too. The white and turquoise look great against the gray. (I think I must just really love that gray color, which is Antique Silver from PPG, btw.)
It was also big enough to bring in a twin bed for guests, like occasional visits from out-of-town friends and family. *Sigh* I really loved this room as my office.
I really loved my gallery wall, too!
SPARE ROOM NOW:
[ EMPTY ]
It's empty right now. It's got the twin bed in there for overnight guests. And it's got a lot of boxes and bags as I go through old clutter and try to downsize my belongings. Why is it empty? Well, in the near future... G will be moving in. And I want to make sure he has his own designated space for his computer desk, books, and beer-brewing equipment... just like I have my own office space for writing, reading, and blogging. This room just works best for that purpose. I'll totally be envying his gray walls, though! ;) And I do look forward to transforming this gray room into a man cave / guy office / guest room!
KITCHEN BEFORE:
It's the biggest kitchen I've ever had in an apartment, but it's also the last room I'm finally getting to. I have plans to paint the walls, cabinetry, and that red pantry door... but it's a big space and a big undertaking.
KITCHEN PROGRESS PEEKS:
I do have a nice little nook for making coffee, hot tea, and other warm beverages.
And I've decorated the cute little corner shelves on either side of the window.
Sometimes I have fresh flowers.
And I truly have more glassware than any girl should.
...But that's all for now, folks! I'll be sure to post updates when I get around to decorating and revamping the kitchen this spring/summer!
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