Posted
September 16, 2009 by
deb under
Design Basics Small spaces can seem challenging to design so I’d like to give a few general tips today that might help you expand your small space.
General tips:
- Make your rooms comfortable, yet funtional. Everything should serve a purpose in a small space.
- In addition to funtional, make sure everything has a spot. You may need to focus on the items you really need, and pitch things that you sortof need, or love. A clean and non-cluttered space will always seem larger and open.
- Use color to your advantage. The use of white and cool colors can make a space feel larger than it actually is.
{via Apartment Therapy}
Kitchen:
- If you have a lot of party serving platters, consider using these as artwork somewhere in the home so you aren’t taking up valuable cupboard space.
- Be creative- Use spices as decor, hang your knives on a magnetic wall rack.
- If you have soffits, make sure your cupboards go all the way to the top- as high as possible and make sure they are the same width as the soffit so they blend in and don’t stick out. You may have to get out a step stool to get all the way to the top if you have tall ceilings, but it will be nice storage.
{via Apartment Therapy}
Bedroom:
- If you live in a studio/efficiency, try to separate your bedroom area from the main living area. We promise you will be so much happier. {See the picture above- the bookshelf serves as a divider – and storage!}
- Hopefully you have a closet close by, but if not, you can purchase one. The Hosle from IKEA is a reasonable solution at $79.99. If you have the room for something a little bigger, try the Kullen for $149.00.
- An easy storage solution is found under the bed. The Container Store has great products that will fit right under your bed and make things easily accessible.
Do you live in a small space? If so, how are you using your space to your advantage?
Tags: apartment, bedroom, Kitchen, small spaces
Posted
September 10, 2009 by
deb under
One Fresh Nest One Fresh Nest is a new feature that we’re doing on the site where we highlight a home that is beautiful and inspiring.
Today’s Fresh Nest is Liz’s 800 sq. ft. apartment. Liz is the mother of cute baby Hank and recently from a five bedroom beautiful victorian home in Salt Lake City to a 2 bedroom 800 square foot apartment in San Francisco. She blogs over at Say Yes to Hoboken and has an incredibly cute etsy shop, Baby Hank Vintage. She has a great eye and is a natural at creating a beautiful home on a budget.
photo by Jon Canlas
What is your favorite room in your home & why?
My favorite room changes as things in my life change. When my son was first born, his nursery was my favorite space. It was calm and magical being in there with him as a new mom. Often it’s the bedroom, a comfortable place to relax (and I’m loving how much white is in ours now). Its very bright and lovely. Right now my favorite room is the living room, it’s a gathering place for eating, working, relaxing and playing. It’s versatile and easy to pick up (toys are thrown into baskets under the bench).
When you are designing your space, where do you get your inspiration from?
The internet is an amazing resource of course. Magazines and stores as well. I tend to be pretty thrifty, so often I’ll find a look I like in, say, an old issue of Domino (R.I.P.), and try to create it using cheaper/second hand items I find or possibly something I make.
What is your favorite piece in your home?
It’s usually something I’ve just made. It may not be the prettiest or the nicest, but it makes me feel proud. Right now it’s just a simple pennant banner I made in like 15 minutes just last week for my son’s room.
How did you decide on a color palette for your home (or this specific room)?
My bedroom I really wanted bright and calming, so it’s mostly white with a couple accents and I really love it. I try to be really simple. Pick a piece of color I love and work around it. I’m really into teals and turquoises (always have been) but I have to be careful about too much color/pattern. When we bought that white and black zig zag rug just a month or so ago, I almost had to redesign my color scheme to avoid too much noise.
Share your favorite DIY project in your home. Tell us a little bit about it.
The magnetic chalkboard is still my favorite. For the price and work I did it turned our really nicely and accents really well with the modern furniture in the same room. I found an old vintage mirror (it was like $7), painted the frame white, and painted the mirror with magnetic and then chalkboard paint. Check out the step by step here.
Thanks Liz for sharing your home with us. We love the pennant banner in Hank’s room and are amazed at how beautifully you’ve downsized your living space. Consider your house Fresh Nest approved!
Tags: apartment, pennant, say yes to hoboken
Posted
April 27, 2009 by
deb under
Space Redesigns Don’t forget about the design challenge and your chance to win the Kelli Kit valued at $125! All submissions end this Thursday, April 30th.
Remember Nicole & Tristan’s balcony? They wanted a new design to help store all their bikes, use it for toy storage and garden/grow plants. They also mentioned their son likes to watch the trains go by so they didn’t want too many plants. After talking with Nicole more about the color palette, we decided to brighten it up a little since the space would be outside. Below is my floorplan of the space.
I wanted to create a beautiful balcony that would serve a dual purpose: 1. Storage for outside items & 2. An oasis to garden, visit, and watch the trains go by. Nicole is an avid gardener, very handy and crafty so although many of my recommendations are for products are online, Nicole and Tristan may be able to find a similar item to the ones I suggested, yet at a more reasonable price using freecycle, craigslist, thrift store, and garage sales.
Here is my breakdown of the items I used in the space: 
- Solar Laterns- These are solar powered laterns made out of nylon- no cords or flame needed. They should hang from the top of the balcony to provide light in the evenings, and accent the balcony with some color during the day. They will also provide a buffer for the bikes hanging from the “ceiling”.
- Folding Chairs- I would recommend getting two of these and staining them in a nice warm brown. These are great because they fold up when they aren’t needed, but provide additional seating if you’d like to have an evening hanging outside, enjoying the view.
- DIY Bike Storage- Purchase one 8′- 10′-2×4 and cut it down to two pieces that are 4′-5′ feet in length. Each foot should allow for 1 bike, when they are staggered. Before hanging these boards to the wall, attach some plastic to the wall, using a stapler. This will ensure that the bike tires don’t scuff up the wall. {When you move out, your landlord will be happy}. The only other item you need are some nails and large hooks. Hang the lower board at a sufficient height for the children’s bikes and then hang the top board at a sufficient height for the adult bikes. Viola! You have a inexpensive and practical bike rack. If you want to dress it up a little bit, you can paint the 2×4s. If you want to provide even more of a buffer from the outside world, you can install outside curtains to hide the bikes.
- Rectangle Planters- I know gardening and flowers are important to Nicole & Tristan. I thought these rectangular planters would be perfect if they lined the entire balcony ledge.
- Flagstaff Planter- This should go right next to the bench, between the bench and the bikes. I would plant a tall plant/shrub here to provide another buffer from the bikes from your seating area.
- Storage Bench- This storage bench will allow you to store all your toys and outside goods so they are hidden from everyone to see.
- Bench Cushion- {in Sunbrella Melon} This will dress the bench up a little an add a color pop. It will make the bench more enjoyable to sit on too.
- Pillows- Orange pattern {cover}, Solid Orange, Turquoise pattern {cover}, Solid Turquoise To accent the space, I would buy a few pillows {6-7}. I would put some on the bench and one on each chair when it’s being used.
- 5×9 Rug- This is a foundational piece of the space and will tie everything together. It is a large outdoor rug that will cover much of the balcony floor. It will make the balcony seem larger and tie everything together.
- Shrubs & Plants- I would recommend planting some greenery on the front side of the balcony to dress it up and pull everything together.
Nicole and Tristan I hope you love your balcony redesign and have fun implementing it. It was a lot of fun and I love all the bright colors.
Do you have a space that you need redesigned? Come tell us about it here.
Tags: apartment, balcony, bike, flower, garden, laterns, plants, storage, toy
Posted
April 23, 2009 by
deb under
Space Redesigns Nicole & Tristan submitted their balcony space for a redesign with Fresh Nest. What a perfect time to work outside, right?! They live in an apartment so I will keep that in mind as I’m doing the redesign. Below are their answers to questions that help me redesign their balcony for them.
What are your favorite design store/home décor stores? They can be brick and mortar stores or online stores.
- We don’t really know home decor stores (this is probably evident in our lack of ability to design our house decor). We found a great store called dig a few months ago. They had so much great garden stuff!
What 3 words would you use to describe yourself?
- Portlanders, self-reliant, creative
What is the most important thing you’d like done with the space?
- Bike storage (2 adult bikes, 2 children’s bikes) – needs to be accessible because we like to ride our bikes and Tristan rides to work everyday, outdoor toy storage space, potted plants (lots).
What are the dimensions of your balcony?
- 12 feet by 62 inches with a 42.5 inch partial wall. About 8 feet tall from floor to ceiling.
What are two of your favorite colors?
- Warm browns, blues (nothing too intense)
What are two of your least favorite colors?
- Bright colors – green and yellow especially (although we like warm or subtle versions of these colors – mint, cream…)
Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
- We are excited to see plants growing & go harvest produce out on our balcony! My son likes to see the trains go by (and I like to have the sun come into the house) so we wouldn’t like it to be totally enclosed with plants. Can’t wait to see what you can do! We can hang some things from the “ceiling,” which is the floor of the upstairs balcony.
Be sure to check back Monday to look at the redesign. Do you have ideas that you think would work? Feel free to share them in the comments below.
Tags: apartment, balcony, bikes, plants, redesign
Posted
April 20, 2009 by
erin under
Space Redesigns Remember Surabhi’s Room from last Thursday? We need a few items to add to her bedroom and we’d like to add some more color but need to do it in a non-permanent fashion because she’s currently renting her place.
First off, there’s not too much I’d change with the room layout. With some apartments, there’s only so many layouts and so many walls you can put the bed against. I’d also keep the bedding. It’s modern and casual and will work well with the new design!
1. Overlapping Square headboard from West Elm. This will give us a little bit of visual weight on the wall, without being overbearing. It will also define the wall as a focal point.
2. Lamps for the nightstand from Lamps Plus. The lamps will provide a little more height and the larger scale of these will coordinate with the larger headboard.
3a. Even a new DIY’er can do this project. Paint a few pieces of foam core board. (Found at most office supply stores, Wal-mart, Target, etc.) Then cut out in your desired shape. I used a hexagon above. Use a non-permanent adhesive to adhere to your wall and you’ve got instant color. It’s lightweight and easy to remove when you move. Colors from left to right are: Sherwin Williams SW 6423 Ryegrass, Sherwin Williams SW 6425 Relentless Olive, Sherwin Williams SW 6423 Ryegrass.
3b. Want a little more pattern? Try covering your foam core with this wrapping paper from The Container Store.
4. Emerald Bud Vase from Inside Avenue
5. Jade Green and Brown Ceramic Vase from Inside Avenue.
6. Round Storage Ottoman. Try two or three of these. You can line them up at the end of the bed or use two at the end of the bed, and one by the dresser. They are lightweight and flexible. The will also provide extra storage and a place to sit without taking up lots of room like a huge bench would. You could even turn the storage lid upside down for the tray and use two as a nightstand. I love having pieces that serve more than one purpose!
I had so much fun working on the bedroom! I love a good challenge! Thanks Surabhi for letting me redesign your bedroom!
Tags: apartment, bedroom, green, headboard
