apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Shame we didn't see this white brick fireplace in any of the photos!

i love the bed curtain area, and the very cute kitchen!!! i'm not into the bathroom's blue and gold, nor the living room wall color, but the place looks cute!

funky and fresh-fearless in the color department.

are those ikea's alvine flor pillows on your bed? i really like them - they're so pretty!

Really like the bedroom!

the bedroom is gorgeous

Your red bedding is GORGEOUS. And, I like the way you've worked around brass fittings in the bathroom.

The bedroom in my favorite, the pairing of the viney curtains and pillows are fun to see.

Did you wallpaper your kitchen appliances? So curious...

Floorplan? I like it, but the brown couch and brown towels seem like hiccups in the overall scheme.

Floor plan, please!

You are a crafty mo-fo!

Yes, enlighten us on the dishwasher/fridge wallpapering.

Ditto on the bed pillow love, where? Also, is there actually a window behind the bed or are those curtians just for fun?

I really like the use of tray tables for bedsides, keeps it light.

So, i think the greco? plate decor in the bathroom is a decent way to handle all that brass you can't remove but how are you getting away with the color you have incorporated into your rental? Maybe some greek key and rope accents in the bathroom?

I love the way you made the gold work in the bathroom. Sometimes it's best just to run with it! The fabric above the bed is great!

Hi, it's me Gretchen.

I'm here to answer your questions...

I submitted a floor plan and the white brick fireplace, but have no idea why it wasn't uploaded?

The Kitchen appliances are covered in contact paper to cover the stained ugliness of apartment renting.

The bathroom was already dated and ugly...so I just played it up into something that is fun and funky (my husband loves it, who knows:)

For the bedroom I bought the curtains at Ikea and pillows at pottery barn ( no window behind, just for fun).

We are allowed to paint in our apartment as long as we prime it white when we move out.

As for being a newlywed it's hard to tell the man you love, that you also love his college furniture!!!

Thanks for the comments! Cheers!

I really like how you've worked with what you've got to create a great place. I hope you win, just to see what you'd do with the prizes!

Wow, you used a lot from Ikea, and it looks cute!

Not my taste but I had to vote supercool - creative and resourceful. Contact paper on the appliances is such an interesting idea.

I will join in the praise of the bedroom - the curtains and bedding look really lovely together. And finding out that there are no actual windows there makes me love it even more - an inspired idea!

You nailed the botanical design motif. The red cabinet doors in the kitchen are very cute. I'm not that enthused about the contact paper, but it is understandable considering the alternative. I like it.

i love the apartment, but the one thing that jars me is the color of the couch/wall/flowered art color combo. it seems so dreary for such a bright, cute, colorful apartment. maybe if the sofa was off white, or covered with a lighter colored throw things would gel better.

waaaaaay too 70s for me. and the color scheme from room-to-room seems disconnected.
i agree that the bedroom is the highlight.

Ikea...

I don't know if I should hate you for scoring rent-controlled apartment in Santa Monica or applaud you for your creativity. I'm definitely stealing the bathroom and kitchen ideas. Super cool!

i love how she worked with the ugly seventies stuff and made it cute. it's a rental! you can't change the brass shower edging or carpets when you rent. you've gotta make the best of what you've got.

Bit too much Ikea going on, but everything else is super cool :)

I adore the bedroom curtains--I thought they were vintage. I have some of those same trays but they have turqouise accents.

I like the bedroom with the red bedding and the curtains help make it pop out.

Love the bedroom! Great mix of colors and pattersn.

I find the living room color scheme just a bit off. I think the caramel color is making the room look a little tired somehow, but I think that could be fixed easily with a few cheerful cushions and different artwork to brighten the mix up a bit.

I like the funky contact paper solution to ugly appliances. It makes the kitchen look fun and welcoming.

I love the bedroom, which is spectacular, and the bathroom is great too, but the living room doesn't work--too much brown, and that is coming from a woman who loves brown. The pictures of flowers up on the wall above the couch look particularly droopy, brown, and tired. And while the couch is lovely, nearly everything else in the living room has a real anonymous feel to it, as if it's a nice furnished to rent place.

I voted not-my-bag for a couple of reasons.

First - its a small space, but not very cool. The color schemes don't flow from room to room, which creates jarring disjoints when we move from space to space. The bedroom is the perfect example of cooridinating and contrasting colors, with the green fabrics with little bits of red tying into the bed - while the rest of the space is fresh and neutral.

Livingroom - waaaay to much brown/orange/red. It feels hot and stuffy. Bring in a lot more whites like you have over in the corner of the photo, and some fresh light blues and greens.

Bathroom - horrid color, but, my past apartments have had a sage & pink bathroom, a fuscia and orange bathroom, and currently a bathroom tiled floor, walls, and ceiling, in sunflower yellow. You are forgiven for the color - but really, the brass plates dont help at all.

i really like the colors in the bedroom, but the living room is too dark for my tastes...especially if you live near the beach in CA, it should be brighter! :)

Good effort.
But I think Modfan said it all best.

This is not my bag.

I like it, especially your bedroom! Where did you get your couch, if you don't mind sharing?