apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I've actually seen photos of this apartment on Flickr before - I am definitely a fan!

Beautiful! Looks like the swingin'-est bachelor pad this side of Belltown.

I'm a Tacoma girl, but I would totally visit Seattle friends more often if their places looked like this. ;)

This home looks as if the owner went into an over-priced, overdone furniture store and bought their entire home in one shot.

love the sofa -- what is it?

I think it's fantastic! I especially love the light over the dining table.

This sinks that SS Waverly! Very nice.

that sofa is hot

drool.

OKAY. You have an Eames chaise lounge. WE GET IT. Now what about the kitchen and bathroom?

Love your furniture, but you don't offer anything noteworthy in the way of innovative, creative use of space. Of course with 700 square feet, that isn't really necessary. I voted "cool".

Very nice, but again the picture choices are going to impact my vote negatively.

I am a sucker for the Eames chair and ottoman, but the darn thing appears in 3 out of 5 images. A bit too much methinks. Now my weakness is midcentury modern, so I knew I had t obe careful with this one. My problem with the space is that every piece appears to be falling at around the same height. It's like you have established this relentless verizon line. The living room seems cluttered and overwhelmed, even though I would KILL for any of the pieces you have in there. Just remember, there is a such thing as "too much of a good thing."

It's clean and sleek - and I love the vintage furniture choices mixed with (not too much) new IKEA.

Prouve chairs with a Panton lamp... nice!

lol for the record, I don't talk like that in real life ;)

Would have liked to see the kitchen or bathroom. I really liked what I saw though.

The stuff you like is cool, but the way you have it arranged could use a better eye. Where the tv is looks kind of bunched and low and conspicuous in an unfortunate way; it's natural to see a tv out in the open, but I don't like when it steals focus. I like that wall art over the bed, but it's too high and floats away.

Your leaning art is... bothering me i feel like it NEEDS to go up on the wall.

That cream lounger is so sweet i'd probably drag it into every shot ;)

I'm in love with your planters, did you get them local?
Also, do you have a local source for furniture?

The space is really beautifully done and cohesive but i have to admit 700sqft is plenty for one person.

I've been saving my smallest coolest for the places with really inventive storage etc. Can i give you a coolest medium prize?
So nice to see a seattlite with style, i'm proud to be your "neighboor".

Nothing innovative, but very nicely done nonetheless. Would love to see more of your swanky place.

Thanks for the feedback! ...I don't know if its OK to do this, but here are some more pix: http://www.flickr.com/photos/metalguru/sets/831084/

It was to decide which photos to post since they only give you a few... as far as changing a small space, I tried to accomplish this by making it seem larger with the furniture placement, height, and scale. The entire place was carpeted when I moved in (even the bathroom). I put in the bamboo floors myself, and remodeled the bathroom myself (hopefully you'll get to see it!)

We didn't buy all my pieces in one expensive furniture store... but I assumed that would come up. It's an almost 10 year process of collecting, SAVVY shopping and LUCK!

I don't know who made the sofa. I wish I did... I found it at a Seattle antique mall - Pacific Galleries.

Thanks again!

I really love the bed. Is it vintage or recent design? It would be great to live in your space. I would just move in and head straight for the chair or couch til bedtime.

my favorite so far - I'd seen the pics on flickr before. But I guess I'm just looking at the design/coordination and not as much for it being super tiny and efficient (I'm in a whopping 1k sf ranch with my wife and dogs...) plus I have a weakness for mcm.

The planters are vintage bauer pottery I found at a couple of local antique malls, and a sunday flea market. You can get new ones from hiphaven.com that are fiberglass too.

The bed is ikea.

I agree about the TV. It's a big black-eye that I'm still hoping to find a solution for... but it's totally necessary for playstationing.

I should also clarify there are TWO of us living here.

what a view!

Where did you find the wall sculpture over the bed? I've been looking for something just like it.

Okay TWO, :)

The planters just look so fantastic the legs let the space move and keep the plants from making the room look too hippie.

the wardrobe in the bedroom is AMAZING and i think your re-done bath really shows off the DIY spirit that AT regulars worship.

Agian, beautiful.

voted super-cool before i saw you were linking to extra pictures, which i think should disqualify you for creating an extra advantage over other contestants.

I like it... I love the Lounge chair and I dont mind seeing it in more than one shot....I dont think a space has to be "innovative" to be super cool. The light is wonderful. Good job!

where's the LR rug from?

Nice, but that sure is a lot of brown, beige and cream.

love the dining room. you didn't do anything to maximize living small (storage and such) but I love it so I voted it supercool despite myself.

Love it!

And as far as the peanut gallery of drive-by snivelers, your reply to them was classier than they deserve.

It's very adult. It's small (well, kinda) and cool. Good luck.

Looks straight out of the MCM bible for 30 somethings. It will be popular on this site but aside from having a very good collection of furniture that is currently the "it" style for hipster there is anything that shows how you maximized your already large space or created any unique or personal style.

Give me a sailboat theme any day over bland copycat style.

i agree about the dining room. looks great in that photo. where'd that chandelier come from? i like it a lot in that space.

also agree with the commenter above about _hanging_ the art instead of leaning it. leaving it leaning like that contributes to a cluttered, temporary feel in my opinion. i think it would both settle and open the room if you hung it.

More MCM
Zzzzzzzzzzzz

This is a nice looking place, but quite expansive for "small".

OK, does everyone have that cool Eames chair but me? I hate you all! Just kidd'N. Great Place!

love it. and you know it! ; )

-joel

Where did you get that amazing table?

We've been looking for a great elegant table like that one
but everywhere we look, tables are hardly elegant and always very expensive (1000 )

Anyone with suggestions of solid wood, elegant, expandable (no veneer) tables? Even not expandable, just something that you can sit at that looks relaxing.

A nice blend of colors, styles and textures.

It is usually considered bad form to link to your flicker photos. I don't know that its against the rules officially, but its been complained about a few times already this year and there was a major stink last year.

Thanks KatieD. I didn't realize that... and I guess I wasn't thinking. I can't seem to edit/delete the comment either... ??

I love your leather sofa and most of the furniture and lighting in general. I like your sensibility.

Just want to see more -- kitchen, bathroom, storage, etc.

Somewhere in Seattle, a Damien Hirst print is crying out to be hung...

Seriously though - your taste is impeccable. It's a gorgeous combination of high and low, design and art. I just had to find something to pick on because I'm jealous.

I love that Damien Hirst painting.

I love your whole place. Can I move in?

I shouldn't have, but I looked at your flickr set. Everything else is beautiful.

This is MCM wow, in a very sophisticated, elegant, but also warm way. You're playing with textures and colors in a very subtle way.
And while some of the MCM stuff is greatest hits, some are more obscure and interesting. Great mix of objects.

Stunning! not decorated, but just perfectley placed furnishings

WANT.

I am a fan of the mid-century modern look, but it just seems like there is too much mid-century and not enough modern. Like you literally stepped into the 50's. Maybe some color would spice it up a bit, but I voted cool just because of that dining room pic of the table set and cool ceiling pendant.

very groovy....

Great, and I love the view.

there's way too much brown and tan and wood for my taste. it's drab. i would think that becomes depressing in a grey city like seattle. sorry, i don't see what is "droolable" about this place at all. there are some nice pieces of furniture, but they're all of the same vein. this place needs some diversity to give it any sort of a "wow."

aladywhoknows knows not much. one can not find all these pieces in one store, in one day. this is collecting and hunting and knowledge.....and maybe some money at times. (his money, his choice people).

this is great. well edited. well chosen. well placed. great.

i would, however, hang the hirst.

I also live in Seattle and wish I had a view like that. I do love all of the furniture too. Where do you buy all those great pieces?

-Eleazar
http://www.blogazar.com

Thanks again for all of the feedback!

I've wrestled with whether or not to hang the big Hirst print for a while now. The ceilings in my place are kind of low (I can actually touch them), so I feel like having it low creates a horizon line with the bookcases... and seems to make the ceiling seem taller. Also, it's hiding electrical cords. We'll see... Maybe I'll give hanging it a try.

To answer some more questions:
I got the living room rya rug at a local shop called Chartreuse.

The candelabra over the bed was an amazing find at a now closed local shop called "Patina" in Fremont. I'm in love with that thing!

The dining room table is a Paul McCobb piece that I search for about 2 years for... I had the owner of an also now closed local shop Collective track one down for me. My problem with finding a table was the size. The dining alcove is narrow and I wanted something long an narrow.

The Panton lamp above the table was a super-lucky $ale find I got through the MOMA store.

I've gotten most of my pieces at local vintage and antique shops (most of which have sadly come and gone), ebay, and craigslist... Pacific Galleries has a few really good mid-century dealers. I listed Wright20 as my favorite resource because it's the best for research and collecting inspiration.

As far as the flickr link goes, sorry! That was an error in judgment... and I can't edit/delete the link, so I guess all I can say is don't follow it!

Cheers.

DesignGod

Don't you mean "relentless HORIZON line???" (Verizon being the telecommunications company)

Maybe in between ATing you could brush up on your vocabulary.

:) I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist! It's all in jest, I promise!

Lovely apartment! However, it does seem quite tan all over. Nevertheless I'm going back for a second look!

Very nice... The apartment itself has great bones. A bit too pedigreed for my taste, but I'd still love to see in person.

The vintage sculpture over the bed is just beautiful.

Huh? There's mid-century with very modern mixed in from the pendant lamp over the breakfast (well dining) room table to the inexpensive MALM bed from IKEA. Some of it is cliche' as if it's from a magazine. There's always the classic piece (the Eames chair), some kitsch, a wow piece (the lamp) and a few inexpensive items from IKEA, West Elm, Chiasso, etc. to show that you don't have to have expensive EVERYTHING to make a place look fab.

Kudos to the owner of the place. It's nicely furnished and arranged!

For all of those who complain about MidCentury Modern pieces...there are reasons why the style has persisted for half a century, and not because it's the 'it style'.

However, not really liking the curatorial decisions. Some of the rooms are overly cluttered, and MCM should be done with a little more restraint than I'm seeing here. I voted super-cool because I like where this could go - then I saw the extra link posted and i want to revoke my vote. Extra pics are cheating, plain and simple.

Errr, I don't believe that Hirst "prints" are available. No...those dot paintings are available for purchase if you have an extra many thousand dollars lying around. Leaning it against the wall is just a way of casually suggesting that it's not your "typical" work of Art, that the owner doesn't take collecting too seriously, when I suspect the reverse is true.

Anyway. The apartment is lovely. I find myself wanting more bright color and some greater variety in pieces in shapes. It is so relentlessly mid-century modern that it is virtually monochrome -- aside from the Hirst, it feels like there isn't much wit in this apartment. (It would do well with touches we've seen elsewhere -- like the bunny dishrack, or some bright red or yellow.) Still, it is lovely and beautiful -- your view of the Olympics makes up for any other shortcomings! Thanks for sharing!

Hirst prints _were_ available--EyeStorm anyone?

It's a great apartment, and that couch especially is fantastic.

Hi, this really isn't my bag. Though it appeals to a lot of people here. It kinda reminds me of a showroom. Nice, but not my bag.

I think that it works beautifully AND does, indeed, look modern. The lighting is definitely the 2008 kind and basically I think this looks amazing. Really, folks, 700 sq. feet is really not all that huge of a space for two people to live in.

The fact that it doesn't look all that small means that the furniture choices are well-scaled, and well-chosen, so they didn't really have to bend over backwards to be innovative, per se. But I think they still deserve a lot of credit for basically creating a gorgeous environment that looks very comfortable.

DahliaCactus, healthyhome, le_sacre and anablackburn may be pleased to know we hung the big Hirst print over the weekend.

As I said before, I had reasons for keeping it leaning, but have also been going back-and-forth about hanging it... so, thanks for the nudge.

le_sacre, your comment: "i think it would both settle and open the room..." was spot on. It makes big difference because it also allowed better centering of the media table.

Thanks!

The fist photo on this post is lovely. I want it to be sunset all the time in this apartment.

I feel like there isn't enough room in the seating area. The lounge chair's ottoman and the coffee table feel too squished together.

This should have been a finalist....