apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Wow! (in a good way!)

Okay, I'll elaborate. Of course I love the green but I really, really love the toenail clipper! That is awesome!

Love the green, the concrete floor and the deer/bird silhouette on the upper wall...

...but major minus points for too much IKEA - There are other places to get furniture, you know...

with such a beautiful livingroom, even better artwork and great decorating taste, it's almost like the bedroom came from another contender's entry. you really should try to bring some of the flair found downstairs up to that room too, and it'd be my perfect dream home. kudos for the canadians this year!

The only things I like are the clock, toenail clipper art, high ceilings and the green. Everything else resembles an Ikea showroom

I think this apartment is cool. I like so much about it. I just don't get the bedspread. It look like it belongs somewhere else.

So what if they have a lot of IKEA pieces, what's the big deal? A lot of times, time, money and and a car big enough to haul a bunch of stuff may sometimes require a large trip to IKEA for major pieces - especially if time is of the essence and research out of the question as a result.

In fact, I like what they did w/ all that IKEA stuff, stylistically, it's more my thing anyway and I love the great, but not overpowering use of the apple green, pairing it with white, while not the color I'd have choosen, it works great.

One thing however, for a bit more flexibility for entertaining, I'd have found a table that can seat four normally, but can expand to seat 6 or 8 and one way to accomplish this is to put the table against say a wall with four chairs around it and when company calls, pull it out and add 2-4 more chairs and voila! a nice table set for a party. There does seem to be room for it but i do think the table they did choose is cool, if on the small side.

Non the less, it's a very cool space.

I hate most greens but I love the selective use of the green in your green/black/white scheme of colour. so you have IKEA? what matters more is you buy what you can afford and what works for your space.

It is a funky design (as was your floorplan!) but just too monochromatic for me, despite the poppy green- lofts run the risk of feeling too big and drafty - I feel that here...

I like it, except it is a bit too much green for my personal preferences. Was wanting the design to incorporate other colors a bit, at least in ancillary other rooms.

this home was the first that made me realize exactly how much ikea is present in the smallest coolest-- not that there's anything wrong with that. I love lofts and this one was no exception.

also-- nice save on the deer head! I'm very jealous. :)

I like the overall design. I'd have loved some other colors or tones. The green is great but how bout a blue or orange or brown or gray? Just seems ultimately a bit cold with only white black and green.

I agree that the bedspread doesn't seem to go with the rest of the place.

The fish tank - the curlicue deer on the side way high up on the wall - so many details that are just great.

Oh and the cuckoo clock. Awesome.

If only the bedspread looked like the one in your great plan.

I love the bold green wall against the concrete and crisp whites. I think you've done a great job in meeting the "small cool" brief... good design, color, and use of space, and personally, I'm quite pleased to see those Ikea pieces put together so well with your personal touches like that fabulous deer cutout high on the living room wall.

Well done and good luck!

Your place is just lovely! I really like the white cuckoo clock and the deer/bird silhouette. I recognize your building from my walks to the dog park... I've always wanted to see inside. So, thank you for the peek =)

I'm another fan of the nail clipper painting and the deer head thingy. And another fan of the entire apartment!

Overall it's a disciplined and beautifully done space. There are only two things I'd change:

1) introduce a complimentary colour - say a turquoise for the backsplash - to stop the green from becoming too much.

2) clear all the crap off the top of the bookcase. If you want to show off your memorabilia, clear out a few cubbies in the bookcase and show them there. Right now they wreck the clean lines and distract from the all-important nail clipper painting!

Small... Cool... Beautiful!

Loved everything but scared by the bed sheet/comforter.

I was all set to love it until I saw the bed. Totally ruined the ride. Even so, it looks like a great place.

The bedspread is like the dad's chair in Frasier.

Why would you put the TV so close to the stove? It just bothers me.

You really do a wonderful job taking visual advantage of the height in the space!

I wish more people would use green in their homes!

As a fellow Vancouverite, I just have to defend their use of IKEA. We just don't have the same variety of design retailers like Americans, and the thrifting and antiquing market just isn't the same like one would find in San Francisco or New York. The biggest places for mid-range furniture (and most readily accessible) here would probably be IKEA, Pier 1, Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware. Oh, and Sears and The Bay. It can be pretty dismal at times unless you have major $$$ to spend in this city.

The predominance of icy white was a bit overwhelming for me - the bright green is effective, but agree with others who suggest some more variety in color.

While the bedroom didn't do that much for me, the rest blew me away - so I had to give this one a Super-Cool vote! Well done Bryan and Stef! I loved it!

<3 <3 <3

too much ikea? i think this is better then alot of the ikea ads i've seem and they have a team of designers working on getting us to buy.

your use of vertical space is admirable. and i love your restricted repetitive palette.

yet again, canada is kicking ass! really well done.

what a cool entry. I love how spacy your loft is, open and airy for such a small space. Well done.

So long as people don't own any poang chairs, there's no such thing as too much Ikea for me.

Don't like the bedspread (the color doesn' t go with the green in your main room), but still Super Cool!

Aside bedspread (like others have mentioned) I love the place. It'd like to live here myself.

wow, your bedspread is gettin' no love from this crowd! ha! i didn't even notice it. what i noticed was all the great artwork!

very nice digs.

Can someone point me to the origin of those table and chairs? Is it the Fusion set from IKEA? I have yet to see that in person and have been wondering what they look like in person ... if so they're a lot prettier than I thought! Kudos for a great home. Super cool!

I really like your loft! There are a couple of things that I would change, if it was my own space, though...I would really love to see some more color, especially something like a red-orange color. Like a grouping of red-orange vases, dishtowels, or other accessories. I do love the green but I think it would really look great with a little bit of contrast.

Also, when I saw the bedroom photo I felt like I was in a different apartment altogether. I think that different bedding would go a long way, though!

Overall, I like it though! Even with all the IKEA I think it's still great!

I really like how the whole place flows. The green, white and black accents as well as the repeat of the bird theme (wall art, clock, lamp shade etc.) really tie the rooms together. I agree with two previous comments...an accent color would be nice and there is way too much on top the book shelf.

As for it being "too much IKEA", I can personally appreciate not only the need for inexpensive (no shipping and saving by assembling it myself!), functional furniture, but also for pieces that I can afford to change when I get tired of them or move without feeling guilty.

The clipper art scares me but that probably just from a bad experience as a child... :-/

Nice job, but I feel compelled to point out how not-small this is.

the bedspread stopped me from voting super cool. it's kind of an eyesore in what is otherwise an apt. that shows a lot of thought.

This looked like what an ad for IKEA should be--I love it all. And I can't believe how much a bedspread affects people's votes!

I think the bedspread OR shams could be fun if they were used with plain shams/bedspread and a plain throw and plain (i.e. solid) accent pillows on top. Maybe pale yellow.

Thanks for the comments! I guess we'll be ditching the bedspread... haha

I like this kind of a lot. And I think that the bedspread is graphic enough on a small human scale that it works to cozify the bed visually, in the context of what otherwise looks like a huge space, since the ceilings are so high.

Meanwhile, there's no "cubic foot" limit, just a square footage limit. Cathedral ceilings aren't this person's fault.

I LOVE the green! What brand and paint color did you use?

Love the green. Ditto on the bedspread. And any guesses on what's being reflected in the TV screen (a la Cheney's sunglasses)?

Very cool place, and I kinda like the bed spread. but maybe something more bold and graphic would be cooler, just sell it on Ebay someone might love its crazy wild 70s style

I love the green color. The plants look great; I like bringing nature indoors. The bedspread is too busy for me but I like the combination of the green and yellow. I could live here.

Wonderful place! I have ceiling envy right now!

PLEASE TELL US THE NAME?BRAND OF THE PAINT !!!!
Everyone including me wants it!!!!!

The paint colour is Benjamin Moore 'Lime Green' 2026-10. BM has a line of low VOC paint called EcoSpec, if you want to specify the paint to be low VOC (in Canada) the spec code for EcoSpec latex interior eggshell finish is 223.
Happy painting!

i really like this room. i live in a small apartment, but there is no ikea in my area...yet...they are building one next spring...but i dont think i will have as much stuff as most small apartments have...but this space is really really nice...

What's with all the fricken green?

Green good. Ikea not so good.

I just think IKEA's furniture is cheap. It will last, like, 5 years or less and then it has to be carted off to the city dump.

Plus, I think shopping at IKEA is beneath me. My taste is too fabulous to be wasted roaming those big aisles looking at fiberboard this and fiberboard that. Next time you want to purchase furniture -- visit a nice antique store. It's the way to go, man and it'll give your place some added heft.

Weasel Dearest is Mr. Dangerous

Cool spot...you've got a great view of the shipyard. Are you just on the edge of Gastown?

where did you get that cuckoo clock????????