apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I *must* know the colour of your kitchen walls. I love it.

I could so live here. It feels so restive and peaceful. I love the transom windows between the rooms and the use of your space/storage as decor.

I'm moving from Dallas, a renter's market, to Austin, and having to downsize considerably from an enormous two-bedroom, thanks for the inspirations!

wow...love what you've done with your storage...beautiful.

you're library is scorchingly hot. i love the sets. really gorgeously displayed books always do it for me.

Hey, haven't I see your pad on MySpace? Didn't you promise me some cheeky MySpace backgrounds? WEll..... Where are they?

like what you've done with your space. it is serene. Like the touches of red against the muted white and grey colors. are you always this organised?

you and the space are both Coolest contenders

LOVE it when I want to vote Instafinalist from reading the bit before the jump...and then still want to vote that way when I've seen the rest of the entry

you've got a nice balance of personal Stuff and well chosen design bits

thanks for a breath of fresh air

I love the color of the bedroom walls. What is it please????

I really like the collections display. Very playful and free! Not a lot of things out in these Apts. Nice to see something different!

Rock on!

TOYS! I have to vote Insta-Finalist for someone who has dealt effectively with the toy-display issue.

Love the line of library stools under the bookshelves. Love the way the kitchen storage becomes accent colors for the kitchen. This is high on my want-to-visit list.

*stalker moment* You've just given me huge insight into how to portray the hero of my book-in-progress (not the real estate one, but its sequel) as romantic without violating his basic nature as an abstract thinker who needs his own space, peace, and order.

Finally, someone who owns stuff and collects something.

I have a hallway shaped like a lightening bolt and using it for a library would be a nice idea.

You also get extra points because I saw a plant in your house.

Airy and clean, yet whimsical. LOVE it.

Great!

Love it.

Hurray, for leaving your figurines out. I'm into animation and I'm trying to come up with a neat way to display my plastic characters and vehicles. Does anyone have suggestions?

I love the graphic display of stuff....it's like being minimal without being minimal. Everything is intentional, which I love...

Can you still win if you did all that work renovating a rental :-)

How gorgeous! I love that you actually appear to live there -- with a plant, and a collection, and some belongings! Fantastic.

love this. i've been really into pale color schemes lately, and this is particularly well done.

Austin represents! This place is awesome. The grey in the kitchen is somehow a surprise, it looks great. The shelving you're using to display the toys are perfect, weightless. Are you in a bungalow that's been turned into a duplex? Do you have much outdoor space to use?

Lovely! A few questions:

*What is the paint color in your kitchen?
*Where did you purchase your containers used in the kitchen?
*Can you tell me where you found those display shelves for your collection?

Thank you.

Beautiful. Fresh. Organized. Personality. Excellent library in entry. Love it!

Holly

The series of 3 step stools put a smile on my face. Nice place.

Your place is awesome!! I totally dig your style..
One question. I noticied you only have two chairs in your "tv room"....do you stretch out on that fluffy carpet to watch TV comfortably??

my FAVORITE so far. awesome! you actually have stuff, and seem to live there, and yet it's all so neat without feeling cold. perfect.

I like your apartment VERY much.

Especially, the Area in Sky bed linens (which I'm about to pop for myself), though the bed is lacking form and could use a headboard of solid grey or khaki fabric. I'm not wild about the chair in the kitchen, but perhaps it looks better in a reverse angle (or it does double duty with your computer desk). Hope to see more photos in the finals.

Very well done.

Unlike pb, I'm not necessarily drawn to plants, however I've recently displayed most of my books at home and am finding myself drawn to entries here that feature books....

beeyuutifool

I love how it looks like some one does something besides sleeping in their place, like cook/eat or read.

I'm super glad your books are not arranged by color. This is popping up as advice in a lot of places and I really hate the concept on many levels.

The similiarities between your cookware and step stool choices and mine doesn't hurt either!

Goddamit, I was stuck on loving Jenny and Clove's and being bitter if they didn't win.

regards,
trillium

BRAVO
BRAVO
BRAVO!

As you know, I greatly admire what you've done with your apartment. Obviously, lots of other people love it too, but I got to see the before and after transformation so maybe I appreciate it even more.

You put so much hard work and creative talent into this and I'm happy to see that you are showing it to others. I've always thought you have the coolest apartment so I hope you win!

The pictures here are great, although it would be nice to see some close-ups of your bathroom since there are so many unique things in there from the ceiling to the floor and everything in between - sink, shelves, bath curtain, mirror and lighting - show it all!

-AM

As someone who has agonized over some rather non-aesthetically pleasing a/c units that I've had to live with in past apartments (now I have central- thank scrod), your custom a/c covers rock my world. Did you make them?

That and your toy collections make you a definite insta-finalist for me. And you made me delurk!

tonka truck collection? Okay THAT creative and unique display, along with your unbelievable kitchen and bath, puts you in the WINNING-it-all category for me.

Great job, "love what you've done with the place!!!"

WOOT! Texas represents! love your place. i'm going to steal your shelving idea since we have so many collectibles around our place.

This is a great use of space, its functional and yet beautiful. The kitchen is really wonderful and looks like a blast to be in the space you dont feel cramped at all, good job.

Extra points for most creative use of Thomas the Tank Engine! :-)

Are those three Roombas in a row under your bookshelves?!

Love the look and especially like the open feeling of the space.

Coulda been a contender, except for the book shelves, especially in contrast to the rest of the apartment, they really stand out like a sore, utilitarian thumb.

You've worked wonders with the AC cover, and have flashes of brilliance with the toy and kitchen displays, hopefully, the bookshelves will be your next project.

THIS, Ladies and Gentlemen, is what a genius does to disply a collection. Yes, it's "stuff". No, it's not "clutter". It is wonderful. Thanks for sharing this reeeeeally nice place.

nice!

Something about the combination of the collectible toys and the extreme sense of order makes this entry look vaguely autistic. But it's definitely original.

I love your place. Glad to see other people who appreciate the difference between clutter and collections you love displayed well. Also agree with your comment on music inspiring different spaces. And again what paint was used in the kitchen - its great.

This is a great place, but I'd spiff up the bedroom a little.

Off-topic, but do ingredients/spices keep well in those canisters? I like the ones from IKEA (Burken?) and love how they're displayed here, but I heard it's not that great for the food unless they're airtight.

I mean the bed, like Doug said.

Thanks to everyone for their great and flattering comments. I must say, however, that I am very humbled by many of the other entries in the competition. There are just too many cool placesÂ…but luckily, I can steal a few ideas from the other entrants for future renovations!

HereÂ’s some info that may be of use to AT fans:

Firstly:
AC covers – yes, custom designed and made in galv sheet metal. The curly industrial cord was also made from various industrial parts.

AC covers manufactured by C’NC Fabricators of Tyler, Texas (my hometown) very reasonably priced for custom work – Contact Vance at: +1 (800) 668-1691, website: http://www.fannincreekcnc.com/fannincreekweb/docs/

You might want to consider using a heavy, dense plastic instead of metal. Condensation can be a problem with the covers when the AC is cranked up and on for more than 4 hours. In my instance, the AC is also the heating unit and there are no problems when it is used in that capacity.

The covers pivot up for easy access to controls and to fully prop open.

Apt Colors: I will have to go to home depot to get the exact color Behr paint for you. I keep extra for all the rooms but the labels have faded. I will go and ask them to give me the mix that I can post here.

Entry/library flooring: These are those cheap foam rubber interlocking flooring tiles that used to be available from Home Depot in packs of 5 for about $19.95. My luck – when I started I didn’t have enough and HD stopped selling them! (Curse you HD!!!) So I found them online at: www.greatmats.com. Note:
1)you won’t see the seams – the floors look continuous
2)they give a great cushy feel that people love
3)they are easy to replace and clean; easy to cut and fit any shape room
4)they insulate from the cold

Bedroom shelves: I shopped around and think I got a good price on these commercial grade fixtures at www.matchdisplay.com. They are in Montreal. The website can be a bit difficult to navigate but itÂ’s worth it.
Contact Michel Henry at: mhenry@matchdisplay.com about your order.

Bedroom rug: I actually had difficulty finding one of these but stumbled upon a great place: Funky Rugs in the UK - www.funkyrugs.co.uk. They ship worldwide. Worth it.

Entry/library shelf: This was custom made using steel and glass tile. The wall brackets are cut from I-beam sections and weigh about 30 lbs each. They are welded to flat plates of different sizes to give an art deco effect (canÂ’t see in photo unfortunately).

Steel from: Westbrook Metals, Austin – http://metals4u.com/catalog.html

Mfg by: Spillar Hitch, Austin – www.spillarhitches.com
Glass Tile by Oceanside Tile – http://www.glasstile.com/index.htm

Kitchen Containers: These are classic vacuum seal jars from the Container Store. There are slight variations available at many outlets.

Bathroom: Lots of details here – I totally rebuilt it. The floor is a deep blue pirelli rubber with dot pattern. The Mirror mount was custom made of stainless steel and includes a punched metal trough at the top to hide the rail for the goose neck halogen lights. The ceiling has a 6” furr down with curves patterned after 50s fabric designs/Corbusier paintings of the 30s. FYI…if you haven’t tried, it is a bitch to do radiuses under a foot in drywall…even using wetted quarter inch drywall.

Phaerus, your comment about the library shelves is spot on. The plan is to cut grooves in the drywall, sink the shelf standards and paint them the silver wall color. Then get the titanium finish brackets so that the shelf supports “disappear” as much as possible to leave the horizontal of the shelves and the books “floating.”

One of the greatest things about this place: Underneath all drywall is tongue and groove paneling. You can hang anything anywhere and never worry about the support.

Another great thing: after a Texas thunderstorm, I found a dime from 1897 in my backyard!

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!

ditto for the kitchen color and the sense of ease you create, LOVE your toys and displays!!

No doubt that this is as wonderful as the photos show on a sunny day as well as an overcast rainy day and probably equally dramatic at night--a definite acheivement for any interior or any scale or budget.

Should eliminate encroaching, lingering litost for the fifty hundred years.

Great Design!!!

Awesome toy display. Fantastic!!!

Awesome! You apartment is very cool. Great work with little money, it can be done.

The only thing I'd changed other than the already mentioned aesthetics of the bookshelves is the big blank space over your bed! I'd frame lots of photos of art, friends and family, then hang them salon-style in an almost Mondrian-esque pattern. Something off kilter yet symmetrical to echo the color blocks on your bed covers. I'd take the framed pictures high up the wall, but probably not higher than the door frame.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A17986-2004Apr16?language=printer

Very creative use of kitchen space.

Hi David,
Really love the contemporary look of your home , the open plan living space is fantastic.

All the team here in the Uk at hhtp://www.funkyrugs.co.uk are now proud to be a part of your soon to be award winning apartment.

All the best for the future, Funkyrugs.

Ironically, as I live in SF (and I'm sure NYC folks can empathize), I have to say - that apartment is huge! The luxury! ;-)

Seriously, nice place.

I love this!

OK....
for all you paint hogs...here are some formulas since I don't have the exact names:
all from Home Depot

bathroom green

Behr
premium plus int/ext hi-gloss
ultra pure white base (8050)(gallon)
colorant 0Z 48 96
B lamp black 0 4 0
C yellow oxic 0 40 0
D thalo green 0 4 0

bathroom blue

Behr
premium plus int/ext hi-gloss
accent base (8600)(gallon)
colorant 0Z 48 96
B lamp black 0 36 1
D thalo green 0 20 1
E thalo blue 1 35 0

kitchen blue

Behr
premium plus int/ext hi-gloss
deep base (8300)(gallon)
colorant 0Z 48 96
B lamp black 4 1 0
E thalo blue 5 19 0
KX white 1 16 1
R exterior re 1 12 0

Hope that helps!

Give it up for the LIVE MUSIC CAPITAL of the World

I miss Austin. I miss Hyde Park and my old apt. Can I crash on your library floor and weep bitter sentimental tears then go eat bbq tofu at Mother's Cafe?

I don't miss the heat, but this apt. looks so cool and calm I almost forgot about it. Good luck to you!

This one is a winner.

Hey David,

i'm looking through these again & somehow I missed yours as they were being posted. we'd love to talk to you about possibly featuring your space on HGTV's "Small Space, Big Style". And not just because you mentioned two of my favorite songs in your entry ;)

For more info email us at: smallspaces@brainbox.tv
thanks!
sage.

where did you get your perelli tile flooring in austin and who installed it ?