Small Cool 2011

HOORAY for using thriftstore finds so nicely! Wish I could find a rug like that!

What does the bedroom look like?

The bedroom looks like the one room I haven't gotten around to yet :)

However, if you would like to see part of it, including some Anthropologie look-alike curtains I made for the bedroom follow this link:

http://eviesindependentliving.blogspot.com/2010/12/do-it-yoself-anthropologie-curtains-for.html

the living room is really cute, but I want to see the bedroom and kitchen!

I know, I wish I could go back and add them, I didn't think that through!

I love that pink chair!

Are you couch and pink armchair from the thrift store you found? They are amazing. Are these the original covers?

This is defninitly one of my top favorites in large part because I'm totally in love with your sofa and chairs! Love the style and the colors and pink and green together...so cute and creative. Would love to have seen the kitchen and bedroom though.

@ momnipotent - Thanks! I love that chair too, I already had a pink velvet chair where that one was, but when I saw the shape of THAT pink velvet chair I had to have it!

@Annie-O - keep searching, finding a good rug is worth it!

@hotpaprika - The couch and armchair ARE from thrift stores!! The couch was $42 and the chair was a little bit of a splurge at $75. The chair is the original cover and in really good shape after using a little big of scratch polish on the wood. The couch was recovered by a really good/cheap upholsterer I found through Craigslist, it was about $375 to recover which was my Christmas present from my parents :)

@Tracy333 - Thank you!! I love pink and green together too even though my boyfriend teases me about it! I wish I had known to put in pictures of my kitchen and bedroom...chalk that up to knowing better next time!

love it...so charming!

I like that shade of pink on your living room wall -- really nice!

I hope this doesn't come across as being a creeper, but I think you live in my apartment complex! I may have even complimented you on your curtains when our dogs were sniffing each other :D

@ HomeIdeaResource - thank you! You want to know the best thing about that rug aside from it's design addition to the room...you can spill ANYTHING on it, and you would never know it!

@Kameelah - Thanks!!

@LolaDanger - I debated about going pink, but I have loved it ever since I put it on my walls! It somehow feels more grown up than my pink bedrooms I had growing up.

@ Ohmydarlin - Totally not creeper! I remember you commenting on my curtains! Please drop in and say hey with your dog anytime and please tell me both of your names again! I actually had a similar moment the other day when I saw the "isuwanee" blogger walking past my window and I wrote her to tell her about it. Also, how could you not recognize one of these apartments, they are pretty unique...yes unique is a good word for it!

I love your couch! There's a really similar one sitting in the workshop where I'm taking upholstery class. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a similar one myself.

@Knitsmcgee - great name! And thanks, I spotted the couch on a really busy day at the thrift store and when I saw it I ripped the tag off of it and took it to the register so fast it would have made your head spin...but I don't think I had to, I'm pretty sure I was the only one there who saw the previous fabric with how ratty and scratched it was and actually considered it a treasure!

That pink chair is fabulous!

@Tarabellucci - Thank you, I love it too! Salvation Army...it may be one of my best thrift store finds to date!

You need a TV show!

@Saraed77 - You are the best!

Those are some sweet thrifted pieces. I wish we saw more of the other rooms, but you've still got my vote.

This one is great. Love your blog too!

Very cute apartment! (I honestly think you have a bigger place than we do...) I also wish I could see more of the kitchen and the bedroom, but the finds and style we get to see is very cute.

The pink chair is kind of awesome. Yet another reminder that I need to finish my three chair projects.

So many things to love! If I could vote a million times, I would!

I feel like you're showing us your furniture, not the rooms... and showing only the living room furniture at that.

It's very cute and I like what I see, but since the whole point is to show your home, I wish you had used a wider lens (let us see more than close-ups) and showed the other rooms too—even if they aren't "complete."

Love your sofa and pink chair!

Wow. I saw the before of your coffee table. What a fantastic job! I really like your entry the best so far. You are using substantial, comfortable furniture and your place looks great.

There are no photos of the kitchen, the dining area, the bedroom or the bathroom. You can't succeed in Small Cool with one room, even if that room is as good as this one.

It's a shame, because that sofa is awesome, I like the grouping of the pictures above it, and I like the little bursts of apple green and acid yellow that keep the decor from being too olde worlde.

@Blandwagon (et al who commented on the lack of photos of other rooms) - Thanks for the compliments on the room, I really appreciate it. However, I am as sad as you are that I didn't include the other rooms. I have an awesome kitchen with some chalk paint cabinets, a really cool two tone bathroom, and yes, a bedroom that I haven't gotten around to yet but I have a lot of ideas swirling around for it. Here is how this entry went down. I saw Rashon's entry, he is a fellow thrifter and I follow his blog, so I submitted some photos that I had taken for my blog, on a whim. I had never heard of Small/Cool before (I know, I know so bad of me because this website is awesome!) so I had no idea what I was doing. Two of my photos are fuzzy because I couldn't tell the difference between them and the non fuzzy photos on the small thumbnail, I would totally go back and change that if I had the chance. I would also have had more variety, I just had NO clue. I appreciate you pointing out things that I did well, but trust me when I say that I am kicking myself in the pants for not including photos of other rooms. Maybe next year they will let me make up for my mistake :)

Hands down to all the thrifters it's good to see you guys here, may it inspire lots of people to combine their small budgets, creativity and sense for the treasure hunt to think out of the Ikea box.

@Allegra M - Thanks, I agree with you, I think thrifting is the best way to not only get inexpensive items that challenge your creativity muscle, but the best way to get unique items that can't be found in every shop across America!

Pictures of ALL the other rooms up on my blog.

http://eviesindependentliving.blogspot.com/2011/04/feature-my-other-rooms.html

@nonie - explain?

Glad I looked at the other pictures! It's a sweet place.

Also, it seems you can enter the Small Cool contest in multiple years, so definitely plan for entering again next year! :)

@emmelemm - Thank you! I will DEF. be re-entering next year!

Love this ,but would be good to see bedroom

I see you are not getting votes and it's a shame because your apartment is truly well-laid out and very beautiful.

I love it! Your personality really comes through and it is well-edited. Good demonstration that you don't need to spend a lot to make an impact. Also, thrifting in the South is the bomb! Jealous!

God I love this apartment. Your use of real furniture is to be commended, as are your DIY skills.

I'd like to see this apartment win.

Thanks so much Terry...a win would take a whooooole lotta votes haha!

@Tara from BrooklynTalks - yes thrifting in the south IS the bomb! I would love to visit some vintage stores in NYC though...

By far my favorite apartment. I particularly like the use of real furniture and repurposed, refurbished thrift pieces.

It lives much larger than it is and it looks like a real place where real people live. It does not have a starving student vibe (my apologies to starving students).

It's just brilliant.

Frustrated here because, despite yours being the best apartment, it's not getting the votes. Nonetheless, I believe you should win.

Nice colors here. Love the green sofa.

I agree, nice place, but really need to see more than just the living room to really get a feel for the home.

I can't tell you how envious I am of your couch.

Very charming and I absolutely love your green sofa!