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Chrissy's Feeling of Expansiveness

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Name:

Chrissy

Location:

Washington, Washington D.C.

Division:

Tiny

Square Feet:

595

What I Love About My Home


Our favorite feature by far is the beautiful light that comes from the exposed brick wall of west-facing windows. The apartment is washed with light all day; as the light changes, so does the atmosphere. The stained concrete floor is a close second. Also, our location can't be beat! In the heart of DC, we're blocks from restaurants, museums, theaters, and public transportation-- we can even walk to work!

Biggest Challenge in Furnishing My Home


The biggest challenge was creating a feeling of expansiveness. When we first saw the apartment (furnished exclusively with an overstuffed couch, an old mattress leaning against a wall, and a dog crate) it looked and felt incredibly small. We wanted a multi-functional space that felt airy and not as small as it is so that we could live here for a long time. Our solution was to maintain a feeling of openness by keeping the furniture in the living area at the same height, which allows the eye to travel through the space uninterrupted. We also limited the color palette of the furniture, letting most of the color come from our art, which is hung on the end walls as focal points. It has been about three years since we moved in: we've thrown dinner parties for six and cocktails parties for 46, hosted house guests for weeks, started a small business, and made lots of art without ever feeling limited by the size of our apartment.

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Comments (16)

Very nicely done. Love the colors and the art that makes the space really pop. The windows and brick wall...my favorite. :)

posted by Tracy333 on April 14, 2011 at 12:16pm
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I love most the high table for the dining area, that lets you look out over the city.

posted by spaj from DC on April 14, 2011 at 1:46pm
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Love the metal looking door and brick walls!

posted by ModHomekeeper on April 14, 2011 at 2:38pm
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Love the Duvet!

posted by theresaann on April 14, 2011 at 4:38pm
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I live in DC and I'm oh so jealous right now. LOVE everything about this place, especially the sliding door, brick wall and exposed ceiling. and oooohh I just realized you have a walk-in closet. Oh my.

posted by kateln on April 14, 2011 at 4:40pm
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Beautiful! I love all the wood and warm colors. Very inviting. How did you manage to host house guests?

posted by Briony on April 14, 2011 at 4:51pm
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Thanks for the great feedback! Briony, guests can choose from our couch (which is around 7 feet long and very comforatable) or a queen sized air mattress. When we use the mattress we shift the dining table to be more of a kitchen island and create a guest nook in the far corner. The seperation gives us all a little more privacy, and all elements of the space are still functional. It helps that most of our house guests are also dear friends or family (and coffee drinkers who don't mind the sound of coffee grinding in the early monring on occassion;-).

posted by CKWdesign on April 14, 2011 at 5:01pm
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I love the waterfall bedroom set, especially the chest. My grandmother had one at her house and I always loved the look. It looks vintage and yet modern in a nice clean way.

posted by symphsation on April 14, 2011 at 5:25pm
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Thanks so much symphsation! The bedroom set was from J's aunt; she had collected the set over the years and had it refinished for us as an engagement gift!

posted by CKWdesign on April 14, 2011 at 5:44pm
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Love the place. Where's the black leather chair in the living room from? Desperately trying to find something similar for our place. Thanks!

posted by BrunchBird on April 14, 2011 at 10:24pm
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The bedroom furniture and style are unexpected for a loft-style apartment, but very lovely.

I also like the combination of warm wood and cool stainless steel elsewhere in the apartment.

posted by Blandwagon on April 14, 2011 at 10:54pm
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BrunchBird, that is an Eames chair that pops up a lot on Apartment Therapy... and which I recently noticed Frasier has in his apartment too, haha.

posted by Katy did. on April 14, 2011 at 10:58pm
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Hi BrunchBird, it is an Eamesish lounge chair that we found on Craigs List for $100! This chair was an original knock off made by Scan in the late 1970s. When we got it some of the leather was torn and the wooden part of the seat was busted through; nothing that a leather repair kit, a piece of MDF, an electric drill, and some elbow grease couldn't cure. It is really great to lounge in!

posted by CKWdesign on April 15, 2011 at 10:01am
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I love this apartment as much as I love these girls!! Can't wait to be a guest someday!

posted by stbjenny on April 15, 2011 at 6:30pm
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This is definitely one of my favorites. It has a genuine home with class feel to it. Great job!!!

posted by Anadryl on April 17, 2011 at 9:44am
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Great art.

posted by House Voyeur on April 17, 2011 at 11:48pm
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