Bia Silveira's Profile

true story: my second apartment was great. everything me+roomie always wanted. and the rent was cheap. the building, not so much. but, what the hell! we were broke college students, the bus stop was across the street, and the building+neighborhood had just the right ammount of fugly to be palatable to a couple of art students.
a few months in, we discovered the why of the low rent: sewer backup in our kitchen. a whole building's worth. enough to fill up the apartment and cascade down the building's staircase. let's just say everything that couldn't be boiled 3-4 times was trashed, which included all our furniture.
yeah.

much better, but the black appliances in such a light environment bother me as well. thought about painting the bottom cabs a darker color? maybe a medium grey in them, working with the concrete, would help with the contrast... and maybe a silvery blue for the walls... i like the blue, just not that saturated. love the beadboarding, stroke of genius.
all around, congrats.

@ gatineauhills i second you! hate pine, it is the worst, cheapest wood there is!
and the hinges are jumping at me too, maybe you could spray paint them to match the hardware, or white... it could only improve.

and artist world wide are at this moment rolling their eyes as once again their hard life's work is compared to mass produced crap and diy. nothing wrong with either, but please do not cheapen their work by comparing it to a 5 minute project or a roll in the printing hay.

but as a 5min project, its pretty easy, looks good and is a good place holder for a future print from etsy (they're not that expensive, and are actually someone's life's work)

@ terry in silver springs
""There is another door visible beside the couch/bed, I assumed that was the door to a washroom."

On the plans, that appears to be a small closet."

how, in those plans, do you surmise a closet from that door? they do teach architectural drawing, you know?

another thing i don't understand is the american need for sq footage. i have lived my entire 28 years in places not over 90m², with a full family of 3-5 people, and we never complained. I've never had a walk-in closet, never had a closet for that matter. we have wardrobes, with 3 to 5 doors, depending on the space available.
we have one living room, one kitchen, one bathroom. we sometimes share bedrooms. a luxury is having a utility room with enough space for a washing machine, and maybe a tiny balcony.
and we have never lacked for space. can someone please explain to me this compulsion for (wasted) space? please? because i cannot understand it. and the fever is starting to catch here, which is worse.
ps i live in brazil, have lived in spain. and not for a trillion dollars would i live in the US if some of the stuff i see around the web is a portrait of said country. sorry.

like the bed location as well. makes much more sense than losing all that available space just for one function, and sleep at that. it's not like you will enjoy the art while you sleep ;) love the window shelves, always wanted to live in a place with deep windows to do that.
fave!

basically, make sure you are near metro, grocery, pharmacy, bank and post. all else is a short subway ride away.
check for mold/mould (? - english is not my first language fyi) and excesive leftover grease on the walls, and that you can walk around the kitchen (we had standing room only, one person at a time. and i wont even start on the state of the kitchen before i wipped up the elbow grease).
make sure the bathroom is aired and you have plenty of sun exposure (those were actual concerns in my ap).
be prepared for unexpected rain showers. dont take long baths/showers, as water is pretty pricey.
ah, and try for a place with washer (dryers werent common, we used a line outside the window) and with central gas, as finding gas tanks is a chore.
now for the neighborhoods.
well, casteldefells is very nice, very suburban, and about 30mins from downtown by train (i might be off by 10mins, been a while).
i lived in sant andreu, which is a cheap, very close knit catalan comunity, lots of families, and they (used to) insist on using catalan everywhere, so if you can't do at least spanish, i'd stay away.
usually, the recommendation was "stay away from the yellow line of metro", as that has (statistically) the worst neighborhoods.
eixample is heaven, but expensive.
near camp nou/ub campus is/was a party/hooker zone.
around the ramblas/barrio gotico (the gothic part of town, medieval - litteraly) is usually student space, lots of partying and noise. and a bit dangerous sometimes.
up in the mountain is more exclusive (ie expensive).
barceloneta is (was) the hub of the bohemian/artistic/gay comunity.
(boy is this reply long!)
les corts (the metro station and surrounding area) is nice, not that expensive, and has great views. the stores are farther appart tho. everything is. it is more spacious, planned, very modern (think le corbusier), less haphazard then most of town.
the hospital sant pau/sagrada familia area is nice to live in, maybe expensive tho.
those are the ones i know more about.
and try to stay away from the parc guell area, as those stairs will kill you.
hope this helps. let us know where you end up!

Wow, I lived in a crappy apartment in Sant Andreu for 4 years there, and I gotta say, compared to you I was lucky!
First off, clean the hell out of that grout - yuck! If by the time you cleaned all you can, it is still gross, replace it. Just the grout won't be a problem with the landlord, and it will make a huge difference (walls and floor).
I second amy's suggestion of bold appliances and accessories.
Paint the wall/ceiling on the kitchen, something complementary, or maybe bright white to bring out the white in the tile. Also, maybe switch light plates, to bright white. You can always save the original ones and put them back in place when you leave. And get rid of that towel holder, it makes the kitchen look even more greased.
Maybe a good scrubbing on that hood?
For the bathroom, I really don't know. Maybe a colorful chandelier, with the colors picked up by the curtain/accessories/linen?
Just consider this: with BCN apartments, you are in luck to have such a huge kitchen (ours fit one person only!)

Is the fireplace painted black or a dark wood? I can't tell from the photo.
I think your current furniture definitely works in the space, if you like contrasts. With that in mind, I would go with a grayish-brown or a brownish-gray for the walls and trim (matte for walls and satin for trim - just a tiny contrast, a detail really) and pick up the stone/tile (?) on the fireplace with the bedding/window treatment. Also, some pillows for the window seat, and maybe pendant lights for side lamps.
If you are willing to go bold, maybe use your current chandelier as one of the side lamps, and a modern-ish pendant for the other side of the bed - again, contrasts, since your furniture is definitely modern and the fireplace is more of a crafstman (? I can't really tell from the photo). But keeping them balanced through size, color, height (at least one, so there is balance).
Also, I'd pick the contrast concept with the bed linens, contrasting materials there (a crochet/hand knit throw over a satin/silkish spread, linen pillow covers, etc).
That's what I would do if I were lucky enough to find a place like that, and have that gorgeous furniture. Hope it helps, and congrats on the new place.

looks great lauren! those can last a few years longer, or tide you over till you guys find the perfect chairs.