halfthesky's Profile

I, too, am firmly in the "please, for the love of god, don't paint that beautiful wood" camp with few exceptions... this being one of them!

I love what you did with the design and think it is really crafty and lovely that instead of more paint, you sanded down the dresser for the colouring of the flowers to showcase and pay homage to the wood underneath. Two thumbs way, way up! It would also look really beautiful with a deep burgundy or perhaps pale olive green crushed velvet or satin runner on the top with teardrop beading at either tapered end... but maybe that is more my taste than yours. :-p

I think why so many people hate painted wood is because it is seen as (usually permanently) destroying an otherwise salvageable and/or otherwise beautiful piece of furniture that is of a time and place and craftsmen standard that is hard to find today... and to replace it with some trendy, cheap-looking Ikea-esque abomination that will be out of fashion in a few short years. This is totally the opposite and is exactly the type of situation people SHOULD paint furniture in. I love it. Bravo.

Tell Mr. Boyfriend that when his name is on the lease/mortgage, only then can he start making demands on your personal decor.

As a recovering ex-Christian now atheist, I don't celebrate Xmas. I have no tree and I don't put up Xmas decorations. Just as a Christian doesn't get to celebrate Hanukkah, an atheist shouldn't get to celebrate Xmas (just my personal opinion...). However, that being said, the rest of my family is on the whole still religious (or at least pretend to be) and there would be some serious rifts created if I didn't participate in the yearly giving of gifts... so every year this time I go around in my Scroogey McScroogerson pants and trudge out to the shoppes to keep the family peace. The whole thing leaves a bitter taste in my mouth as it feels like I'm forced to renew a lease on my family every year by participating in rampant consumerism... but I guess that's the price to be paid (no pun intended).

With friends, they all know where I stand and overall they respect it. Most are rather relieved, even! I would much rather have them save their precious pennies and the environment by substituting a gift with just time spent together. We'll go out and have a day spent together catching up and bonding and maybe a movie and a good meal and you know what? I would rather have that than any wrapped gift they could give me.

Lovely! It has a tasteful paired down feel of Art Deco meets Old Hollywood meets Craigslist chic. :-p

I epecially love the desk area and that chair, wow! If it's true that you didn't spend more than $50 on anything, then what a steal!

I'm assuming you can't paint so the only big things I would suggest would be more plants (particularly floral arrangements) and some colourful throw pillows for that couch. Other than that, great place!

Hey, what about that amazing apartment on Ghost? That was so spectacular and gets me every time (the apartment, not the movie, hah).

Hmmm, wow, you really do have limitations there! I don't envy you.

That being said, there are a few things you can do.

I would put the desk right beside the dresser and put the bed where the desk is right now so it is not up against the wall lengthwise but is rather in the same position it is now, except turned around of course and a few feet down.

I would also move the chair and the coffee table thing beside it to the landing in front of the window, with the chair on the left-ish and the table sort of in the middle of just off from the chair as a makeshift ottoman. You could make a really lovely sitting area and I think it would be a lot more calming to sit there and look out than it would be to have the light shining into your eyes in the morning when you're trying to get some sleep.

If it fits, it might be worth looking into to move the bookcase beside the now-moved desk so it goes dresser-desk-bookcase with the bookcase being closest to the window. That way there is a little bit of symmetry and you could make a nice display area for artwork above the desk once you get a bit more money (or even frame an art poster as they're cheap and can do wonders for a room).

Is it possible to fit the microwave and other kitchen miscellany on a shelf on the bookcase? It would free up space and take it away from its close proximity to the bathroom.

And what is that big black thing on top of the dresser? It's very distracting and automatically draws the eye up to it. If you can, move it, or at least stuff it in the dresser or something. Clutter kills a small space and it's never more important to keep clean than in a place like this.

Flowers, plants, and even fake plants are your friends. You're really, really in desperate need of a few splashes of colour here. In the future, look at picking up a few things, even if they're just carnations or fake potted trees. It makes the space more inviting and less sterile.

I second the idea about the bistro set down the road (with a very colourful floral centerpiece) but obviously that's way out of the budget for now. Something to think about in the future...

Last but not least, you need to get rid of any ideas of getting your stuff new. I am a student as well and can tell you that you must learn the hard way that new is not sustainable on a student budget (and in the long term for ecological sustainability, of course). Look for garage/yard sales. Look at online websites and put the word out that you're trying to make your space better but have a small budget. Lots of people will just GIVE you things that they don't need (but only if you branch out of your social network of students as they are more or less in the same boat that you are, financially). You will get much more bang for your buck secondhand than you will new. For example, just last night using Kijiji I snagged an awesome 60's mid-century style coffee table, all wood, and a 7 drawer Mad Men-esque dresser with detachable mirror, again solid wood, all delivered in less than 30mins for $50 Canadian. If I had bought these new or at a dealer in a bricks and mortar store, they would have cost ten times that. Be patient and be persistent. You will find the right deals only if you look for them.

Surf Kijiji, or Craigslist, or whatever the local website of choice is. You will be amazed what you'll find, especially free stuff. See if there is a local freecycle chapter as well!

Best of luck!