SashaG's Profile

This is amazing. Seriously, seriously amazing. I really love how all the different elements come together, including the finishing touches of the table and art. Smart move to hold off on the handles -- if you know you haven't found something you love just yet, no need to drill holes in the drawer and cabinet fronts just for the sake of having something in place. Given how beautiful and personal the rest of the space looks, you're sure to find something that works soon enough (or fall in love with those Ikea handles, who knows?!).

@akay, I totally agree. (It's the same with people who try to disguise appliances in their kitchen. Guess what, a kitchen is *supposed* to have a fridge!) This house looks lovely and the fireplace is gorgeous. It wouldn't be the end of the world -- nor would it detract from the decor -- to have the TV placed somewhere else in the room where it could be more easily (and comfortably) viewed.

Skipping over the question of whether or not these gifts are offensive or just outright tacky (or both), this quality of this post is just plain poor. Everything links to the same site. Did the writer just go to etsy.com and type 'lesbian' in the search field? Geez, talk about lazy writing.

This is great! I love the after color and just updating to this color would have been an improvement. The paneling effect, though, takes it from just an improvement to a real design. Really, really great.

Lorelski, I appreciate your point that "kids these days" don't need to live inside safety bubbles and, you're right, a splinter won't kill anyone. That said, I don't think "safe enough" is high enough standard. A box that is meant to hold nails, and not a human, is unlikely to have the structural integrity to keep someone safe, especially when it appears to use bent-back nails as a key piece of the construction. And, lastly, why not save yourself and your child the trauma of scraps and splinters and not just line the openings with some rubber or something.

I say this coming as someone who grew up with -- and who currently has -- a tire swing in the back yard. I'm not at all opposed to DIY kids projects; I just think this one could use a little refining.

@cm -- under no circumstances should you post the picture of your neighbor's house. First, think of protecting your own privacy in an online forum. Second, consider being respectful of your neighbor's (unless we all want to assume that your neighbor is a contributor to a website in which he shares stories about his passive aggressive neighbors whi contribute to design blogs). Third, AT is supposed to be, as far as I understood it, a fairly professional blog; adding the real photo -- especially when using the excuse of "oh, he probably won't read this anyway," which has of course never back fired on anyone, ever -- seemly completely unprofessional. To add better context to the article, a general color swatch or a stock photo would much better serve your cause.

I agree with pretty much everything everyone has said :)

The big issue with the room is that everything seems so spread out and cluttered. I'd start by removing as much of the small furniture, art and tchotchke as possible, just so you can begin rearranging with a clean palette.

As far as the furniture goes, if the room is wide enough, turn the couch 90* so it is parallel to the bedroom wall. Leave enough room for you and your boyfriend to get to the room. It will create a visual barrier between the rooms (i.e., privacy). Then face the two chairs towards the couch, which will create a distinct seating area from the desk area you have near the front door/kitchen end of the room. If it's not wide enough to do that, I'd figure out another way to add something to the center of the room, so that the space doesn't feel so much like a hallway. A simple coffee table would tie the seating area together and wouldn't be impossible to walk around to get to the bedroom. A third furniture option would be to replace the sofa with something a little smaller. It looks very long and very flat and very low and appears to take up a lot of room. Maybe a love seat? Or an upholstered bench?

Then bring back the smaller furniture and lamps. It looks like you only have a desk light and the overhead -- invest a few bucks on some table or floor lamps. It will make a world of difference. Just make sure you hide the cords. My eyes are twitching a little because of all the exposed cords in the current pictures.

If you can't paint the room, I'd swap out the curtains for looooong white sheers, which will blend better into the walls and create less visual clutter. You have some cool looking art, but it's hung oddly. As others have suggested, I'd gather it all together into one gallery display, hung at eye level (it looks a bit too high here; even with tall ceilings, you don't want your art too high). I'd also get rid of a couple of the tapestries you're using on the furniture. It looks good on the couch, but on the side table (is that a side table, between the chairs?), it gets distracting. If you want to cover whatever that piece is, grab some paint in a fun color.

Last, but not least, for the area near the door, if you can get some closed storage or larger pieces so they don't look like they're bursting at the seams with stuff, it will look less visually busy. If there are decor pieces on that shelf, maybe incorporate them into the living room/seating area by adding some simple shelves to the wall opposite the newly created art gallery.

I really love your space! So much great personality, wonderful colors, fabulous pieces and a really cozy but clean layout. And -- shocker -- it actually looks like someone lives there. This may be one of my favorite spaces that I've seen on AT (or in real life).

I love how they have the doors slide all the way open -- it really makes the closet look less cramped and less, well, closet-like.