JulesM's Profile

To get red wine out of fabric, try pre-treating with white wine. The stains wash right out.

To contain my cables and cords in my home office, I used some wine boxes mounted on to the wall. They were a couple of dollars each at the local wine store.

I stained them to age them a bit and cut a hole in the back to feed the cords in and out of of. It works well for me, as I can divide up the cords into different types (power bar, network cables, etc.). The top box is my charging station, with easy access.

http://picasaweb.google.ca/lh/photo/efhRSPYjHooIK5z2wJuyow?feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.ca/lh/photo/FR9PddfuOT5RonyjOUoMSg?feat=directlink

I have an attic studio that is very similar to this and about the same size. It was a rather awful banana yellow when I moved in with different shades on the ceiling and walls and I agree with those above that say paint it all the same colour.

I painted my place all out in a very bright white with an eggshell finish. I love colour and had never painted a place white before, but it works really well in the space. In the day it picks up the light beautifully and makes the whole place feel fresh and clean. At night I can dim the lights and the walls reflect the softer glow making it feel cozy, soothing and romantic. I brought the colour I love in with the accessories, artwork and fabrics.

I had also thought of using an Expedit to section off a sleeping area, but after taking the measurements and mocking it up in Photoshop, I realised that this was just too bulky for my space. Instead I used semi-sheer curtains (on a track so they can be drawn open and closed) to create some privacy for the sleeping area and that has worked well. The sloped ceilings (which I also have) are wonderful, but they do reduce your cubic footage. They make furniture placement challenging, let alone artwork or shelves. In a small space sometimes just a few inches can make the difference between comfortable flow and awkward twisting or even annoying head banging.

When I moved here I was down-sizing from a 3 bedroom house and it was a challenge to make such a small space work. I rearranged the furniture countless times before discovering that having a clear line of sight from the windows at one end to the windows at the other was the other thing that best opened up the space. I try to keep the surfaces in that line clear, and most of the furniture is both neutral and low. The shotgun house effect is offset by the arc of the white on the walls and ceiling opening the space up left to right.

One thing I have done to help define zones is to use specific accent colours for each area for the most part. Kitchen is red, living area is green/blue, office/dining area is blue, etc. I also did exactly what kimg924 suggested here with the bathroom and reversed this with the walls in a Caribbean blue and the accessories in white.

I love my place so very much and I hope you will be happy in yours as well.