abialek's Profile

mirrors? Could be very glamorous. I have a similar hallway and hung a bunch of mirrors in it for a while and loved it. Now I have a ceiling garden made of upside-down planters, which makes the space really lush and fun. I also made a very long shelf out of a 2x4 (long and not deep) which doesn't invade the space and get in the way, but is infinitely useful for all sorts of things!

I was thrilled to see the westwood as apartment therapy loaded on my screen! My boyfriend and I bought this sofa in the blue velvet fabric for our first apartment together (and the chair, too) and are absolutely in love with it. The quality is extraordinary, and it is incredibly comfortable but never needs all the fluffing and smoothing that a sofa with separate cushions requires. Everyone who comes into our apartment talks about how amazing it is, but it's simultaneously pretty understated—it's neutrally gorgeous, and so comfortable you almost don't realize how great it is until you think about any other sofa you've ever sat on. Really, I can't recommend it highly enough.

We got the longer size because we wanted to be able to nap on it, and we've had many people stay over on the couch (with a sheet neatly tucked in to the couch) and everyone says it's really, really comfortable for sleeping—wide enough not to feel cramped, and plenty long, and the cushion is very comfortable.

I feel very strongly that this sofa is much better quality than the CB2 sofa, or an IKEA sofa. My old apartment had a CB2 sofa, and after about seven months it started to look pretty shabby, and the springs made some noise when you sat down. Very disappointing for the price. That absolutely happens with IKEA sofas as well, but at least their cheaper. If you can afford the Westwood, though, go for it—it's one of the best sofas on the market now, and if you have the good taste to appreciate its beauty, it belongs in your home!

I had exactly the same problem and felt terribly guilty every time I mentioned it to someone, who would always respond, "You have a fireplace and you're HIDING it" like I was a crazy lunatic (not that they had seen the fireplace, or anything...). Here's what I did, and I would recommend it: Get a reasonable width of some fabulous wallpaper (I needed four feet wide, ten feet high, because the apartment had eleven foot ceilings) and frame it. Then lean it against the wall like a huge picture. Everyone would come into the apartment and ask about the "great art," which always made me (and my friend, who had designed the wallpaper) very happy. The whole project cost about $100, including the wallpaper at full price (no discounts for friends, unfortunately!) but using a coupon for framing at Michael's. You don't need to put anything in the wall, and who knows what the "great art" can be in your next apartment—for us, it became a fabulous headboard behind a platform bed.

I swear by these lights. I'm a college student who has lived in a wide variety of rooms over the past three years, most of them hideous, and they always look absolutely delightful with a few of these lights. I use them on top of my armoire, as reading/desk/bedside lights, all over the place. My room is beautiful and cozy thanks to them. I don't have any on the floor and haven't tried it in any of the rooms, but quite a few times I've put them high up (on top of the armoire, on a high ledge, etc.) and they uplight into corners of the ceiling beautifully. And for the cost, they really can't be beat.