illegal danish's Profile

Refusing to arrange the couch for optimal viewing or sticking the TV in some obscure way to hide it, is the decorating equivalent of a combover.

Unless you never watch TV (in which case you shouldn't have one), be bold and arrange the room around the media center to maximize comfort. Once you stop trying to camouflage the TV, you can decorate in way to complement it and then the room will look more natural.

I really like the examples pictured above but there are plenty others outside the ultra-contemporary look. But the general idea is correct: embracing the TV as the focal point. Most AT readers just don't get it.

Ok I can understand this kind of setup in the setting of a tiny studio apartment; but after reviewing their tour, I think they should just abandon the pretense of keeping the peculiarly small living room as a conversational area. The real conversational area is in their huge kitchen/dining room space that also opens out to their patio.

So go ahead and put a real media console with speakers and get rid of the silly chairs and camoflage end table. The plants and picture frames can stay.

Reviewing the Grado SR225 is like reviewing a Porsche 911 Turbo. Does anyone really expect anything but a glowing review? Not that I mind.

Sitting up straight is healthier of course but it's hard to do for extended periods without some degree of hunching. Unless you're sitting in a recliner, take a break and stretch the legs a bit between long periods of sitting.

Do yourself a favor and forget the futon. You can still squeeze a full-sized bed into the bottom right corner and hang a drape or use some kind of room divider to "extend" the foyer. This should create a cozy alcove while leaving a decent amount of space for a living area.

I would put the TV against the wall with the window and place a small "apt sized" couch facing directly at the TV. Having the couch floating in the middle (instead of pushing it up against the wall) will also separate the living area from the bedroom "alcove." This layout also allows you to watch TV from bed as well.

The rest of the decor should fall into place. To maximize efficiency and flexibility, I would go with a couple storage ottomans in lieu of a coffee table and second sidechair. There should still be enough space for a bookcase and even a small desk. I wouldn't add much more beyond that however.

Why go through all that trouble when there is a perfectly good media cabinet for the TV to stand on? In fact, the viewing angle would be more ideal had it been simply placed atop that nice looking credenza in the pictures.

I applaud his ingenuity but I'm surprised Boeing doesn't pay their engineers enough to find a bigger place. That's a tight space even by Manhattan standards... but Seattle?

I own the Microsoft Arc Mouse and I'm sad to report that it is the most uncomfortable mouse I've ever used. Mostly because your fingers are left dangling underneath the arch, which feels very unnatural. People who use the "claw grip" should stay very far away.

Mini-fridge for soda and beer. Hotpot for instant ramen. I don't recall anything else being "essential." Maybe a fan or a mini-airconditioner if your dorm doesn't have AC.

I've built plenty of Ikea pieces in my lifetime. Nearly all of their instructions were easy to follow. The only piece that was truly difficult to assemble was the 5x5 Expedit bookcase. The damn thing weighs a ton and the instructions are simply wrong. There are better instructions online.