iron fish's Profile

I don't think that's a "nook," but a mechanical room for your heating/ac. Codes or no codes, machines make noise. This is not a decorating decision. Get whoever is responsible to put a door on it, then paint the gray electrical box cover to the left and go shopping for the rest of your space.

I think it looks great as is. Since you just moved in, I would wait a while before painting anything. Sure color can be fabulous, but what is wrong with white or a more neutral look? A collection of all white coral or white teapots and bowls would look wonderful. You can decide if you want it to be more functional (bookcase, china storage) or a decorative display of objects you love, or some combination. If you don't need any functionality, taking out the shelves (carefully if you are renting) and putting in a sculpture or sculptural object is another way to go. Enjoy, looks like a good space!

What do you do with a smallish one-bedroom with a standard layout to make it worthy of being a contest finalist based on the contest criteria of efficiency, aesthetics, & special problems? I'm not sure I know (though I doubt it hinges on whether books are color-coded.)

The custom unit is an excellent start. I too wish I had a dad who was talented enough to bring my vision to life--what a great wall unit that is. However, I agree with a previous poster--I would not want to stare at it every time I woke up from a nap on the couch. Especially those matching office chairs. I'm sure they are very ergonomic etc, but I've had ergonomically wonderful chairs that don't look nearly so 1997 dot-com officey. Something fabulous that could be spun around to form an arrangement with the sofa.

I would probably also ask dad to whip up a few more of those sliding doors for the wall unit, leaving perhaps the top shelves and the side piece open for displaying cool stuff. And the beautiful teak table to the right of the desks seems a bit redundant and not serving any purpose. I might put the plant with the other one on the window sill and sell the table on cl and take dad out for brunch with the proceeds.