laponder's Profile

Thanks again to everybody for all your thoughtful comments and most generous compliments.

@ tlong94, I am not renting. I own the apartment and it is FOR SALE.

Believe it or not, I'm ready for my next "blank slate" and look forward to creating another "masterpiece." (to go with my new career... but that's another story).

So for more info about my apartment see: www.w9thstudio.com

And thanks again everybody!

Lorin

To the folks complaining that this look is "too expensive..."

I'll have you know that when it comes to decorating, I am simply cost-efficient and discriminating (read: I'm CHEAP). My style has evolved out of years of studying what I found attractive. The "English Manor" look is more about careful acquisition and thoughtful integration.

Nearly everything in this apartment I found at a flea market, sale, or the dust bin!

For example (and I shouldn't tell you this...) the large brass-grilled front china cabinet I got at the Salvation Army in Alexandria, VA for $500, the elegant French lady's writing desk I found at a country auction for $215, and the floral-print chair, I recovered after finding it on the curb. The Louis XVI-style bedside chest I got at Goodwill for $50. I painted and "antiqued" it, got a marble top cut for it and lined the drawers with wall-paper remnants. The shagreen 30's-deco-looking dresser in the closet, a friend gave me when he moved. It was an Asian teak Campaign-style nightmare. I covered it with celadon shagreen-textured paper, replaced the cheezy hardware with Pearl Crafts Center wood handles, painted the edges and handles an eggshell-finish ivory. The tartan shelves by the front door I got out of the trash. I painted them black, covered them with Ralph Lauren tartan wallpaper, and accented the edges with one of those "liquid gold" pens. It's my favourite piece.

If you had read the above post (8/26/09 3:42) where I explain how I made the "false-books closet doors", you could deduce that it was more about the labor than the money. The cost of that project: under $200. Including the "doors."

If you're renovating, I assume you have some budget set aside (unless you have an "uncle" willing to do the work for free). So if you're careful and clever, you can get materials that have an expensive look, depending on your choices and application:

For my kitchen backsplash tiles, I hand lettered them with porcelain paint on common white subway tiles then baked them in my oven according to instructions. Cost: under $50.

I made the "antique shell" bathroom mirror frame with a single piece of Home Depot lattice, a bag of shells, and a glue-gun. I then rubbed a custom-blended grey-brown stain over the whole thing. Cost: under $35.

The walls throughout the apartment I painted with... wait for it... paint! The kitchen walls are ragged (hard to tell from the photos) to look like parchment paper, the living area is two colors (one "flat", one "eggshell") in alternating 8" wide "stripes", and the bathroom walls are glazed with Ben Moore's glazing compound tinted with raw umber.

I could publish an entire magazine about all the ways I saved money doing this apartment. The reality is, that it does take a lot of creative thinking and a good eye. But then that's why you're reading sites like this one-- to get ideas and to learn.

And yes. This was an utterly, UNremarkable, white box of a "unit" when I moved in. Not so much as a window sill! (I trimmed out the entire window myself). The broken pediment over-door I cut out with a power jigsaw and glued to the wall with Liquid Nails. The crown moldings are either from Home depot (kitchen and library), or Focal Point (bathroom and living area) and are polyurethane and quite reasonably priced. I put them all up myself.

Decorating on a budget is not for the lazy, nor faint of heart. So quit grumbling, roll up your sleeves, and don't be afraid to get your hands dirty!

Oh, and buy a caulking gun. They're cheap and loads of fun.

RE: "... not conducive to male company. I think most men would be terrified of that place."

Actually, men are CRAZY about it. Every male human that has ever been here, remarks on and on about how they love it. They esp. find the color scheme appealing.

RE: Clutter

Check out my website for more photos. I don't know how to explain, but when you are IN the space, it does not feel cluttered at all. It is a technique that I call "the fitted room." Very organic, as though it's the very structure with the texture and the detail. UNLIKE so many "decorated" apartments I see that look like a room with furniture strewn about in symmetrical "arrangements" with the addition of styled vignettes (like in a department store), my space, in the room, it's actually very clean and clear, and the "things" are all serving a purpose more or less.

What I personally dislike are minimalist rooms where if you leave your purse on the table, it throws the whole decor off balance and makes the room look a mess!

I dunno. Check out my website

P.S. All the engravings in the bathroom are 17th century! (The intermittent humidity hasn't hurt them at all. In fact some of my paintings have suffered from dryness.)

Kate,
You can find this fridge through Northland Corporation. They started out making refrigeration for ocean liners, yachts, fitted aircraft, etc...

There are a lot of custom options, and it's a built-in, so you have to custom fit it into your kitchen scheme. They own Marvel now, the world-class wine cooler company. I *think* you can even get it with half fridge/half freezer, half beverage/wine cooler... lots of different configs.

Also, amazingly, I think their prices may have come down a bit, whether because of economy, or their means of manufacture. They were actually available through the EXPO Design stores (Home Depot's high end franchise) for a while. Not sure if they still are... Check them out.

Oh, and Limeliteshines,
You're absolutely right-- Every time I walk in at the end of the day, I take one look and smile. All my tensions fade away... It's really a refuge.