pinkalbatross's Profile

Seeing the comments, you have obviously done a superb job at creating spacious feel for a small space. If you analyze the design, you can see that it could work with 200 (or even 300) square feet less as well (smaller loft, smaller living room and smaller kitchen). It is all in the design (windows to kitchen and STAIRS! high ceilings, light colors, and notice the clever use of mirrors!) - keeping the furnishings to a minimum, not many tschochkes, spare use of art, great lighting, great use of materials. My absolute favorite.

Fantastic, goes so well with the style!!!

Awesome! Wow. I would have just wrinkled my nose and walked right by that dresser. People never accuse me of not having vision, but I really didn't see that. Great job. If you follow VixVax's suggestion, please send an updated photo!!!

I want doors like that for my regular closet!

Did you know that there are shower caddies which are not rust-proof? Okay, my bad for not checking the label to see if the metal shower caddy was rust-proof or at least rust-resistant, but I didn't even think that something with "shower" in the name would NOT be rust-proof. Who makes shower caddies which show rust a week after installation???

Anyway, here's hoping my comment will prevent someone else from making that particularly assumption before buying.

I should have taken a picture of one of our closet - NOT a walk-in closet. Took out the sliding doors and put the crib/bed in. Kid slept there until he was 6 (when we graduated to a bigger apartment and he graduated to his own room) He liked to pull the curtains shut (instead of doors). I suppose it was a bit like a fort or cave. - Be careful what you do with your kids in the formative years. He's still a cave-dweller. Now he graduated to our basement apartment.

I updated my laundry situation a few months ago and am so happy with it, that I thought I'd share:

I have the ubiquitous IKEA expedit shelves in my bedroom. I bought the wicker inserts for the bottom row and use those as my laundry basketS: one for darks, one for lights, one for whites and one for delicates/handwash. If you have the unit with the 5 cubbies, you can use one basket for dryclean clothes.

Yes, they are smallish, but I have automatically separated laundry and when one basket is full, I take it to the washer. If you really stuff the basket, it makes one full load.

Took me forever to come to that realization. I can only emphatically agree with the article!

Case study:

My dining room (the room next to the kitchen) has turned into a "breakfast room", with couch and two comfortable chairs where we can sit with a cup of coffee and breakfast of our choice to look out through the big glass doors into the garden in the morning. Not even a coffee table. Just end tables.(okay, we also have dinner in there sometimes) It could also be called the wine lounge. We sit there in the evening with our glass of wine and review the day with each other.

My living room has been divided into a serious library with floor to ceiling shelves, fireplace with a super comfie small couch and two small chairs, The couch is typically used as a chaise. The library doubles as the "receiving room" for friends who just drop by briefly. (it's closer to the front door than the breakfast room)

The part of the living room near the south facing window (and close to the front door) has turned into the "dining room". Well, that's what it looks like to the unsuspecting eye. But if you come by unannounced you see that it's our office. Laptops and papers all over the "dining table". There are even drawers reserved in the buffet for stuffing papers and laptops, should the dining room actually have to be used for dinner. (it happens). The "dining table" extends, so that thanksgiving and other high holidays we can expand into the library.

It took many many iterations before we found our perfect layout. This probably seems totally backwards for most people (dining room furthest room from the kitchen?) But works for us. Should have started with "know thyself".

Can't delete my previous comment. So here goes: upon second inspection, the picture used in this post is NOT the same as in Jen Chu's post. The bedrooms are very similar but NOT the same. To compare for yourself: http://www.jenchudesign.com/interiors/jensbedroom/

I apologize for believing Jen that you grabbed a picture from her site without checking carefully myself. Kudos on a good photo.

tips for the super busy host/ess:
only illuminate your parties with candle light
never invite anybody taller than you, so you only need to clean to your eye level.
only throw parties on muddy days and let your guests keep shoes on.