My boyfriend's brother is coming to visit us next weekend, and we kind of let our place go over the holidays, so today we cleaned our asses off. And, maybe it's because I'm totally hormonal, but as I dusted, scrubbed, swept, and straightened every nook and cranny of our apartment, I realized that I hate almost everything we own.
When we moved in, almost a year and a half ago, I had all these lofty decorating plans, but a week later we got the puppy, and he was SO much work (and SO much money because of his surgery) that I put off spending any time or money on the apartment. But now if I have to live much longer in this cluttered, soulless apartment, I'm going to scream.
I think the place has got a lot of potential, but the problems are:
1. I hardly have any money to spend
2. Since it's a rental, we're not allowed to paint
3. The apartment is very large but there is hardly any storage space
4. My boyfriend has a lot of items that have sentimental value to him but which I consider super-fugly.
There's a lot of stuff I plan on doing and a lot of stuff I need advice about. I'll walk you through our apartment and show you what I mean.
We live on the 3rd and 4th stories (the top two floors) in a 150 year-old building in downtown Philadelphia. Here is what it looks like when you walk into our front door.
View from the front door: the kitchen, bedrooms, and bathrooms are all on the 3rd floor and that stairway goes up to the 4th floor, which is our living room.
There is no coat closet, and I haven't found a coat rack that I like, so we always end up tossing our coats somewhere, and in the winter, I have this bag hanging by the front door for our hats, gloves, scarves, etc. Not an ideal solution but better than hanging them over the banister for the dog to chew on.
This is also where we hang the dog's leash, usually, but the BF had him out when I took this photo.
Okay, now. After you walk into the front door, if you make an immediate left, you're in the bathroom, which is the only room in the house that I don't completely hate. I never ended up installing a towel rack so all our towels are hanging on hooks on the back of the door (not pictured) but I plan on buying nice towels that actually MATCH and hanging up a towel rack.
The view from the bathroom door. I dig the pedestal sink and the mirror, which actually opens up to a medicine cabinet. There is also a linen closet to the right which is full of all my crap.
A little wall to the left of the sink separates the sink from the terlet.
The toilet. I want to buy a new seat because the wood one is all chipped and yucky. Notice the magazine rack in the lower right hand corner. It is brown and orange.
(That watering can isn't usually there but we don't have a detachable shower head so we use it to rinse the doggy when we bathe him).
Our shower is across from the toilet. That mirror was there when we moved in, not sure why it's at crotch height.
Okay, now pretend that you've left the bathroom and your back is to the front door again. Just past the bathroom on the left is the L-shaped kitchen.
The kitchen set and makeshift coat rack.
This kitchen set is the bane of my existence. I hate, hate, HATE it. The boyfriend's parents gave it to us and it's got sentimental value because it's the table he ate every meal at as a child. I tried to convince him that the fact that it's been around since the 70's does not make it awesome, but he loves it. I recovered the chairs from the country-plaid it had been to a retro-mod type print but it still looks like crap.
I do like the size of the table and how the sides fold down. But I hate the shape of the legs and the chair legs, and the fact that the table top is laminate.
If I primed the hell out of the set and painted it a nice high-gloss color, would that work? What color would you recommend?
The kitchen ceiling - another bane of my existence.
Those of you in my private group may remember me b*tching about how it took my landlord 8 months to fix the leak under the deck that made our nasty drop-ceiling in the kitchen cave in. Well, he finally fixed it but it's been about 6 months and he still hasn't replaced the light or ceiling tile. I think we're just going to do it ourselves and then send him the receipt and take it out of the rent.
But still, I loathe the drop ceiling. Anyone know any quick, cheap ways to cover one up?
These drawers and shelves are across from the table
We have to keep our snacks in here because we get mice in the pantry. 
I like having our cookbooks on display but I hate this mess in general. I just got a new sewing machine so I'm thinking about making a curtain to hide this mess. Good idea or bad idea?
This is the other side of the L. Boring and bland, but fairly inoffensive.
There's a pantry to the right of all this, not pictured. We keep our plates and glasses on the top cabinets, silverware in the drawers, and pots and pans below.
You can't really see the window, but there are old, dingy miniblinds hanging on it. Yuck. I want to sew curtains for it, using the same fabric as what I'll use for the curtain to hide the shelves.
Across from the previous pic. Again, boring and bland, but fairly inoffensive.
The pantry is at my back, the applicances are to my right. This is looking out back into the hall.
That's a vintage Guinness poster above the table that I love, but I'm not sure how well it goes with the room. I also want to buy a bigger, bolder shade for the floor lamp in the corner.
Make a right from where that pic is taking, and you're facing one of the doors to our bedroom (the other door goes in from the hallway). This is the view of our bedroom from the kitchen.
Our room is large. Almost TOO large.
Believe it or not, that comforter used to be AWESOME before it got all faded (and before the boy spilled Cheez Whiz on it). I ordered a new one that should be here soon, it looks like this:
(from Urban Outfitters)
That afghan was knitted by the boy's grandmother and it's super cozy and warm. Usually it's hidden under the comforter.
I plan on making a headboard out of plywood, foam, batting, and fabric. I also want to take down the ubiquitous mini-blinds and sew some curtains. That fabric panel above the bed is from Ikea and I love it so after we get the new bedding, I'll probably take it down and find another use for it. I'm not crazy about the side tables but at least they're plain. I like the lamps, they're from Ikea. And there's an old trunk at the bottom of the bed that you can't really see. I can't tell you what's inside it but it's my boyfriend's and it rhymes with "florno." 
That is the boyfriend's dresser with my clean laundry on top of it. Yes, it's clean, I just haven't put it away yet from this afternoon.
I hate his dresser. 
This is the other door that goes into the hallway.
I don't hate my dresser but I'm not crazy about it. I really want matching dressers but we don't have the money right now. That picture above the TV was made by me. I found a bunch of vintage sewing patterns and cut out the illustrations and decoupaged them onto a canvas. It looks stupid there but I don't know where else to put it. It's actually really cool, if I do say so myself. 
Maybe I'll post a close-up pic of it later.
The view from the bed back into the kitchen.
My dresser is to the left of this door. The closet to the right is tiny, about 10 inches deep, with no bar to hang clothes. We keep the boyfriend's old comic books and some other crap in there.
We inherited this bookshelf from the BF's parents as well. I like it but it's way too small to hold all our books.
The view from the bedroom to the hall.Those are our closets out there.
Take the hallway to the right to get back to the kitchen and bathroom. To the left is the guest bedroom/storage room.
Okay, even though I'm not too concerned with redoing this room at the time, I'll share our guest room with you as well.
View from the master bedroom door to the guest bedroom.
More hand-me-downs from the BF's parents.
These beds can also be bunk beds. We can push them together when couples stay over. What I want is to buy a bigger bed for our room (a queen or king instead of a full), put our bed in the guest room, and get rid of the bunk beds. But, hell, they were free, and at least our friends don't have to sleep on the floor.
My favorite thing about the guest room is the nifty beamed ceiling.
The rest of the bedroom is filled with the boyfriend's old Star Wars toys. He promises that he'll sell them on eBay but it's been 18 months and he hasn't sold any of it.
Those boxes are all FILLED with toys. And that is the Ewok village on top.
Also, some old junk and some Christmas gifts that I want to eventually re-gift.
The area rug was also a hand-me-down from the BF's parents. I loathe it, but it covers the floor. Pardon the dust, by the way. The belt on our vacuum broke today.
The view from the guest room back to the hallway and front door. Everyone got their bearings?
Okay, now that's out of the way. Our biggest decor problem is the living room, which just happens to be where we spend most of our time. I'm at my wit's end. HELP!
Here is the view if you're standing at the top of the stairs.
This is a very large room so it's divided into three sections: the TV watching section, the music section, and the "office/crafting" section.
That love seat on the right is HEAVY and ugly as sin. Our friend gave us that green slipcover which is ugly but not as ugly as what's beneath it. We want to replace it but it is SO heavy and took SO long to get up all the flights of stairs. We may have to destroy it with a hatchet and bring it down piece by piece. We both loathe it but it is comfy so maybe we'll just try to find a better slipcover. Because even though I'm learning how to sew, I think that slipcovers and upholstery are beyond my skillz.
I don't love the Ikea coffee table but it's okay for now. And the beige microfiber couch is the first piece of new furniture I ever bought, but because the dog insists on sitting on it and licking his feet, thus getting slobber all over it, we put that quilt over the cushions, hiding the nice sofa. Speaking of the quilt, it's another thing that has sentimental value for the BF but it's totally not my style. His mother made it, and I don't want to throw it away, but I think we should keep it in the guest room.
And the chair is the Ikea Poang chair. I think most people have owned this at one time or another.
Another view from the top of the stairs. The cathedral ceilings make the room VERY hard to decorate.
That "entertainment center" is a piece of crap. We hate it but haven't been able to find anything better at this time. I think I'd like a lower, wider console. And we have two teeny bookshelves stuffed with DVD's on the far side.
Please ignore all the dog toys thrown around. 
The table next to the loveseat is something I love. It's a rustic plank table that I got for $4 at a garage sale.
A closer view of the sofa, etc.
The coffee table is to my back, I'm now looking at the "office/crafing" section of the room. The staircase is behind the desk on the left.
Okay, the desk on the left is another issue between me and the BF. He kept telling me his parents had this awesome antique wooden desk. Well, it's not awesome, it's not antique, and it's not wooden. It's MDF with wood laminate. I think it is a horrible eyesore but he loves it.
Also, that is where the furbaby sleeps.
Here is my new sewing machine and my craft area. It's still kind of a mess.
I love the mod, clean lines of this desk that I got at a garage sale. I would like to paint it an obnoxiously bright color, like glossy red. Is that really stupid?
Those prints are from an Etsy seller called the Black Apple. I'm too lazy to post a link but she's awesome.
Here is the desk that I hate.
I never actually use this desk, I do all my Sugaring on the sofa, but I keep the lappy here when I'm not using it. Since our bookshelf downstairs is too small, we keep the overflow here. Can you tell that the shelves are sagging? MAN do I hate this desk!
This is the music area, behind the sofa.
There are a lot of problems with this area. First of all, we have a zillion CDs in a bunch of different cabinets and shelving units. All of my CD's have been converted to digital format and are kept hidden in boxes under our bed, but the BF keeps all his CDs out, and they take up a lot of room. We also have the stereo and turntable, AND all of our vinyl to the left. I like displaying our vinyl and would like to keep it out, but I wish we could hide the other junk.
Now, the boomerang coffee table is from the mid-50's and I am obsessed with it, but I think I may need to get rid of it because there's no place to put it. What I'd actually like is to buy a console-type thing to put behind the sofa and put all the CDs and crap in there. But then there'd be no room for my awesome table. That red bench is from Ikea, I have no problem getting rid of it.
A better view. The records are stacked haphazardly right now because we're in the middle of an annoying attempt at alphabetizating.
The door out to the balcony
We usually don't leave the vacuum cleaner out. Also, tomorrow we are going to mount the modem to the wall so that the chair isn't being used as a table anymore. By the way, that chair is covered in the same fabric as is hanging above our bed.
A view of our cathedral ceilings. From an aesthetic standpoint, I don't love the ceiling fans, but from a practical standpoint, I appreciate them. Plus, they're fairly new and not bad looking.
The view from behind the couch. The stairway down is to the right.
I really wish we had something in which to hide all the DVD's. Also, that mirror was my dad's in the 70's and looked AWESOME as a kind-of headboard in my old funky loft with the red walls. But it just doesn't quite go here. But I don't want to give it up.
Anyway, this was an incredibly long post, so here's what I'm asking:
Does anyone have any cheap, easy tips to jazz up this place, considering that we're not allowed to paint the walls, the two of us have different tastes, and we have these crazy cathedral ceilings that we can't hang anything on, and we have no storage?
Help! Help!
Update - Here is a floor plan (not 100% to scale but pretty close) of the living room.
My-Wardrobe.com
Fendi
Tibi
i was expecting a total disaster after reading the first paragraph, but it's totally not!!! stop beating yourself up over it!
i think it has tons and tons of potential. ummmm, suggestions. okay. the snack area - i don't
think a curtain would look good there. plus, your cookbooks look cute displayed. it's just kind of cluttered. i would clear out everything on the bottom shelf and just put one really cool
piece there to simplify since the shelf above it is so full. it's a shame you can't use your pantry! maybe you could keep all your snacks in big tupperwared storage containers in the pantry?
that way they're safe from mice and out of sight. a larger bed would definitely look great in your bedroom...and be more comfortable for the two of you. the hardwood floors look great in
there, and i really like the windows. something new to put on the windows would make a huge difference i'm sure. even just some nice new blinds. simplifying the living area would make a
humongous difference. make your boyfriend put all those CDs on the computer, and just get rid of them! sell them? buy something new for the house with the money? then you guys could get rid
of the CD player too. i saw that you have an iPod. and you can get really small speakers that still have amazing sound quality. bose speakers are amazing. pricey, but they save so much space.
the albums are cool, and i like the idea of displaying them. i would just suggest only displaying a few of them at a time. maybe you could pick your favorites and frame them? i loooooove the
prints above your sewing area! they are amazing, and i want some for my house. and i totally love the idea of painting that desk/table a really bright color. red would look awesome. go for
it!! you'll get it all done and looking the way you want it too. you just gotta work on getting that man of yours to let go of some of the sentimental pieces so you can simply and have more
living space for the two of you plus the pup. be sure to post progress pictures!!
1Dude overall your apartment kicks AZZ.. but I have to say.. 1. the way that toilet is set back between those two walls.. I would feel like I was doing my bizzzness in a tomb
That would drive me NUTS!!!! And I can totally see how that kitchen ceiling drives you loco..
Loads of potential in that place
2i agree, your place is really great! have you ever seen the "this small space" tv show? it has good storage ideas for small homes. your's isn't small, but it seems like the areas to add storage in the rooms like kitchen and bath are small, so that might help. maybe you could find a table cloth you like for the kitchen. that table is the "classic" kitchen table! very cute
as for the living room, have you seen those ottoman/seat things that have the
storage in the seats? i think target has one. the ceiling i think you have to forget about. fix the light and bill your douche landlord like you said and call it a day. i love your home, it
feels very warm.
3Very detailed post! You gave plenty of information which is helpful to get the ideas you want. First of all, your place seems roomy, but you definitely lack storage. I have the exact same issues, especially with the upstairs walls/cathedral ceilings. I'll try to send you some of my pics because it has certainly been a challenge to deal with!
I would suggest making a short-term, and a longer-term list of things to do, and stick to finishing one room at a time so you feel you have some success along the way. I would also suggest you start with the room you spend the most time in -- the living room. Also, choose an accent color, maybe the orangey-red in the new comforter and use for accessories throughout, so things can interchange.
I'll try to send you some ideas after I take some time to think, but I'm wondering if your boomerang table will fit where your coffee table is now. I would hate to see you get rid of something you like, and using it for the purpose it was meant for would make sense.
On your bedroom furniture, could you paint the dressers you have now a matching color that either coordinates or contrasts with your new comforter?
I'll send more later. Your place has much potential. I understand the boyfriend issues. My husband has a book fetish and just when I have the storage situation resolved, he starts buying more books. I probably need to convert a library for my next house, ha!
4Main thing that stuck out in my mind: put your boomerang table as your coffee table and get rid of the IKEA one! That table has so much personality and it doesn't look like you use the IKEA one much for storage.
Also, paint breakfast/dining table and your sewing table both high gloss color as you mentioned. In Kitchen, you could paint dropped ceiling a neutral color, just take a roller on a stick to the whole thing, and tell your landlord you are doing him a favor. Soft gray would be nice, but you could also do white or graphite/charcoal. Then do your table in pop mod colors, like red table and different color chairs (yellow, dark green, navy, light blue), or do the whole set one color.
Sewing table I would do in something you can see the fabrics on and that you really like the color personally. Except pink, I wouldn't do pink.
You have so many great graphic colors in that mural outside your place you should really draw upon some of them!
Great place, whip!
5Ooh fun! I've got a plan. I'll have to pm it to you though. It shall be in picture form.
6Love the shower curtain and square mirrors in your bathroom. I'm not the expert, so I have little advice, but I would say do NOT get rid of that awesome boomerang table. I would bring it out and feature it. I would also paint some accent walls.
7I really dig your place!
almost forgot to comment on the "crotch level" mirror, lol. maybe to use in the tub for facials or eye brow plucking?
8First off, things are not as bad as you portray them, but I know how it is when one is hormonal. I just did major cleaning today and a bunch of stuff started bothering me in our house also.
Reevaluate all your belongings. Do you really need all the
stuff you own??? Some of it seems necessary, like pieces of furniture etc, (but I'm mostly refering to little stuff you've collected over the years). If you don't love it and you don't use it
GET RID OF IT! I say that with the intention to be helpful to you. Trust me, you'll feel so much better when you look at a nice, clean, clutter free place. I don't always take my own
advice... you should see my closet 
I think that your kitchen and living room areas are in real need of a makeover, the rest is just minor, cheap changes.
Some ideas suggestions I have for you:
1- Don't add curtains to the shelves in the kitchen. Find a new place for the snacks, maybe in a cabinet above? and maybe you can display some glasses or something else that you take out of your cabinets in the bottom shelf.
2- Change the handles to the BF's dressers. There are places online that sell knobs and handles. Maybe even Home Depot?
3- Maybe the Guiness poster can move above your bed, after the new quilt arrives.
4- Can you possibly put all the CD's in a CD book and get rid of the plastic covers??? Hubby and I did this recently with ours and it was one of the best things we ever did organizationally. Of course, it took multiple books, but it is such a space saver.
5- The toughest and my favorite
6- Thought of white wooden blinds for your bedroom? I love the clean modern look they offer.
7- Sew matching pillows and ?curtains? or a throw for your living room.
Good luck!!! Post pics of the changes.
9OH! I would consider investing in a new Kichen set and some new living room furniture pieces. If you can't afford them right now, make that a goal. These are things you can take with you when you move, so it's a good investment if you can do it.
10I love everyone's comments! Anytime I have wanted to update furniture, but didn't have the money, I would paint it chocolate and add nickel hardware. Thats what I would do w/ the kitchen set...paint it a high gloss chocolate color (if you don't want to do bright like red suggested) You could also paint your dressers the same color and add new hardware from home depot or Target (has cute stuff too) for some really cute, but pricier hardware you could go to anthropologie. You know that already I'm sure!
11great post Whip! i agree that you should move the boomerang table to the middle of the living room and make it your coffee table. maybe get rid of that red bench (sell it on Craigslist!) and put the Ikea coffee table behind the sofa? also, why not use that Ikea table to store some records that you don't play regularly? i have vinyl too and i organize mine by how often i play it (within general categories - classic rock, punk, reggae).
i think the idea of putting the cds into the slip books is a great idea. i did the same thing and it saved a ton of time as well. i also think that your boyfriend should resolve to sell one thing a week on Ebay from his Star Wars collection. Once he starts seeing how people love that stuff and how much money it will bring you, i hope it will get him excited to sell more. Use that money to buy paint and sewing supplies to add unique touches to your place.
Also, i think that making a list of things you need to do now and can hold off until later is a great idea. when spring comes around, start hitting the yard sales for those things that you need for storage and decorating. good luck! your place is great and has a lot of potential.
12Dude, if you really want to get rid of the kick-ass boomerang table, I'll drive up there in my dad's Jeep & take it off your hands
13What an awesome space!! I love it! Lots of character and great potential!!
14I love that you labelled it Big Ugly Desk! I think your room upstairs is absolutely awesome and has plenty of potential. I agree - paint the sewing desk! It'll infuse some color in the room and make it really YOURS. Also, I agree with one of the other people above me - ditch the Ikea coffee table and use the boomerang one!
Definitely throw out things you're not using and just take up space. Or put them on craigslist or ebay or whatever. (I also agree with the Ebay once a week thing.)
No curtains in the kitchen! But what about switching the books and snacks? The shelf on the bottom seems a little smaller and makes things look a little cluttered.
Somewhere I have a pattern for painting a table - might be something to think about. I'll dig it out!
Yard sales are great ideas. You could also just pick a room each month that you want to focus on and go from there. I'm thinking about doing that myself!
15Great apartment! My toilet area is the same small space i hate it. Make your BF list that Star Wars stuff on Ebay and you should get a ton of money for it and you can use that money to buy the furniture that you want. Good Luck!
16get rid of the "coffee table" in the living room... you should consider something shorter, and the length of the table, i think, would look better if it follows the length of the rug... u know what i mean? long ends of the rug should be parellel to long ends of the coffee table.
i'm also thinking should be where your cds are at right now... switch the two areas around....
or put the tv where the dog cage is at...
i dont know.. but that area is awesome you just have to do something with it... (jaja, hence your posting on this page , right?)
good luck.. i like your apt though... and yeah. fix the kitchen roof.
oh, and ever seen those plastic bags that you vaccuum crap into? they really doooo work... the huge ones hold pillows, sheets, covers, coats, etc... you can get them at ROSS, or MARSHALLS or TJ MAX for a cheaper price...
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