AT cure - my attempt

Which cure? and what to change?

I picked up the 'Apartment Therapy' book on Friday, and I've been reading it. There are certain things that I don't think I can do. I don't mean to start off on a negative note, because I'm excited about changing things. Maxwell talks about putting one months rent into improvements, but I'm not looking into buying any furniture right now. And I certainly don't have that much money to throw around. I've got to make do mostly with what I have, and it's not bad. He says that desks and bookcases from IKEA are ok, but everything else should be nicer furniture. Well, that's what I have as IKEA furniture. I also have the chair and ottoman. The tv corner stand and the coffee table aren't IKEA, but they're cheap veneered particle board. I'd like to replace them if I can find something I really like within my budget.

One thing he mentions is that the tv shouldn't be the first thing you see when you enter the room. In my place, I'm not sure where else I could put it with all the other furniture still working. That kind of bothers me, since I've been perfectly happy with the layout of my living room, except for the lack of seating. Given my layout and current furniture, I can live with it. I think I can solve the seating issue by storing large cushions/pillows on the bottom shelf of my coffee table. Also, then you'd have a place to put your feet that's soft instead of an ottoman.

There are two options for the 'cure': deep cure and one room cure. I think I'm going for the deep cure in organization and decluttering, with some extra focus on my bedroom because it really needs to be more comfortable. I really like my bed and mattress, but I think I'm getting sick of the red in there. Right now I have a deep maroon color for the sheets and a white duvet cover with stylized line hearts on it from IKEA. I like the combination, but I'm getting tired of it and would like a little more color. There's not much when the bed is made.

I'm thinking of my favorite color for the bed - a glacier blue (or maybe a bluish periwinkle). That would be the duvet cover and the sheets would be a chocolate brown. That's similar in style to what I have now - light on top and dark sheets underneath. Then, since the blue would be the dominant color on the bed, I'd go from the chocolate colored drapes with light-colored shears over the window.

I think I'll have a photograph of Whistler (Blackcomb Glacier by Greg Griffith) over the bed. If I remember correctly, the copy I have is sepia. Would that look good with the chocolate and 'glacier' in the bedroom? Sounds perfect: Glacier bedroom. I think it's a bit small: maybe 5x14 or 10x30? Maybe the drapes could pull out the sepia color instead. Don't know how I feel about that. I'll have to test out the colors. Looks like I *really* need to get that photograph framed; it's still in the tube mailed to me from Canada.

For the rest of the art, I need to do mockups - make copies of the size of art or include some of their colors and put up on the walls to find the best location for things. I don't think I need any more, but I do need to come with good places for the stuff I have. I might need to add a large piece (that I don't have) to the living room wall.

posted by Kristie @ 2:50 PM