07 - 'Best Use of Space'

To follow up my review of House Beautiful's small spaces issue, I shall dive into the next magazine in my rapidly growing collection: Country Alamanc's Small Room Decorating Double Issue (#132 Fall 2010)! With 325 designer solutions to choose from, I better get down to business and quick! Not just quick, but licketey split, two shakes of a lamb's tail quick!

From Trends: "Pros Clear the Clutter", numbers three and eleven immediately jumped out at me. #3: The hidden home office designed by Sarah Barnard sounds like exactly how I intend to approach the assembly of my next home office. Finding interesting knick-knacks to accentuate the storage system while leaving space for the monitor should not be too much trouble. I am debating on making either a dust cover for my soon-to-be-purchased monitor or simply leaving it available to display photos (and easily access mood music). By discretely integrating my office into my dining room, I want to make sure that my business can be readily accessible when need be, but also easily managed when it comes time to play.

This tangos into #11: built-in banquettes for cozy diner-style dining. Designed by Robin Riddle of Fox + Riddle, if you check out their portfolio, the image I am describing is Dining Room #3/3. I may not be able to build anything into my apartment, but I can adapt this concept (with possible Ikea Hacking). In addition to being my office work space and my dining space, I will also use it when cooking items requiring more than two feet of  counter space or entertaining my students.  I love the design they've selected with a combination of white and natural wood. Most of the color in the setting comes from the glassware, service wear, and the table decor which are variables of color I can control and coordinate (with practice).

In "Designer Genius", Susan Fredman displays her beautiful collection of Chinese calligraphy brushes both in her bedroom and in her home office. The Chinese furniture and other Asian accents blend in beautifully with the other furnishings. Though I do not have the makings of a calligraphy studio, it was quite refreshing to see the brushes on display. Judging by their pristine appearance, they are working brushing, purely ornamental ones. I would to have some of those, but I remember my calligraphy teacher, Shiho, quoting prices of the higher end calligraphy brushes (and my almost falling out of my chair).

One of my absolute favorite articles in this issue was the "Budget Loft" Boston Bachelor Pad decoration by  Michael Ferzoco. It was transformed from a mint green monstrosity to a sleek mixture of neutrals with splashes of color. Again, the color comes primarily from the furniture and room accents, so I find his design concepts to be easily translated for my situation. His tips for selecting the right amount color to avoid aging the space was quite useful as well. The advice regarding investing in pieces that are not only essential but durable, reassures men that investing additional money into items such as my sofa, bed, and dining set are worthwhile.

The studio designed by Karen Topjian in "One Space, Four Rooms" was incredibly well planned out. I am a huge fan of functional and multipurpose spaces, but the creativity necessary to produce such a versatile space like this one blows my mind. I would have loved to have read this article when I was living in a small single room in Japan. I could have truly maximized my living quarters. Compared to the 470 square foot studio in the article, I have a separate bedroom to work with, so I don't need to be as creative. I will definitely employ the making flexible floor plans concept once I have fully measured my apartment (and the current pieces of furniture in my possession). I hope Ms. Topjian eventually includes this miniature marvel in her online design portfolio as it truly is a work of art.

Many of the items presented were fantastically smart or surprisingly witty. I had many enlightened moments reading this issue. Did I count all 325 of the amazing designer solutions? No. Did I read all of them? Absolutely! I am sure there are plenty of items I omitted, but I think this is all I can handle at the moment!

06 – Compact is Key with House Beautiful

While on a recent excursion at the supermarket, I made my way over to the magazine section. I begged for magazines while shopping with mom as a teen, so now I have a tendency to gravitate to the periodicals when I should be purchasing actual edibles from the market. I picked up not one, but three issues on this particular outing with an additional one a couple days later. With a distinct lack of house, House Beautiful would be a glossy I would tend to overlook. However, the current issues (July/August 2010) focuses on small space living.

An eye-popping, Grimace purple room with a fantastic red chair on the cover caught my attention, but question it posed drew me in. “Is Small the NEW Big?” With an editorial focusing on single bedrooms, cottages, guesthouses, studios, and even the summer appropriate beach house, I couldn't put it down. During my living in Japan, I developed the terrible habit of “tachi-mi” (standing around reading magazines/books in stores/booksellers). As it is common place in Japan, I often forget it is unacceptable here in the US. Also, taking out my camera and photographing or even scribbling memos could warrant being thrown out of a shop these days, so I didn't want to risk anything.

Immediately, I pictured my apartment as an stark canvas, but one where I would have to be particularly creative when it came to accentuating the room with color. As my employer maintains my apartment, I am limited in my ability to paint surfaces, install wall décor, and flooring. My desire to decorate needs to be contained, portable, and simple to patch up if relocation becomes necessary. After reading the magazine cover to cover, my color choices may need to be primarily reflected in the accents I select for my rooms: cushions, seat covers, table cloths, throw blankets, picture frames, lamp shades.

In “Instant Room: Lucas Studio” (page 32), I got a visual layout of my own living/dining combination (minus the vaulted ceiling). The rooms are designated as separate spaces, but they blend seamlessly into one another. Though I would love to use partitions in my room, for fire safety purposes, I am not permitted to do so. Also, I have twenty-something girls to supervise and occasionally, I would like them to visit my apartment for girl talk. I may not be able to buy a carpet that covers the entire area, but I could find coordinating area rugs that compliment one another. I love the blue/green/natural palette the designers selected for space, but I have to keep in mind that I have a lot of standard cream and gray to work with. Carrying patterns and colors from one piece of furniture to another looks simple enough, but I am certain that is only after years of practice.

The “Makeover: Part 6” by Annie Selke was another article I enjoyed. I loved the neutral sofas paired with bright colored pillows, and she picked almost several of the colors I would love to use in my design scheme. I doubt my apartment could handle a large sectional, but a single standard sofa could do the trick (bonus if there is a sleeper sofa). I love the bold art choices she made in her living room/study combination. I wish I could figure out which artist's work would best suit my tastes. Her private linens line, Pine Cone Hill, are beautiful, but selecting just one seems nearly impossible!

Joe Nye's “Tablescape” (page 60) was fantastic. Cobalt blue glass and flatware with the Chinese inspired service wear beckoned me. It seems the more I try and avoid making my apartment “too Oriental”, the more the Asian cultures jump out at me. His recently published work of table eye candy, Flair, would be a fabulous addition to my library. Maybe by the time I am 40 I can handle the challenge of fine dining and hostessing. Yet, every time I hear the word 'flair', I think of Office Space.

In the editorial “Is Small the New Big”, the two spaces that jumped out at me the most are Ellen O'Neill's Gramery Park Studio and David Kaihoi's One Bedroom. Though I loved the cottage, guesthouse, and the beach house, I currently lack the real estate necessary to truly appreciate those sections. Part of my dreams of having one of the tiny, old cottages near the University of Florida campus, with just enough space for myself, a spouse, and perhaps a puppy or a kid (eventually).

The utilitarian nature of Ms. O'Neill's flat completely floors me. I love how her day bed begs to be lounged on or slept in. I adore how her office workspace doubles as her dining room table. I envy all her built-in bookcases and the gorgeous veranda that the reader only gets a peek at. She makes monochromatic look so effortless, but I am certain this was no small undertaking on her part. I wonder where she buys all of her beautiful flowers (and if they are all real) because I can't seem to find anything that pretty when I venture into NYC.

I praise Mr. Kaihai for embracing the color of purple (I have no ideas about his thoughts on the film: The Color Purple), and making it the dramatic selection of his family's entertaining space. I will definitely be utilizing the banquette concept for my dining room. I adore the vintage Chinese wallpaper, but I am sure it does not come on sale that often. The tulip red closet organizer is amazing. I wonder if I could achieve that effect by simply painting the pieces that go inside it a uniformed color.

In “The One-Day Bedroom Makeover”, Amanda Nisbet adds a desk to the space. Personally, I am trying to avoid this as much as possible, as I do not want my work stress to invade my bedroom. At most, I could see keeping my personal laptop and using my vanity space as an additional writing space. This may prove beneficial and prevent me from continued lapses into couch gravity and extended couch potato-ing. That being said, I also need to ensure that my makeup and toiletries do not consume that area as well.

From Krista Ewart's beach house, I want to pull the bold use of colors, especially that pink. My fear is that I will go overboard with the pink, instantly emasculating any guy who steps foot within my apartment. I want to be classy, not homewrecker Barbie. I love how she uses so many different, fun wallpapers, but that is one luxury I must go without. Though, my gal pal, Allyson, sent me this nifty link for making nifty peel-off fabric wallpaper, so I may need a couple of extra pairs of hands to get this off the ground.

Don't even get me started on the bathrooms they have in this issue. I have no idea how I am going to remotely transform my rather stark and utilitarian bathroom.