Home Decor

flyinglentris

Disabled and Retired Veteran
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Moving from a small share house rented bedroom to a huge by comparison, apartment, I'm intrigued by the thought of furnishings. I can't paint walls or lay carpet, but if I am there long enough, over time, I will likely acquire some additional furnishings, first being floor lamps, shower curtains and possibly bar stools. I can't put a lot of expense into these things, but as time progresses, things should sort of match up to create a sort of comfort feel for the new place.

Although I have an artistic sense, I am not an interior decorator, however long the process may take. And one end of the kitchen/living room needs to facilitate my photography studio and a good distance for lighting and camera positioning. Oh boy, I've been in bad need of that extra space!

When it comes to interior design, I wish I was wealthy and could hire a specialist, but I can't.

What I want is something soft and cozy. Something that will not reflect light badly or be gaudy. My photography studio should be free of bad lighting influences and reflections. And the furnishings should be easily moveable to facilitate positioning strobes, camera and subject platforms.

I won't be having so much in the way of visitors and my place is not that of a party animal. All I need is a comfortable feel and something tunable to my hobbies.

I can figure somethings out on my own, but am open to ideas.

This new apartment things is an opportunity to do it all from scratch.
 
An interior decorator could be cheaper than you think, depending on what you want them to do. We had one come out to the house to basically to tell us how to arrange and place the furnishings we already have, and to make some suggestions about items we could purchase...$100 for a two-hour consultation.
 
An interior decorator could be cheaper than you think, depending on what you want them to do. We had one come out to the house to basically to tell us how to arrange and place the furnishings we already have, and to make some suggestions about items we could purchase...$100 for a two-hour consultation.

Interesting. I wasn't aware that they would take on such small assignments as simply suggesting what might be bought and put in.

By opening this thread, I was perhaps hoping to hear about quality and durable furniture brands which are reasonably priced as well as any suggestions or ideas how to start from scratch. And I do mean from scratch. My current cabinetry is very cheap - plastic cheap. And the shelves I have are pulp wood things that are slid together pieces - black of course, to keep reflections down for my photography.

First things first. I have been looking at floor stand lamps and some are simple stalks with a light receptacle on top, some with a reading lamp attached. Others are encased in rice paper and may include shelving for knick knacks. I kind of like those rice paper lamps - for the dining/living room area. The more simple stalk lamps would be ok in the bedroom.

I can do my own wall hangings from my photography - on box frames.
 
Have you found a new apartment? If so it would be useful to know what is already there, size of rooms and positioning of windows etc. in order to offer ideas.

My basic advice is to keep things simple and uncluttered. Keep decor neutral and add colour with accessories. But this so much depends on your personal taste. Some people prefer to live in rooms full of their knick-knacks etc.
 
Have you found a new apartment? If so it would be useful to know what is already there, size of rooms and positioning of windows etc. in order to offer ideas.

My basic advice is to keep things simple and uncluttered. Keep decor neutral and add colour with accessories. But this so much depends on your personal taste. Some people prefer to live in rooms full of their knick-knacks etc.

I am hoping to get into the place I looked at yesterday. It is ideal, ideal location and huge. It is well kept, rates high on the web site property evaluation, even having elevators for people who live on the upper floors. In that place, there is only one window - sliding glass doors with white Venetian blinds leading outside - ground floor.

If I acquire the place, I'll post a floor plan.
 
Our main problem is our living room - it's not big enough or situated so as to allow dividing up into smaller sections, like a TV area here, a conversation area there, and a reading corner; nor is it small enough to be cozy on its own.

Right now, it's arranged with the TV as the focal point (which I hate), and the furniture is a bit spread out, so it feels very distant and unwelcoming to me. When we get new floors and new furniture, I'm going to rethink the whole layout.
 
I don't know your places to buy but Walmart would be where I would start. I've read his book btw about 30? Years ago. My wife is arty, I'm a philistine and just like what I like. I love what my wife chooses. We have expensive art bought 30 years ago when Bala Patel started painting. Her works are worth huge money. They are water colours. Art features s lot here along with family photos.
As others mention keep it simple with furniture.

Russ
 
I am hoping to get into the place I looked at yesterday. It is ideal, ideal location and huge. It is well kept, rates high on the web site property evaluation, even having elevators for people who live on the upper floors. In that place, there is only one window - sliding glass doors with white Venetian blinds leading outside - ground floor.

If I acquire the place, I'll post a floor plan.
Best of luck! Getting into a new living space is both very exciting and can get exhausting, so make sure you get enough downtime and rest. When I finally acquired my present (and forever) flat, it was completely empty. I got some cheap but solid furniture (I think it is fake wood, or plywood, white colour most of it) from locally present international brands (Emmezetta, Lesnina, Prima Namještaj) I am not sure if they could be useful to you that far away, we are in a totally different market, but e.g. my 5 drawer-cabinet was about 50 USD, and it keeps the little things organized so well. But it took me more than a year to move further from the basics and acquire it.

The kitchen table and chairs was a hand-down from my parents, partly solid wood, work nice.

Prior to buying any furniture, I decided on the colours I wanted to have, reading that 2-3 colours is enough. So I have white, wood colour and grey, and it gives it a cohesivness regardless of what you get.

If you can, take your time to get lived-in into the space before you buy your next furniture. And try to divide expenses over a longer period of time. Discount periods are great to get furniture for a good price.

There might be an online interior decorator that could give expertly advice...

Please let us know how we can advise further, the floorplan is a great place to start!
 
*online interior decorator that could give expertly advice...what I meant to suggest was to search for a start-up decorator, perhaps even a student in his/her last years of study, who might want to try out his/her skills and give advice for free? In exchange for posting the before and after pictures at an xyz site, or recommending him/her a customer for a paid job..

Does it work that way? I don't know, I am brainstorming aloud...

But maybe we can all work it out here on CB...:okay:
 
Our main problem is our living room - it's not big enough or situated so as to allow dividing up into smaller sections, like a TV area here, a conversation area there, and a reading corner; nor is it small enough to be cozy on its own.

Right now, it's arranged with the TV as the focal point (which I hate), and the furniture is a bit spread out, so it feels very distant and unwelcoming to me. When we get new floors and new furniture, I'm going to rethink the whole layout.
You should see my house, I have a living room that doubles up as a bedroom :laugh: With enough space to create separate areas for the "bedroom" and the "living room", but whoever sits on the couch has to look at my bed.
 
It's a foregone conclusion that the dining/living room area will have white, gray or black furniture, preferably the latter and not white due to its reflectivity. This is where my photo studio will live.

Colors with the highest levels of light absorption are red and black, but red isn't what I would want for furnishings.
 
You should see my house, I have a living room that doubles up as a bedroom :laugh: With enough space to create separate areas for the "bedroom" and the "living room", but whoever sits on the couch has to look at my bed.
Years ago, we visited my niece and her husband, one just graduated university and the other just starting graduate school. They were in Chicago, which isn't a cheap place to live.

Their apartment...the main room had a TV and a work table next to that with two laptops on it, all along one wall.

The sofa and one small chair sat back just enough to allow a person to walk between it and the TV.

Behind the sofa was a double bed, with just enough space between it and the sofa for one person to squeeze between sideways. That was the only way to get into bed - the other side was against the wall.

There was just enough room around the side of the chair and along the foot of the bed to reach the kitchen/bathroom area. That was it.

I would personally prefer smaller spaces like that, but I'd just want more of them. :)
 
Years ago, we visited my niece and her husband, one just graduated university and the other just starting graduate school. They were in Chicago, which isn't a cheap place to live.

Their apartment...the main room had a TV and a work table next to that with two laptops on it, all along one wall.

The sofa and one small chair sat back just enough to allow a person to walk between it and the TV.

Behind the sofa was a double bed, with just enough space between it and the sofa for one person to squeeze between sideways. That was the only way to get into bed - the other side was against the wall.

There was just enough room around the side of the chair and along the foot of the bed to reach the kitchen/bathroom area. That was it.

I would personally prefer smaller spaces like that, but I'd just want more of them. :)

If you understood photographic lighting, you would know that high ceilings and good distances help immensely. This is to facilitate making adjustments between soft and hard light which can be distance to subject dependent for lighting. Also, some lighting modifiers are huge and need a lot space.

Keep in mind that lighting may combine several strobes or flash units positioned at various horizontal and vertical angles and distances, along with reflectors and screens. The camera(s) can also be positioned at various vertical and horizontal angles and distances, often lens focal length dependent.

A small cramped studio can be done and that's what I have now, but it is not very versatile. A large open space, preferably with high ceilings is a blessing in a photo studio. Of course, I can't hope for a ceiling higher than about 12 feet. But I can find greater depth and width.
 
If you understood photographic lighting, you would know that high ceilings and good distances help immensely. This is to facilitate making adjustments between soft and hard light which can be distance to subject dependent for lighting. Also, some lighting modifiers are huge and need a lot space.

Keep in mind that lighting may combine several strobes or flash units positioned at various horizontal and vertical angles and distances, along with reflectors and screens. The camera(s) can also be positioned at various vertical and horizontal angles and distances, often lens focal length dependent.

A small cramped studio can be done and that's what I have now, but it is not very versatile. A large open space, preferably with high ceilings is a blessing in a photo studio. Of course, I can't hope for a ceiling higher than about 12 feet. But I can find greater depth and width.
I think your flat will be very elegant and cool in black. These are some ideas flying around the www, hopefully inspiring. Shelving can be really inexpensive and in black, it just looks elevated.
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I live in a rather small flat (39 m2), but as the SEALS say, work with what you have. I actually love it, it is my and my kid's peace and privacy. Great neighbours, great location, good public traffic, good grocery stores, nice walkways... I made a turn within the main room (three in one, living, sleeping and working station) two weeks ago, swapped places of furnishings and the piano, and now it looks and functions much better. However that line of thought took almost 3 years to figure out:thankyou:
 
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