apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Inspiration: I am a painter and my husband is a musician, so we're both fairly creative people and our surroundings tend to reflect that. Our tastes run a little retro and we definitely have a sense of humor when it comes to decorating.

Our style: Retro suburban mod? Is that too weird? In any case we like to mix '50's sensibilities with outrageous '60's elements. And we love color!

Favorite room: The living room. It's nice and comfortable, and opens into the dining area where I do all my painting.

Most talked about element: The exposed brick wall in the living room gets a lot of compliments. Plus it keeps the house cool in the summer, score! Most embarrassing element: Well, I'm not sure if it's embarrassing but it's infinitely terrifying. The apartment is bombarded with giant spiders in the spring and summer. Giant. Giant. Spiders. Proudest DIY: The lime green wall that doubles as a mini art gallery. Three coats and it was done!

Dream source: Honestly, we'd like to fly to a whole slew of small towns in all parts of the country to pillage their thrift stores. The thrill of the hunt!

Reality source: Ikea, my dad (he's a wood worker and made our coffee table), countless thrift stores.

Best advice: Look into purchasing some original artwork for your home. The right piece doesn't have to be expensive and it can really set your room off beautifully.

Found treasure: One of our favorite pieces of furniture is the telephone stand/record holder (pictured in photo 12). It's one of a kind, purchased for $8 and hand painted by me. It's perfect for storing records and magazines.

Had forever: The vintage formica dining table is the first thing my husband bought for us when we got engaged. It's followed us through five moves so far and is currently my painting table.

Just got: That great orange chair in photo 2. We bought it from a girl at a garage sale. It actually wasn't for sale but we ended up with it anyway.

Thanks, Andrea and Mark!