(Here is the final tryout post from Monika Her first post can be found right here and the second one is here. Enjoy the tour!)
Name: Monika
Location: Oakland, CA
Size: 1256 sq.ft.
Years Lived: 2.5 years
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My home is definitely a work in progress, but since I moved in more than two years ago, it has changed quite a bit. It is an always evolving experiment of redecorating, reorganizing, finding new storage solutions, purging things and acquiring more treasures that we can't live without.
When I first moved in, it was just me and there seemed to be enough space for all my things. Eventually my boyfriend moved in and that is when things became very tricky. Finding room for all of our furniture, collectables, plants, books and clothes became an impossible task. We had to figure out a storage solution before we could unpack any of his belongings.
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We built a wall unit/bookshelf in the hallway that stands 16 ft wide by 11 ft tall. It holds everything from books and CDs to kitchen supplies and collectables. Everything was built right in the hallway as the rest of the apartment was filled with boxes and furniture from the move. We are still in the process of creating custom made boxes and magazine files to simplify the look of the bookshelf.
There are a few things that we have learned from that experience worth mentioning. We didn't find out until our next project, but it should be noted that you can purchase pre-varnished plywood from specialty lumber suppliers. This would have saved us a lot of time and headache. Varnishing in a small apartment with limited space is not ideal. Another lesson we learned is to not cut the wood ourselves. Unless you have access to a wood shop with professional tools, I'd recommend finding someone to make the cuts for you. We were cleaning up sawdust for three months afterwards!
The house is much more accommodating for both of us now, but we are always in the process of making it better. The easy solution to the storage problem would involve moving to a larger space but for now we are staying put and just becoming more creative.
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AT SURVEY
Style: Mixture of retro modern and antique.
Inspiration: History. I think every period has something to offer to us and looking back can give us a new perspective on design today.
Favorite Elements: High ceilings. Before living in a loft, I lived in a victorian with high ceilings. I am definitely used to them now and places with low ceilings are claustrophobic to me.
Biggest Challenge: Because the loft is one single space, it is challenging to create an impression of separate areas and define them without dividing the space too much. It is also a small space, and keeping things organized and uncluttered can be difficult. The bookshelf that we built helps tremendously, but we are still in the process of streamlining it.
What friends say: This is a true pad! How do you ever leave the house?
Biggest Embarrassment: The heating unit. It is a true conversion loft with an older heating unit. I have so many ideas what to replace it with, but I haven't gotten to it yet.
Proudest DIY: Probably the bookshelf. It is massive and we didn't realize how much work it was going to be.
Best Advice: Research, research, and research. There are so many resources out there, Apartment Therapy being one of them. Get as many ideas and quotes as you can. When planning your project, figure out which parts are do-it-yourself, and which parts you're better off art directing.
Just got it: We got the dining table before the holidays at the Alameda flea market for $100. Since then we have reupholstered the chairs, and buffed all the plastic. It looks brand new now. It is amazing what few hours of work will do to some older pieces that you find.
Dream Source: Garage sale at Ray and Charles Eames' house.
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RESOURCES:
Most things in the house are from flea markets, Craigslist, thrift stores, eBay or we built them ourselves. In addition to the bookshelf, we have also built our office desk in the loft upstairs as well as more wardrobe space.
Kitchen:
Tabco Industrial stainless steel table: Craigslist. Similar can be found at restaurant supply places.
Sideboard: IKEA, donated from a friend.
Bar Stools: Craigslist. They area a copy of the LEM Piston Stool. I would love to replace them one day with the real thing.
Living Room:
Couch: vintage, thrift store in Washington state.
White Kodawood side chairs: vintage, Craigslist.
Slatted bench: vintage, Craigslist.
White coffee table: vintage, thrift store in Washington state.
White bookshelves: designed by me at my previous job as a window store designer.
White chandeliers: designed by me at my previous job.
TV stand: IKEA, as-is section.
Wood chair with black leather seat: vintage, found at the Daly City flea market.
Rug: vintage, eBay.
Dining Area:
Chromecraft dining set: vintage, Alameda flea market.
Upstairs:
Orange Steelcase chair: thrift store in Pittsburgh, PA.
Green Do/More steel chair: Craigslist.
Antique velvet Gentleman's chair: estate sale in Berkeley Hills.
Hallway:
Bookshelf: custom built.
Cotterman library ladder: Craigslist.
Bookshelf lighting: IKEA.
Bathroom:
Drakkar Large Bottle: antique store in Seattle, WA.
Mirrored Bathroom accessories (soap dispenser, tissue box, framed art, cylindrical containers): found over time at various flea markets and thrift stores.
Balcony:
Eames chairs: eBay.
Garden fountains and angel shelf supports: gift from a family member.
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-Monika
Love it!
view jfinteriors's profile
Might be a work in progress but it's working for me. Some lovely vignettes and a lot of stuff but just edges on the right side of clutter.
view susang's profile
I love your home! Thanks for sharing!
view agentlemonade's profile
Beautiful house! And that is coming from someone who hates the color orange.
I love the bookcases and you must have been so happy when you found that ladder on Craigslist - it goes perfectly together.
I would be soooo nervous of my Apple monitors falling down to the first level (especially with my cats around). I definitely would have to secure them to something to calm my nerves.
The Arco-inspired floor lamp in the kitchen is a nice touch and I love the cat bowls on the the base. Touches like that throughout the house are what make it so great. The sheepskin on the chair looks so comfortable. In fact, the whole living room looks very comfortable.
I'm pretty sure AT needs Monkia. It seems like a no-brainer to bring her aboard.
view shlacking's profile
awesome place! could you share where the bird prints are from in the bathroom? i love those mirror frames as well!
view erinpearce's profile
The 80's called; it wants the bottle of Drakkar Noir back.
view guerilla's profile
are those laundromat chairs on the (patio? has lots of plants and looks outdoors)? I've always wanted some.
view adamw's profile
This looks great, and it does help that is a huge space. I'm full of envy. :-)
view Orchid64's profile
I have the same Pee Wee doll! My friends' children are frightened by it!
Lovely home.
view Mavesse's profile
It looks like a place inhabited by real, live people who are surrounded by things they love. It looks like a home.
I do love that plant on the table. Anyone know what it is?
view A Charmer's profile
Very cool house with good use of space!
Now just get rid of all those cats and cat stuff and it will be perfect!!
view chicity1126's profile
I love this place so very, very much. Many of the house tours on here are cool, but a bit generic. This place screams with personality and warmth. Your vintage round dining table and chairs, so killer. I love the bedroom, your amazing bookshelf, the sad owls, orange clocks, white chairs in the living room, artwork, rugs, "wet" coasters....everything. Oh, the bathroom! Fantastic. I am going to look at the photos again. (And, I suspect, again). I'm going to bookmark this tour. LOVE IT. Yes, I'm gushing.
view WendyJ's profile
Where is your wine rack from?
view lisetiffner's profile
you had me at the succulent. what a lovely, warm, wonderful place.
view littlebunnyfoofoo's profile
I have similar chairs. How do you buff plastic?
view thebradseed's profile
Can't help picturing a marijuana plant on the glass table. That light reminds me too much of hydroponics.
As for that enormous bookshelf, i am soooo jealous. Just imagine the number of books you can store there and the satisfaction of climbing a ladder to grab a book.
Mafan
high power laser RULZ
view mafan's profile
Hi eribear12,
the prints in the bathroom are vintage from 1979. They came with the mirrored frames. My boyfriend found them in a thrift store in Pittsburgh, PA. He bought them for the frames, but I love the prints as well.
shlacking, I am always trying to figure out a spot for my cats' bowls. This is not an easy task in an open space like my loft. The base of the lamp seems to work great, since the bowls are off the floor and my friends don't walk into them.
bahhns, it is a large balcony. I wish it was larger since I love plants and there isn't enough space for all of them. The chairs are vintage molded fiberglass eames chairs. The ones that I have feature four-legged base, but you can also find them with wire base or a rocker base.
A Charmer, this is one of my favorite succulents. I have more of them on my balcony. They are so easy to take care of and they will survive almost anything! This particular one is Aeonium ‘Mixed Green’. There are so many different types of Aeonium though and they are all beautiful. To get an idea what is out there, you should check out Manuel M. Ramos' flickr page. He has some amazing collection of succulents photos:
http://flickr.com/photos/_mm_/sets/72057594137518455/
chicity1126, you sound like my boyfriend! He has issues with our cats as well, but I think he secretly loves them. I am glad that you like the place otherwise.
lisetiffner, the wine rack is vintage from a thrift store in Pennsylvania. I wish I could give you more info but it is not marked. If you like this style you might consider Kartell's wine rack. I also have seen a similar one recently at the Other Shop on Divisadero St. in San Francisco. It might still be there.
the bradseed, we have used Novus (scratch remover). It is great on plastic and acrylic. You can get it on this website:
http://www.novuspolish.com/
We use the Novus plastic polish on many of our vintage pieces. With a little elbow grease, you can make old and scuffed plastic look shiny and new. You can apply it with a clean, soft cloth, but if you plan on restoring large items such as furniture, it might be worth investing in a buffer. We use a small six inch buffer. You can get a basic one for under $30.
Thank you all for looking and for all your comments! Let me know if you have any other questions.
view monikatini's profile
It looks like my links didn't work. Let me try this again.
Manuel M. Ramos' flickr page, a great resource for succulents:
http://flickr.com/photos/_mm_/sets/72057594137518455
Novus website:
http://www.novuspolish.com
view monikatini's profile
Go, Monika!
Love the home.
Love the idea that M might be a permanent AT'er very soon...
view JoJenks's profile
the bookcase is wonderful.
i also really like the bedroom.
view *elspeth's profile
Excellently done! It's all the good things others have written amd it's just plain fun. Maxwell - Your search has ended.
view Chris - Annapolis's profile
Her first post was good, the second -- not so much -- even though I LOVE the idea of cloth "wallpaper" for apartments. This was an excellent house tour though. Congrats Monika!
view mlleErica's profile
This is great! The monstrous shelving is amazing, and I love seeing the magazine holders in their proper habitat.
view visualingual's profile
This place blew me away! Love everything! Orange is my favorite color, and your home is very inspiring! I'm incredibly jealous of your wall of bookshelves and all your wall art. Your home certainly does not look like a work in progress, everything looks fabulous. Thanks so much for sharing!
view suzy8track's profile
What's the bathroom paint color?
view nelle49's profile
I never thought I would love any house tour as much as I love this one.
view spiralcma's profile
The most successful element of this wonderful place is that it is neither feminine or masculine. Anyone would feel comfortable. It is real style, where the key element is not what is in or trendy but what is best for you and what best reflects your character. You have succeeded where few at have. I also admire your comments about how the places changes with acquisitions and the changes in your acquired tastes. Bravo!!
Thank you so much for sharing this.
view click212's profile
I don´t quite get how 1200 sq. ft. are not enough space for two people, but otherwise: Nicely done.
view Lillian's profile
I have the same yellow place mats! They are so wonderful.
I often lurk the site but never comment; this home tour made me comment. I love it!
view LindsayCollette's profile
I smiled at the cat bowls on the lamp, I'd like to know if you found a creative way to handle the litter-box problem all kitty-lovers have?
view AZkathy's profile
I know I'm going to get a reputation as nothing but a cranky ol' lady, but why the placemats under things?? It is so mom-like. Like the plant on the table? The table it great. The chairs are great. The plant is great. And, then there's that screwy, thick, fringed (no less) placemat! What's the deal?
Same for the great stainless table in the kitchen with that beautiful orange bowl. And, another placemat!
Otherwise, great job. Love the office. Love the yellow fan. Love the bookcases.
Just try it without the placemats.
view Ms. Pea's profile
Love the overal decor very much, just what I am also striving for, but with MCM pieces and other stuff too. What I love is that you mix in other styles and vintages into what is overall very much a late 70's, early 80's inspired mod look.
Love the very graphic artwork, I'm learning to create something in that veign myself. Is the piece over the TV vintage or is that currently available? I love the mirrored art work above the dinning table.
Overall, a feast for the eyes and senses.
I will have to grab some of the shots to put in my inspiration book...
view ciddyguy's profile
ah! that's the happiest succulent I've ever seen =) nice place!
view lovelyrita's profile
Oh so they are Eames, at first look their color and arrangement made me think of those lines of chairs fixxed together on a single base that you always see at laundromats, a quick google search and I was able to find exactly what I was thinking of:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/99/298247047_38fa306247.jpg
Thought it would be really cool seating solution to have an actual laundromat seating set!
Great place, I hope to see more Monika Posts, loved your DIY magazine boxes too btw.
view adamw's profile
What an incredible place! Great photos:) I love the bookshelf unit...so jealous...I slobbered all over my keyboard! The whole place looks so comfortable and there is such great flow from room to room. Everything is so unique and yet it each of your pieces, lights, pictures..comes together beautifully! Also...I want that white hand on the desk...don't know why...I just love it!
view Jean P's profile
Really like your place. I have that same dining table set. I can't believe you got it all for $100. I bought mine years ago for well over that. I have the speakers by your tv too... they're great. Can you tell me the brand and name of the orange paint color in your office? Love it and have been having a hard time finding the right color orange to paint my spare bedroom/office with. I have a million orange paint chips now and none of them are what I want. Didn't think it would be that hard to find.
view valery's profile
i really like the mix of vintage, modern and pratical ...
The use of old soda bottle for oil and vinegar
And the 2 Grundig audiorama 60' bowl speaker around the new flat screen
(just missing the conical original feet)
http://www.audiorama.info/aud5000.html
I have almost the same Tv-Speaker set at home ;.)
a house that I really love
view teddy_qui_dit's profile
Thanks Monika!
view A Charmer's profile
Oh man. I'm so glad you posted your loft...it looks amazing! I'm also glad you guys kept the Monument to Drakkar Noir...
Loved your posts this week :)
view grace's profile
I absolutely love everything about your place.
It's awesome!
AT: Please keep Monika.
view urbangrace's profile
hi monika, love the place ...
can i ask what size is your flat panel tv? looks like a perfect size for the stand.. looking for something similar for my 42 inch. thanks in advance.
view noodlesalad's profile
C
view m's profile
That was supposed to be a C plus.
Burn the bookcase and all of its contents!
view m's profile
One more question about buffing plastic: do the Novus products work on transparent/translucent plastics, too? From the pictures, it looks like those chairs are constructed from plastic that you can see through. The product doesn't cloud the plastic?
Thanks!
view thebradseed's profile
Monika - Your place is rad and the post is high quality.
view ApartmentTherapist's profile
Hi AZkathy,
for the litter box I am using a Litter-Robot and I love it. It has been great so far, especially with two cats. They are not cheap, but very reliable and you can find them used on Craigslist. The litter box is placed in a small storage den under the loft area. The cats go through a small tunnel from the bathroom that way we can keep the storage doors closed and they love the tunnel!
http://www.litter-robot.com/
valery, the orange paint took forever to find. Just like you I have so many paint chips now! Finally we chose Benjamin Moore Fireball Orange (2170-10).
I really like the way it turned out. We used it on a pretty small wall, as it is very bright.
nelle49, for the bathroom walls we used two colors in the similar tones. The darker one that you see in the pictures is Ralph Lauren Sunwashed Blue (RL Number: IB82). On the opposite walls a lighter color: Ralph Lauren Faded Seafoam (RL Number: VM125).
noodlesalad, it is a 46", almost too big, but it is really fun watching movies now. I used to have a 20" TV for a long time and it was just fine. We don't have cable so it is mostly for movies.
thebradseed, the dining chairs are translucent. The Novus will get rid of scuffs, scratches, and it won't cloud the plastic. It will make it shiny. I have ordered the Novus products online, but you can also get it at Tap Plastics (West Coast):
http://www.tapplastics.com/
Again, thank you all for your nice comments! It is a somewhat overwhelming experience having so many people look at my house. I love all the feedback, recommendations, and additional resources that you have shared with me.
view monikatini's profile
Pulp Fiction! I love it. Very unique, warm and personal. Love those bookshelves and your plants!
view bejeweled's profile
That was supposed to be a C plus.
m, have you ever given any place an A, and if so, which one?
Genuinely curious.
view Henrietta the Terrible's profile
The books are so wonderfully organized!!
view amelie de lune 's profile
Love, love LOVE the place. I have major bookshelf envy, and the loiving room looks really cozy.
view Green Martha's profile
being from nyc I find it hilarious when two people feel they need more than 1200 sf. It looks utterly spacious to me! And lovely, I got a lot of inspiration from this post.
view Inza's profile
What is the ceiling in the bedroom made of?
view Inza's profile
what is the style of the dish with the oranges on the table, and the yellow one i can see tucked away in the cabinet? i just started collecting the dansk kobenstyle pots, but i smell an additional new obsession!
view curvatura's profile
gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. all of it. i want.
view BostonGal's profile
Regarding plastic buffing with Novus products, you weren't lying. I haven't used the product more than to spot test it on a lucite chair--and for that I didn't even use a buffer--but it's working beautifully. It hasn't restored every scratch, but it's a huge improvement and the one major scuff mark that particularly bothered me is gone. Gone! It's like being back in 1969 all over again. Thanks!
view thebradseed's profile
Hi the bradseed,
I am very happy that Novus products are working for you. Good luck restoring your chair.
Inza, the ceiling in the bedroom is cement. The whole loft has the same ceiling. It gives it more of an industrial feel.
curvatura, the dish on the table and the yellow dishes that you noticed tucked away are Dansk Kobenstyle. I love the design as well. I completely understand your obsession! I went through it myself. It sounds like you know all about it. For those of you who don't, you should check it out:
Vintage Gear: Dansk Kobenstyle
view monikatini's profile
Amazing work! I have always admired your talent as an artist.
view Hummingbird's profile
Eclectic at its best... perfection!!!
view H is for Home's profile
I love your house, there is a beautiful bold use of color and style!! I can't believe no one else asked this...where did you get that amazing light in the kitchen (the one with the kitty bowls on the base!?) or what is it called and where might I find something similar? Thank you for sharing your space!
http://katiecartersbeautybar.blogspot.com
view KatieCarter's profile
What should I call the room that keep all books.. love that !
view nithiy's profile