It's no secret that Urban Outfitters' home goods collection is targeted to younger apartment dwellers, but we liked this photo for its rather more realistic portrayal of apartment life. It's always struck us as highly unlikely that college students could afford the high-ceilinged, brick-walled, wood-floored backdrops for a lot of their furniture...
...but this 70s-era white-walled box with a stone tile floor looks a lot more like what we could afford while we were in college. Heck, what we can afford now.
We know the job of retailers and their advertising firms is to sell the fantasy of apartment life, but when it comes to trying to figure out how a piece of furniture is going to look in your space, that fantasy can quickly turn into resentment when that boxy couch only looks good with 15' ceilings.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
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view K T G's profile
Actually Philadelphia, where Urban is based, has a lot of apartment with exposed bricks, high ceilings, and wood floors, I lived in quite a few affordable ones while in college.
view lachute's profile
Houston has a lot of affordable apartments with those elements, too. We have people on welfare living in apartments that people in other parts of the country would absolutely covet.
view Brandyjane's profile
When I studied in Oregon, I too had exposed brick walls, high ceilings and wood floors -- in our dorms, no less.
view fraise's profile
You people seem to miss the point. Although there are exceptions, this picture is a more realistic portrayal of many people's living situations than the interior-design-porn that permeates most furniture advertising.
view dan121's profile
Gee - Thanks for letting us know that our apartments don't look like catalog settings....
...I never would have guessed.
view bepsf's profile
They have a balcony. I don't have a balcony..
The top picture doesn't illustrate well the kind of apartment that's not like the second one. It's there, but it's really scraping the bottom of the sink for a story.
view K T G's profile
while i am usually a nay-sayer.. I for one appreciate this post. somewhat.
It's always bugged me that this site is called APARTMENT therapy. NOT condo therapy, not bungalow therapy.. so where are the RENTALS? fall colors contest? I CANT PAINT MY WALLS. i can not put stone flooring in my bathroom. i can't paint my wood floors black, because I have crappy carpet.
anyway. yes, nice to see. take note, AT bloggers.
view antimatt's profile
Ditto what antimatt said.
view Mrs.Mack's profile