Elements of Style Blog

I have had this room saved on my computer for months. I’ve loved it and looked at it several times. I think it’s at once calming, bold, graphic, organized but with personality. I wanted to try to recreate a similar look on a budget, so here are my picks:

An indoor/outdoor geometric rug from Grandin Road:

I found some affordable orange drapes on a kids decor site- I’d cut off the tabs and sew on rings instead:

A nice modern, clean lined oval coffee table:

The Petrie Sofa from Crate & Barrel would be perfect:

A fabulous bronze floor lamp and black throw pillows:

Hang a series of black and white framed portrait photographs, like this one I found on Art.com of Elizabeth Taylor that I love. Pick a few and have them printed the same size and frames identically.

A grouping of sleek white vases looks great on top of a dining table instead of a centerpiece.  Collect them individually or purchase a whole set (this set isn’t cheap, but it was too beautiful not to post!)

I saw this studio apartmenton Apartment Therapy the other day while researching small spaces…it’s only 300 square feet but so chock full of style and chic-ness that it appears much bigger! Everything this guy did is pure genius- from the narrow wall mounted shelves and fabulous pendant in his mini entryway to the dramatic paint job on the wall behind the headboard and the color coordination of his pin boards and lamp to his turquoise foo dogs (you know I spotted those fast!) It’s clean, cool and truly awe inspiring, no?

When decorating a super small space you have to use every inch your given, whether that be on the floor (like this teeny built in banquette area below (which you don’t have to build in, Ballard Designs has a great corner banquette available) or putting bookshelves everywhere floor to ceiling (and even over the door).

Designer/ former Domino staffer Tori Mellott is pretty much the queen of making a small space rock- her former apartment was given a bold wallpaper and bright colors to punch up the space, while using an open book shelves to divide off a work space without blocking light (I love this trick)

We all LOVED the pictures of her new space, with stripes running floor to ceiling to accent the height (and draw attention fromt he lack of floor space).

She then used her signature bold wallpaper in the kitchen, alongside a brave cabinet color. Small spaces really can take big, bold colors since you never have to use much.

One of my favorite small spaces was Domino’s coverage of Rashinda Jones’ 450 square foot apartment. The serene color palette with just little touches of bold color make it to lovely. I also adore the pairing of the very modern chairs with a traditional pedestal table to give the room some complexity. She also covered some of her shelving with curtains to hide the clutter.


And finally, my favorite studio apartment ever- Ms. Carrie Bradshaw’s (or should I say Mrs. Big’s?). What can I say, it’s a genius layout to begin with with the wide open foyer, kitchen nook, walk through closet/bathroom. Could there be a better floorplan for a studio? Nope. Adding to that are the new built ins around the tv (again, using every inch of vertical space), complete with bench for additional seating in the living area. So excited to see if her space stays the same for the second film!!!