On my first mini house tour of Kevin’s apartment I couldn’t shoot the living room which had become a kind of dumping ground, albeit for fabulous furnishings and objects. Well, after several years of living in the small space, Kevin has finally painted the walls and pulled it all together. “Wow,” is all I can say about what he’s accomplished with a galley-like space that’s just shy of 9″ at its widest point.
Kevin was so determined to maximize every inch of the room that he even removed the baseboard mouldings in order to get his low-slung credenza right up against the wall; the legs came off to drop the TV down to optimal viewing height. The floating desk and shelves help to squeeze additional functionality into the room.
Kevin claims that now that the space is “done” he won’t be tinkering with the design but I don’t believe him for a second; he’s an inveterate junk hound who trolls Goodwill like a miner panning for gold. And he finds plenty.
The carpet beneath the coffee table is composed of 16 Flor carpet tiles; Kevin plans to install a contrasting border as his next project. Details are critically important to Kevin; just look at how he dressed up the window pelmet using vintage wallpaper.
At the other end of the space, Kevin has kept things light by pushing chairs up against the wall, thus allowing the architectural table legs to have maximum impact.
Some designers posit that you have to keep a decorating scheme neutral in a small space but Kevin’s living room proves that you can pump up the volume on both colour and style as long as the scale of everything is carefully considered.
April 22nd, 2010 at 8:24 am
That sofa!!! It’s fantastic (the rest of the room is too)
April 22nd, 2010 at 9:52 am
Wow! Great colorful space and I must say… I LOVE the artwork!
Karen
April 22nd, 2010 at 10:18 am
Can you arrange shopping buddy trips? So much stuff. But good stuff! And somehow, it all works.
April 22nd, 2010 at 10:28 am
Stunning space – love all the visual interest. Would love to know the paint colour Kevin used – please share!!!
April 22nd, 2010 at 2:26 pm
keep the house tours coming!
April 22nd, 2010 at 2:49 pm
Kevin……….you are good.
April 22nd, 2010 at 6:01 pm
Always love the house tours!
April 22nd, 2010 at 6:45 pm
i wish MY local Goodwill store yielded such treasures all the time. it’s really hit or miss with the one near me.
April 23rd, 2010 at 8:20 pm
Wow! I love this look, very visually stimulating! Esp. love the Thonet (or Thonet-style?) bentwood chairs.
April 24th, 2010 at 6:06 am
Jennifer, although he was skeptical, Kevin bowed to a friend’s recommendation and tried Walmart’s house brand of paint priced at just $17.95 per gallon. The colour he selected is called Sea Foam although I detect very little green in it. He was very happy with the quality and consistency and says he covered the formerly white walls in one coat! I will definitely give this a try in my next apartment and will do a full post about the product.
April 24th, 2010 at 6:15 am
thanks again for another great feature. You are my home page and I look forward to what you are doing all the time. Just wondering – I am looking for a table similar to the blue one Kevin has (small and with almost invisible legs because I have a small apartment). Is that vintage or still obtainable?
cheers,
Paul
April 24th, 2010 at 6:21 am
Paul, Kevin’s table is Vignelli’s 1994 Paperclip table by Knoll and it is still in production. I’ll find out where Kevin scored his because there’s no way he paid full retail for it, not a chance.
April 29th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Love the use of colour
June 2nd, 2010 at 2:33 am
I echo Catherine: those shades of blues (walls, rug, accessories) and browns of the furniture go together SO very well. (in my head, that number ‘love & marriage… go together like a horse and carriage’ is playing). Although it’s eclectic (my style, too)… it just works.