Plywood and Concrete

(dwell magazine)

The saga of my basement continues...

What does one do with a tiny room that has a toilet and a random set of stairs to nowhere? Well, first you use it as a bathroom, though there is no sink...And it actually kind of works as a guest bath. But, it's not ideal.

Interim Living Room

In a fit of pique with a touch of KonMari, I purged my sofa from my home. Threw it right into the street...well, the curb,...you know...

But that left me without living room seating. So I grabbed two of my outdoor Ikea chairs, with the black and white cushions, dug out the floofy white pillows and et voila!

Plants are on fire!

They say  there's no such thing as a green thumb, just take care of your plants. But I once killed a ponytail palm considered by some to be "the plant for idiots." I live in fairly bright house, when I don't have the curtains closed to save energy, and consider myself intelligent enough to water a plant...And yet...

Thirteen Tiny Bedroom Inspirations or Sleeping in the Beauty

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My bedroom is very small. And due to the fact that I just tear down walls whenever I feel the slightest bit of ennui, it is currently without drywall in some spots. So I've been staring and then searching for inspiration and then staring some more. And here's the problem, my bedroom is small. Like, tiny. It measures around 11' x 11'. And according to most sources, could fit inside the closet of a "small bedroom." I'm having trouble finding examples, is what I'm saying. "Small" to someone living in the midwest, where their kitchen is the same size as my house, 784 sqft, is much bigger than my "small." In California, and certainly Los Angeles, a 2400 sqft house in my neighborhood would start at 1.2 million. And my neighborhood isn't that posh! People move to it because the "housing prices are so much lower!"

The Day of the Bed or Dia de los Duerme

Traditional Bedroom by Carmel Interior Designers & Decorators Debra Campbell Design

Whilst perusing the images of painted floors on Pinterest, I became enamored with the iron beds I saw. And painted floor + iron bed made my  heart grow three sizes! Especially for my tiny bungalow house!

The above pic stunned me! Tiny room, giant bed; beautiful!

Then there's this one with the clapboard walls (and turquoise!):

Traditional Bedroom

What if the bed were painted? Love.

Eclectic Bedroom

This one is a little bit Spanish and lovely:

Traditional Bedroom by San Francisco Interior Designers & Decorators ADEENI DESIGN GROUP

I love this room...so simple and pretty...

Traditional Bedroom by Santa Monica Furniture and Accessories Marco Polo Imports

Another giant bed in a tiny room...It looks amazing! I could do this!

Eclectic Bedroom by Savannah Interior Designers & Decorators Linn Gresham Haute Decor

Another austere example. It looks so clean! 

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Sadly, I know my bedroom will never be white, but I can dream...

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When all else fails, make your own...this one includes instructions to make your dream bed...

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Since my bathroom is done and my kitchen is finished, I now get to focus on my bedroom. Which, according to my design instructor is the first room you should do...

It's easier to write checks and make decisions if you're sitting in your perfectly design bedroom...right?!

12 Tiny Living Rooms or Positively Primeval Design

My living room is 20' x 10'. Long and narrow. And the entry just opens right into it. No mud room, no partition, just "Hello, welcome to my mess!" So whatever I decide to do in there needs to be immediately impressive. And also covered in plastic and screwed down due to capricious children.

And, as ushe, most inspirations are for, like, double living rooms with enormous pointy coffee tables and seven sofas. So here's some of what I found...

Shelves and rattan! Stripes and yellow!

This is sort of what my entry problem is. Except I have a bit more room...for all the legos and food wrappers that collect. (Seriously, what is up with the food wrappers everywhere? Is it just my kids? They open them, toss the wrapper in the air, and then eat the food. Do they think my rug composts mylar wrappers? PS that is a great idea...composting living room rugs for food wrappers and loose Cheerios. Patent pending.).

Modern and functional. Masculine and feminine. Love.

This room is right up my alley. Except for the antlers. I'm over the animal heads. They are so everywhere. And serve no purpose except to say, "Yeah, I read Better Homes and Gardens and wear a fedora, you?" At least they also have a cowhide rug. And a fur blanket on the sofa.

White and cottage-ie. I can't say no to that. Unfortunately, my husband can.

Ooooh...tiny sofa, Lack table, tiny desk...it makes it look like I can actually get work done! And the turquoise rug...delicious.

Simple, bright, sheepskin, giraffe.

This one cheats a little in that it's a vignette in a giant room with high ceilings...but neutral and orange always make me happy.

To make up for that, here is an actual tiny space. I love these. They remind me of my dream of having my own Marie Antoinette inspired house. For escaping all the manliness that surrounds me...sometimes, it's like living with three Gaston's...

More fur. What are we Vikings?! How cold is it, really? Aside from that, I love the dark gray and the ceilings. And the built-ins for the TV. I just realized that none of the other rooms have TVs. Maybe they are all Vikings. But, if I were a Viking, which I technically am, I think I might watch that TV show Vikings. Mostly to scoff at the stuff they get wrong. And from where could I watch it? The internets, I guess...

Annnnd finally, this pretty space. Pale blue and neutral with lucite so it doesn't look full of furniture. Again, no TV, so how is one supposed to "relax?" I guess I could just read books. About Vikings.

All photos are available on my Tiny Space Design board on Pinterest.

Gray Bedrooms or Monochromatic Adjustable Beds

Gray bedrooms. I am obsessed. I love, love color so much, and yet I am drawn to these moody gray bedrooms.

With a touch of turquoise:

Mid century flair:

Simple and cottage-ie. But no candles. Those wouldn't last a minute vertically.

Mostly white:

Mostly Gustavian:

Black painted floors? Yes, please. Windows opening in? My soulmate...

Dark gray closet doors with mirrors...I think I combine them all...in a tiny, tiny room...

All images from Pinterest. On my Bedroom Fabulousness board.

Skeleton of a Closet

Traditional Bedroom by North Eastham Architects & Designers Peter McDonald Architect

I am in desperate need of some closet inspiration. In a fit of...anger? exasperation? boredom...there it is...I tore out my old closet. The old closet was built in the 1920's, and is not up today's mass consumerism standards.

Here's a photo of my old closet. After I demo'd the plaster, but before I took out all the lathe.There used to be a regular door that opened out, into the room, for the closet door. But then, with the bedroom door there were too many doors in one tiny room, so I removed it and hung a curtain.

 I had some espresso and frosted sugar cookies right before demo.

This is a better photo of the whole wall with the bedroom door and the opening to the closet. 

See?! Look at all that space that was basically unusable! How was I to organize anything?! You can see the little plastic drawer unit that sits inside the closet.

Here's how it looks now. I have a large Indian tapestry hanging as a door/curtain, and it's a lot messier now.  And I removed the dangling electric wires. I mean, I love the industrial look, but I do not like fires.

So, that's where I am. Trying to figure out how to finish the closet I started. Header or no header? And what kind of doors? It's a puzzler...

I could stick with the curtain look. But use a less busy curtain. The tapestry I have now is not very relaxing.

Eclectic Bedroom by Los Angeles Interior Designers & Decorators Susan Manrao Design

But then! Barn doors! How I love them. It might work, if I have two small ones. But my closet would never be fully open. There would always be a door covering part of it. 

Contemporary Bedroom by Mill Valley Interior Designers & Decorators Jute Interior Design

I love the idea of two doors that open out. These look about the right period for my house. And they are simple and clean.

Contemporary Bedroom by Norwich Architects & Designers Smith & Vansant Architects PC

I'm gonna have to figure out how hard built-in's would be. I'm married to a virgo, they are very,...exacting...

Because this closet looks spectacular!

Traditional Bedroom by Atlanta Interior Designers & Decorators The Belding Group, Inc

This closet is probably more like what I need to do. These doors look very much like the Ikea closet systems you can design and buy. Then I can just pop it in and frame out the space and I'm done!

Modern Bedroom by Other Metro Architects & Designers Shmidt Studio

Except that these mirrored french doors and gorgeous!

Traditional Bedroom by Manhattan Beach Architects & Designers Tomaro Design Group

Back to what I want for my bedroom. Clean, neat, bright, organized. I still don't think the curtain is the way to go, but I found this room striking:

Traditional Bedroom by Raleigh Closet & Home Storage Designers California Closets - Triangle, Triad and NC Coast

This Old House has another incredible built-in, and it makes me want to cry a little:

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Or! I could just shove my bed into the closet and get some dressers and wardrobes.

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Another built-in with french doors. I'm gonna have to keep my eyes open for salvaged french doors.

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It's totally the way to go...right?

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Floor Remodel

I was visiting a friends house and she had just finished remodeling. She had chosen the prettiest gray ceramic tiles for her floor. The modern plank kind. And I thought it looked so pretty and light. 

We have hardwood floors in our house and after the new pretty bathroom, I think the rest of the house looks dark and dreary. The living room is north facing and usually full of children.

Here are the only pics I have of my living room. Which proves two points: 1. It's too dark to photograph properly and 2. It's never clean. Because no one photographs a dirty living room.

Remember your living room before you had kids?

Here's the fireplace in the daylight:

Here's a better shot of the wood floors with all the other colors I have going on in there. The green wall is now painted captivating teal, I think.

Here's the new color...Look! Christmas in June!

Here's our giant bookcase and the front door, with the wood floors. They are pretty worn and scratched, especially by the door. And they no longer have any protective sheen. 

So, yeah, I want to paint my hardwood floors. It solves so many of my problems! It will lighten up the space and protect the floors from further damage. Not to mention the part of our bedroom that's missing some floor due to a ceiling leak. The floor was damaged and removed, but the sub-floor is still perfect. Hopefully, we can kind of fake some planking and then paint over it.

Here are some pretty options:

Cream Floors!

Gray! (Tumblr told me that it's gray in the US and grey in the UK. That sounded good to me!)

Gray on gray faux carpet!

Gloss White!

Black! (Although it will not exactly solve my lighting issues).

Change color for different rooms! My room could be yellow; the boys' room, olive!

And my favorite room, with matte white floors. I demanded my husband build me that bed. And we keep it sort of neutral. Maybe I only like it because it looks so clean and I know my room will never be that clean. We have too small a house for that kind of minimalism.

Let me know when uber-crammed closets and plastic dressers come back in style. Because I'll have so many pics of that, at least.