Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Topping off the tank: Shelving above the toilet

I have been sitting here, trying very hard to think of a funny little story to open this post. But since this entry is about the area in your bathroom immediately above and around your toilet, it's a little difficult to come up with something that isn't completely gross. "Floating shelves above your floaters?" ... No. "The #1 thing for your #2s." C'mon. "Wipe away your storage worries?" Nope nope nope. So I decided against making those awful, awful jokes. You can thank me in the comments.

Instead, I'm just going to be straightforward: in a room as small as a bathroom, especially in a tiny apartment, storage space is precious. And for some reason, it's one of the rooms where "thinking up" is the most overlooked. The convenience of tons of shelves is sadly underutilized, and if there's useable wall space, many opt for a closed cabinet instead. Yet in a small space, open shelving can be the better choice. Rather than a heavy wooden cabinet, floating shelves can keep the room feeling airy, while leaving your necessities at your fingertips. There's also no reason to hide away your bathroom supplies: stacked toilet paper rolls and rolled towels can be artfully staged so it looks as good as it is functional. (You can always find a pretty box for all those tampons, 'cause not everything looks good out and in front.) The result also lends itself to a spa-like feel -- it's a nice way to class up a room where shit goes down.

Dammit, I'm sorry. That one slipped out.


I really dig the green, dark brown, and white palette of this bathroom by Kate Malo, a graphic designer for Kitchen and Bath Ideas. Via Better Homes and Gardens.


Powder blue fits this powder room -- even the stack of white toilet paper looks like a cloud. From Tell'er All About It via DIY Showoff.


The white shelves on the white walls make these shelves feel like a seamless part of the wall, creating tons of storage without taking up visual space. From The Order Obsessed, via Arianna Belle.


Wicker baskets coralling muted-green and white towels gives this bathroom a shabby chic sensibility. From Grace Brooke.


In stark contrast to the previous room, this bathroom, a project for Jordan Furniture by architect Shiraz Solomon, is sleek and modern. The wooden shelves and the pop of orange on the shelf keep the bathroom from being too sterile and stark. From Houzz.


IKEA does it again with a truly tiny bathroom. The white accessories keep the dark-tiled walls from closing in, and both the open shelves and the drawers go all the way to the ceiling. Via Emmas Design Blogg.


If you look at the rest of this bathroom on fixture manufacturer Kohler's blog, you'll see that it's about the size of my entire first apartment. Seriously. There's a goddamn couch in there. But those wire baskets and awesome accessories have won me over, despite my jealousy. From Kohler.


Shelves that stretch from wall to wall of this powder room maximizes storage in an otherwise miniscule space. From Rate My Space.


This Hudson Hotel bathroom has room to hold the toiletries they provide, as well as some room for guests to spread out their stuff and feel right at home. From Opalescent Minx.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

TAA on Pinterest: Sunday pins



As you probably know, I am obsessed with Pinterest. Pinterest, if you're not familiar, is a two-year-old social network based on "pinning" images to "boards" that you create -- a virtual moodboard or inspiration board. I can scroll for hours through the pretty things my friends pin: clothes, shoes, home accessories, inspirational rooms, art, cool photos...

I thought that it would be fun to bring a little bit of Pinterest to Tiny-Ass Apartment every week. Be sure to join Pinterest (email me for an invite if you need one!) and follow me (TinyAssApt) to see all of the eye candy I've found! (Did Simone just pin three pairs of Loubutins, an Essie nailpolish, and a cute kitten to her boards at four a.m.? Why yes, yes she did.)




Here's which image, featured on Tiny-Ass Apartment, has been most popular on Pinterest this week (click the picture to go to the pin page)...






I can find some pretty random stuff on Pinterest and online, and I've got a board for everything. This silly meme in my "Heh." board riffs on "HELLO YES THIS IS DOG" and the movie The Ring... If you get it, it's hilarious... and you probably spend too much time on Reddit.






Pin of the Week is my personal favorite pin, even if it has nothing to do with small space living. At first I thought this image was a painting, which needed to be on my wall post-haste. Then I realized it was a photo by Oeil Photography... Wow. (I still want it on my wall.)

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Behind door number one: Closet and cabinet door storage

I'm really too young for a Monty Hall / "Let's Make a Deal" reference, but here I go anyway. I understand that contestants would wear crazy costumes, and get groped by the host, then choose one door out of three. If you picked the right door, you'd get a car or something, and if you chose the wrong door, you'd get a goat. (Did they get to keep the goat? I would totally like a goat as a pet.)

But even though they might not want to bring back the show (maybe the host was too handsy), you can still play at home! And in the home version, EVERY door is a winner. The prize is… more storage space!

Well, it's a good prize if you live in a tiny-ass apartment, anyway. Here's a collection of all the different storage ideas that are hidden behind your closet and cabinet doors. (And one note before you try this at home: make sure you can close the door with your new rack or organizer on the back of the door BEFORE you install it, duh.)






This floor-to-ceiling closet door rack from Ana White, Homemaker has the added support of rolling casters at the bottom. It helps distribute the weight of the rack and its contents, while still gliding along and making it easy to open the closet door.



If you find your cleaning supply closet in need of cleaning, sort your various bottles and cans by type of cleaning job in racks mounted to the door of your closet. From Better Homes and Gardens.


Keep reading for more ideas for the kitchen and bathroom...

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

They see me rollin': "Drop-top" furniture

I am far from what you call a "car girl." I have the most basic car maintenance down (i.e., "Ask Dad."), but other than that things with engines mystify me. In fact, my coworker Freda recently pointed out something about my own car that I felt silly for not knowing. We both have Ford Focuses (Focii?), and she showed me how I can flip up my back seat in order to completely flatten and expand the cargo area of my hatchback. I had no idea! All that cargo space, just hiding there!

But while I may not be rollin' in a drop-top with gold-plated spinners (or "blades."  I heard someone use blades once, so I guess those are a thing), these two pieces of furniture certainly qualify as "drop-tops" in my book. And once you lift the hood, there's tons of storage space underneath.



Via Pinterest, this bed with storage under the mattress almost looks like a reverse-Murphy bed.


A "beachy" storage sofa from Ana White, Homemaker. The site contains incredibly detailed construction notes, plus other readers' submitted examples of finished projects.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Up a ladder: Even more loft beds

My party-planning lady-boss, Sophie, has a thing for ladders. You can often find her up one, either in our giant, freezing warehouse, or hanging a bit of decor at an event. She feels as comfortable high up in the hair as she does with both feet planted on the ground, and has survived the most gasp-inducing falls with the grace of a cat. (Although not my cat Bubo. Bubo lands with the same thud a sack of potatoes would make.) Me, I'm not so carefree when I'm gripping the sides of a ladder for dear life, looking down at the ground that I'm so sure will soon rush up and smack me in the face. But then again, if I had a gorgeous loft bed like one of these below, it'd be worth the risk to luxuriate in the comfy covers high up in the air.




Laddered loft over closet in a bright, youthful studio from Thirty-Something Drama Queen.



The dark finish and ornate details make this dramatic loft with reading nook feel like something the Vampire Lestat would have… if he didn't sleep in a coffin and all. From Beacon Hill Studios.



Bleached and breezy Cabo Polonio, Uruguay home by Solange van Dorssen via Desire to Inspire.



Well proportioned loft bed with stairs from Furniture for Small Spaces via efeMereality.



Clean, white Stockholm vacation rental from HomeAway UK.



Very practical loft bed with shelf stairs from Minor Details via BldgSpace.





Dreamy French artist's loft vacation rental from VRBO.



Bold and modern studio from We Heart It.



From WoodGears. Includes detailed construction notes.



Shabby chic studio by Hannes Soderland, via Homebug's Flickr.
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