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New Digs | Fresh Start Photos by Max Gordon
F
ollow these easy steps to make that apartment yours – before you even start really living in it!
PROPER PRIOR PLANNING Before moving into the apartment, carefully map out the floor plan. In this project, it was evident that the old sofa wasn’t going to fit without overwhelming the space. A new, sleeker & smaller sofa was selected prior to the move, and the old one sold on Craig’s List. Lead-time for sofas is typically 8-14 weeks. If your lease starts in 2 months+, start shopping now. Otherwise, buy a sofa “in stock,” but be willing to compromise. The stocked color might be a shade off from the fabric you really want, deal with it... the longer you search to find “the perfect sofa,” the longer it will take to arrive. When move in day comes (which we all dread), you will be happy you planned in advance. THE ART OF CAMOUFLAGE There is going to be something about the apartment that isn’t great, but hey, “it’s in the best neighborhood!”... “and who actually spends time at home anyways?” Well, at some point you will go home, and there will be something that annoys you every time you see it. In this case, it could have been the TV. There was only one place for it to go, so we had to devise a diversion: a dark wall. The dark grey paint helped the black TV blend in without making it a focal point in the room. If you know something is going to drive you crazy about the apartment, camo it immediately. We live in a city where we are constantly bothered, why let it happen in your own home?
42 • Resident April 2014
By Kate Bidinger