Tips improve apartment ambience

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 15, 2000

Seven quick tips for apartment dwellers, from Apartment Living: New Designs for Urban Living by Barbara B. Buchholtz and Margaret Crane (Rockport, $35). Many of the book's suggestions apply only to those who own their apartments and are free to repaint, restain floors, change countertops or make structural changes, but these ideas will work for renters:

• No need to feel shut in, even if you have no outdoor living space. Bring the outdoors in and create a garden feeling with potted plants, fresh flowers, wrought-iron or twig furniture, floral fabrics and botanical prints.
• Use a tall mirror to expand a room's height.
• Let a single design element bring drama and interest to an otherwise nondescript space. An unusual chair or table or a unique piece of art or pottery can be a focal point that turns a space from boring to eye-catching.
• If a window overlooks an unattractive view, don't hesitate to place a piece of furniture in front of it, such as a desk, chair or small chest. Don't completely block the window, but make something in front of it the focal point.
• Let only one piece of furniture dominate a small room. If the bed is large, keep dressers and chairs small.
• "Don't let the accumulated spoils of life crowd you out of apartment and home." You are not living in a storage locker. Get rid of things you no longer want or need, edit your possessions and store them neatly. Use under-bed storage, closets lined with shelves, and double-duty pieces such as end tables with shelves or drawers, ottomans with storage concealed inside or skirted tables with storage underneath.
• It's all in the details. You may not be able to repaint or move walls or make major structural changes, but you can add unusual coat hooks, drawer and cabinet pulls, or doorknobs. Replace plain white lampshades with something unusual. Hang an unusual chandelier. (Replace the landlord's ceiling fixture when you move out.) Use pictures, plants and accessories to bring color and interest to an all-white bathroom.

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