As a favor to my darling brother, I helped him shop for his apartment. He was starting over with his life in a way and he needed the basics, somewhere comfortable to live and centrally located. His apartment was clean and basic. White walls, beige carpeting, not a lot of character or charm.
Well, my brother is full of personality and creative so I thought his place should reflect that. He was also newly single so we didn't want it to scream "man cave".
We set up a little bar, an office all in the living room.
We broke up the long living room into separate spaces: entry with table (similar available at Target for $120, http://tgt.biz/1ckD83A) and coat rack from Bed Bath and Beyond for $50, http://bit.ly/16YGu6T; a sitting area with bar and office. What more does a guy need?
The sofa was a steal at $300, but a similar one is available at Crate and Barrel for under $1000 :
We used a pedestal table in the kitchen for space reasons, the always wonderful Doksta from Ikea;
A great pedestal table for a budget. However if there is no budget, I highly recommend the Saarinen (more on my obssession with this table later):
The chairs are vintage Scandanavian, (like our heritage) from Spinario. If you are in the Minneapolis area, check this gallery out:
A white cowhide is on the floor to cover the generic vinyl.
I will admit the artwork is a little intense. The painting is one of my brothers's. It is a portrait of one of his buddies. I think it is an unusual way to break up the space in a rental when you can't paint or alter anything.
And this story has a happy ending- my brother will be starting over AGAIN, but this time with his beautiful new fiance and her lovely daughter as they search for a place together!
I am so happy for them, and my brother as he starts this next phase of his life.
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