The Before
I inherited a living room with a giant TV/DVD/stereo system, a hideous and giant laminate shelf thing, a small bookshelf, two uncomfortable chairs, the annual JET wall calendar and a pretty nice coffee table. The TV was placed in the far corner, which made the room into a sort of corridor, with everything crowded over on the TV side of the room. Also, the chairs were so low and the TV so high that you had to crane your neck back to watch anything. It was awful.
View from the kitchen: the chairs, the bookshelf and the calendar. The red chair's back doesn't stay up on its own; you have to prop it against a wall.
View from the bedroom: the TV, the hideous shelf, the fan, the coffee table.
View from outside: the corridor effect.
See the extended entry for the After pictures!
The After
I bought a couch and a desk, I moved the TV and bookshelf, I tossed the calendar, I painted the walls "Chokoretto Brown" (it was really like painting with melted chocolate!), I added some plant life and I hung up my quilted wall hanging from India, as well as some photos I took in India.
As I don't have any photos of my apartment with its old fluorescent lighting, I didn't bother to take any pictures that demonstrate my now-cozy halogen lighting. But believe me, it's cozy. Halogen lamps are strangely expensive in Japan -- no IKEA! -- and the fairly basic hanging lamp I bought cost about US$60. Yikes.
The new view from the kitchen.
The new view from the bedroom.
My desk, bought from a recycle shop for about $15.
There was something nice, in a way, about the spareness of my old living room, but I've seen ophthalmologists' waiting rooms with more personality. Something as small as the choice of calendar makes a huge difference, I think. My super-cute calendar, which somehow manages to always match the color of my wall no matter what the current month's color scheme is, makes me happy every time I look at it. Things like that, seemingly frivolous things, are important, I think.
July is eggplant month!
Clicking on any one of the photos will take you to my Flickr page, where you can see more pictures of my living room, if you want.
Up next: my bedroom, or Now I Feel Like a Bunny Sleeping on a Stack of Pancakes.
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Comments (7)
Wowswers, the chocolate paint looks really fabulous. Nice choice! Am I right to assume that landlords there don't have a hissy fit when you choose to paint?
Posted by ~~Melissa | July 15, 2006 9:48 PM
wow, the chocolate paint looks wonderful. I don't think I would have thought of painting a room that color, but it's so warm and inviting. You did an amazing job transforming the apartment.
Posted by donna | July 16, 2006 3:32 AM
Thanks! I was scared to paint the walls such a dark color, but I really love it.
I live in teachers' housing owned by the government, so I don't really have any kind of landlord or manager. My supervisor will do a walk-through with me before I leave, but judging by how much crap was left behind for me, it's pretty lax.
Posted by Anjali | July 16, 2006 9:08 PM
wow. you did a great job.
love your blog, btw.
Posted by melissa | July 17, 2006 6:37 AM
Wow! You did a *fantastic* job with your re-decoration! I'm so impressed! You're so lucky! I wish I had a tatami floor! ^_^
Posted by Sera | July 18, 2006 3:54 AM
neato! i am inspired to paint my very american version of your old sparse apartment.
Posted by sarah | July 19, 2006 8:24 PM
Amazing makeover! Wow! I love the wall color. I've always been obsessed with white walls but seeing this really tempts me to make a change. The whole room really looks wonderful.
Posted by Sarah | October 20, 2007 8:20 AM