The First Apartment Book

by Schuneman, Kyle; Summerville, Heather (CON); Schmelzer, Joe

• ISBN13: 9780307952905
• ISBN10: 0307952908
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-08-28
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter

Summary

Break out of the white-walled world of first apartments and tap in to your blue-sky decorating dreams with star designer Kyle Schuneman's smart, bold ideas for any budget. First apartments are so exciting because you can finally do what you want with your own space, but they can be tricky to decorate. Kyle Schuneman knows that a paper-thin wallet and four plain walls don't have to stand between you and your perfect home. Kyle, 26, is a decorating prodigy who has designed first apartments for friends, clients, and himself, braving logic-defying floor plans, space-challenged rooms, and picky landlords. In The First Apartment Book,Kyle shares brilliant design ideas and thirty simple DIY projects that show how anyone can infuse a first home with personality-whether you're renting, moving in with a roommate or significant other for the first time, or are a newly minted owner eager to put your stamp on your place. The First Apartment Bookis both a tour of amazing photographs from ten real homes across the country and a hardworking resource of great ideas. Kyle explains how each of the featured apartments achieves the perfect balance between cool design and the homeowner's lifestyle, with a sprinkling of influences from the resident's city thrown in. Kyle scours flea markets for functional pieces with personality and incorporates Pollock-inspired art and touches of taxicab yellow to make a small studio in New York City function as four different yet coherent "rooms." Graffiti-like dip-dye curtains and a skateboard table reflect a Seattle renter's hip sensibility. In Cleveland, Kyle creates a modern preppy space for a plaid-loving local using subdued colors and careful pattern mixing. A couple's salon-style hanging of rock posters in Nashville feels utterly unique, and Kyle's clever ideas for storing to store their musical instruments keep the duo sane. Short on time and long on style, the thirty DIY projects include no-sew pillows, yarn-wrapped picture frames, and a dresser update using a little glue and fabric. Full of bold, vibrant photos and hundreds of big ideas for small spaces, The First Apartment Bookproves that no matter what your landlord, your floor plan, or your wallet says, there are no limits on how cool your first apartment can be.