Small Apartments: Meinhilde’s After Bedroom

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In April 2013, I moved into my own apartment. Through luck and the help of family, I was able to get this small apartment in a house over 100 years old, renovated.

First, rest your eyes on the pinkness of the old bedroom.

And here is the finished product!

The Bedroom

We tore out the closet and put the bed against the wall. I got the bed, an Ikea model from Kijiji, because it had the most room underneath it for storage. Since there is no door between the living room and bedroom, I hung a noren (a Japanese curtain) to give a little privacy but still let in the light.

Along the west wall, where the bed used to be, we built a 2m PAX wardrobe, also from Ikea. It stores clothes, bedding, purses, etc, and is the only closet in my apartment!

I kept some details, like these antique radiators.

I installed my jewelry collection above the radiator. Having everything in plain sight makes it easier to switch jewelry more often. 

  

Between the back porch door and the wardrobe, I was able to fit a narrow bookshelf.

I sewed curtains for the windows, and bought this loon print from the Whetung Ojibwa Arts and Crafts Gallery in Curve Lake, Ontario.

The compact roll-top desk was scored from Kijiji. Most of the other ones I’ve seen were prohibitively expensive, and twice as large! The lock was broken, so my dad replaced it with a new lock from Lee Valley Tools. Now if guests come over I can just lock up the mess!

I also splurged and got a chartreuse wishbone chair. It’s very comfortable!

The west-facing window at the foot of my bed gets the most sun, so I’ve packed the ledge full of plants. I also sewed the curtains from Marimekko fabric with a dandelion print. The little painting is an original that my aunt commissioned for me from the Whetung Ojibwa Arts and Crafts Gallery.

 

This wall was an outside wall, with little insulation. So we added some foam insulation and covered it with beadboard. I originally planned to paint the beadboard white, but instead I just whitewashed it, to keep the grain of the wood visible. Since I don’t have air conditioning and Toronto summers can get quite hot, we also replaced the overhead lamp with a fan.

So what do you think? The room is small, just 17.5 ft x 7 ft, but it seems much more spacious now. Oh, and the pink walls are gone!

Click below to see the other before and afters from my apartment:

– before bathroom

– after bathroom

– before kitchen

– after kitchen