cheap zen decorating ideas

janet lee: my nameis janet lee. we are actually in my apartmentin lower manhattan. it's my little nutshelldecorating lab. and the basis of myblog and book. in 20 years, i've lived inabout a dozen small space apartments. but along the way, i really haveroad tested what works and what doesn't forsmall space living. so i'm always fighting the goodfight against clutter.

so as soon as i walk in thefront door after a long day, my mail lands here. and these are just rubberboating straps. i always like to useuntapped design resources 'cause it's cheap. and also it gives yourspace a unique touch. so in my one bedroom apartment,i created all these different living zones so thatthere's a nice flow and a sense of dimensionin the space.

and this kitchen flows rightinto the living room, so i wanted to give it avisual division. and i did that by usingcaviar tins. they're brand new, so ididn't have to deal with the clean up. but i liked using them as acollection to make a real bold style statement on this wall. i guess i got kind of crazyabout chalkboard paint, 'cause it really comes in allthese vibrant colors.

i didn't know that. i used it for my back splash. and since i like typography somuch, that is actually an equations for a hard-boiledegg. so every time i look atit, it makes me smile. so my first approach here inthis apartment was with color. and i actually went dark andchose grays for the wall. but by choosing a cooler coloron the color wheel, it actually tricks the eye intothinking that walls recede and

go further back thanthey really do. and so my living room doeslook a little larger than it really is. right here is my living roomslash home office, and it has to really functionas a home office. this is a six foot desk wherei do all of my work at home, all my blogging. it doubles as a buffettable for parties. it doesn't take up visual realestate, because it is clear.

when i moved into thisapartment, it had no architectural interest at all. it was pretty much afeatureless box. i'm a renter, and most rentershave these ugly folding closet doors. i decided to use artist'sstretcher bars to create my own paneled moulding onthe closet doors. and i used removable picturehanging strips so i can take it with me when i moveto my next space.

so we're in my bedroom. and the ceilings arereally high. i liked keeping it white, but iwanted to have a little bit of dimension and arton the walls. so i found this really greatartist, his name is tord boontje and loved his paperdie cut curtain. so i hung a couple panels onthe wall with just a few tacks, so that i can takeit with me when i leave. shoes just seem to takeover my space.

so i am always looking forstorage solutions, and one of them is to hang themon the wall. all my favorite pairs hangon these lightweight polyurethane strips. i hang them with removablepicture hanging strips. it's strong enough to holdthe shoes without any damage to the walls. i created my own floor lampsout of wall decals. the trick here is the factthat i found out from my

hardware store that a flashlightwall caddy fits a lamp cord perfectly. and there you have it, 3d floorlamp that takes up zero floor space. and voila! i really try to fight clutteralong the way. but i realized i have to createstorage solutions that look great and are reallyeasy to maintain or i'm not going to do it.

and i'm always tricking myselfinto being neat and tidy, 'cause it's not naturalfor me at all. tracy metro: are you asocial media darling? do you like to hang out onfacebook, twitter, pinterest, or even tumblr? if so, you can check us outat all those places. or of course, you can just clicksubscribe right here to see what we've got going on.

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