Like A Rolling Stone...

So this week I'm concentrating on "renter style", and making quick changes that have big visual (and not structural) impact. It's something that's always on my mind because, as most of you know, I'm a "responsible renter" (meaning I try to make quick fixes and repairs around the house whenever I can instead of bothering my landlords upstairs when something goes wrong.) And also, in the beginning my designs originally catered to folks who couldn't or didn't want to make huge structural changes to their homes. (Of course that's changed now too, with several new Retrograde clients who are great hands-on homeowners.)

Since several of my projects are currently at various stages of near-completion, I can't show you any photos of other people's homes, so I'll go back to my own--it's really my mad scientist's laboratory, where I can try out new tricks. I guess it's also fun to show you how I live ;-)

Take my bedroom, for instance. For a while, we've had a couple of console tables as nightstands. Yes, they took up a lot of room on either side of the bed, but we really got used to the extra space they provided for piles of books and things.

This is how my partner's side of the bed looked about four years ago when we first moved in:

And this is how it's looked for a while with a drop-leaf console table (currently up for grabs!):

I found a great mini Parsons desk in a bright color at one of West Elm's sales and got a  new shiny steel frame for the original German Querelle poster (which we scored at a garage sale around the corner several years ago.) Here's how it looks now:

These new additions really brightened up that corner and inspired me to add punches of color to the rest of the room, including my side:

Even little things like switching around the lampshades made a difference and kept a nice contrast between the two sides of the bed--dark and light, angular and curvy, modern and traditional...

I decided to refinish and sell the other console table on my side to a client and picked up this great bargain from Ikea. I love the color and it's actually kind of huge--tons of storage inside!

So there you have it--that's how my bedroom keep changing and evolving. Don't be afraid to try to something new, especially if you're a renter like me.

If you need help, drop me a line!