#salvagedspaces

When completing I breakdown, I will be speaking in terms of three different categories of items:

Purchased items (like it sounds)

DIY items (which I made, but purchased inexpensive or reasonably priced materials to do so)

"Salvaged" items (items that were free of charge, whether they were found on a curbside or in a friend's basement, Craig's list, or previously discarded, now repurposed items the client had)

Let's first address the living room:

Purchased items:

Two red pillows, purchased at TJ Maxx, at $10 each ($20)

Three pictured frames, purchased at Goodwill, at 99 cents ($2.97)

DIY items:

2 geometric prints on canvases I purchased for a total of $12 (already had the paints)

Salvaged items:

Zebra throw, which the client had but didn't use

2 glass and black iron end tables, kindly given to me by a friend

Ninja-style bandana, which the client had, now used as a coffee table runner

Coffee table books and magazines, which the client had

Eye pictures, made from an old poster the client had (with permission)

Table lamp, which the client had and didn't use

Skull painting my artist friend Sara Bott generously gifted to me

Living room total: $34.97

Next, let's address the office nook:

Purchased items:

Dry erase board, purchased from Walgreen's for $6.99

3 desk plants, purchased from Walgreen's for $1.99 each ($5.97)

DIY items:

Fishing line photo display, requiring fishing line I purchased for $5.50

Salvaged items: 

Anything on the desk other than the plants

Telephone, which is merely for cool industrial looks, kindly given to me by a friend

Clipboard with picture, which the client had (the picture I found for free at a thrift store)

Hanging posters, cards, and photos, all the client's 

Office nook total: $18.46

Now, onto the bookcase gallery wall:

Purchased items:

Six picture frames from Goodwill for 99 cents each ($5.95)

Glass tea light candle holders from TJ Maxx for $5.99 each ($17.97)

A nine pack of tea lights purchased from Walgreen's for $1.99

DIY items:

N/A

Salvaged items:

All frame and photo contents, which were saved magazine pages from the client

Bookcase gallery wall total: $25.91

And lastly, the bedroom/sleeping area of the studio:

Purchased items:

Three placemats from TJ Maxx at 99 cents each, secured with carpet tape to make a bedside "rug" ($2.97)

Two throw pillows from Goodwill at $2.99 each ($5.98)

A grey throw from TJ Maxx for $19.99

Two picture frames from Goodwill for 99 cents each ($1.98)

Magnifying glass for table display, purchased at TJ Maxx for $6.99

DIY items:

Stenciled canvas headboard, canvas from Ultrecht (three-pack of 12 by 12 for $11.99; two-pack of small ones for $7.99; already had the larger canvas)

Spray paint for canvas, three colors at $3.77 each ($11.31)

Salvaged items:

Bedding

Contents of frames

Bedside table books

Bedroom total: $69.20

Minus tax, the grand total comes to…$148.54

Almost exactly $50 over, just as I predicted. Still not bad for an entire apartment makeover.

As a final send off (for today), see some additional pictures of Matt's apartment that more clearly exhibit the details.

Funny I say it's well known, because I only came upon it yesterday. I guess that's not funny, it's merely a testament to the fact that I have a lot to learn. 

Anyway, my friend and artist Alec Regan sent The Selby link to me, saying he thought it aligned with the mission and goals of this very blog (which you are hopefully reading). Furthermore, he highlighted one of the most refreshing aspects of the blog: 

"One of the things that makes it great is that some of these people are mega rich collectors, & some are poor artists - $$ is not the criteria for inclusion, its how they use it. It shows money and taste are fairly unrelated."

Money and taste aren't necessarily related? Absolutely. I chose to exhibit Selby's blog not only because of what Alec pointed out, but also because it serves as an example to people like myself, amateur bloggers who are amateur artists who want to learn as much as possible from people who have a keen eye, an appreciation for art in all its forms, and the willingness to share. I didn't go to school for this shi**, so thank the heavenly deities for people like Selby. And Alec. Which leads me to tell you that you should check out his own projects, at americanfantasyclassics.com & alecregan.com

Lastly, I have been converting my own space into something less dining-room-esque and more functional, adaptable, and creative:

After asking the basics, I posed a routine series of questions regarding practical necessities and aesthetic preferences. Normally, I would write a summary of this conversation, but Matt not only explained his interests and needs best, but also explained them quite eloquently: 

In your ideal apartment, what are you looking for in terms of aesthetics?

"There's an old cliche that what makes a 'house' into a 'home' is 'love'. I interpret this version of love to mean personal, meaningful items one uses to transform a four walled living space into a home or a place to belong. Thus I purposely keep this sort of love out of the equation, and thus keep my houses mere houses, because I don't want a 'home'. I've never been interested in a place to belong or to settle down in. I keep my apartments as sparse and minimal as possible, nearly devoid of personal effects and accoutrements, like a hotel room or a temporary living space. I guess I just don't want to get too content in one place. That said, as I get older I find a modicum of comfort in color and minimal decorum rather than four blank white walls. I'd like to see if I can introduce these things into my living space without losing the ephemeral aesthetic and feel of the place I'm paying rent for."

What are you looking for in terms of function?

"As far as function, I telecommute to work, thus I need a small 'office' corner of my apartment to house my computers and work items (plus it'd be swell if the desk could face the television). I also record a lot of (loud) music, and thus I need to be able to rearrange the furniture temporarily so sounds don't bleed into the hallway and interrupt my neighbors from partying all the time."

How much are you looking to spend?

"I'm looking to fund this project for 20 Lincolns or less." [That is $100 USD, and in this design scenario, he means $100 worth of purchased items...GAH]

After asking these questions, Matt allowed me to take a tour of his apartment in its current state (see below for a brief peek):

It may appear as if I completed an extreme muting of the hues in the photo, but I did not. The place is largely devoid of color, and is sparsely decorated. I'm all for simple, but I'm not sure if we've achieved simple in the right way...Hopefully the end result will be representative of an un-fussed, masculine apartment with pops of color and a tinge of grown-up. 

What resonated with me most was the following quote: "Learn all you can about color and pattern and light, look intently at the things that inspire you until you start to draw connections, and hold on to the feelings those things create."

While I am not educated in the realm of interior design, nor do I consider myself an expert on any creative front, I have come to value escalating a basic skill and eye for design through educating oneself. This type of education comes in many mediums, whether it be a tour of friends' apartments/homes, a stroll through an art museum, or voraciously reading books about photography and design principles. Even window-shopping at a hardware store to see what's available, purposeful, and attractive can infuse design inspiration into your creative process. 

Hence my mission commences, my mission to assist those people, as Radical Possibility's Meg Zandi stated in such a spot-on manner, who "need to embrace being kind of broke and bad at stuff but still wanting a beautiful home or a creative outlet." This blog will certainly host ideas and tutorials that are doable by your average seven-year-old (with supervision), but it will also serve as a progress diary of projects in which I work directly with others to achieve a desired design affect in a most-likely temporary space. It'll be a challenge for all involved, but it'll serve as some brain-teasing, money-managing, and encouraging design fun that utilizes and feeds the creative processes of both the 'designer' and client. 

Please check back for a profile of my poor client, as well as a list of aesthetic desires, practical lifestyle necessities, and budget constraints for this studio apartment project. 

Before you go, however, please feel free to glance at the following photos of spaces and objects that have pushed my design sense out of it's tiny box, and are just lovely to look at.

Photo 1/"Cover" Photo: My Nana’s house, which to this day is one of the most beautiful houses I have ever come upon.

Photo 2: My apartment before it was my apartment, and instead was rented out by a fairly stylish guy. 

Photo 3: It’s Raining Anita Huffington (1957), a painting by American Artist Larry Rivers (1923 - 2002), located at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Sounds much easier than analyzing passages from classic literature for literary devices and overarching themes, but it possesses its own kind of tricky.

With my abundance of trinkets and such, I have to determine how to arrange said objects on my bench, bookshelf, etc., without entering the realm of clutter. How should I arrange these weathered objects, that are individually pathetic, in a way that add to the throw-back charm of my old, plastered apartment? Trial and error, my friends. And hopefully a basic eye for things.

The good thing is, leaning things on one another and propping frames up doesn't involve permanent fixture or placement, meaning you can rearrange those things if you happened to, say, group far too many floral items in conjunction with a cowboy painting you found. 

So if you, like myself, have transitioned from regimented studying of things like "books" to evaluating household stock, you can begin to place your items, in an advanced manner, in and around your house to add character and perhaps borderline cluttered charm. Or just throw them up there and stand back, looking to ensure that it doesn't appear as if an attic box was dumped onto a table. 

Here, I placed completely unrelated things, most of which I found at Goodwill or received from my Nana, on a bookshelf, because I didn't want to deal with hammering into dense plaster. 

Here, I placed more unrelated things on an antiqued red bench, which my mother refinished. I have since added a mirror behind the flower bucket, and it looks a bit more coordinated. Not that you care. At all. 

Aha! A two dollar centerpiece, 99 cent dishes, and placemats I found in a moving box adorn this dining room table, valuing the table set at $9.92! The price is, in fact, right! Layering chargers and mismatched saucers looks whimsical, and also gives the impression that I have an abundance of time on my hands, which I love. 

A strange birdhouse/cd rack I found at Goodwill. Placed teacups on the wire "shelves" instead . Not sure what else to say about this one.