interior design small apartment living room

j. michael moore: i kind of feelthat a small space, you really have to make the spacework for you, as opposed to letting the space work you. i'm j. michael moore. i'm an interior designer. this is my 225 square-footapartment in new york city. when i first came in, it wasthis horrible hospital green color and no detail, nomolding, and a very predictable rental apartment.

i thought, well what could ido to make it really put my name on it design-wise and alsowanting to be comfortable living in the space. so i added the crown moldingsand also changed out all the base moldings. the main thing reallyis the paint color. as a designer, i really just gotso tired of seeing gray, and beige, and black, andwhite, and this whole monochromatic kind of feeling.

and that's just not me. and so i knew i was ready tojust do something really bold and really strong. i didn't want todo any pattern. all of the fabrics are solids,and they're also kind of in a color-blocking method, whereyou have the floor being a neutral, the walls being onecolor, the ceiling being another color. and so everything isblended, although

it's very strong color. nothing particularlypops out at you because it's all strong. everything is movable,and that's really key to a small space. and especially working andliving in a small space, that's very important to me. this space really is my livingarea where people come in, sit down, we can talk.

and then i kind of defined theback space as what is my office area. but again, because everythingis movable, i could create many different spaces. the island was a bookcase. and i kept thinking, howcan i get a working surface in my kitchen. so i moved the island just tothe edge of the painted wood floor, and there it is.

i have a workspace. i didn't want to close anythingup, so it really works as far as havingit open. it kind of creates a largerspace for the kitchen, and plus it displays the thingsthat i like to look at. i added the sleeping loftbecause i knew in a small space, it just would not becomfortable to have a large bed to maneuver andwork around. i knew i had to workwith the kitchen.

being six foot four, i thought,well i have to have it set to a height that ican clear underneath it. well the bathroom i wanted tobe a completely different contrast from the restof the apartment. it started with the showercurtain, and from there i matched the paint andpainted the walls. and then the medicinecabinet, i found everything that matched. keeping it a solid color, itmakes that small space feel

like it is bigger. i love small spaces, and i havelived in small spaces since i've lived in new york. the people that have been overhave been just really shocked at how i've made this spacework, in that it is such a small space. putting your hands oneverything, knowing where everything is, that leads toless frustration in living in a small space.

and keeping it neat andclean, it really makes you feel a lot better. i have no plans to leave, and ireally will probably always want to live in a small spaceif it's in new york city, because it's just a verycozy place for me. announcer: are you a socialmedia darling? do you like to hang out onfacebook, twitter, pinterest, or even tumblr? if so, you can check us out atall those places, or of course

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