Brother's Place

My older brother came over yesterday and he saw that I was making a few things for decorating my apartment and he asked what he could do in his place. It got me to thinking and I just wanted to find some things that he could easily do in his own place that would spruce the place up. He is a bachelor so I was thinking of keeping it pretty simple but visually appealing. His place is pretty small, it actually used to be the apartment that Mark and I lived in before we moved to where we live now. He mentioned going to Ikea soon so I thought I'd just look on their website and pull ideas from there so that if he does like what I've come up with then he knows where to get it. Or he could try to find a cheaper version elsewhere... but I doubt he'd do that lol.

First off I'd tell him to stock his kitchen better, get matching plates, cups and cutlery  Second, get a cutlery separator! Those are pretty cheap and you can get one from Walmart, doesn't have to be fancy just do it! I know that he has his cutlery in a small drawer and his larger utensils in a larger drawer, what I would do (and did when I lived there) put the cutlery in the larger drawer and put your large utensils in a container on the counter next to the oven. Right where you need it plus it doesn't take up too much extra room. And also, Matt, get a lid for your pan because that pizza pan you are using is disgusting. OK now for the actual decorating part! We've got a bathroom, dining room, living room and bedroom. I'll focus most of my attention on the dining room and living room since those are the largest and most seen rooms in the place. As for the bedroom I'm not really sure if he wants to really do anything in there but here's what I'd do:

Bedroom

He has the bed in the middle so I'd either flank it with two night stands or have a night stand on one side and some other object on the other like a chair(with a tall lamp behind it in the corner), although now that I think about it that might not fit, its a very narrow room. So I'd say maybe just putting a lamp in that corner is best, but I'd get a more embellished lamp to make it more visually appealing. I found this one that looks really cool but it isn't embellished really, it just looks cool, so maybe I'd put a small square or round ottoman in front of it just for some more dimension. I have two ottomans pictured below but Walmart and Superstore are some good stores to take a look at for cheap options. 

From Canadian Tire $25

From Ikea $20

From The Brick $80 

Also something worth mentioning is matching bedding will make the room look a lot better too. I'm not sure what he's got right now but thought I'd put that in there. Also if there is room for it I'd but a narrow long ottoman at the foot of the bed, those can be more pricey though but it functions as making the room look more pulled together as well as good storage idea, 2 in 1 kind of deal.

That takes care of the furniture part of things, after that I'd move onto decore. I'd keep it simple because he's a bachelor, I would put either a large mirror or large canvas of some sort above the bed and keep it at that. Or if that looks too empty I'd put two smaller framed pictures on the other wall of the bedroom. I'm liking these:

This piece above the bed. Ikea $50

I'd flip this mirror the other way and

put it above the bed. Canadian Tire $40

As for the artwork on the other wall I can't find exactly what I'm looking for online (I didn't search very long though) but I really like the set up of this room below. I like the pictures on the back wall of the letters, I like that the one on top is slightly smaller then the one under it. That is what I'd do, find one larger and one slightly smaller, keeping them the same color or relatively close and frame them in black. 

I also like how simple this room is pictured above. There's a bed, two night stands, dresser, chair, desk and laundry hamper with some artwork peppered on the walls. Simple and to the point.


Dining Room 

First off I'd take the microwave off the table and put it either on the table or on a microwave stand. I'd put the microwave stand beside the counter so that its "in" the dining room. I think there may be a garbage can there right now so if it fits beside there thats what I'd do, if not then I'd just put it on the counter. It takes away from counter space yes but if you'd see his counters you'd see he just uses it for clutter anyway. So not only would it give him his table back, it would also help him to stop the clutter. Matt also has some lovely empty liquor bottles on top of his cabinets, if it were me I'd toss them, but if he insists in keeping them I'd keep the more cool shaped bottles, tear off the labels and space them more evenly above the cabinets to at least make it looks somewhat better. After that I'd take the table and put it in the centre of the room, if it doesn't fit nicely and think about getting a smaller table but lets work with what he's got for now. Then I'd get chairs! Right now there is a sale on at The Brick, 20% off all 5/6 pc. dining sets, that might be something to look at. I wouldn't go super fancy or spend too much on chairs, he doesn't even have any so its not like they'd get much use. But they are definitely nice to have. If he wants to go super cheap I'd even go as far as getting these:

Blurry from enlarging it but

you get the picture

Ikea $15

Moving onto artwork- Matt has a really sweet clock in there right now that looks like an oversized pocket watch. It reminds me of Alice in Wonderland and I'm still trying to steal it from him! (that blurry chair pic is giving me a head ache, I can see it in my peripherals). Dining rooms are so hard for me, I have no idea what to put in them so I'll just pull from pictures of dining rooms I've saved. I'd keep the clock there definitely, maybe adding something beneath it would be cool, like a floating shelf with some pictures, ornaments or some greenery on them. Or a big sailboat sitting on a floating shelf, now that would be cool! Although I'd probably just put that on the other wall and call it a day. I think a large picture on the other wall would be cool too, I really like maps and they seem to be manly for some reason so maybe a large framed map. The only one I found on the Ikea sight is super expensive but I did find this other one I thought was cool, but I don't know how Matt would feel about having Mona Lisa in his dining room...

Ikea $40

I think the color scheme of this picture is really cool too, I'd pull from the greys, blacks and reds if he were to do the floating shelf idea. Or if he had a centre piece on his table I'd also pull from the red for sure. Centre pieces tho... not my forte. I seriously suck at doing that so I wont even bother suggesting anything.

Living Room

First I'll say that I absolutely loathe the way he has his living room set up but I'm pretty sure he's not going to change it, so I'll have to work around that. One thing I will mention though is that putting a large artwork piece or collection of smaller pieces on the one wall would be a great idea but with the couch not right up against the wall I do think it would look weird. This is the layout of his space:

Maybe if he would put a long and low bookcase on that "dead space" wall and then hung a large piece of artwork above it, that could work I guess. Keep in mind he'd have to then fill that book case, I'd suggest movies and other decore pieces. I'd hang something like this up:

Ikea $40

(sidenote: I've been there :)  ) 

And for the book case I'd do something like this, maybe in a dark color tho:

Ikea $100

Or 2/3 of these side by side

Canadian Tire $35/ea. on sale right now.

Also in a darker finish. 

If he would go this route I'd also put 2 table lamps on either side of the cases to add some extra lighting, its also a great way to decorate with function. As for decorating the cases, I'd fill them with movies, books if he has any and vases and little trinkets. I know he has a baby cactus so sticking that in there and maybe adding some more is a great way to add some low maintenance greenery. I think the wall that is adjoining with the kitchen needs something on it as well as the wall where the T.V. and couch are by, but at the same time you want to keep in mind that just putting canvases up on all 3 walls could be a bit too monotonous.Switching it up would be ideal like putting a larger scale mirror on the kitchen wall and maybe 2 smaller framed pictures on the other wall. That way you have framed, and then a canvas and then a mirror. Or I would leave the wall with the T.V. and couch alone altogether. No need in going overboard, it is a bachelor pad after all. I might also put some sort of small shoe rack on that dead space wall, if it fits and looks good. A lot of people come in through the sliding doors (and even more so in summer) and it might be a nice way for people to put their shoes away and not be in the way of the door. Also another idea for that "dead space" wall is putting 2 tall shelving units up and skipping the artwork altogether. You could fill the shelves with baskets to put movies in and other decore pieces. This is what I'm talking about:

Ikea $50/ea.

Ikea $83/ea.

I like how both of these give it an industrious feel which says "manly" to me. I would

put them beside each other but not touching, I'd leave a good amount of space in between,

but not so much that you feel you need to put something there. 

If he would go this route I'd take that large canvas and put it on the kitchen wall and then put smaller framed pictures on the wall with the T.V. and couch. Possibly with some red in it if he went with that Mona Lisa canvas so that it ties altogether since its such an open space. I'd also put some throw pillows on the couches with some red in them and some small throw blankets. I know this doesn't sound very manly but trust me, when the ladies are coming over they will appreciate this, so your doing it for them not for yourself! 

Entrance 

The entrance is very tiny, this I'd keep simple, I think a nice side table on the small piece of wall that he has would be good, I'd stick a little dish on it for keys, maybe a vase or something decorative. In the closet in the entrance I'd stick a shoe rack inside so the shoes can stay organized and maybe 2 or 3 matching baskets on the top shelf for winter stuff and other misc. stuff. Also when I lived there I always wanted a mirror in the entrance, just something to give  yourself a last once over before you walk out the door. I'd go for something rectangular and then stick that above the side table. 

That's really all the ideas I have. It's so much easier thinking of doing someone else's space compared to doing your own ('doing' lol, the only word I could think of). Now all I gotta do is get Matt to read this...