[Clint Barton]

Any body put up a big map before? Thinking of getting one of these in canvas, 5 feet wide, and putting it on a high ceiling wall above my couch in the living room:

http://www.greatbigcanvas.com/view/retro...S4nBgJRM2U

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Mic...21#reviews

I would then pin all the spots I've travelled too, along with flags:
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Mic...21#reviews

[Clint Barton]

^^ got this idea from Vicious' post.

[The Lizard of Oz]

(01-06-2015 09:13 PM)Chaos Wrote:  

Don't forget how important light is.
What kind of lamps you are using can be a real gamechanger in getting the desired atmosphere for your apartment.

The importance of good lighting cannot be exaggerated.

Here is the key:

Dimmable incandescent lights everywhere.

Fluorescent lights are nasty and you especially don't want them at night. They will give you headaches and are bad for your sleep; and they will make your place feel like an office. Halogens are only a little better. There is no more pleasant light than the light from old fashioned incandescent bulbs.

And dimmable is crucial as well. You want to be able to turn your lights down to an intimate shimmer when you are sharing a nasty bottle of red with some slut; and you want to be able to turn them up to Cambodian interrogation levels when that same lady is gagging on your cock and you are observing her sweet ass with the pants pulled down just so in your full length sucking mirror. And you want that pleasant human medium when you are doing even more important things like settling into a really promising book.

[CleanSlate]

Great thread. I just moved into my new place 3 weeks ago, and while it's all functional at this point, I am thinking of ways to spruce it up a bit. I already have a potentially great prop (an 8" telescope, one of my hobbies is astronomy).

I'll post pics later, and then elicit some ideas!

[CleanSlate]

Here are a few pics of my place.

Kitchen

Living room / entertainment unit

Love seat

In the 2nd photo there's my 8" telescope and above that is a framed poster of the Pillars of Creation. That's my other hobby, astronomy. I also collect rare/craft brew bottles, which are on top of the kitchen cupboards and the entertainment shelves.

I'm thinking about selling the beige colored seat up against the window... I don't really use it...

Didn't take pics of the bedroom and bathroom, they are miminalist with just a bed, dresser, 2 night stands with nice lamps, and a couple of framed posters.

What do you guys think? And do I need a rug?

[Clint Barton]

Would get rid of beige color seat. I'm with getting a rug, with some color to break up the monotony of white walls and brown furniture. Same applies to some art on the walls, to personalize the space.

Cool telescope.

(02-14-2015 12:58 PM)CleanSlate Wrote:  

Here are a few pics of my place.

Kitchen

Living room / entertainment unit

Love seat

In the 2nd photo there's my 8" telescope and above that is a framed poster of the Pillars of Creation. That's my other hobby, astronomy. I also collect rare/craft brew bottles, which are on top of the kitchen cupboards and the entertainment shelves.

I'm thinking about selling the beige colored seat up against the window... I don't really use it...

Didn't take pics of the bedroom and bathroom, they are miminalist with just a bed, dresser, 2 night stands with nice lamps, and a couple of framed posters.

What do you guys think? And do I need a rug?

[LINUX]

You guys must have some really good spines to be sitting on a floor full of couch cushions. That hurts me just looking at it.

[Suits]

(02-14-2015 12:58 PM)CleanSlate Wrote:  

Here are a few pics of my place.

Kitchen

Living room / entertainment unit

Love seat

In the 2nd photo there's my 8" telescope and above that is a framed poster of the Pillars of Creation. That's my other hobby, astronomy. I also collect rare/craft brew bottles, which are on top of the kitchen cupboards and the entertainment shelves.

I'm thinking about selling the beige colored seat up against the window... I don't really use it...

Didn't take pics of the bedroom and bathroom, they are miminalist with just a bed, dresser, 2 night stands with nice lamps, and a couple of framed posters.

What do you guys think? And do I need a rug?

Yes, I'm voting for a rug too. The living room looks too much like a rental apartment that you added some furniture to and that was that.

The kitchen looks nice, though. I'd be very satisfied with a kitchen like that.

I'd go a little minimalistic, though. Round tables annoy me for a number of reasons. I'd get some tall chairs to use the white counter for all table purposes and just get rid of that little round table, because it takes of space that would be better left bare or used for a decent dining room table if you wanted to entertain with larger parties.

A small table like that is unnecessary for yourself when you've got a counter already and impractical for entertaining.

[CleanSlate]

Two votes for a rug. I agree I'll need something to break the monotony. But what color should I get? I'm kind of picky about rugs... most patterned rugs seem too girly, and most colors are just ugly. Should I get a red one? Or is that too... much? The only rugs that I really like are the Persian ones, but they are very expensive. Should I bite the bullet and spend money on a persian?

The beige chair and the round table are now up for sale on CL and offerup.

Generally what kind of artwork is good? What genres, if any. I need two more large pieces, one for above the love seat, and one for the wall area between the kitchen and the telescope. Or I could get one art piece, and one large map for pinning the places I've traveled to (got that idea up earlier in this thread).

I'm in the market for a coffee table, too. But rug is priority.

[WestIndianArchie]

Beer bottles gotta go.
That look is straight out of college

WIA

[berserk]

(02-14-2015 02:57 PM)CleanSlate Wrote:  

Generally what kind of artwork is good? What genres, if any. I need two more large pieces, one for above the love seat, and one for the wall area between the kitchen and the telescope. Or I could get one art piece, and one large map for pinning the places I've traveled to (got that idea up earlier in this thread)

Difficult to recommend, because it has to fit with the vibe of the place and your personality. For example, if you keep a hotel room masculine style and have retro posters it might come off strange and vice versa.

I do recommend actual 'art' which is a print or painting. If you ever been to place like SEA then there are actually still old fashioned oil painters usually selling stuff like classic movie scenes or various other kinds of pop phenomena. The thing is, these guys can paint on an actual canvas, any picture you give them. So if you have a cool picture or poster or drawing, then you can find them and have them paint it. I'm sure there are many on Ebay who do this.

Even better if you have some cash and can get some up and coming artist with an edge.

[CleanSlate]

Really? I thought it added personality or character to the place, especially with the craft brew explosion the past few years.

However If it gives the wrong impression despite my opinion, then I will get rid of them.

[Clint Barton]

Agree beer bottles should go.

[CleanSlate]

Two NAY votes for beer bottles. And I asked my sister if I should get rid of them, too... (only woman whose opinion I trust apart from my mother)... she flat out said yes.

In half an hour, they will be gone! I can still pursue my craft beer hobby at the bars around here!

[YoungAngel1]

I thought it was cool at one point too, I would have all of my liquor bottles on the shelf. My ex brought it up and said how it looked like pretty immature, and she was right. Get rid of em

[Suits]

(02-14-2015 02:57 PM)CleanSlate Wrote:  

Two votes for a rug. I agree I'll need something to break the monotony. But what color should I get? I'm kind of picky about rugs... most patterned rugs seem too girly, and most colors are just ugly. Should I get a red one? Or is that too... much? The only rugs that I really like are the Persian ones, but they are very expensive. Should I bite the bullet and spend money on a persian?

Since you're thinking about artwork for the wall (or potentially, standing displays), you need to be very careful with the rug. You get something too distinctive and it won't jive with what you have on the walls.

Sometimes, less is more, a quality rug that doesn't over power the room, but on close inspection, is clearly not some cheap piece of junk. Sometimes a rug like that, will add a lot of character to the room without even being noticed. Visitors just won't be able to imagine the room without it, because it looks like it "belongs."

But generally speaking, a quality rug is a smart investment, as if you move, it's easy to roll up and transport to you new place. A good one should last you many years, so it's not like asking if a $500 bottle of whisky is worth the investment.

Just divide the price by the expected number of years of use and see if that is a number you can justify.

(02-14-2015 06:56 PM)CleanSlate Wrote:  

Two NAY votes for beer bottles. And I asked my sister if I should get rid of them, too... (only woman whose opinion I trust apart from my mother)... she flat out said yes.

As much as I like them, the other posters are correct. It looks like you are still in college and doesn't play well with girls.

[RoastBeefCurtains4Me]

You need some plants. Also, while the pillars of creation picture is great, I think it's better to find handmade art objects and knick knacks, that reflect your individuality in some way. Commercial prints don't do it. I know you just moved in, so you're still working on it. I always remember the first Bourne movie, where they finally find his apartment. It's a really nice apartment, but they both agree it has no personality. It's like a hotel room, or a display at IKEA.

I'm not saying your apartment looks like this, but when I think of that apartment in the Bourne movie, I try to think of what things would give an apartment the greatest individual feeling and homeiness. You obviously want a masculine feel to your place, but you can still make it homey. If you're thinking in term of items that have the maximum homey impact, just a few items can really add a lot of warmth.

[CleanSlate]

Which rug do you guys like best? It will be on a dark wood floor, surrounded by dark brown/black furniture.

1. http://www.rugs-direct.com/Details/Milli...109/169427

2. http://www.rugs-direct.com/Details/Safav...192/182404

3. http://umbbies.com/shag-area-rugs-for-li...ideas.html

4. http://www.rugs-direct.com/Details/Unite...350/153095

5. http://www.rugs-direct.com/Details/Couri...256/177612

Or do all of these suck and I need to go back to the drawing board?

[ManVsMachine]

Step up your game from posters, get a canvas or two!

[CleanSlate]

(02-16-2015 11:55 AM)ManVsMachine Wrote:  

Step up your game from posters, get a canvas or two!

I'm looking for a nice large canvas on amazon, but they all suck. Too flowery/girly for me. it's going to take a while to find one that I like... any recommendations where I could look?

And I'm keeping the framed posters because I like them myself.

[ManVsMachine]

(02-16-2015 11:58 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  

(02-16-2015 11:55 AM)ManVsMachine Wrote:  

Step up your game from posters, get a canvas or two!

I'm looking for a nice large canvas on amazon, but they all suck. Too flowery/girly for me. it's going to take a while to find one that I like... any recommendations where I could look?

And I'm keeping the framed posters because I like them myself.

I'd avoid amazon. They cater to the lowest common denominator which is not what you want with art! I used to always check them at the beginning of each year in college for new posters to put up each year, and I went 5 years in college without more than a small handful of girls noting any of them. Wasn't a good look.

I did however have some art "prints" from local artists that I put up that some girls described as trippy and/or cool. Had I not had these it wouldn't have changed the outcome (a bang), but If you can go that route cheaply I highly recommend it. They can get pretty expensive for the full art though.

I first got turned onto canvas when the site I buy my clothes from (MyHabit) had a 50% off sale on canvas. I bought a "grunge-style" spiderman canvas, and even though I'm quite sure you could buy the exact same picture on a POSTER, I've received a couple of compliments on it from chicks who have seen my new spot!

A couple ideas for you:

* I think they are a bit overpriced here but this is still a huge collection for you to find one that suits your style here:
http://www.icanvas.com/
You could perhaps find one you like there, and then look elsewhere online for it cheaper.
* fineartamerica.com also sells canvases.
* You could also do like I did and just wait for a flash sales site like MyHabit or JackThreads to put canvas on sale. JackThreads does a lot of art.
* I know http://www.etsy.com gets alot of hate from men, and justifiably so, but if you wanted to go 'unique and low-cost' - there's not much a better starting place.


Finally, if you want to really get unique, check out displate which sells metal canvas art. http://displate.com/ You would hang this art using magnets and what makes these stand out is the texture.

[Suits]

(02-16-2015 11:55 AM)ManVsMachine Wrote:  

Step up your game from posters, get a canvas or two!

Yes, if you go with poor local artists, you should be able to get some nice original works for not very much money.

Search for something that you really like and can talk about when you point it out to guests.

[Midas]

Check out mass-produced canvas art from Bed Bath and Beyond even...great variety, and it's all pretty inexpensive!

[RIslander]

Vintage travel art is a cool and inexpensive way to deck out a pad. I have several from countries I have visited. You can pick em up on art.com or allposters.com for under $60 a piece.

[WestIndianArchie]