Calling all aspiring interior designers

So I’ve just moved into a new flat in an altbau in Lehel, and find myself with 25 sqm. of space that’s in dire need of decoration. The room as it stands is, to put it kindly, sparse – but I think it’s got a lot of potential. Unfortunately, I’m what you’d call “design-challenged� – I can appreciate good interior design but haven’t the first clue how to achieve it.

Therefore I’m hoping to find some creatively inclined TTer(s) who might be willing to give me some suggestions on what do to with all this empty space. I’ve got a few basic ideas but would appreciate some specific direction on furnishings and accessories, and maybe even find a companion to go shopping with.

Unfortunately I’m not flush enough to be able to afford a feng shui expert or a professional interior design consultant, so rather I’m just looking for someone who enjoys shopping and design as a hobby and who might be willing to accept a lunch or dinner as payment for their time. If this sounds like you, please get in contact with me via PM.

Bed belongs in the right-hand corner of the apartment from where you are when you open the front door and you can't have any furniture that requires you to have your back to the door. That's all I know about Feng Shui.

All I can say is, less is more, but plants are great.

Is 25 m² all you have? That is a challenge.

@geogiagirl-If you are concern about feng shui then don't get Cactus as it is not good for Feng Shui Geomancy

If you have time Segmuller is quite nice for shopping although it is quite far away. You may get inspiration from there. Kare is nice but they do not have really good quality stuffs (from my experience) or Ikea is also nice if you are looking for budget. When i buy ikea stuffs i usually mix and match it myself or even do some paint job for making it entirely unique.

Last but not least, In Munich there are several nice Arts & Crafts shops for decorating your house too. There is a nice one which is below that Mathaiser (Multi cinema complex) building.

Have Fun decorating

In 25m2 you might want to think about custom building things like shelves. Can be cheaper too.

RIBA have some good food for thought books.

I've got a Feng Shui book - you need to work out where to put things based on your own doodah (can't remember what they call it) but you have to split your space into 9 squares, and depending on your birth date and time each square means a different thing.
I did it in my old flat, and discovered to my horror that I had my toilet slap bang in the middle of my relationship corner - it explained a lot.
Since I've moved, I've never looked back.
We can work out your doodahs if you like, and then we can position things for optimal effect (bearing also basic rules in mind, such as the ones that MoiLV mentioned).
I'm a bit disappointed that you're no longer in the Neuhausen posse, though

Maybe you could apply to MTV and have them "Pimp" your new apartment.

http://www.mtv.de/pimpmywhatever/index.php

I discovered that putting some furniture into the middle of the room actually made my living room more "open" and bigger looking. So don't try to save space (or open up space) by having everything lining the walls. For example, my 3 seater sofa is against one wall, the 2 seater sticking out from the opposite wall with the table between it and the china cabinet. Whole room looks much bigger and we have a separate "eating area". I also like furniture I can move around alot, keeps me from getting bored and keeps sleep-wandering children and late night imbibers on their toes...

I find that bookshelves in varying heights make very good room dividers while offering lots of storage space. OBI has a great system called Björn that is very versitile, and it's not too expensive.

Absolute classic

Hmm thinks should check mine

Well Topsy, if it makes you feel any better, I had taken to heart that old adage that "your dreams from the first night's sleep in a new home will set the tone for all your days there", or some such. Unfortunately, not only did I not remember my dreams, but my bed collapsed whilst I was sleeping. That can't be a good omen. Fcuking Ikea rubbish furniture.

I'm not sure I buy all of this feng shui stuff, to be honest. But I can use all the help I can get to stabilise my chi/optimise my karma/insert new age-y bollocks here.

Its easy designing for a small flat, large bed takes up most of the room, stereo, TV and Xbox takes up the rest with a comfortable chair positioned to give perfect video and audio perception in the middle

a collapsing bed on your first night?
that's a fab omen - it means you'll be getting some hot and heavy action for as long as you're in the flat
what more could a girl want?

Why not post a picture of the room and let TT make the suggestions?

That said I'm crap at decorating as well so I won't be any help.

@GG
Just don't forget the shotgun rack and Deer heads

What about one of those great raised double bed things from IKEA? They are built on stilts and you have your desk /sofa / whatever underneath. I have always wanted one of them

25qm - I always like the padded cell look myself. Ofcourse you gotta remove all sharp objects, around corners etc. And if you can get someone to come around and let you out now and again its perfect!

@ER
I actually considered doing that, but then decided I wasn't too keen on inviting all of TT into my boudoir. I mean I love y'all and everything, but... you gotta draw the line somewhere

@pootle
Honestly I thought 25sqm was positively palatial, especially considering the price I'm paying for it. Of course my illusions of grandeur were dashed when the boyfriend came round to take a look, snickered and said, "I like what you've done with the, uh, room."

oh, me too - they are great, what a good idea
and you are in an altbau, so you probably have high ceilings, it would work perfectly

this kind of thing:
[img]http://www.nef.wh.uni-dortmund.de/sw/99-01/Bilder/hochbett_markus2.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.nef.wh.uni-dortmund.de/sw/99-01/Bilder/hochbett_markus1.jpg[/img]

Yes, but then what if it collapses? I've a bit gunshy on the old IKEA schlafzimmer möbel after my recent harrowing experience. Having a bed collapse when it's only six inches off the ground is terrifying enough - having it collapse from a couple meters up is the kind of thing that scars you. Particularly if you're rocking the casbah or whatnot when it decides to come tumbling down.

just make sure it doesn't collapse!

EDIT I'm too slow. What gg said in fact

I guess the only way it will collapse is when you are in it and certain activites are taking place (like playing scrabble).. Ahem...

They are perfectly safe and can be secured against the wall as well... I seriously considered one but the are too small for me. Very stable though (if you buy the slightly more expensive version)

IKEA beds are not safe.

I have broken 2 in an alarmingly short period of time and no, I'm not that fat.

there are other companies that sell them, though - you don't have to go to IKEA if you don't want

or get one made to order by a carpenter
probably not that expensive, and you might be able to recoup some of the cost when you move out if you sell it on to the next tenant

I find that anything for IKEA that actually needs to be put together yourself is liable to falling apart. The things that don't need building (such as tables and sofas) seem pretty ok though. Bookcases generally ok too (as long as they don't have doors or anything advanced mounted on them)

Thing is, in addition to my fear of heights and the possibility of a night of sleep (or casbah-rocking) turning into some nightmarish carnival ride, I also find the whole "bed on stilts" thing somewhat... unsexy. I mean, for better or worse it really is a bunkbed, right? No offense Crawlie (who is obviously not concerned with the seduction factor of his sleeping arrangements since he's recently gotten hitched )

Meh. I think it looks more like a loft and lofts are super-sexy.

There is nothign wrong with shagging on the sofa then climbing the steps to sleep in a nice dry bed

anyway the raised bed thing is a Hochbett in German in case you go looking for one. I think they're really convenient. You have a separate living room though, right? So the 25 qm isn't quite what it sounds like...

anyone know of companies other than IKEA that do those loft/high beds? I'd love to get one too, but am waryof the IKEA beds ...

Head down to the local Hardware store for some wood, and build your own..

@Dreamer, depends on who's building it. If I built it, it would be rock solid, with no probs.
But if you are a complete idiot when it comes to anything that needs planning/building, well...

But Don't forget this stuff too... Don't hide your Redneck roots, Be proud of'em

[img]http://agscls.tripod.com/Deer_Head.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.hilarious-pictures.com/files/picture/75195859.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.armorplans.com/images/CR1412.jpg[/img]

ha! then it's sure to collapse would be 'interesting' but certainly not safe.

Congratulations DK! You've just won the chance to put together my second schrank (the first one broke because I'm one of those idiots who can't build these things. I gave up trying to set up schrank number two when the shelf fell on my head and came within a hair of killing me.)

good point DarkNight ... ever since a shelf I put up collapsed a week later on my head, I'm happy to put myself in the idiot category.

ER, know the feeling - frightened the life out of me!

@ GG, sorry for jumping into your decorating project ...

and the mirror on the ceil on the wall


Quite agree, Scogs had to reinforce ours after we busted it. By the way, it's up for grabs now, perfectly good bed, sleeps two very active people after his carpenter work.

man, that gun rack makes me think of Wayne's World.

If you don't like a loft, gg, don't get a loft. I don't like em either (well, might have something to do with falling out of one in college, but I also think they're for kids)

I bought some nice under the bed wicker storage boxes from Ikea - stores and hides your stuff and help keeps the bed propped up.

You might want to focus on colour too, to unify the room. Painting a wall or two will brighten the place up, as well as make not hanging anything on them less critical (I had stuff I *meant* to hang laying in my place for 2 years), and can be done for less than the cost of a piece of furniture. I've also seen sheets or long pieces of material hung up behind or above the bed, sort or either head board or canopy style, that look nice as well (also seen some that look bad of course).

yeah, I can see you all cringing. whatever.

For me the base of good design is having enough storage to suit your needs. What kind of closet space do you have? I invested into getting mine kitted out properly as well as a wall mounted shelving area. The latter is behind a door so you don't really see it when the doors open. That lets me keep my room pretty clutter free which i like and the few "design elements" i do have don't get lost in piles of clothes or whatever. (i'd be messy left to my own devices).

Then you might want to consider incorporating these into foreplay
[img]http://www.watercoolingshop.com/catalog/images/keyset.jpg[/img]

Brings a new meaning to safe-sex.

Ikea beds can be made to withstand extreme conditions *apparently*.
Especially the metal-framed beds as the weakest point with those models will always be the slatting (metal frames are far more stable than the wooden/board ones due to the joins used, although one from the Iron Bed Company would be even better).
So don't buy your slats from them, go to a slatting/mattress specialist such as Concorde and get a reinforced base with the slats fitting closely together. Apparently they will ask why such a bed base is needed and in this case I have heard that honesty is the best policy and that bed base sellers are quite used to such requests.
Of course this is all hearsay.

I've got 2 books about designing/arranging for living in small spaces if you want to borrow them.

See, this is why I love TT. I post an advert looking for help decorating my flat, and what do I get? PMs welcoming me to Lehel, specific advice with furnishings, safety tips for IKEA beds, furniture stores, space-savings tips, feng shui advice, and one solid offer from a professional landscape architect/interior designer who is donating her time for free. Now that is what I call results!

Now to business.

@ DK
Gun rack aside, I am really looking to avoid having to do any carpentry work. I am already really averse to the idea of furniture that you have to put together yourself. I was never into the "Scandinavian modern" look anyway.

@ butterbean
I have already considered painting one wall. I'm not up for doing all four, since the ceilings are quite high and it'd be more of a job than I'm willing to tackle myself. Just can't decide which wall to paint - the one with the most surface area or the one with the least? Should it be a focal point of the room? And I also want one of those canopy thingies for my bed - I saw a Karstadt sale flyer not too long ago that appeared to have them for good prices.

@ jml
Meh, you're lucky - I haven't got a proper closet, thus enter the ubiquitous Ikea kleiderschrank. Ugly damn thing but it came with the room and I've not got a better solution.

@ Lisa E
That's a really nice offer, I'll PM you

Oh high walls are a bonus. You can also get some neat ideas for small (and any other) spaces at HGTV.

The SoYouWanna guides are good summaries on a variety of topics. Try their decorate an apartment and feng shui guides - might give you ideas.

A basic tip I know is to pick a color, and scheme around it. Google for online complementary color wheels, there are plenty out there - and they'll help you in the scheme. The previous post about not lining things up against the wall is also good advice. Put a couch or chair or two out into the middle of the space, so that you look over stuff when viewing across the room - it definitely makes the space feel bigger.