Small City Apartment
Art educator Amy Gulden moved into a tiny city apartment six months ago and has had trouble fitting all her things into the new space. She would love to entertain, but her living room/bedroom/study doesn't even have room for a dining table! The narrow (three-foot wide) galley kitchen doesn't have a single drawer for storage, and the even smaller entryway is crowded with too much furniture.
![Photo](images/mso303_1a_d.jpg)
![](http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/images/spacers/spacer.gif)
The entry hall was a dumping ground with overstacked shelving and useless cabinet.
|
![Photo](images/mso303_1c_d.jpg)
![](http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/images/spacers/spacer.gif)
No storage for utensils or drying dishes added to the kitchen's uncontrolled clutter. |
![Photo](images/mso303_1e_d.jpg)
![](http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/images/spacers/spacer.gif)
The living area was cluttered with boxes of unrelated items and an overstuffed chair at the desk.
|
![Photo](images/mso303_1g_d.jpg)
![](http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/images/spacers/spacer.gif)
Before, the bed/couch just blended into the surrounding areas, with no distinct personality. |
Professional organizer Maxwell Ryan, who specializes in small spaces, comes to her rescue. He pinpoints three major problems:
- She has too much "stuff," and those things are mixed together in no particular order--shorts are stored with the bed sheets, for example.
- The kitchen is used for cooking, putting on makeup and sorting the mail
- Her belongings are poorly arranged, with all the furniture pushed against a wall.
His steps for getting Amy organized include the following:
- Sort like things together--separate piles for bath, table and bed linens, making like-piles for desk items and kitchen items.
- Place items in see-through plastic bags to identify different groups of things and to see how much needs to be stored
- Eliminate large furniture pieces.
- Create an "outbox" of things removed from the space that are under consideration for return (not thrown away quite yet!)
![Photo](images/mso303_1b_d.jpg)
![](http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/images/spacers/spacer.gif)
A bright yellow wall defines the new entry, which was fitted with floor-to-ceiling shelves, a coat rack, mail files, bright red storage trunks and a desktop.
|
![Photo](images/mso303_1d_d.jpg)
![](http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/images/spacers/spacer.gif)
Drop-down shelving over the stove and sink adds storage and a clean, Euro look to the kitchen.
|
Here are the results:
![Photo](images/mso303_1f_d.jpg)
![](http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/images/spacers/spacer.gif)
A white coat of paint on the floor brightens the living room. A new desk chair and organized paperwork help streamline the desk, while the recovered chair creates a seating area to the side.
|
![Photo](images/mso303_1h_d.jpg)
![](http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/images/spacers/spacer.gif)
After moving some furniture around, the bed area has real presence. The "bed" is not only for sleeping, but it is also great as a couch and banquette for the dining table, which uses two chairs on the other side.
|
Other changes to the sitting area (far right in above left photo) include fresh paint on the two flat panels by the bookcases and new artwork on the wall.
![Photo](images/mso303_1i_d.jpg)
![](http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/images/spacers/spacer.gif)
New lights and a white canvas curtain instead of a door lighten the closet, which has clothing organized by frequency of use. The linen closet uses labeled boxes to create order from former chaos. |
|