Kyle Schuneman Shows Us How To Use Color To Make A Small Apartment Feel Large.
Fresh Inspirations From our Favorite Designer & Collaborator Kyle Schuneman
On my most recent project I was asked to stage two apartments in a new development in Culver City. One was a micro-sized studio and the other was a slightly larger one-bedroom.  What was cool was both units had a designated sleeping area so I was able to create two separate spaces (yay!) but I wanted each unit to still feel tied together.  I did this with COLOR.  I kept the walls a neutral gray as they were rentals but wanted the furniture to pop.  So for the studio I used tones of yellows throughout and for the one bedroom I used the combo of blue and orange. They might sound bold but really made the spaces come to life. [gallery columns="4" link="file" ids="4110,4116,4114,4115"] I started with my Pacific Sofa in Lemonade as the base for the studio. Itâs comfy and deep and has very clean lines so itâs great for a space that needs to function in a lot of ways. I used a lift top coffee table in front of the sofa. They are basically coffee tables that can pop up to a more comfortable height to eat at at the couch since letâs be honest thatâs where we all eat. There was no room for a dining table so this was a great space-saver.  I chose a coordinating yellow chevron (aka zig zag pattern) pouf to go under the sleek desk. It brought the yellow to the other side of the room and could work as extra seating or an office chair. In the bedroom I created a cheap DIY headboard by screwing slats of wood together.  I went to the hardware store and chose a paint card with 5 varying shades and got sample jars of each and painted the slats accordingly. The different shades of yellow created an ombre effect by going from dark to light. [gallery columns="4" link="file" ids="4117,4111,4112,4113"] For the living room of the one-bedroom I started with my Monroe Sofa in Ocean Blue and built the space around that.  I chose a big oversized Flokati (looks like a fluffy muppet) rug in white to create texture. The all glass coffee table created the illusion of space and gave the ability so still see the sexy rug.  I brought that same Ocean Blue fabric onto the upholstered bed and popped it with some orange carpet tiles, orange nightstand lamp shades, and orange in the bedding. I love the combo of blue and orange - it always feels fresh and gives you a lot of options to style with white and wood objects.
For more on Kyle, you can keep tabs on him at kyleschuneman.com
