Living Room

Your personality is spontaneous, playful, spirited, and constantly evolving. So why doesn't your apartment reflect that? Sure, you have renter's limits, but, as this West Village apartment shows, there are ways to personalize your space without stepping on your landlord's toes.

Recovered silk-screen artwork hung above the sofa dominates the white walls here. A large floor rug covers the painted wood floors -- a good solution for covering up stained or damaged carpet the previous tenant left. The coffee table, a 1950s-era Knoll Studios design, was a gift to the homeowner.

 

A thoughtful combination of hand-me-downs, gifts, and flea market and antique store finds maintain this apartment's uncluttered look. Modern pieces, such as the sofa and this acrylic end table, keep the apartment from becoming too precious.

A quick tip: You can bring instant depth to a room by painting a spot of color inside a windowsill or a bookshelf, like the minty green painted in the windowsill.

 

Fabric-covered cushions serve as extra seating for a sushi dinner around the oversize coffee table. When the evening is over, they can be stacked and kept in a neat pile out of the way.