Decorating a small apartment on an even smaller budget can be a tricky task. The goal is to create a living area that is comfortable, and enjoyable, while at the same time maximizing your space, and minimizing the amount of cash spent on the whole design project.

I sent off a bunch of window questions last night. We'll see what I get back. Dh is ready to get this thing started and I am well...nervous. gbsim-thank you for speaking to flow and thanks for the info on the sound proofing! We don't watch much TV now but I suppose as they get older they will! Pocket doors - I am hesitant to use them in higher humidity areas - such as bathrooms because I fear they will warp or 'stick' or something. I have heard some bad stories of doors in those areas so I was trying to avoid them. As for the master I stayed away there because I think sliding the door would be significantly louder than swinging and softly latching a swing door. Anyone have any experience with the pockets in bathrooms? Ontario (hello from across the lake, and well head south west a bit, lol)! Thanks for the pics-very cool! I am passing all of these window tidbits on to dh as he is the window decision maker. We have decided to divide and conquer. I have never seen anything like those. First time building so you never really know what's out there besides the 'standard' doublehung/casement/slide by. lyfia-I know - only slideby windows I had experience with were in college and they were cheap junk! So I was really leery of that but I think they have come a long way and I was shocked at how many there are around now that I have actually been paying attention to other houses (new and older builds) around. I'll be honest - I have a hard time visualizing these drawings in 3d. I know the covered porch is gabled and the other small porch is cantilevered but I can't really tell how the dining area roof ties in. I am still teetering on that angled window. I really don't have any place to hang much of anything - even a clock! I'm not a heavy decorator/fashionista so it mostly works in my favor but it would be nice to have a little bit of wall space. Dh is leaving that one up to me. We have a 'bump out' like that in our current house and you are right - they are much colder than the rest of the floor come winter. That is another reason why I am teetering with it. I am thinking about that very thing - adding a window to the north side of the dining room and removing that angled window. :( I need to just make up my mind! Renovator - thanks for the explanation (and for being gentle since we aren't using an architect :) ). I really appreciate your explanation. I have asked for clarification on the basement and boys bedroom windows to be sure we meet code and safety requirements. I will double check the dormer - I think it is that size because it's actually real and not a facade but at the same time we don't need any water or ice melt issues. I think we are close to signing off. I am just waiting for his feedback on the window sizes/adjustments I sent last night. Lisa

A lot of things in a house are matters of personal preference. Some people like two story spaces and some people don't. People who don't like two story spaces and don't have them often say that they are useless space and expensive to heat/cool. We have had two houses with two story spaces and have not found them to be expensive to heat or cool. We live in Wisconsin in a 3,200sf house (plus another 900 sf finished in the basement) with a two story great room, 9' ceilings and a loft and have gas heat, gas water heater, gas cooktop and one gas fireplace. Our total gas bill for 2007 was $1,010.28 and our total gas bill for Jan 10, 2008 through October 9, 2008 is $966.26--that is not expensive. Our utility lets us calculate a home heating rating and then compare it with other homes built since 2000--our home's heating rating is 2.5 (excellent) and only 5% of the homes built since 2000 in our area have that rating or better. Our highest electric bill ever was for August of 2007, which was really hot, and was $168.31. Our next highest electric bill was for July 10-Aug 11, 2008 and was $149.35. We have zoned heating and have never had a problem heating/cooling our house or keeping both floors the same temperature--but you do have to plan your heating/cooling system very carefully. I also disagree that the open space is useless space. If you don't like two story ceilings then the space is useless. I like two story rooms and enjoy the open space of my great room, and the light and warmth from the sun that flows in through the upper windows, every single day so it is not wasted for me-putting an unneeded 4th bedroom above the great room would have been a waste for us. My only other comment is that I don't think that the space for your kitchen/dining table is big enough. Good luck.

I agree with Tina, "Having a TV or not is a personal choice. I don't think any of us should be telling you whether or not to do it.". As for how to make a bedroom tv look nice, I agree that it can just sit on top of a dresser or table, if you like. Another idea is to tuck it into an armoire. Our bedroom tv is on one and I love it. I can close the doors when we're not watching it. We use ours every morning M-F, catching the morning news while DH gets ready for work. Sunday - Thurday evenings, I like to watch it for 30 minutes or so while ironing DH's shirt for work the next day. DH is usually in his study finishing up his paperwork then. We've made a conscious decision not to watch tv shows or movies in the bedroom together and it works for us, but this is definitely a personal thing for everyone and there are no right or wrong answers IMO. BTW, having a tv in our bedroom has not impacted our romantic life at all (LOL). We have a tv cab with a lift system in our family room. I like it because when the tv is down (inside of it), you can see my artwork hanging on the wall above the console. The downside to many of these consoles, though, is that the tv comes up through the top of it, making the top of the console unusable to put anything on it, such as a lamp. I love Geokid's suggestion of using mirrors or artwork to slide or close over a wall-mounted tv when you want it to disappear. I realize, though, that you have to also have room for the tv components someplace. When we get rid of the lift console, DH and I would like to downsize to a wall-mounted tv that we can hide behind a painting when not in use , with a narrow cab underneath it to hold any tv components. Lynn