apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

We are renting a home with hydronic radiant floor heat and recently started it up for the season. It's not a small decision, as the system is slow to heat up and slower to cool down. So, even though we were anxious to try it out, we waited until the outdoor temperature was consistently getting down near the 30's...

I visited an alpaca farm last week and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the alpacas and the natural-colored yarns that were created from their coats. The undyed fibers perfectly matched the various alpacas' coats: a soft, creamy white; a middle-range tawny; and a dark amber brown...

"An idea that comes from the widely accepted view that the colors of nature are, in the main, beautiful, harmonious, and satisfying is that the use of only the natural colors of materials will guarantee successful color in architecture and interior design...

Remember our friend Jason's project with Urban Tree Forge? Well, they've been busy again. This time for the G-20 economic summit at the Phipps Conservatory. Urban Tree Forge was asked to create 12 oak slab tabletops for a dinner and discussion at the summit. And they had just two weeks to make it happen....

Another testament to the transformative power of paint: this dresser-turned-kitchen-island. With a fresh coat of paint, a few new accessories and a proper top, it makes a perfect budget-friendly kitchen island...

The term "gourd vase" often refers to any vase with a shape influenced by the vegetable. But here, we're looking at literal gourds made into vases, just in time for autumn...

Name: 3716 Springfield by Studio 804
Location: Kansas City, Kansas
Size: 2,600 square feet
Year built: 2009

The latest project of Studio 804 - a design/build program at the University of Kansas' School of Architecture, Design and Planning - is 3716 Springfield. The home's extreme sustainability (even noted as "off the grid") doesn't dominate its aesthetic, but compliments the design's austerity...

Cardboard boxes are corrugated for strength. So goes it for corrugated sheet metal. And plastic. On top of that, these materials are readily available, efficient, and economical, too. Some designs that put corrugated materials to work:

A friend in Des Moines recently shared with me his enviable commute to work. He bikes daily, and often chooses this scenic route over a more direct path...

New York's OBRA Architects developed RED+HOUSING as housing for disaster relief. Made for temporary use, the structures uses methods that allow for quick construction, easy transport, and minimum waste...

We love a simple interior mixed with a natural element, like this live edge headboard from Urban Hardwoods. Don't have the space or the budget for such large furnishings? Here are four small live edge objects that can inject some nature into your home's interior on a small scale...

When my husband and I moved into the home we're renting for the year, the owner of the large-windowed house offered this piece of advice: "Think of living in this home like you're sailing"...

This is one way to reuse a bevy of cardboard boxes after a move. Architects Fantastic Norway created the Cardboard Cloud for an exhibition of new Norwegian designers, 50X70m2. The boxes appear as a floating pixelated cloud over the exhibition space. When the exhibit ends, the boxes will be recycled...

We got a kick out of seeing an oversize load truck hauling this prefab house designed by San Francisco architect Christopher Deam. It's so cool to see it straight from delivery to the finished interior, after the jump...