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Natural light and a neutral wall color provide a great background for a gallery wall of mirrors, children's illustrations, typography and a vintage clock. Corner mirrors make the space feel more expansive and reflect light from the bedside lamp.
by Sarah Greenman
Harms, always on the hunt for book storage, scored the wood shelving unit from a friend. "I've inherited so many books, some of which I will probably never read, but I can't seem to give them up," she says. The bed is the centerpiece of the studio. "I love my bed, because I can see the entire apartment from there, and the lighting makes it feel even more cozy."

White and gray duvet: Ikea
by Sarah Greenman
Harms' home is filled with DIY projects. Her bedside table is from Target, but a friend painted it, changed out the hardware and lined the drawer with a wallpaper sample.

Wallpaper: Dovedale, Cole & Son; drawer pull: Anthropologie
by Sarah Greenman  
The living room area is an unexpected mix of patterns, styles and art. Harms says, "Once I hung the record albums, paintings and mirrors on my walls, this place felt like a home."

The floral chintz sofa was purchased at a church parking lot sale, and the midcentury-style coffee table was procured for $3 at a thrift store. "My style just sort of happened," she says. "I haven't painted or altered the appearance of anything, and yet the colors all cooperate with each other — which is great, because my decorating philosophy is, 'Make it work.'"

A friend helped make the throw pillows on the sofa using fabric from Ikea and Amy Butler.
by Sarah Greenman
Music and lighting help create an inviting ambience. Harms' favorite thing to do at home is listen to records, and her prize possession is a vintage Magnavox record player.

"I had to get strategic with the light," she says. "I love warm, cozy lighting, but I don't have a lot of shelf space or outlets for lamps." A vintage floor lamp from Lula B's in Dallas helps light this dark corner.
by Sarah Greenman
Vignettes help delineate space and give the illusion that Harms has more room than she actually does. A home office is tucked into the corner; the handmade paper wheels hanging above her desk are decorations from a friend's wedding.
by Sarah Greenman
The club chair in the main living space is an antique hand-me-down. Older chairs tend to have a smaller footprint and are perfect for small spaces.
by Sarah Greenman
A wooden sewing box doubles as a small side table and storage for art and wrapping supplies. Harms found it at Lula B's in Dallas, where she shops for most of her home goods.
by Sarah Greenman
On the bathroom wall, an empty frame serves as a vertical jewelry display. This DIY project was accomplished with a thrifted frame, a white mesh remnant and some packing tape.
by Sarah Greenman
A vintage oven door hangs on the kitchen wall. "I like to hang things on the wall that are not usually considered art," says Harms. The small kitchen overlooks the main living area.
by Sarah Greenman
Harms doesn't plan to stay in the apartment for long but wants to make it feel as homey as possible. Inspired by a song-lyric DIY project found on the blog A Beautiful Mess, Harms reinvented a pair of canvases from Bed, Bath & Beyond with a lyric from Mumford & Sons. "I just used two packets of letter stickers and a tub of gesso. Now I have to figure out where to hang them."
by Sarah Greenman
Harms, shown here, chose her apartment for its location. "I love my neighborhood," she says. "If I walk out my door and head west, I'll hit a vintage clothing shop, several furniture and art consignment stores, fantastic restaurants and a taco joint. If I head east, I'll run into a coffee shop, a clothing store and a really eclectic shop filled with awesome posters and jewelry and books. It's a great way to spend a lazy weekend afternoon."

When not rehearsing for her latest play, Harms can often be found at her desk, scheduling her next audition and looking for more DIY projects online.

See more photos of this home | Share your creative home with us
by Sarah Greenman

Comments

groveraxle I love this quote: "...the colors all cooperate with each other."
4 months ago · ·
tetoette now, THIS is personal style !!!
makes me so happy to see something truly from somebody's personal tastes - a lot of professional interior design tends to make everything look the same (I think).
4 months ago · ·
Sheila Schmitz Tetoette, browse the Houzz Tours channel or do a search for "My Houzz" for loads more! http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/Houzz-Tours
http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/query/My-Houzz
4 months ago · ·
ariadne2095 Great job!!! You really hit it with the mix of style and color! Plus the apt looks clean, cozy and welcoming.

Most people copy what they see in magazines and on design sites and the result in boring. Capital B boring. It is really wonderful to see what talent and creativity you have!

Thanks for sharing and inspiring!
4 months ago · ·
Vista Stores Hi Sarah Greenman,

Interesting blog, not like the others! This is the kind of information people expect from entire apartment decorating blogs. You can see more ideas of my Vistastores Ideabooks http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/users/vistastores
4 months ago ·
tetoette Thank you Sheila, hadn't thought about this!!!
4 months ago ·
Home Decorating Shop UK A beautiful and vibrant setup. I particularly like the various quirky, personal touches, i.e. the jewelry frame display and the canvases. Very well done.
4 months ago ·
apennameandthata My least favourite type of decorating is where people have a house with wooden floors, white walls and scatter mid-century modern junk through it. This example really does better than that. For starters, Ms Harms managed to make a house with light walls and light carpet look good. Anyone who manages to manage overcoming that insipid recipe for disaster deserves much respect. Sorry about the faint praise and ill humour of my post.
4 months ago ·
angel51florist I Love Thsi Quote the colors co-operate
4 months ago ·
cillisa My new favorite house on Houzz!
4 months ago ·
Theresa Sembuche At first I thought , arts and crafts, not really my style. But this home is beautiful, especially love the floral chintz sofa and how you made it all work.
4 months ago ·
davesmac I love the vintage oven door hung on the wall. Show me the kitchen!
4 months ago ·
One Specialty Landscape Design, Pools & Hardscape Sarah, I am so thrilled to see you feature a unique Dallas home each week. Each of your homes is so personal and I can't wait to see what else you'll be writing about this year! I have been reading your blog over the last few weeks and your own home is spectacular! Thank you for sharing!

Christina Thompson
4 months ago · ·
Debbie I love Martha's description of her neighbourhood...wish mine was like that!
4 months ago ·
ploefff @ davesmac there's a view of the kitchen if you click on the link "See more photos of this home" below the last pic.
4 months ago · ·
sclawson How about a Houzz DIY article on how to make those paper wheels? What a beautiful way to bring color into a room!
4 months ago ·
gschneider Delightful! I feel the joy.
4 months ago ·
hilaryc1 I echo sclawson. I love those paper wheels and how they separate the office space. A really beautiful and warm apartment. A great example of what you can do in a rented space to make it feel like home.
4 months ago · ·
4 months ago ·
ami_gar cute.
4 months ago ·
frenchdecor Didn't know at age of 6 that I had eclectic interior style. I had colorful and themed unframed National Geographic pictures on the wall, in winter all window with paper snowflakes, in summer flowers in bottles. Also had some collections: dolls, ceramic chips, insects, later postal stamps, and many other stuff I liked and treasured. I had mismatch desk and chair and hand made by my older brother book and toy shelves. The room was solely decorated by me, colorful, personalized and pretty cute, I think.
4 months ago ·
sclawson pleoff: Thanks so much for this link! Can't wait to try it. Fun, fun, fun!!
4 months ago · ·
Ruth I love the vintage oven door repurposed as art, because it is!
4 months ago ·
Amanda DeCort Loooooove that record player
4 months ago ·
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