Day 2 of the Apartment Challenge

In yesterday's post, to which you may want to refer for background, I introduced my apartment dilemma and began what I'm calling my "flight of fancy" apartment designing spree: in (hopefully) getting my first (studio) apartment on my own this summer, what would I put in it if I had $2,000 to spend? Yesterday I discussed the sleeping area. We ended up at $463.90. Today, I'm going to continue with what is arguably the home's most important space - the living room.

The most important piece in a living room is definitely a sofa. I considered going with a very, very cheap version from IKEA but ultimately ended up with a more expensive piece because, after all, a sofa is one of those pieces that you do want to invest in a bit more than say, an occasional table.

I really like this sofa from Urban Outfitters. Playing off of a classic mid-century Danish style, this sofa is very neutral and it has a lovely shape. It would look great in many spaces, with many different styles of decor. Plus it's so functional - you can remove the cushions and it will convert into a twin size bed, perfect for slumber parties with your best friend. The price is pretty great too, for a brand-new great-looking sofa.
It costs $480.



Another extremely crucial piece - at least for me, an avid bookworm - is a bookshelf. I like this clean, geometric version from IKEA, which repeats the white shade from the bed frame.. I would stick my pint-size telly in one of the squares (hopefully it would fit) and fill the rest with books and a few knicknacks. The Expedit shelf is $129.



Beside the sofa I would stick this copy of a Neoclassical tripod table from Target. It's gold, like the bees painted on my bedside table. In a reference that probably only I would appreciate in my dorky way, golden bees were Napoleon's symbol and this style of tripod table was popular during his reign. $34.99 from Target.



On the table I would set my green lucite lamp base from PB2 and top it with this gorgeous shade from Anthropologie to add a bit of color to this part of the room. $98 from Anthropologie.



I would throw this sage Tessuto blanket onto the couch. I think it would look lovely near the lamp. At $39.95 (from CB2 it's a pretty inexpensive way to add both color and texture to this part of the room.



If there's space on the tripod table, I would stick these sweet little Farm vases alongside of it. I love the variety of textures in each piece. $5.97 for 3 at IKEA.



In front of the couch I would place this clean, spare parsons-style coffee table from IKEA, which costs $24.99. A few of my voluminous collections of magazines (carefully edited, at least at first) would be stored in the compartment below, and above would be a few of my favorite coffee table books and perhaps a tablescape (I've always wanted to build one of those and have never really had a place for it). I'm not sure how it would look but I love the idea of covering the top with a raffia or burlap-type material to add texture, like this rather pricier version by Laura Yaggy.



On the walls I would hang this print from Oh My Cavalier! (Julianna Swaney), available here for $26.
This brings our final total for today to $1,302.8.



I'm dying to hear what you all think about this so far. Granted, this is an imaginary apartment, but who knows - quite a few of these things will probably be for sale a few months from now, and if I keep working and saving maybe I can start adding them one by one - that is, if I'm still enamored with the concept.
What works (if anything)? What doesn't work? Suggestions? Comments? Concerns?