I have some clients who live in a Belltown studio and wanted that cool mid-century urban look without breaking the bank. These hip renters wanted to put their stamp on the place in an impermanent way that they could take with them.

Exhibit A: Super cool downtown view Studio. Otherwise known as an empty box.

I started with a mood board which is a way to visually communicate the aesthetic in a 1-sheet format.The mood board featured their existing modern gray upholstered furniture from Joybird layered in with well-priced accents and accessories from easy-to-access online retailers. I featured temp-paper (removable wallpaper created specifically with apartment dwellers in mind) and big impact color in contained (read: less scary to the color-phobe) doses in the form of throw pillows, art area rugs along with simple, modern lamps, end tables and bar cabinet.

Belltown Seattle Mid-Century Look and Feel

The transformation was pretty streamlined. Using Pinterest as an online file cabinet, my clients were able to self-select their choice of lamps, rugs, art and accessories. Things like having the correctly sized area rug and the right scale for an end table make a huge difference in whether your space feels well thought out. Here are some of the specific items we landed on;