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.

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;