MY FIRST BETHESDA APARTMENT - A YOUNG PERSON'S WEEKLY GUIDE TO APARTMENT HUNTING IN BETHESDA, MD - BETHESDA APARTMENTS, RENTALS

Welcome to the sixth installment of My First Bethesda Apartment:  a weekly, urban guide to the intimidating task of apartment hunting in Bethesda, and scoring and furnishing your dream pad once you find it.

BETHESDA APARTMENT

OF THE

WEEK

1 BR/1 BA  THE METROPOLITAN (click for listing) - $1801 a month

This week's apartment is not cheap.  But the outstanding location right by the Bethesda Metro Center, washer and dryer in-unit, large closets plus storage, fitness center, 24-hour concierge, and pool are among many reasons to round up a roommate or two, and make it work!

SPLURGE OR FAKE IT

SPLURGE OR FAKE IT

Spend lavishly, or just make everyone think you did!

You can't spend more lavishly than at Bethesda's Design Within Reach.  So if you're searching for a multi-arm lamp for that living room sofa, you're going to have a choice:

SPLURGE

Serge Mouille 3 Arm Floor Lamp from DWR - $7,380

FAKE IT

Ore 5 Arm Floor Lamp from Kmart - $93.60

Where do you stand?  There are people in Bethesda who could write that check for the Serge Mouille without a second thought.  And they'd be getting a 1952 design classic, the finest materials, and... it's made in France.

But the rest of us will have to Fake It this week, and save over $7200(!!) in the process.  Get to know your local Kmart in Aspen Hill for handy bargains like this.  5 arms beat 3 any day!

Have a great weekend, and let me know if this guide helps you find the apartment of your dreams, in the Richest Town in America!

FURNISHING YOUR BETHESDA APARTMENT? SPEND LAVISHLY, OR JUST GIVE THE IMPRESSION YOU DID

First, you have to get your downtown Bethesda apartment or condo.  But then, you have to furnish it.

A few days ago I wrote about the 20%-off sale that ends today at Urban Loft on Cordell Avenue.

But what if their high-end furniture would bust your budget?  Try Gallery St. Elmo, a consignment furniture gallery.  You never know what may appear in their showroom from one week to the next.

New arrivals at Gallery St. Elmo: Crate and Barrel sofa,
chair, and end tables - add coffee table for
an instant living room!

They have furnishings and accessories in a range of prices, so you can fool your guests into thinking that living room is brand new, and you spent a lot on it.

Live the Bethesda lifestyle for less at Gallery St. Elmo.

Gallery St. Elmo, 4938 St. Elmo Avenue.  301-654-0576.

URBAN LOFT SALE, NEW PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO OPENING ON CORDELL AVENUE

Among all of the change taking place on Cordell Avenue, the block that most often goes unnoticed is between Woodmont and Wisconsin Avenues.

Urban Loft, a high-end modern furniture dealer, has reopened at 4715 Cordell Avenue, and their 20% off Gus sale ends Sunday.

Urban Loft offers clean lines - and a hint of the avant garde.

I like this modernist chair.

Next door to Urban Loft yesterday, a sign was being readied at a new photography store/studio.  Mostly, things are just being unpacked inside right now.

And still to come in the next few years:  the lackluster new building across Cordell, that will house the new Bethesda 2nd District police station.