I’m super into home décor. I can’t really afford to spend a ton of money on designer… well, anything… but I do my best with thrift store finds and whatever I can get my hands on. I’m a huge DIY person, so if I find something I really like, I usually see if there’s a way to make it on my own. Right now, working full time an hour away from home, plus coaching high school cheerleading, it’s hard to find the time to do as many projects, but I am trying to start small at least.
After a cleaning/reorganization session this past long weekend, I decided to take a few pictures of the things I love the most when I look around my house. You can also see a transformation of my living room over the past month, and a few bonus pictures of my adorable HORSE puppy.
This is how our living room started. Keep in mind that the paint was that color when we moved in. The color actually isn’t bad, it’s just super dark, goes with nothing, and did I mention super dark? For an apartment, we do have a decent-sized living room, but the walls made it seem very closed-in. In the winter, it feels like a cave, and not in a good way.
The reds and greens were for Christmas. The table was a thrift find by Erik, as was the bamboo side table by me. I hate the picture above our couch, but we haven’t had time for the DIY project we want to replace it with, yet.
Here it is, with the furniture moved to make room for our Christmas tree.
We replaced the little table that housed our cable box/dvd player/etc. with a piece our landlord had in the basement. We painted it white, because we are going to paint the rest of the furniture white to match soon. We painted the walls so we didn't feel suffocated with the red.
Here it is now. So much bigger, brighter, just better. There is still a lot we want (read: NEED) to do, but it’s improving. It’s only taken us seven months.
Maverick likes it too.
Erik’s mom has really cool, eclectic style, and she got us a couple of pieces for Christmas. You can see both in this picture.
Please don’t mind the ceiling, which needs to be painted over. We had electrical issues SIX MONTHS ago, and have been waiting for the ok to patch it up. My boyfriend is in the middle of taking care of what the company didn’t. The plate that’s mounted on the wall to the left is up in our kitchen, adding color and texture to a very neutral room. The piece you can see looking very small in the center of the picture is shown larger below.
It’s actually a planter, but the walls in our current apartment are unreliable, which basically means that they are weak and if we fill that thing with dirt and a plant, we will come home from work to find it smashed to pieces on the floor. For now, we decided it looks fine on its own. I love elephants, and the fact that they are known to bring good luck in some cultures, which is why she knew it would be perfect for us.
I was having fun taking pictures (albeit with my iPhone, some shot with Instagram), so I kept going and took some of my favorite areas in our house. I left my kitchen out because we need new curtains badly. It’s embarrassing.
I obsessed over these for a while, unsure of how they’d actually look, but I’m SO glad I got them. They are from Urban Outfitters, and you get a set of 25 for $40. They’re currently sold out, but keep checking back here. The flowers stick onto little thumbtacks, then stick into the wall, so you can arrange and rearrange however you see fit. They add so much fun to a boring wall, and are a great alternative to another print or mirror.
Jewelry organization is tough in a small apartment. We have the master bedroom, which offers two large closets and an en suite bath, but barely fits our bed and a bookcase. We had to mount our tv, and there is absolutely no room for a dresser/bureau. For that reason, we are really short on surface and drawer space. I got the birdcage necklace holder, the small ceramic white owl earring holder and the owl catch-all dish all from Urban Outfitters.
I have regular black nails in the wall right now, holding necklaces that are too long for the birdcage, but I’d like to get something like these glass knobs from Anthropologie.
The wooden bowl is from Target.
I love this moose key holder, also bought at Urban Outfitters. I can’t find it anymore, but I found something similar here. The Paris calendar is flat when closed, but once you open to the first month, you can fold the bottom into a flat surface. My friend Lauren bought it for me for a birthday gift back in October, and I couldn’t wait to use it. The square shaped catch-all that is housing a speeding ticket in this picture (whoopsies!) was actually the vase from a centerpiece at a wedding. I can’t remember the trivia question I answered correctly in order to take that home. It sure beats throwing mail, sunglasses and chapsticks all over the kitchen table or our nightstands.
This area I love, because it offers an array of color in an otherwise pretty neutral room. While browsing one of our favorite stores in the area, Urban Elements in Salem, MA, we couldn’t walk out without it. It’s the Bohemian Tapestry mirror, available here. Buddha came from there also, but I was unable to find him on the website. The elephant and the turtle on the right are both from Thailand, and the orange vase on the left was thrifted.
Last but not least, I just had to share PART OF my favorite collection, my shoe collection.
If you made it this far in the post, your reward is a couple of pictures of the cutest puppy ever in existence.
He turns one on the first of February!
