Day 29... Space

I am an IKEA assembling master. Well, not really, but today's assemblage went far faster and better than I anticipated. The desk is... huge. I mean, it fits, but it's definitely quite large. That being said, I sort of love having all the surface area. This desk can truly be vanity/desk/crafting table/nightstand/whatever. And once I get some more of my goodies (read: paper products and crafts) delivered to moi from my Mom, I'll have more space to put it! What do you think?


Too big? Ridiculous to squeeze such a large desk into a tiny NYC apartment? Meh... what is space anyway? i can get to my closet and still have plenty of dancing room between the desk and the front door. ;) I'm going to try it out for a bit and then decide.

Um and speaking of design, I am IN LOVE with this pink apartment. Look at this pink floor and fridge!!!

I'm so glad I decided to paint my walls pink, line my closet with pink flocked wallpaper, and keep pink a main color in my room. I LOVE PINK! It makes moi so happy. :D

Days 15-16... Food & Design

I've always had a big appetite (I blame my parents b/c I definitely get it from them, although I did not get my mother's naturally petite figure), but since I've been in the City, my appetite has been insatiable. I am constantly hungry because I am constantly on the go, walking here and there, running up and down the 3 flights of stairs to my apartment multiple times a day. On top of that, I've actually exercised twice this week (which is a rarity), so I'm even hungrier than normal! Luckily, the food here is fantastic and plentiful and EVERYONE delivers! It's crazy! It's amazing! It's seriously dangerous!! I LOVE IT.

Today I worked up my appetite running around town looking for a birthday present and then heading to Home Depot to get my paint and paint supplies (tres exciting!). Tomorrow is the big day! My goal is to wake up early and get started ASAP so that the paint will hopefully dry and not stink by the time I fall into bed. Design is on my mind once again, and I find myself dreaming up wild ideas of what to do in this petite room of mine. When you're only working with one room, you've got to give it all you've got, and that's what I plan to do! Stay tuned. :)

Day 14... Pink, Bien Sur!

Nothing major to report except that I absolutely adore Roomie Trois (we went to an event together last night and are planning another night out this weekend), and I've decided on a wall color for my bedroom. Originally, I wanted a pale duck egg blue color, but after searching and searching, I have yet to find it. And then I watched Season Six of Sex and the City and was reminded of how much I adored Carrie's pink bedroom wall (couldn't find a proper pic). And with that, I very easily settled on "Magnolia Grandiflora" - a gorgeous pale pink from the new Martha Stewart Living paint collection at Home Depot. (Bonus: It's low VOC, too!") I plan to paint this Thursday or Friday - HURRAY! I can't WAIT to have a room sans disgusting white walls w/ scary marks everywhere.

Btw, here are some "BEFORE" pics of my room. It's a pretty good size, and the closet is pretty fantastic! After painting the room, I plan to hit up IKEA for one piece of major furniture (a desk/vanity to replace the small bookshelf and white table) and then I'm going to either wallpaper (aka "giftwrap" with some fab print paper) or paint the inside of my closet (hot pink!). Fun, huh? I'll keep you guys posted and maybe I'll do a "room tour" video after I'm done! It certainly won't take long... (P.S. Excuse the mess!)

Vlog: Project Paper!

...and a tiny peek into my apartment. :)



P.S. I actually have a lot more "paper" products than this, they're just scattered about the apartment. Ridiculous!

Apt Therapy

I've been bitten by the design bug once again, and I can't stop drooling over gorgeous interiors, particularly those with multitudes of whites. As such, I am (naturally) contemplating such painting in my petite abode. My apartment's gone through countless transformations over the past 20 months, and while I don't intend on doing a dramatic overhaul, I am eagerly looking forward to some fresh change.

Mostly? I want to declutter, simplify and downsize. Luckily I recently became the owner of a storage unit across the hall from my apartment (negotiated with my apt manager since, um, THEY RAISED MY RENT), and today after work, I'm going to pick up the key and start hauling crap over there. Eventually I hope to sell or donate the "crap" I'm "storing", but that all takes time, and for now, I want it out of my apartment.

As for painting, there is a loooong wall that spans the entire length of my apartment (entry/dining/living room) that has never been painted. The current color is grey-ish (my apt is "loft"-y), which doesn't bother me too much (since it ain't beige), but I want a crisp clean white. I love white walls and white furniture with POPS of color. I have oodles of color in my apartment already, so a long white wall would fare nicely. Do you have any recommendations as to a good white paint? I'm a fan of Benjamin Moore. I also want to paint my bed white, but you knew that already. ;-)




I recently stumbled across Jennifer Ramos's lovely house tour. I love her home because it's so real, but still personalized, design-worthy, and beautiful. I also love her prints and recently made her I Love You, Blogs and Coffee one mine. I framed it over the weekend and will post pics as soon as I get my new dining table (that is currently sold out at IKEA - grrr).



I particularly love her office and *SO* wish I could get rid of all my standard (and BROWN) office furniture. Yuck.



What's your design aesthetic when it comes to your home?

L'Artichaut

If I had an extra $625 lying around, i would most definitely purchase this fantastic artichoke lamp. It's such a lovely lamp, n'est ce pas? I mean, i love artichokes, and i love the color pink (not to mention the colors yellow, turquoise, orange and green), and it seems like the perfect table size. It's too bad it's about $575 more than I'd be willing to pay. (Okay, maybe just $525 more than i'd actually be willing to shell out...)

Le sigh.

P.S. In my humble opinion, the best way to eat an artichoke is the simplest way - steamed or boiled and dipped in delicious melted butter. I could probably eat 5 in one sitting.

Have a Seat

I love everything about this image. The color of the couch, the stacks of books, the lucite coffee table, vintage bird print screen, the random throws. LOVE. I'm feeling the urge to redecorate... someone stop me.

{photo credit: design sponge}

Closet Makeover

Bonjour, dear friends! It's a BEAUTIFUL day here in Austin, which makes running errands around town 100x more pleasant. I've had a GREAT day as I managed to hit up Buffalo Exchange (consignment type store), and lucky for me, the line wasn't very long. I've never really shopped there (i sort of have issues with wearing clothes other people have worn before... weird i know and really bad for vintage purposes), but this time i was feeling adventurous. And holy moly, i totally scored!! I got:

1. Trina Turk skirt for $15! I'm getting it hemmed so it's shorter (but still work appropriate), but i LOVE it. It's got beautiful watercolor florals that are very in for this Spring.

2. Fun pink silk skirt - good for dinners out! Only $13!!

3. Ikat-inspired purple skirt that's very appropo for work - only $9!

4. Jeffrey Campbell peep-toe lace up heels for only $25! They are BRAND NEW, too. By far, my favorite purchase.

5. Blue/silver western style belt (hard to describe). Most of my friends will say it's ugly, but I will pair it with the most perfect outfit. :-) $10

All in all, because I sold some clothes I actually ended up getting $40 even after all my purchases. GREAT shopping day.

I'm excited to add all these new purchases to my closet b/c last night, i did a complete closet overhaul makeover without spending a SINGLE dime (see pics below). Just reorganized my shoes, slapped up some cheap IKEA black/white striped wrapping paper on the walls, and added some fun pieces like my mirrored side table. Also created a fashion inspiration board with a corkboard (already had) that i wrapped with IKEA fabric i bought forever ago. I love the result!! The scarves are tied along the closet bars b/c i haven't figured out a good storage solution for them yet... Ideas?

A Slice of Home

A quick post (and some pics!) before i hit the hay. That's my current entry console and seeing the picture just confirms that the wall behind desperately needs painting. That's my little snufflelafugus passed out on my chair (the sheet is there b/c normally my cat is on that chair). And that's the chicken/broccoli/rice casserole i made over the weekend. G'nite friends!!

Sneak Peek

Eureka! I think i've got it!! Clearly the area above the TV needs a little love, but i am loving my mini library, reading chair, and new earthy elements (basket, coffee table, branch side table). And even though the rest of the apartment might be a bit chaotic at the moment, i am determined to make it as uncluttered, but still colorful and fun as my nouveau living room. Off i go!