Category: Apartment Living

At Home: Entryway

It’s been a while since I shared much of my home, so I thought I’d catch you guys up on what things are like around here. First up, the entryway.

Currently

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There isn’t much to the entryway, but I like how, despite its small size, it’s better than opening up the front door straight into the living room. Our shoe organizer provides a small shelf to drop keys and mail, and the picture (an antique painted by a great-relative) gives the area a little “something special.”

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I may trade the picture for a mirror if I find one that can withstand being next to a slammed door day in and day out (our door closes very heavily).

I love this STÄLL IKEA shoe organizer. It holds a surprising number of shoes for its narrow size. Those Swedish geniuses!! We store shoes in three compartments and use the upper right compartment for doggie stuff (leash, harness, dog tee shirt), as well as the mail key and other assorted keys (padlock and bike keys, etc). I love the way its slim profile doesn’t block the light from the sidelight window.

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Plans

Right now we have a can light with a brass ring around it, but I’d like to updgrade that to something more special. I’m also on the fence about painting the back of the front door. Per HOA, we can’t paint the exterior, but I’m wondering about adding a little color to the living room this way. I’m just not sure what to do about all the trim along the doorjamb and the sidelight window. Suggestions?

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Inspiration for a Bright and Cozy Loft

Earlier this summer, a friend of mine let me know that she and her husband were moving to a new city. They’d already signed the lease to an open-concept loft in a converted building. She reached out to me for some inspiration in arranging the floor plan and some jumping-off points as to decorating the new place.

I simply love putting together inspiration boards, so I was eager to help out! After a few emails back and forth I got an idea for the space and for a few looks that she likes.

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Given this information, I put together a rough floor plan (I couldn’t be totally detailed since I didn’t have measurements to work with) and an inspiration board to be used to start furnishing the living room and dining bar. I provided a list of links for items to buy, but oftentimes it’s just as useful to look at an inspiration board and purchase similar items things along the way.

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Sofa | Leather Stools | Media Unit | Pillow 1 (similar) 2 3 | Art Prints 1 2

Since the brick wall was already painted white, and the wood floor was finished in a light-to-medium tone, I decided to bring in color using a vibrant sofa and cool accessories. This isn’t really surprising considering it’s my usual design strategy! Not knowing if the lease allowed for hanging items on the brick, I picked inexpensive prints that could fit in light frames and attached using extra-durable 3M hooks. I love TV, so I don’t shy away from including TVs in inspiration boards, but I do like to make the area a little more interesting. I thought a media unit with a shelf up top could be accessorized in a way so that the focal point would still be attractive even with the big black box turned off. I also included a lighting solution involving a long white cord and paper lampshade (the kind found at IKEA or World Market) so lights could be hung from the ceiling without being hard-wired.

I didn’t have a lot of detail to go on regarding the bedroom and bathroom half of the loft (behind the amazing sliding barn door), so I just imagined what the layout might be like.

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I don’t have any afters since the couple didn’t move in until fairly recently. I am confident that however they decide to decorate, it will look great, and I’m so happy I was tapped to lend a helping hand.

If you are ever stumped for design inspiration you can always email me for some brainstorming! I would be happy and honored to help out. 

My Wooly Valentine

Last Friday night. It was destiny. We were headed over to North Park, one of our favorite neighborhoods, to meet some friends but first I wanted to stop by West Elm to see if they had anything good in their clearance section. I was thinking of desktop organization or a good deal on some kitchen stuff (typical… the obsession with kitchen stuff continues). Well, yes, I will say they had a great bargain in the clearance section. A HUGE pile or rugs they had been using in-store to anchor their show “rooms.”

With minor convincing/begging, a new member of the family came home with us.

West Elm Kasbah Rug

For only $99 I made it home with a rug. And not some skinny little flat-weave rug, either. A wooly mammoth, a 5×8 shaggy Moroccan-inspired (India-made) Kasbah rug. You may know Morocco has a special place in my heart since it’s where I did my 6-week study abroad program in 2009. Because of this, the Kasbah and the Souk rugs have been a couple favorites from West Elm for a while now, and this score was too good to pass up! I may or may not have logged some time laying on it and whispering “my preciousss…”

West Elm Kasbah Rug

West Elm Kasbah Rug

The original price was $499. Since they had it out on the ground for a little while (one of the associates implied it had been a week or less), it was marked down with the rest of the display rugs at $99. I’ll save you the math, that is a fifth of the price! 80% off is music to my ears! Especially when I wouldn’t have had it in me to buy one at full price, ever.

It has replaced our flat-weave cotton Zebra rug (which was constantly rolling up, getting lumpy, etc) in the living area. I like that wool is natural and that I don’t have to worry about weird plastic VOCs in my living area. I love the way it covers up the boring apartment-brown carpet. I love, love, looooove how it looks with our vintage coffee table. I can’t wait for it to become staple in my home’s “look” in different rooms and with different pieces of furniture as time goes by.