Category: At Home

An Alternate Universe

To be honest, when I leave my apartment on a quiet morning and admire the bright pink flowers in front of the house complementing the rich teal shutters, I know that this is really a lovely place to live. I love the size and the layout. I love the size of the yard and I can see LOTS of potential.

If we could transplant this whole house and yard to California, we would do it in a second (minus the basement, which isn’t appropriate for a state that gets lots of earthquakes… Also, unfinished basements are super creepy).

However, I know that transplanting the house is not economical nor possible, so we have come to terms with the fact that we’ve got just about 1 month left in our current adobe abode. I’ve been smiling at the exterior color that was an “oops” color–it has grown on me a lot, and the green lawn and bushes in front of the house have really helped me come to terms with it.

We still talk about what we would do with the house if we owned it and were planning on living here long-term. Here’s our brainstorming list! It’s presented in relative order of priority. And dollar signs on a scale of $ to $$$ …just for fun, I guess.

  • Update the weird 80s track lighting in the bathroom $
  • Quadruple the size of our usable backyard by fencing it in properly $$$
  • Build a 16 x 16 wood deck in the back of the house $$$
  • (Click here for a mock-up of my dream backyard)… 
  • Remodel the kitchen with new cabinets $$$
  • Update wiring in the whole house; relocate some plugs $$$
  • Create an additional flagstone patio further back in the yard, with a chiminea $$
  • Finish at least half of the basement with wiring, drywall, and carpet $$$
  • Finish the laundry room with updated plumbing, relocate washer and dryer to south side of house, install cabinet system $$$

Needless to say, it would be easy to put $20k or more into the house. I love it but I am ready for some modern convenience, like, say a dishwasher or drywall, for that matter! But… I’ll touch on that in another post…

Coffee Table Candidates

I like my coffee table, I really do, but right now with two couches its long and lean nature is nothing but a shin hazard. It is more appropriate for a low solo couch.

I’ve been thinking that given adequate space, I’d like to put the coffee table at the base of the bed instead. Now, this isn’t possible right now but we’ll see how things shape up in the new place.

With two couches in an “L” (as seen above), what the space really needs is a round table. Here are my favorites!

Smart Round Marble Top Coffee Table from CB2: I love the look of this: the marble and chrome would be a great complement to the rest of my furnishings (I have lots of wood items).  I’d be worried that one foot high isn’t tall enough. However, our vintage couch is very low. I guess I would want to see this in person before spending 329 bones.

Foxed Mirror Coffee Table: Even more expensive (eek!) this one is 17 inches off the ground and three feet wide (on its long side. It’s oval, unlike the others). I feel like that’s a great size and I like the dark metal base. $399.

Origami Coffee Table: Drool. This is what dreams are made of. Only 27 inches in diameter which is fine by me. The tallest of the three, 18 inches high. I love the base! It’s so unexpected and sets it apart, and it has a bone-tile top which is closer to the marble look I had originally been drawn to. Also $399.

And here’s the dark horse candidate:

Hex Side Table: Marble top, check. Dark base, check. 18 inches tall, check. $149 each, which looks good at first but I would want to link 3 together like they did in one of the website photos. Which puts the price up to $447, making it easily the most expensive option.

Considering the most expensive furniture items we have (aside from our mattress) are the IKEA dresser and wardrobe, which came in at under $200 each, I suppose you could say that for now, I am just dreaming.

Madeline Kids’ Room

For my final post in Paris Week, I’ve pulled inspiration from a children’s book series (and TV show) that takes place in Paris. The lovable heroine who lives in a house covered in vines… Madeline!

Wallpaper: Well, the beginning of the poem says that the house is covered in vines, and if you watch the video you will notice the walls inside have wallpaper on them… I have combined those two aspects with this wallpaper. To keep it from getting too crazy, I only wallpapered one wall, and plucked a pale yellow out of the pattern for the other walls. This is so outside of my comfort zone, but is perfect for a feminine girls’ room while at the same time staying away from Pink Overkill (like all the Pottery Barn Kids girl’s rooms suffer from).

Floor: Here I’ve got a limed hardwood, which is totally gorgeous but I know isn’t that common. Regardless, you can see how a builder-installed, neutral-colored carpet would look with an area rug on it creating a central “play zone.”

Shutters: Growing up, I had shutters on the inside of my windows and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. Functional or non-functional, placing these deep blue shutters on the window (in the middle of the wallpapered wall, nonetheless) breaks up the pattern and adds architectural interest. Even if they don’t open and close, they’re sure to add “age” to the room and make the girl who lives here feel like she’s been transported to France.

Bed: In Madeline, the girls live in a boarding school, and the 12 beds are all matching hospital-style iron beds. This one is a twin size (as opposed to a toddler bed) and the classic design will never go out of style, which is perfect for the girl to adapt with as she grows and tastes change. Better yet, if there are two girls who share a room, the multiple twin beds can even more closely imitate the book ;)

Bedding: Classic white completes the “boarding school” look and, since there is no color, can be bleached when kids get anything on it. Bring in dark red or navy blue accent pillows, if you’d like.

Rug: I chose this braided rug for durability and cushion. The navy blue color adds a much-needed dark dimension to the room and plays up the blue shutters. I went with a denim or tweed look (instead of solid navy) to add another layer of texture and visual interest. Juxtaposed against the feminine wallpaper and with classic furniture, the denim rug does not look too “country.”

Easel: The girl who lives here has a wild imagination. When not pretending she lives in Madeline’s house, she loves to be creative and the easel provides a place to corral art supplies and a large work surface for drawing with chalk or painting (the other side has paper on it).

Bookcase: Naturally, any child who chooses to theme a room around a storybook character must be really into books. This Parsons tower is pricey, but provides ample space for books and toys, and will never go out of style. It can adapt to any room in the house, so in my mind it’s a worthy investment. In this inspiration board I loaded it up with kids’ books and a few Paris-inspired models. 

Think back to when you were a child. What character would you base a room on?

My other Paris-inspired inspiration boards focused on a half-bath and a balcony.