Category: At Home

Lorelai’s Living Room (Gilmore Girls)

I’m re-watching Gilmore Girls in anticipation of the new special coming out this fall. In a way, coming back to Stars Hollow feels like coming back to a home-away-from-home. Lorelai’s place has always had a special homey feeling, especially among TV houses—I think the reason for that is that it really has the accessible, lived-in feeling that comes from a bit of clutter (like most of our homes!).

The other thing I like about this room in particular is that this effect can be achieved cheaply through thrift stores and craigslist. The story of the character is one who ran from her wealthy family and brought herself up by her bootstraps, and the thrifted, antique, collected-over-time look reflects that.

Gilmore Girls

(Photo by Patrick Ecclesine/Warner Bros./Getty Images)

So, I decided to make an inspiration board of a room that has had such a deep connection for me! To pull this inspiration board together, I went shopping on chairish.com, a site that’s like a fancy craigslist with items that have been vetted (you won’t find junky stuff on there). If you want, you can narrow the search to your geographical area. Or, you can search anywhere in the nation, if you must have that item (and want to pay freight).

Lorelai

First and foremost, Lorelai’s sofa. In the show, it’s famously old and uncomfortable. You can transform your own old and uncomfortable sofa by using a slipcover, or you can check out this option from Pottery Barn. Slipcovers are great because even though they’re white, you can wash them and keep the whole couch looking fresh.

Lorelai’s coffee table is not special, and I like that about it. It looks like it was all-wood, and painted green or teal on the bottom half of it. If you’re inspired by this room I encourage you to look for something at a local thrift shop and make it your own. But, since this is the internet, I chose this one from Overstock and “painted” it in photoshop. (winning!) The couch and coffee table are anchored by one of those woven rag rugs that I am super into lately, in a 90s kind of way.

The Gilmore girls watch a lot of TV and movies. An eagle eye can spot a couple different TV solutions (media units) in a few shots. In some seasons it’s kind of a tall 90s style TV armoire, and in others it’s an antique sewing table (sturdy, to hold an old deep TV). For this, I brought the 90s armoire into the 2010’s. This one from Home Decorators Collection has the same look, but is shorter and wider to house movies, the cable box, and a DVD/Blu-Ray player. Now that most of our TV’s are widescreen instead of the old, more square configuration, a flatscreen will look better on top of this low, wide unit, or hung on the wall above it. (I like to think that 2016 Lorelai is more open to the idea of a wall-mounted TV than 2006 Lorelai was).

Lorelais-living-room-updated-611x458

Unlike most TV shows, we often see all angles of this room depending on the scene. Must have been challenging for the crew to keep consistent! In the back corner she’s got an old wooden rocking chair like this one. There are a few home accessories that get mentioned by name, like a creepy clown pillow and a monkey lamp: I did my best to find similar ones! Also, if you go back up to the top photo you might notice that this room has a ton of lamps. I added a Tiffany style lamp but you could probably find something antique chic at a thrift or vintage shop.

From the most common angle, looking into the front doorway and hallway to kitchen, there is an iconic secretary desk, a colorful quilt hung on the wall (I bet you have one in your linen cabinet), and a couple cool art pieces like an antique painting. The key with vintage art is to find something you really like and that complements the colors in your home. Something ugly to one person could be just the thing you need, so be patient and check out every piece when you’re at an antique store. Also, don’t forget, you have the liberty to change out or paint the frame!

You guys, this was so much fun. Not only was it a great excuse to keep watching Gilmore Girls, but I haven’t put together an inspiration board in a while and I forgot how much I enjoy it. The one I did a few years ago for Barney Stinson’s apartment still gets some hits every day so I got inspired to make one for another living room. The polar opposite of Barney’s, apparently!

Would you live here? Let me know what you think in the comments! 

Portland’s Color Scheme

Our trip to Portland this summer got me so inspired about modern-but-still-classic color schemes, especially on the exterior of homes.

I think one of my favorite things about Portland is the homes. We stayed in an airbnb in a family’s basement and the interior and exterior were both so beautiful. In fact, driving down any street you will be able to feast your eyes on some beautiful homes. The architecture style is often Craftsman, Arts and Crafts, Bungalow, and my personal favorite–one of those I previously mentioned plus modern additions and revisions. A modern fusion, perhaps. There’s even a cool hashtag for those on instagram– #housemullet.

My computer is giving me some problems, so I can’t create an inspiration board or anything for you right now. So how about some eye candy?

From 2012 “Portland Modern Home Tour.”
From “Steph & Phil’s Reimagined Victorian” on Apartment Therapy
From TinyHouseTalk

I think the magical combination is natural wood + soft green (or earthy purple) plus a pretty punch of matte black. Something to contemplate as the fall approaches… pretty color scheme for a dinner party, or a small room refresh, or outfit!

Paring Down

Now that we’ve been in the new place for over a year, I’ve been making a lot of progress on downsizing; the idea is to have more items leave the condo than come in. Since this place is more permanent (I certainly don’t plan to retire here, but I am not obsessing about my “next” place either), I have been parting with things that I “might” have needed to schlep to the next apartment, “just in case,” and focusing on organizational systems, furniture, and the like that serves a specific purpose. Things that were great for old haunts don’t make the cut for the new place.

One example is the plethora of curtains we bought for our bungalow in Kansas. When that place was built in the 30’s, numerous small windows were the way to go, and as such we had to buy a lot of curtains to dress them all. Between the guest room, bedroom, living room, and dining room we amassed twelve pairs of curtains. And that wasn’t even all the windows (some went bare). Our current place has four windows. Four. So, that’s one concrete example of super practical downsizing now that I know what I really need. I sold some online and donated the others to Salvation Army, and now I have a dresser drawer’s worth of space free! Just from finally purging curtains! I think that window dressings can be a semi-expensive furnishing that’s worth dragging from rental to rental until finally reaching a point which seems more stable.

 

Kitchen Essentials

Another example is kitchen stuff. Before I quit my gig at SLT I invested in a few pieces as far as pots and pans go. Three great items in, five good items out (to friends or goodwill). I followed the same rationale that I did when I upgraded my kitchen knives (which I’m still totally satisfied with, btw). If I invest in long-term and higher-quality pieces, I won’t have to shop for those items again for ten, twenty years, or in the case of stainless steel pots… maybe ever again! It’s a nice feeling. The employee discount helped, for sure, but I still recommend buying the best that is available and practical at the time, even if saving up for a little while is necessary.

My recommendations? Shun Sora 8″ chef’s knife // Scanpan CTX frying pan //
Mauviel 5-ply stainless steel pots // Global knives // affiliate links

Furniture is next. After a year we know what works and what doesn’t in this place. It’s an area where the pinch is really evident though– swapping out a sofa is not the same as purging a closet or investing in a stainless steel saucepan. I am in the market for a sofa and a bed frame, and probably new bedside tables, too. But I am going to play the long game and make sure we get the right item at the right price, instead of looking for the instant (cheap) fix.

Overall, I honestly hope this isn’t coming off as braggy or materialistic, I have just been reflecting on quality over quantity. Long-term investments slowly replacing short-term solutions. In addition to that– getting things repaired instead of replaced. I took some of my sandals to the shoe repair and two weeks and $12 later, they are better than new. I feel this is how generations before us filled our homes, and many people now see items as so cheap and disposable that the idea of “made for life” is largely forgotten.

Next on my list to pare down is media. Do you have any tips or personal rules when it comes to getting rid of books, cds, dvds? I hate to admit it, because I really love books, but having a Kindle has helped a lot. Please leave any advice in the comments!