Tag: interior design

Master Bedroom Refresh

Since moving into this condo in 2014, my master bedroom has undergone small and very incremental changes. At first, we didn’t even have a headboard and were just working with a metal bed frame. I’m so picky—I finally narrowed down my options and ended up with one of IKEA’s cheapest options, TARVA. Totally cool with that!

Someday, if I want to change up the look, this raw pine can easily be painted or stained. For now, I am totally digging the honest, Scandinavian look of untreated wood. My other preferred bed option was the very popular CB2 Alchemy bed in either black or gold.

For our dresser, I am still totally loving this IKEA dresser, purchased way back in 2012. They don’t make it any more, which is a real shame because I love the generously sized drawers and straightforward Parsons-like lines.

Here’s a 6-year old photo of the dresser featuring a cute young Mosey with very little white on his snout :)

Other than that, the room honestly has a lot of furniture in it. The two pieces acting as bedside tables are actually emptier than you’d think. We are using our old bedside tables, pushed together, as a TV stand across from the foot of the bed. The awesome Wurlitzer stage piano is in here too—I don’t really have a better spot for it and I cannot bear to get rid of it. Lastly, storage is kind of an issue in the condo so I’ve got a stacked pair of IKEA pine cabinets in the corner that look like an armoire but are actually just holding a ton of random things.

Before

To be honest, this “before” has a lot going for it. I love the look of white walls and pine together. It’s very Scandinavian feeling, and the guitar on the wall adds some fun to the room. But there isn’t really a focal point or dramatic moment in here, which my other rooms have.

I got the opportunity to work with a wallpaper company and the timing couldn’t be more perfect. Photowall has partnered with me on a wall mural and it’s going to totally change the vibe of the whole room. Here’s the inspiration board, most of the things on here are stand-ins for items that I already own.

wallpaper / rug / bed / bedside tables / console table / lamps / quilt

I can’t wait to share the afters with you!

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Summer Forecast

Okay, so, my home isn’t new to me, but I have been putting a lot of thought into designing my spaces better. I feel that we’ve finally gotten settled, gotten to know our home, and really know what works for us. Now the fun part comes. Getting each room tweaked just so, and realizing our condo’s full potential. We are traveling a little bit in May, but in June and July I think we are going to work on home stuff a lot more than we have in the last year or so.

Living Room: The living room is humming along. We are working on a wood paneling update that I’ll share more about in a week or two. We are going black and white inspired by the interior design firm Commune’s work at the Ace Hotel LA. Here is a sneak peek and a little inspiration I am working from.

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Bedroom: The paneling has been going so well in the living room, I think we have enough leftover to do paneling in the bedroom too. I think the recurring feature will connect the rooms, but for color I am still deciding between matching the black from the living room or going with a color.

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All of this exciting redecorating on the horizon has got me thinking back to moving into our place for the first time. Making a neutral space exciting takes a little bit of skill, a little bit of luck (if you’re a bargain/thrift shopper like me) and a dose of color. I’m finally ready for phase two of decorating, but phase one is a challenge for a lot of people. I brainstormed with Casper to come up with some essentials to make a new house feel like home.

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Rug: Rugs are great because you can move them from room to room and house to house. They are a good investment and can cover up less than desirable linoleum or blah carpet.

Artwork: Like rugs above, artwork can be sentimental and move from home to home. Putting art up on the wall instantly transforms a room from a plain box into a place with warmth and dimension.

New Mattress and Pillows: Every room can do with new throw pillows, and moving is a good opportunity to trade in for a new mattress, too. If your mattress is doing okay, it’s still a good idea to get new bed pillows because… do you even remember the last time you got new bed pillows? I mean… you could get your dog a new bed too. Mosey asked me to mention that.

Paint: Confession, even when I was a renter I took the liberty of painting my space. Something about picking out the color you want to surround yourself with is liberating. We recently painted our living room from beige to white, an almost imperceptible change but the room just feels “right” now.

Lighting: I switched out my dining room light and have felt like a rockstar ever since. I think this usurps painting as the act that truly claims a space as your own. If you invest in lighting (it ain’t cheap) and put it up without zapping yourself… your house has truly become home.

Tool Kit: Trying to assemble furniture or switch out finishes can be frustrating without the right tools. I got this IKEA tool kit when I moved into my first apartment in college. I have used it countless times. It has just about anything you need to do odd jobs around the house—I can’t recommend it enough and I think everybody should have one tucked in their bottom kitchen drawer, like we do.

What do you think takes your living space from “house to home?” Having friends over is an instant fix–they call it housewarming for a reason. Baking something delicious and filling the home with the scent of that is another great idea. Share your move-in traditions, or must-haves, or best housewarming gifts in the comments!

Casper provided me with the infographic, but this is not a sponsored post. 

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?