Lived In

This week marks one year since receiving the keys to my queendom!

I've been scrolling through this blog while strolling down memory lane and am laughing at the pictures of half-furnished rooms that I was so eager to post.

This calls for an update! 

Here's what the condo looks like after 12 months of being lived in:

It took about six months to finally solve the storage issues in the dining room. (Ignore that mess in the corner. It still needs to find a home!)

  The three set of storage units were found on target.com. The middle unit arrived with a broken door, so I decide just to use that shelf as a cubbie rather that chase down a replacement.

Any storage with a top shelf is my favorite kind. I have too many picture frames and tchotchkes to display!

Not much has changed in the living room. The second end table and lamp have been purchased. The cute red TV tables I found at Meijer. (No joke, Meijer! On a grocery trip!) I keep one in the living room as the perfect out-of-the-way spot for my laptop.

Cat Toys R Us

My crazy color scheme has been very invigorating. Although, I can picture myself tiring of the primary color scheme after too long. Fortunately, I kept all my more expensive items in the neutral family, while everything bright is paintable or inexpensive enough to be easily replaced.

Even the hallway has seen some extra love. Due to a remodel at my workplace, more of my vintage Disney memorablia has found its way back home. This narrow forgotten spot in the hallway is now one of my favorites in the house!

I don't even think there was a toothbrush in my bathroom yet when I first posted pictures of it.

My how things have changed!

I found that pasta containers made the best (and least expensive)
solution for sterile Qtip and cotton ball storage.

Glute Goals

The Moonrise Kingdom pun is still hilarious to me.
And, the fact that Suzy Bishop and her binoculars
creep out my nephew every time he "goes" is just
a bonus feature.

The Florida room is another place that I'm forseeing color overkill coming back to haunt me soon. Fortunately, the furniture is all <$20 stuff from Target. And, the rugs were quite inexpensive from there also. After this season, I can see myself shopping for something a little more comfortable and permanent for this room. Although, it is still "My Happy Place"!

"Called it! So, where will you be sleeping?"

The bedroom was my most recent post. So, not much has changed in there.

Although, I did overlook alot of my favorite bits and pieces in my orignal post.

Some of my favorite catch-alls are colorful finger bowls purchased in

the dishware sections of Target and Home Goods.

And, last but not least (because this is how I feast...) my poor, stuck in the 90's, kitchen!

All I can say is, I try. Working with what I have has gotten me thus far. If ever I were to enter a "Makeover Your Ugliest Room" contest, this would be my nomination. One day I envision cabinets all the way to the ceiling, matching backsplashes on both sides of the galley, walnut floors, a new dishwasher, and an absence of wallpaper.

How many crock pots is too many crock pots?
The answer is infinity!

One of the artists tells me I need a bigger fridge.

But, for now, at least I have bacon and cats.

The Bedroom

Bedding, Boho Stripe by Lush Decor. (Purchased on allmodern.com.) Throw pillows by Land of Pillows.
Dresser by Ikea. Rug is actually a bathmat from Target. Bed, I believe, was purchased by my parents at Big Lots.

Everything I know about giving home tours, I learned from MTV Cribs. If I were to keep with the tradition of using what I learned there, this would prompt me to label this room as the place "...where all the magic happens."

Although, drooling on my pillow for not enough hours a night, only to be awaken to a fuzzy feline gnawing on my arm, would hardly seem magical to most... so, let me just welcome you to my "bedroom". The Room containing The Bed. Period.

The "magic" also involves Netflix and cat gymnastics.

It's a very comfortable bed, however. Cheerfully donated by my parents from their guest room when they downsized. Which leads us to my other affectionate name for this room: "The place where leftover furniture goes to die." Yes, as in...

...everything that doesn't match the public spaces in the house, but is chock-full of stuff so it must stay somewhere for the time being. Old dressers, curtains and bookcases. File cabinets from my old place that I used leftover paint from the living room on, just so they feel that they somewhat fit in. Plus, as you see here, all the unpacked boxes from over nine months ago, that are pregnantly waiting to give birth.

It's not all bad, though. I inherited some artwork from my parent's downsize that fits right into the color scheme:

The extra dining chair also feels right at home here:

Chair by Target. Dresser, part of bed set from Big Lots.
Mirror painted in Annie Sloan's English Yellow.

My favorite thing about this room: The color!!! Salzburg Blue by Benjamin Moore to be exact:

(Fun Fact: This is also how I became so very good at karate.)

UP! DOWWWWNNNN!

And, I love the easy access to the Florida room! It's great in the warmer seasons and provides a good amount of natural light year-round:

What this room will be used for: I was planning on putting a home office in one corner here, but I've come to appreciate having a bedroom that's solely used for resting, for the first time in my life. Reading, sleeping, and dressing. The bedroom it stays! (I've even banned the laptop from here, which took some getting used to...)

What I'd still like to do with this space: Get rid of those boxes! And, decide on a furniture scheme that works for me. That "leftovers" corner of this room is totally impeding my sense of rest and needs to go! 

The Living Room

I gave a little bit of a living room teaser in a previous post. Well, it finally dawned on me to push some boxes out of the way, take some pictures and do things proper already.

I think the living room may be my favorite room in the house. I spend the most time in here (like, right this minute, even...) and every day I look at something in the living room that makes me smile.

Let's talk color!

I have two rules when it comes to picking colors for a room.

1. Pick colors you look good in. If you're not sure, think of your favorite outfit and literally go out shopping with those exact colors in mind. Use these staple hues in the large scale areas. (Wall color, curtains, upholstery, rugs, larger furniture and art pieces.) If these are the colors you feel best while wearing, that will translate into ambiance as well. (Not to mention, you will always photograph well in that room too!)
2. Accent with a color you love, but never get to wear because it looks hideous on you. Incorporating colors you've always longed for will give your space some extra zoom-zoom. (The only adjective that's coming to me at the moment...) Just like when dressing, I'll sneak these colors into small accessories, shoes or toenail polish. Even though it may not be a color I look good in, using it in smaller pops won't clash with any selfie-taking. (And, you know you're taking selfies in the living room. Let's be truthful!) 

But, you say you don't look bad in any color? Well, you can just keep that information to yourself, Miss Perfect! Pick another favorite color then and go back to your beauty sleep.

My good color is teal. I used it in an entire wall of curtains, pillows, throws, furniture accents and other accessories big and small. My living room doorwall also opens to the Florida Room, which is screaming teal at all times. Bring on that universally flattering color!

My color I look ugly in, but always wanted to decorate with, is yellow. I used it in lamps, picture frames, a chair, some art pieces and... oops... one of my largest pieces of furniture. It's okay, though. I toned it down with some antiquing wax so it won't bite my face if I accidentally bring the camera out over there.

Two solid colors are good any for basic interior design. But, that was a little basic-basic for me in my largest room.

I'm a bit of a color screamer, so I added lots of red into the mix as well. I personally prefer three main colors to a living space. 

Well... maybe more. 

Since, I had a bit of olive in my existing art mix, and I'm not shy of a fourth color if it's practically a neutral (in my world), I was planning on purchasing an adorable Strandmon chair from Ikea in a lovely shade of olive green. But then the fridge went kaput and robbed me of my wing chair funds. I ended up using green in my dining space, anyhow, which is open to the living room... so I guess that makes it a whoppin' FOUR big colors in the mix.

Do it if you dare! Your eyes will stop you once it's too much! Be brave and trust those eyeballs. (And, for the third and fourth colors, be sure to go back to those hues you look good in!)

To offset all this color mania, I made sure to use large amounts of neutrals in the backdrop to prevent major headaches in my relaxation space.

I went against my past design history and decided to leave almost all of my walls white. (A color I do not look good in.) I knew I'd be bringing in lots of color in the artwork, so it was alright. (Plus, I didn't want to end up having to wear sunglasses in my own home.)

When I was younger, I used to despise white walls. Then again, when I was much younger, I also had carpet the shade of Pepto-Bismol on my bedroom floor. Let's just say, I got over it. Baptism by Barbie-toned fire. I eventually learned to incorporate white, and you will not find a drop of pink in my home today! (Don't look at that stripe on the chevron pillow...)

My favorite thing about this room: Is it wrong to say "EVERYTHING!"?

What this room will be used for: Once again, EVERYTHING. I eat in here. I drink in here. I binge-watch in here. I fold laundry here. I catch up on social media here. I read right here. Sometimes I accidentally fall asleep in here.

 

Of course, this is also the place for quality kitty time.

What I'd still like to do with this space: Not much, really. Maybe eventually another end table and lamp to replace the floor lamp. And, who knows... maybe once the rest of these boxes are put away, I'll unearth the perfect place for that olive wing chair.

This room is chipmunk approved!