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 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!

Bit 'n Pieces

dotandbo.com

I'm now at the stage where I don't have another completed room to share with you.

It's that odd limbo that happens between appliance deliveries, cable hookups, uHaul rentals and finishing up with a spackle and paint job.

I've spent the last two days supervising a carpet install, making lists, scheduling services and bringing lightweight bits and pieces out of storage, while waiting on my stronger-than-me helpers who are coming to my rescue later in the week.

All while nursing a pulled hip. (Don't ask! It's a non-juicy story whose setting can be found at Ikea.)

I've got carpet! (And, way too frizzy of hair to be posing for this...)
Carpet by Home Depot. They were incredible!

While I keep you waiting on the next room, here's some favorites of my "bits 'n pieces" that have made their way home, so far:

Hepburn graffiti print:

Canvas print purchased at Veramar Arts at ebay.com

I always thought that Holly Golightly could have been alot nicer to Cat, so this revenge piece has me completely enamored with it! 

The best part is, I hung it just so that when you stand facing my hallway, it looks like she's being dragged away to her doom.

Disclaimer: I absolutely love Audrey Hepburn.

I've got my towels back! 

Most towels from Target. T.P. too, if you're interested!

This is definitely the stage of the "little things". I've been using the same three borrowed towels for the past year, while mine set sat buried in storage. They're not new. They're the same ones I'd been using, wearing out, and replacing for the last decade or so. But, they're back! And, they're mine!!!

Living Room Curtains:

Patterned curtains from jcp.com
Sheer curtains from Kmart
Double curtain rod from Bed Bath Beyond
Cubed storage (that's not staying there) from Target
Chair from allmodern.com

I've been dying to add some privacy to my doorwall all week, but was waiting on the carpet to hang the curtains.

The day finally came to hang these pretty teal things up and whoops! As you can tell, I only had half as many panels needed to fill this 125 inch-wide space. Total user error on my part when ordering. And, they sat, undiscovered, in their shipping packaging for over a month before I bothered taking them out and having a look. The other half is on its way! (Thankfully, they still had this color and pattern in stock!)

Today, I also spent way too many hours running around town trying to find the perfect pair of plain white sheer panels for the curtain rod's second layer. Every store in town was super fancy with their patterned sheers, textured sheers, colored sheers, pre-crinkled sheers (why?!). But, I could not find a plain white pair in the entire metro area to save my life!

Finally, I just happened to drive past a Kmart store. (Yes. There's still at least one left in existence!) I thought, "Well, I'll kick myself if I don't stop in and later find out they had them." Sure enough, there they were. I got two 60 X 84" panels for $5.99 apiece. Score! 

New chairs:

Both chairs found at allmodern.com

Both purchased to be used at a desk (one in the bedroom, one in the living room.) But, I'm tempted to just place them in the epicenter of the joint to be stared at like the pieces of art that they are.

My favorite!

Disney wall:

Replications of vintage Disney posters
found at ebay.com

I hang prints of vintage Disney World and Disneyland advertising in my cubicle at work. I love them so much that I've always planned on buying more and having a feature wall in whatever place I ended up buying. (And, they're beyond inexpensive. We're talking $5-10 each! Then, I just used basic frames purchased at Michael's to hang them in.*)

These are in my dining room. Now that I've temporarily placed my favorite chair in there and snapped a photo, though, I'm tempted to turn the room into a library/office instead!

Alas, I already have a hand-me-down dining set that I'm committed to (and frightful of) refinishing. But, I will do the deed! The deed will be done!

And, I'll be sure to blog it once I've made a mess of things.

*If you're planning your own feature wall, be careful to check the poster sizes before piecing together your collection. Several different vendors sell these and I almost ended up with a couple that were and inch or two smaller than the rest of my set!

The Bathroom

Wrinkled rug. Doh! I have already failed at homemaking.

My bathroom cracks me up!  But, I guess it's okay to laugh in there. (Oooohhh... and I just said "crack" and "but(t)" right off the bat in my bathroom post.)

I didn't have to do much in here, which is why it's already pretty much done a mere two days after closing.

When it comes to bathrooms, white is right! (I just wish a little more whiteness on that tile floor in there. Here, bleach! Come 'ere, boy...")

Soap dispenser and trash can from Target
Bath mat by Ikea

I actually touched this room first on closing day. The previous owner had already installed this fine-by-me sink and cabinet. So, all I had to do was bring some soft soap and artwork into the mix.

Oh, why does my bathroom crack me up, you ask?

Well that leads us right into my favorite thing:

"Bat Brush" and "Cat Brush" by Greg Guillemin. Purchased at iCanvas.com

Moonrise Kingdom poster purchased at ParadoxParade on etsy.com.

White frame from Michael's Arts and Crafts

My favorite thing about this room: The artwork! It's fun, it's me, and it happened to come in the colors I wanted for this room. Moonrise Kingdom is one of my top ten favorite movies, which is why I initially chose the print on the wall opposite our Gotham heroes. The reason I'm laughing is because I placed that poster directly above the place in which many moons will be rising. *wink, wink. nudge, nudge.*

What this room will be use for: Duh! And, probably also several impromptu fights with Cat Woman over toothpaste and our main squeeze.

What I'd still like to do with this space: Bleach those floors! Possibly remove the glass shower doors. I've never been a fan, but I'm also kind of starting to like the airy lightness they provide in this all-white space. We'll revisit that topic once I've actually showered in there. Also, the counter space will soon be cluttered with way too many products once I've officially moved in.

That's all for now. Keep it fresh and clean out there!

The Florida Room

Since every inch of the poopy carpet* is in the process of being replaced, yet I'm chomping at the bit to start decorating, the easy choice was to start with the three rooms that aren't waiting on the Home Depot team to lay new flooring.

The easiest of those places to start was in my Florida room.

Everything had already been purchased and was waiting in storage, so once the dingy white carpet was gone, all it needed was a good floor scrubbing and some caulk to replace the peeled-off stuff under the windows. (Note to self: Must buy caulking. That part didn't actually happen yet.)

Chair, table and rugs from Target.
Chevron outdoor pillows from landofpillows.com

My favorite thing about this room: The brick wall and the colors! I'm a lover of color. Which is also my way of warning, "Brace yourself. There's more of that to come!"

More chairs and rugs from Target.

What this room will be used for: I decorated very inexpensively here because I hadn't fully decided what this space will be used for. If I change my mind along the way, there will be no crying over tossing out the $19 Adirondack chairs. I'll get more than $19 use out of them this summer alone. Anticipated use: Reading, blogging, snacking and petting of cats. (Whoops! Not plural. Just cat. Keep me accountable with that, please!)

I prefer to use trends like chevron in easily replaceable ways,
like these cheapo rugs and throw pillows. That way once the trend
is laid to rest, I won't be crying over painted chevron floors or tile work.

What I'd still like to do with this space: I've been scoping out local antique shops for the perfect vintage street sign for the brick wall... although I'd also kind of hate to cover any inch of it up. Festive outdoor lights will probably be added as well.

Punny street sign option for the "cougar den".

*Reassuring me in my repulsion of the state of the old carpet was my brother who, when lifting the throw rug the owner had left behind as camouflage, blurted out "AUGH!!! What did he do in here?!" See, doubters. It's not pop stains, coffee spills or other once edible substances. It was poop. (You may now debate the relation of poop to "once edible substances" amongst yourselves.)