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Storage in the Living Room
The flow is so much better, but now we have a big empty wall where the tv stand used to be. My idea’s are ever-changing, but I have a rough concept of what I’m going for. I’d love to have a wall of curated but random photos and things hanging on the wall, but would also love some additional storage. I was really inspired by this relatively cheap hack of sorts that Anna at D16 came up with.
Anna from D16′s apartment wall.
Anna used Ikea kitchen cabinets to pull this look off! I love it! The fact that it is floating makes the visual space much airier than if it was just a credenza on the floor. This has been in idea in my head for awhile, and seeing her use it shows me exactly how it should look!
While the plan is definitely to move in June, might as well make the space work for us while we’re here right?
So, how you been? :)
Yellow House — Why not add a Yellow Car?
Second thing that’s kept me busy? Car shopping! I had a pretty reliable Mazda3 for a few years, and it was GREAT for hauling all that stuff back and forth from Ikea, since it was a hatchback. But.. I just wasn’t in love with it. So, after hunting for 2 weeks, I managed for find this lovely down in Raleigh, NC:
And transferred it free of charge up to Dulles! While I know I usually focus on all things home around here, I thought I’d let you in on what I’ve been busy with lately that has kept me from progress around the blog (other than my slump). It was a pain, getting rid of the Mazda — let me just warn you, NEVER LEASE A VEHICLE! It is such a pain to trade it in early!
But in the end, it was worth it because I ended up with this feisty little car. I am so excited! The new job means at least an hour in rush hour traffic, but with this cheery, peppy, zip-in-and-out-of-traffic car, I think I can handle it!
I have a week of vacation next week before I head into a new job, so here’s hoping at least the painting will get done in the dressing room, huh?
So Bad
We did go to Frederick, MD a couple weekends ago and found a pretty neat looking Chinese frame/screen – but as awesome as it is, it’s not worth writing about. I’m in a rut, really. Work has been horrible and I am wrapping it up with a last day of September 30th. Hopefully on to better things! New job is looking like it’ll be in Arlington or Alexandria — where I moved from a year ago!
All of this whining is to say, I’ll be back on track soon. I hope. Life is kinda upside down/uninteresting as it currently stands.
Can’t Get Out Without Spending
ANYWAY — back to the true topic at hand — PURCHASES! For once I was the small ticket spender, leaving after only spending about $40. There were a few things that have been on my radar from Ikea over the last few months, and I used this time — the time of no big purchases for me — to go ahead and stock up on a few accessories!
Most of these accessories have found their home in my dressing room, which I am in the process of putting together. Eventually I’ll have a post or two regarding that space, but for now, it’s mostly a disaster area! What I do have are a few small pieces that make me smile in the mean time. The new items in the dressing room include a couple of trays and a super-signature vase. The particular vase in question, which I picked up in teal (but also have its three sisters in white) found its home on one of the trays — a sweet little tray with fantastic grey and white stripes on it.
The thing I love the most about these stripes is they aren’t just regular stripes, which I thought at first, but they are a bit irregular, adding a bit of fun and whimsy to the vignette. This tray has found its home on top of my dresser, and the other tray is now living it’s life on my former desk-turned-vanity, holding some of my daily odds and ends.
Those little dots are so darned cute! By the way, it’s kind of hard to see — but isn’t the grain on that desk lovely! Remember how groudy it was before I refinished it! This tray is perfect here because of it’s longer shape — and once I finish painting the walls (you can kind of see on the right side of that picture) it’ll coordinate perfectly!
The last item I picked up was a sheep skin rug! Well, it’s more of a throw, really. At first I placed it on the floor in the living room, but it kinda looked like a dead.. well, sheep. So, because the Bertoia chairs weren’t feelin’ the love lately due to them being uncomfortable, I went ahead and tossed it on there!
Walah! In a fit of never-ending “I gotta change this place around” aka nesting, the chair now sits caddy cornered in front of the bookcase — feels a bit more cozy that way. In fact, the living room has had a few other updates in the last week or two, and I’ll be sharing those with you shortly!
So — can you leave Ikea without spending a dime? That’s right, not even on a tasty cinnamon roll or a yummy frozen yogurt — no meatballs either! When you do go, what do you normally grab up? Accessories, kitchen supplies, plants, or maybe just some tasty Swedish delicacies. I am a sucker for most things Ikea, but I always have to have some meatballs, a hot dog or a frozen yogurt before we hit the road home. Yum!
Landlord Approved!
She even told us that we don’t have to paint it back when we move out! Woohoo!
Of course, that means more work on our plates, because now I’ll be painting the stairwell this color and the 4th wall of the living room that really just facilitates a 1/2 bath door and a shoe cabinet — but less of that grungy white paint, the better! Our stairwell currently has various shades and sheens of white everywhere from the various patch jobs the last tenant did. What was she thinking!? Whatever! Now to figure out how to paint our 10 foot high stairwell…
Horrah for the landlord’s approval! :)
