MY PAST APARTMENTS

Former Residences:

First "All-Mine" Place

Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
500-ish square foot apartment on the 2nd floor of a big Queen Anne house

Living Room / Dining Area / Kitchen


Orange Sofa - Craigslist | Rug, pouf, table under window, round pillow, curtains - Target | Arm chair, suitcase, typewriter case, ice cream parlor chair, copper heater - antique stores | Blankets, tray - Walmart | Square pillows - Family Dollar | Of Monsters and Men lyric canvases - DIY

  



Purple tv cabinet, bar cart, record holder (actually a kitchen lid rack spray-painted copper), basket - Target | Crossley turntable - Books-a-Million | Lamp base and lamp shade - Family Dollar | Gone with the Wind prints - Etsy | Roy Lichtenstein-inspired print, large floral canvas art, deer silhouette - DIY | Vintage gold glasses - antique store | Vodka, gin, brandy - Cedar Ridge Vineyards in Swisher, IA | Crate - belonged to my grandpa years and years ago, found it in his garage


Renter-friendly removable wallpaper - Chasing Paper | Deer head - Target | Brick rug - FoFlor Photo Real Rugs | Green retro chairs - garage sail


Vintage fan, vintage clock radio - antique stores | Blue portable grill, picnic basket, kettle, bread box, canisters - Target | Copper tiles - Goodwill | Wall decal - Cozy Wall Art | Paint chip canvases - DIY



Bathroom

 

Chair, toolbox - antique store | Wooden table - hand-me-down | Shower curtain - Deny Designs | Amore letter sign - gift shop back in my hometown | Window drapes - Target

Bedroom


Iron headboard (spray painted red) - furniture store in my hometown | Floral quilt - TJ Maxx | Green velvet pillows, bookcase, magazine files, red comforter, drapes - Target | Green and red pillows - Dollar Store | Burlap pillows - Etsy | Chair, desk chair - antique shops | Plaid blanket - Walmart | Renter friendly removable wallpaper - Chasing Paper



Desk - Ikea find on Craigslist, painted | Blue electrical insulators, typewriter - antique store | Baskets, 'It Is What It Is' canvas, floral drapes - Target

Attic Bedroom

Location: Ames, IA
Attic bedroom in a 2-bdrm 2nd & 3rd floor apartment in a late Victorian house











Bedroom in a 4-Bedroom College Apartment

Location: Ames, IA
Corner bedroom in a 4-bdrm 3rd floor apartment in a newer apartment building



Welcome to my cozy little corner of the universe.  My bedroom is my creative haven and where I spend most of my free-time.  It's where all the magic happens: blogging, writing, crafting, and the occasional five-hour long Downton Abbey binge.  Prepare yourself for lots of color, mucho florals, eclectic tendencies, and a teensy bit of creative chaos.  



Colorful, floral quilt: TJ Maxx.
Burlap pillow covers:  My Abode Cottage.   




The hutch is a multi-tasker housing my books, jewelry, perfume, tv and dvd/vhs collection. 

Wooden window mirror: Goodwill $5 find.
Green shelf: Goodwill $2 find, originally brass...
given a brand new look with green spray paint.
Ivory necklace hooks: $1 each at a hometown sidewalk sale.  




My necklaces are ready for their close-up.




The top shelf keeps track of some of my many books.  I'm a devoted historical fiction reader.

Metallic silver baskets: picked up at a 75%-off sale at Bath & Body.




Tall turquoise glass: $1 clearance find at Target.
Short damask glass containers: $2.50 clearance candles from Hobby Lobby...
(cleaned up and wax scraped out after the candles had been burnt down.)





Lip gloss and Victoria's Secret perfumes make me happy.  So does this turquoise + gold + pale pink color scheme.  Sooo Marie Antoinette a la Sofia Coppola, no?




Jewelry tray: $5 score at TJ Maxx.




I'm obsessed with ancient Roman and Greek history.  I picked up this handsome porcelain guy at an antique store back home.  Isn't he a stud?  He keeps track of some of my bracelets for me.


Porcelain bust: $15 from hometown antique store.




 I love having a desk, but truthfully I rarely use it.  I always write and blog in my bed.  What does go on here is crafting and diy-projects.  My paint chip canvases were featured in the Spring 2012 issue of Do It Yourself magazine.  The vertical cork boards were featured in the Spring 2012 issue of Storage.  (Seriously, check it out!) The white lamp is from Target---I stuck it in an industrial-style candle holder thing to give it more character.  I love my little paint can containers from Michael's.  




Here's a wider angle of this side of my room.  I bought that adorable sunhat last summer, but I still haven't worked up the gumption to actually wear it out and about.  It's so lovely, but I feel like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm whenever I put it on.  :S  So for now it hangs on my wall.  Haha.




Pages from Anthropologie catalogs often end up on my cork boards.  So do wallpaper samples.  And paint chips are in abundance in my space.  I swear they can be found in every nook and cranny and drawer.  




Here's a very small selection of just some of my magazines.  These are the ones I peruse most.  I have bags and boxes of others slid under my bed and in the corners of my closet.  




A door hook holds my excessive collection of scarves, plus a couple oft-used purses and jacket.  I even like the wall behind the door to look pretty, so my stenciled canvas brightens up the corner.  




It's rare for my closet doors to be closed, so consider yourself one of the lucky few to see such a feat!  A turquoise vintage suitcase that I bought at a hometown antique store a few years ago is turned on its side and used as yet another surface to catch magazines.  I just bought that pretty gray floral dress and can't wait to wear it.  Until I do, I don't want it hidden away inside my closet---so I found a place to put it on display!  Just looking at the beautiful floral pattern cheers me up.  




Getting artsy with the camera.  This dress really compliments the latest issue of House Beautiful and I just had to show you.  ;)



Seriously.  I'm in love with this frock.




Tucked underneath my nightstand are some of my favorite books: Domino being #1, of course, and Apartment Therapy coming in 2nd.  The vintage Royal typewriter in a gorgeous soft gray is something my dad picked up for me at a garage sale.  He knew I collected old typewriters and surprised me with it.  :)  All my other ones are back home, but I keep this one with me because I love the gray color.  I also love fat little birds, like the white one perched on it.  




Thrifted chair: $20 from One Man's Junk shop




Here's a wider shot of my bed and the bedside table.  I just recently swapped an outdated Victorian-style lamp shade for the more modern burlap one.  I love how the burlap contrasts with the ornate, brushed gold lamp base.  



I move around furniture a lot, but for now my wrought iron headboard (spray painted bright red) is positioned alongside my bed more like a daybed than headboard.  This window looks right across to someone else's window.  I hung sheer orange curtains with a tension rod to add a little privacy.  Random knick-knacks like candles, fat little birds, and a tin of small deer antlers litter the windowsill.  I'm not sold on the orange.  I plan on replacing them with some sheer white curtains soon.




I'm seriously in love with the pattern on my bedding.  So I had to snap a close-up of it.  :)