TOUR MY PAST & PRESENT APARTMENT

Current Residence

Location: Cedar Rapids, IA

1-bdrm apartment on the 2nd floor of a Queen Anne Victorian house

Bedroom

(Check out the "Before" photos of my bedroom here.)

Above: I don't know when I'll ever be able to part with this floral quilt. I fell in love with it at first site at TJ Maxx a couple summers ago and it brightens my heart every time I look at it. Every once in a while, I think about getting new bedding and browse online options... but nothing compares. Since I haven't brought my red-painted, wrought-iron headboard up from my parents' house yet, I hanged my paint chip canvases (which were featured in DIY Magazine) overhead for now. 

On one side of the bed is one of my vintage French Provincial nightstands, which hosts magazines, my favorite "Sweet Strawberry" Yankee candle, and my bedside lamp. The basket stores my tablet and various chargers within easy reach. On the other side of my bed is a small wire caddy-on-wheels, which I spray painted yellow. I use it to keep books and magazines handy.

Beside the bed is my desk and another nightstand, which I use to hold my wireless router and eventually my printer. The gorgeous pattern on the wall is removable wallpaper from Chasing Paper. I'll be writing an entire post about Chasing Paper very soon (after I finish some other projects I'm using it on). It was super easy to stick on the wall and can be un-peeled and re-stuck somewhere else without harming the wall. (Perfect for renters like me!) To the right of my desk is my writing nook, but I'll get there in a minute...

Here's a closer view my desk. While I do much of my blogging and writing from bed or my chair, I occasionally sit down here. I'm on the lookout for a chair that's comfier than this ice cream parlor seat that I spray painted turquoise. The lamp is a basic metal desk lamp from Target that I spray painted copper. I keep my pens and scissors in a blue Ball jar. The bright light to the left is one of my bedroom windows... I get amazing sunlight in this place! And again, I'm in love with the colors and patterns of that Chasing Paper removable wallpaper. 

It's difficult to photograph the tight space that is my writing nook, but I made this attempt. The nook is actually a closet in the bedroom, but it has a window and doesn't have a door. I couldn't bear the thought of filling the little nook with a bunch of clothes. (Especially since I have a huge closet with a built-in dresser in the hallway outside my bedroom and an even bigger walk-in closet in my bathroom. So I decided to turn this closet into a writing nook. My thrift store find chair is positioned next to the window that looks out over trees and sky. 

I'd like to eventually put a table or bookcase in this nook, but for now I put together a little shelf from Target. With National Novel Writing Month approaching in November, I'm spending this month and next month planning out this year's novel. So I outfitted the top of the shelf with some of my novel-planning books (Lights, Camera, Fiction! and Ready, Set, Novel!), some writing utensils in a pretty little green candle cup, one of my vintage typewriters, and some other writing knick knacks. Underneath, a basket holds my collection of paint chips. While I use paint chips to decorate, I also use them when writing. If I need inspiration for a scene, a character's dress, or a mood... I grab the paint swatches and get inspired.

Here's a better view of around the corner of my writing nook / closet. The bulletin board was a basic board purchased from Target. I wrapped turquoise duct tape around the frame to add color without the hassle and mess of painting.  Except for an inspiration article, a postcard from a friend traveling through Europe, and some NaNoWriMo memorabilia from past years... the bulletin board is pretty empty! That will definitely change by the time November rolls around.

On the other side of the room are a couple dressers and a hutch. On the left of this photo is the top of a lingerie chest. I found the cupcake tower on clearance at Target and thought it'd be perfect for storing perfume and other pretty items. I layered a gilt mirror in front of a wooden one... I like the contrast of ornate against rustic. The items include perfumes, a kaleidoscope, a little porcelain elephant my sister gifted me, a small bowl of my painted skeleton keys, sunglasses, and some little white deer my grandma found for me. To the right is the hutch where I keep most of my books.

To the left of the lingerie chest and hutch is my main dresser. I placed it under the awkward shelf in my room. I can't remove the shelf or paint it (since I'm a renter) so I had to make do. I placed some of my favorite heels and a sunhat up top. On the rack, I hang favorite blouses, dresses, and scarves. The dresser top is host to a clutter of items that store jewelry: a jewelry organizer filled with earrings, electrical insulators and a wine bottle holding bracelets, a glass hand for rings, several pieces of turquoise glassware containing necklaces, a candle tin, and an old cigar tin. Behind all the clutter is a Gone with the Wind print and some framed paint chips. 

Bathroom 

Coming soon!

Kitchen / Living Room

Coming soon!

Former Residence

Location: Ames, IA

Attic bedroom in a 2-bdrm 2nd & 3rd floor apartment in a late Victorian house

Attic Bedroom

Former Residence

Location: Ames, IA

Corner bedroom in a 4-bdrm 3rd floor apartment in a newer apartment building

Bedroom

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

(Check out the $1 mini-makeover I gave it here.)

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.  :)