Inspiration for My Midnight Blue Bedroom

A Beautiful Mess

I change my mind a lot. I know. Recently, I painted my brown bathroom a great charcoal. And I love it. I also love the other gray room in my house. But now with two gray rooms, I'm not so much feeling the gray bedroom idea I had going on. I mean, I still like the look... but I don't want three gray rooms. 

So on to Plan B: Midnight blue walls. I love the way a deep, dark blue not only contrasts lovely with white, but also brings out the beauty of wood and copper or bronze. 

Bathroom Makeover: Bland Brown to Bold Black

Every time I come home to my colorful abode, I thank my lucky stars for a landlord who allows paint. But since moving into the place over year ago... I've had yet to get around to the apartment's eyesores: the kitchen and bathroom. The kitchen is quite large, making it a big task to tackle. However, the bathroom is teeny-tiny - making for a perfect day-off DIY project.

Bedroom Makeover Inspiration Board

I recently posted about the plan to paint my bedroom charcoal or black. Well, I picked out the paint color, which will be revealed soon. For now, I whipped up a quick inspiration board to guide me in curating and decorating my bedroom once it's repainted.

Sneak Peek: Moving my office to the coral room!

Sometimes I feel like all I ever get done doing is rearranging furniture and rooms. And I'm pretty sure it's hereditary in my family. Haha. (Looking at you, Grandma.) Anyway, I decided to move my office into the front room, which is painted coral. Except for the Birth of Venus folding screen that hides Dahlia's litter box, a coat tree, and a small table by the door, this room has sat mostly empty the year time I've lived here. And that's a shame because it's a big open room with beautiful windows.

Pictured above is a little inspiration board I put together to help guiding me in curating and decorating the space. I want a nice blend of bright turquoise and coral balanced out by black, white, and gray. And since this is the first room I come into, I want to integrate my coat tree, boot tray, and entry table into the space in a way that looks natural and fitting.

To paint or not to paint (my mid-century modern dresser)?

What do you think of this dresser from West Elm? I love the clean lines and the combination of natural wood tones against crisp white. I'm not so much a fan of the hardware and drawer pulls - something metallic or eclectic would be more my style. But I'm contemplating making over my own mid-century modern dresser to look like this West Elm beauty.

Paint It Black (The Bedroom, That Is)

When I first moved into my Victorian duplex apartment (about a year ago), one of the first rooms to get painted was the yellow room. I painted the office a vibrant chartreuse called Pollination from PPG. It's a gorgeous color that worked great with accents of gray, turquoise, white, and black. However, due to some re-arranging in my place... I swapped the bedroom and office. The bedroom got moved into the Pollination room and the office moved into the gray room. This arrangement really works best, so I won't be swapping back.

(Though, that picture above is almost enough to make me consider moving my office back into the front room. But it just doesn't work best for the flow of the apartment.)

Transforming My Living Room with a Large Oil Painting

I think one of the hardest places to decorate is the area over a couch. Sure, a gallery wall looks great. But I already have one in my office and two gallery walls in one small space is not my ideal. I prefer something that makes a bigger, bolder impact - like a large painting that occupies most of the wall. For a while, the wall was blank. Then, I hung my Gone with the Wind poster up. And it just kinda floated there - in an expanse of purple wall. So when 1st Art Gallery offered me a hand-painted piece of art to review earlier this summer, I couldn't say no!

1st Art Gallery is an oil reproduction company that creates and supplies made-to-order oil on canvas paintings to clients in over 120 countries around the world. All of their paintings are hand painted to order - on campus - by the most talented reproduction artists available and using the finest oil paint and materials on the market. (You can watch videos of how their paintings are made here.)

Holiday Decorating (and Smelling!) | Air Wick Holiday Scents Giveaway (Closed)

It's the most wonderful time of the year! (At least, I'm just telling myself that until I'm no longer wishing I were in sundresses and sandals. Ahhh, summertime, how I miss thee.) But really, once I get past the shock of the first snow (last weekend) and my hardy Iowan spirit sets in, there's a lot to love about winter. Mostly: the holidays.

It's time to hunker down and get cozy. 'Tis the season for sipping hot cocoa and eggnog, spending time with loved ones, eating savory meals, wearing those super-soft fleece pants all day long, decorating the house in a festive spirit, and (of course) enjoying the delightful holiday scents like fresh pine and warm cookies. Those scents (and those fleece pants) are just such a magical part of this time of year.

Speaking of those wonderful scents, Air Wick sent me over some of their holiday scented candles and scented wax melts to help create the holiday atmosphere in my home!

Chair Makeover Featuring Chalk Country Chalk Paint

I'm so late in getting around to posting about this project! (I did this DIY on a humid, 98-degree day... and today it's a rainy, dreary 58.) Earlier in the summer, I nabbed this lovely dining chair from Goodwill for about $10. I had the perfect project in mind - using the chalk paint Chalk Country sent me to review. But before I got to the chalk paint, this chair's seat needed a makeover, too.

Office Update + New Bookshelf

I recently posted about the struggle that has been decorating my office/guest-room - brought on by the pesky floor vent that needed to be uncovered for the cooler months to allow the furnace to intake all the air it needs.

Just a lovely dose of kitchen inspiration

I plan to add this^ into this...

In my apartment, the only space I really haven't tackled is my kitchen. It's large (the largest kitchen I've ever had as a renter). It's a blank slate. And it has some quirks... like, one of the previous tenants stuck leaf/floral sticker things on the cabinets. But I love the pantry, corner shelves on either side of the big window, and high ceilings. The above photo is one I snapped right when I moved in. Now, there's a dining table, kitchen accessories in all sorts of colors, and vintage fans in the space over the cabinets.

Turning my office into a office+guestroom (hasn't been easy)

There's a lot going on in this, huh? There's been a lot going on in my office, too. For instance, my sister up-sized from a twin bed to a full - and I hauled her twin bed up here to use as a spare bed to turn my office into a combined office/guestroom.

I finally got the room just how I wanted it:

Old Screen Re-Purposed as a Jewelry Display

One of my favorite things to do on the weekends is stroll the Czech Village -- specifically, the adorable antique shops there. One of my favorite vintage stores is The Copper Alligator. It's a go-to place for old suitcases, vintage clothing, and retro things. I always find something unique there.

Bedroom/Office Swap!

I've lived in my new place for over half a year now. Every room has been painted and fixed up except for the kitchen and bathroom. And I've managed to do fairly well when it comes to re-arranging. You see, I inherited a compulsive furniture re-arranger gene from my grandma. ;) We like to re-position chairs, couches, and tables - and sometimes, when we're feeling crazy, swap entire rooms.

I Downsized My Desk. Here's Why:

Usually when it comes to furniture, it's all about up-sizing. Bigger bed. Bigger dresser. Bigger desk. I got a bigger desk while I lived at my last place. It was an Ikea Mikael desk I scored for cheap on Craigslist, revamped with a gorgeous couple coats of charcoal-hued paint, and squeezed into my bedroom closet for a closet office. It was the perfect size -- with just a couple inches to spare.

Check out (and vote for) my 'Turn of the Century Charm' in this year's Apartment Therapy Small Cool Contest

It's that time again, lovelies! I look forward to Apartment Therapy's Small Cool Contest every year. There are so many lovely little spaces to look at and borrow inspiration from! 

For the second year in a row, I've entered my space. This year, you'll find my "Turn of the Century Charm" in the Little division. Check out my entry here and give it a "favorite" if you like what you see. ;)

After that, check out my entry from last year. My "More is More" space was in my previous, much small apartment. I feel all nostalgic looking back at my stuff in a different apartment - white walls, so much sunlight, so much less square footage!

If you entered the Small Cool contest, let me know! I'd love to take a peek at your space. :)

Happy decorating!

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Updated Living Room | Tour My Apartment

Here and there, I've been putting some finishing touches on my living room. It's really coming together as a cozy space. I love the orchid walls, plum accents, and splashes of rich turquoise and juicy tangerine. I still can't imagine why anyone would ever paint century-old hardwood floors black?! (A previous tenant did just that.) Maybe someday the floor will get stripped, sanded, and refinished. Wouldn't that be lovely?

Updated Bedroom | Tour My Apartment

I recently put some finishing touches on my bedroom and I'm so excited to share the progress! On a random trip to Goodwill, I scored several burlap sacks and a $7 red vintage typewriter. The bargains were just what my bedroom was missing!

DIY Cat Barrier for Under $100 (See-Through, Climb-Proof, and Too-Tall-To-Jump)

ICYMI: I gave up Cotton after deciding that after trying so many things, my two adopted cats Dahlia and Cotton were just never going to get along. Long story short: I missed her. And Cotton's back. And Dahlia's not going anywhere. My heart is big enough to keep trying. And my apartment is big enough that if I need to keep them separated long term (or permanently), it can be done.

I'm going to write-up a separate post about some of the solutions I've tried, how they worked, who they worked on, and what I'll be trying next. But in this post, I wanted to share the main 'piece de resistance' of having both cats in my apartment: an un-climbable, un-jumpable, see-through barrier to separate Cotton and Dahlia.

Pretty Up Your Porch! | Gordmans Review, Coupon, and $25 Gift Card Giveaway (Closed)

Warm weather is finally here! I moved into my lovely little Victorian duplex late last fall... in fact, the first snowfall occurred just as we moved in my last load of furniture. So I'm really excited to put my pretty little porch to use this spring and summer. I foresee some lovely summer evenings drinking beer with the boyfriend or wine with a good girlfriend who is moving into the area. 

But before I do anything of the sort, my porch needs some "prettying up." It's a cute porch with its painted lady Victorian colors and details, but it lacks my personality. So Gordmans stepped in and provided me with a mini springtime shopping spree to spruce up my outdoor living space. With $50, I tackled what my porch needed most: seating and a welcome rug.