Home Sweet Home in the City

After three years of wanderlusting and roaming, living in small villages, apartments that were too big, too cold and might I add, badly decorated, sleeping on friends sofas, pull out beds and air mattresses, I finally have a home of my own…again. And it’s just right.

From the moment I saw it I knew I had to make it mine.  It was everything I had been dreaming of–sunny, white, spacious, molding, hardwood floors and what would be and now is my bedroom was a corner room, so three windows…how lovely!  December 1st I moved in.  My landlord was concerned about me moving in with all my stuff and scratching up her walls, but what she didn’t realized that all my stuff was really just a couple of suitcases and a few boxes mainly filled with papers.  Absolutely no furniture.

Ok, so my apartment is a little empty but it’s almost perfect or at least it will be once all my decorating dream boards become a reality. You see, three years ago I made a cross country move that turned into an overseas move and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t possibly take everything with me. A difficult decision it was but it had to be made.  So, my cool flea market coffee table find and sofa went to my sister and brother in law (eventually they ended up getting rid of the table). My beautifully curved, velvet upholstered chair went to my other sister (would it be terribly rude to ask to get it back?) and she also got my antique dresser. Most everything else got sold or sadly, tossed.

And so I now find myself incredibly happy to have my own place again but I also find myself starting from scratch.  Here begins my new decorating journey and who better to begin this journey with than with my former roommate and current design and decorating sidekick.  Let the decorating begin…one little detail at a time.

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Big Plans, Little Budget

A loooooooooong time ago I left Brooklyn, NY and moved into a little house in Pennsylvania.  Life changes, huh?  I left behind my roommate, fellow interior design junky and my best resource when it came to picking out fabrics and deciding what color to paint the walls.  She & I started this blog because we’ve discovered no one else wants to listen to us talk about throw pillows.  Shocking, I know.

If you haven’t guessed it – I’m the “Little House” portion of this partnership.

Everyone called this a starter house before the bubble burst.  I never got that.  After living happily in a two bedroom, second floor walk-up the reality is that I don’t want the hassle that comes with a lot of square footage.*  So I’ve set out to make my 1940’s style brick twin into a jewel box… one small step (and trip to the CoinStar) at a time.

It’s a work in progress and, taking a hint from the Domino Design Book, I need to put together a plan for each room in the house.  It’s always best to have a map to where you’re going.  First up is the Living Room.

 I’ve tried everything, and I just can’t get this room to work!  It has good bones, don’t you think?  I love the hardwood floors and my big bay window.  Don’t ask me what I was thinking, though, when I chose that color!

Here’s what I’m looking to accomplish:

• Incorporate Some Bookshelves – preferably built-ins… I have ALOT of books
• New Window Treatment for the Bay Window (our neighbors are learning way too much about us)
• Find a Functional Furniture Plan (That TV has to go up on a wall – but I don’t have much in available wall space.  And once I hang the TV, how do I position the couch?)
• Part of “Finding a Functional Furniture Plan” means deciding which pieces of furniture to keep and what needs to go.
• Change that Paint Color????
• More Comfy Seating
• Bigger Area Rug to anchor the room
• Consolidate the artwork hanging in random spots all over the house & create a gallery style wall

I think I’ll need to start with a color scheme.  It’s the least intimidating.

*hassle = code for “don’t want to have to clean”