It’s pretty amazingly easy to make your photos look like a magazine editorial. Or maybe my apartment is starting to just look that way! Ha! My walls are pretty bland (I’ll post Instagram photos of the rest of the place) but it’s finally starting to look like it’s coming together.

I went to World Market yesterday because I had a 25% coupon off of furniture. Obviously everything was still too expensive for me. But I liked this patchwork chair the most. This one was cool too. I’m going to have to go thrifting to find something colorful and simple to go with my red chaise. And of course something not so pricey. Dad and I are still working on our record cabinet but since we’re using black plastic milk crates it doesn’t look that great. Dad is suggesting contact paper to cover them. We shall see. My sister and I are making a construction paper garland right now and I’m thinking of what else I can make that’s handcrafted. I just like the idea of having a home with unique, handmade things.

I’m getting comfortable in the new place. I had off at work today so I had time to decorate and store things a little plus just listen to music. I had oatmeal & chai tea for breakfast and PB&J for lunch. Living the cheap life never tasted so good! I still don’t have internet or TV at the new place. But more and more I’m thinking I don’t need it. I’ve been bumming off my parents’ internet and from the library. And nothing good is on anyways. I’ve been reading and drawing every night. It’s been cool. It’s actually nice to focus for once.

Anyways, that’s what I’ve been up to. The good life…or something like it.

Oh, just ignore this post. I’m just trying to get design ideas but I don’t want to bookmark all these sites nor do I need all these tabs open. Most of these things I can’t afford but it wouldn’t hurt to find something like it.

via Vintage Looks

There may not be room for a small dining table or bar table but I could always put a cute stool up next to the kitchen counter.

Pretty pretty wallpaper. Both items via Anthropologie.

Mostly when I look at decor sites, I just keep thinking of stuff I could make myself. There’s a real awesome tutorial on how to make this record cabinet. I’d probably make two. One as a coffee table indoors and one as a shoe crate for guests or muddy shoe days since there is carpet at this place.

Painting the walls and maybe the cabinets has been the biggest thing I want to do first. Furniture & little details can come later because I think painting a wall can set the tone for how I want the rest of the place to look. I don’t think I want to paint all the walls. Apart of me really likes the neutral of white so I’m pretty crazy about just doing color blocking or color fielding like in this photo above via The New Domestic.  Although I may just paint one wall, here’s my favorite example of color blocking:
via here.

Bali Turquoise by Ralph Lauren may be my absolute favorite since I can’t decide between blues or greens:

Another thing I’ll do first is place a partition, most likely a sheer curtain, between where the bed is and where the rest of the studio is. Bed space is personal space and I’m sure I’ll sleep better and feel a lot more comfortable defining borders of my small studio:

Apparently Ikea sells curtain tracks but they don’t seem to sell them in sets. I think that would make for a confusing set up so I’ll probably resort to an easier way to hang curtains from the ceiling.

The least important thing I’ll be doing is the downstairs, garage-like space that the real estate agent/owner said I could use as my own. I think it would make a great office/studio and extra storage space. There’s no heater or air conditioner down there but if I’m excited enough about it, I could find a way to make it work. So far my thoughts go to chalkboard walls and indoor tents. Since I really don’t have a vision of how I would like that to look, I’ll just post my last and favorite image of a small space:

via design sponge

I like how there’s a color palette there on the bottom. I think when I look at the colors I want in furniture and paint, I notice I like a lot of creams and whites but I also like orange and turquoise. My bed frame is wood and I have a nice red chaise lounge chair so I guess I like the mix of bright colors and natural materials. Overall, I just don’t want to overdo it. I’m glad I’m thinking about it first, My other place, I was just lucky that everything that went into it looked perfect together but I want to be more thoughtful about this place. Especially since it’s smaller. I know the second I get approved, I’ll be in there with a measuring tape and sketchpad. It’ll be harder to go all willy-nilly with just over 360 square feet. But I’m ready!

I haven’t even turned in my filled-out lease application yet and am already surmising that I will be spending a large amount of time at Home Depot and maybe the Ikea store way in Round Rock. The design challenges of a smaller place will be really difficult but I am so thankful for google images and Apartment Therapy. The hardest part will be that the apartment is not a complete railroad design. It’s more of an backward L-shape. I’m pretty aware of where my bed will go. The bottom L part is to the left of the front door so it will go there. I’m thinking my beautiful bed frame is going to have to be left out of this move though. Just one more thing to stub my toe on.

My kitchen is straight ahead from the door so I’m wondering how I will have a couch, chaise, or a couple of chairs. I love the couch I have but it’s way too bulky. I might need something a lot simpler. I could do a chaise and a nice chair. I’m thinking I want to make my own bar table with a stool if I can’t find one thrifting. It would probably make for a good place to eat and to work off of. I like this collapsible wall-mounted table too:

I want to partition off the space with my bed with a gauzy curtain and maybe one of the smaller Ikea Expedit bookshelves, although I think if I made a series of sturdy milk crates attached together that may work (and may be a cheaper solution). Totally not my style but I could probably paint them. I could find some way to make them less grungy and more cutesy. Speaking of paint, I’m am so allowed to paint my space! I like that blue in that first picture. I’m liking the idea of a light green also but am interested in pretty wallpaper such as this. I probably wouldn’t do all the walls. Color-blocking seems to be a good idea. I have some cute artwork to hang but a part of me really likes white walls. Color-blocking seems like a good way to just get a splash of color without it being overwhelming.

I think the difficulty in doing this is that I like a lot of styles. Vintage is probably my favorite but bright colors that make things look overly futuristic is fun too. Simplicity is key also so I just want to have the best storage. The bathroom and bedroom have lots of shelves but my freestanding storage boxes and chests will have to fit somehow in the process. I think I could take a few tips from nice hotels. I forget how comfy hotel rooms are despite their size. I want to have a place like that only more unique.

The idea of it being completely D.I.Y. will be difficult too. You don’t often find good furniture or decorating pieces for spaces this size. A lot of things will have to be modified or made from scratch. That will be pretty scary but this will be project numero 2. I’m pretty excited and will be crossing my fingers that the application gets the go-ahead and I can get to work!

(maybe Dad will help :)