It's My Party!

Dearies - I can't believe it. Life has been so busy that I missed the first birthday of this little blog!

 

photo by emma lee via simplesong

A year ago last week I made my very first post here - I love that I can look back and see how the blog has captured all that I've experienced since. It certainly has flown by. I wish I could have you all over and share some sweet treats with me!

Be sure to come back later today to meet Apt #34's first feature sponsor - a fitting birthday present, don't you agree.

Inspiration Contest at Apt#34!

My girl Erin over at Apt#34 is holding a little contest... and I'm the prize!

Here's the story: Last year Erin was ready to revamp her adorable home in Seattle, and asked me for my help, which is how Apt#34 was born. Then she met a boy, fell in love, left her apartment, and is now stuck with the task of creating a home in suburbia that both of them can live with. An even bigger project if you ask me!

Then, inspiration struck when I stumbled on this room that I thought would be perfect for this challenge...

I think it combines Erin's love for mid-century styling with that cozy lived-in feeling that really makes a new space feel like home. She loves it too, so we're taking this room and running with it, but we need your help! For all the details, pop over to her blog and check out the rules (and the prize!).

Dreamy Deskspace

Lately, my BF Erin over at Apt#34 has been dreaming about gorgeous home office spaces. So have I...



This was one we BOTH agreed on - in fact she posted it before I had the chance! I added a few more to her collection of inspirations today, so pop over there and check out her blog and her gorgeous new paint job!

Radiator Solutions

My bff Erin over at Apt #34 and I are obviously on the same wavelength because just as I was about to email her to ask when she would be posting on her radiator issues... she did.



This is her radiator, and - due to the ridiculous cost of taking it off, painting it and putting it back on - it's staying that horrible dusty rose pink. So - we need a solution, people, because unfortunately it can't look like this.

Coincidentally, today I received a comment from Claire on this post, noting how the radiator was covered by a shelf, and partially hidden by the table and chairs as well.



This would definitely be one option for Erin's place. Building a shelf over the radiator, and then screening it off somehow might just work! Especially if she found some amazing vintage screen to cover it up underneath.

Just to give you an idea of the space we're working with...



It's basically a small reading nook area next to her dining table. The doorway leads to her bedroom. If you have any other creative ideas for hiding a radiator that don't involve painting, let us know!

The White Brick Road

Painting will commence on Thursday so check back for work in progress pics and to see the final product!



With that set to go my mind has been able to wander to other rooms in my house. It doesn't have far to go, there are only 4 rooms to choose from and like all others, the bathroom is in dire need of help too.


Continuing the tread of white inspiration from coco+kelley, I'm day dreaming of gleaming white subway tiles. There's a the bright, orderly, cleanliness to the look that is just ideal for a bathroom.










Images from Desire to Inspire & Living Etc



It may be tempting to mix things up a little by adding a fun border. I love this gorgeous tile from Anchorbaytile.com that I found via The Scoop, but I'm reluctant to mess with a good thing.

Claypads Ceramic Subway Tile

If my shower walls looked like that I might never make it into work again!

Coming Out of the Dark

I haven’t been thinking about my renovation project much since I was vacationing in Mexico all last week. But the entire time I was there I was marveling at the beautiful array of light you find in the Baja desert. I mean check it out, do things get any more beautiful?

There’s the bright redish light of sunrise, as someone had suddenly thrown on a spotlight or the fuzzy golden haze of 4:30 in the afternoon – the kind of light that makes everything look good. Then there’s the twinkle of nightsky blanketed with stars. You don’t see that in the Seattle city limits.

I don’t come anywhere close to achieving such pleasurable forms of light in my apartment. All I have is a nasty overhead light attached to a ceiling fan that does nothing for ambience.

So before I return to the daily humdrum I present the top three contestants for my once and future overhead light that I think could bring some Mexico-inspired illumination to my casa.

(from the possible to the totally impossible but oh how I wish it were)

Mercury glass pendant light from Gore Dean

Ceiling mount called Northwestern 6 from SchoolHouse Electric

And the 85 Light Chandelier from from OLighting. Its on sale for only $3,448!

With gorgeous options like these I'm sure I'll find something to bring the best light into my life!

Nobody liks mold

Obviously, everyone hates the slimy, gross smelling, disease causing mold. But in the décor world, it seems nearly required that one love molding. I, however, have an overabundance of crown molding in my apartment and I’ve struggled with it since the day I moved in. My recent paint color choices have felt hampered by the rows upon rows of crown molding. Then, it suddenly dawned on me – I could just get rid of it. My soul may be damned to décor hell, but at least in this life I’d have walls I can work with.

Don’t get me wrong, I generally adore crown molding. It adds interest , it adds a nice finish, it looks classy. But in my shoebox, uber amounts of crown molding is limiting my decor options.

In a small space you want to be able use everything you have, from floor to ceiling, like you can do in the rooms from Living Etc and Desire to Inspire below. See how your eye can travel without tripping over visual roadblocks of crown molding.

Crown molding can also do great things to a room like these two show. In the first shot the molding beautifually frames the space and creates interest. The traditional room isn't exactly my style but I can appreciate it. And the more modern take illustrates how molding can do great things for what would otherwise be a bland empty wall space.

But the picture rail I have going around my entire livingroom makes it harder to pick paint colors, harder to furnish, impossible to hang art – it’s just hard to work around. Take a look at my bedroom vs. my livingroom. My bedroom has crown molding at about 10 feet up but no picture rail. I think the room feels more open, less formal and much more flexible. The first shot is before I took the wallpaper down, the second is after. I painted the wallspace above the crown molding chocolate brown when I first moved in, but it'll all go to neutral pretty soon.

When you look at my livingroom, you see this picture rail at about 5 1/2 feet high and then another strip of molding at the 10ft mark. Your eye moves over the base molding, the picture rail, the midwall molding and then molding at the top of the 12 ft ceilings. I think its just too much.

So there you have it. I've decided that the picture rail is coming down. I am prepared to face the decor firing squad. Ready. Aim. FIRE!

Renovation of Apartment #34 - All the World's a Rainbow

A few weeks back I introduced my friend Erin and her apartment. She's stripped down the wallpaper, and started the all consuming process of a minor renovation. When last we heard from her, she explained to us her inspirations and I could see her going more towards neutrals. Then, last week when I was in Seattle she surprised me with a huge pile of paint samples... all in white! Struggling with how to properly do color in her small space, she's decided to keep it open and airy... with inspirations like these!





Read her full call for design help choosing her paint colors at the Apt #34 blog.

Renovation of Apartment #34 - Inspirations

In the beginning of this week, I introduced you to Erin and her condo in Seattle that she's begun renovating. Her first step was tearing down the wallpaper so she could begin with a blank canvas. Second step? Finding her inspiration. Because she identifies so well with fashion, I asked her to send colors and pieces from the runway as well as rooms to give you all an idea of her style.

That said, I've known this girl since Jr. High and I still couldn't completely define her. She's got an obsession with winter coats, which to me translates to her need to have a warm and cozy feel to her rooms, along with a touch of clean lines and maybe a little 'menswear' style? She's completely into the green movement, so a space that's organic with neutrals and nature inspired colors speaks to her senses. And, the girl's got attitude, so there's definitely gotta be a touch of glam. That's my take on her space.

Here's what she sent me as her inspiration from the runway:



Anda few inspirational rooms...







Read all about her design dilemmas at the Apt #34 blog! She needs help with direction on the paint colors, textures, and ways to keep her look 'grown up'.

Introducing... The Renovation of Apt #34

Ok, so we don't have a catchy name for this weekly feature yet, but what we do have is an amazing little apartment in Seattle being renovated by one of my best friends.

Erin loves fashion like I love interior design. She's Elle, I'm Elle Decor. And each of us find inspiration in the other. So, when I need to find the perfect shoes, I go to her for advice. And when she decided it was time to renovate her place, she came to me. And we both decided that the best idea we've had in a while is to capture it all on a weekly weekend posting!



The 'dining room'. Kitchen doorway to the right, reading nook to the left.

Here's the scoop. Erin's place is a 475 sq ft with one bedroom, one bathroom, a small kitchen, and a little living space. The great hardwoods and decorative detailing give the space character. The wallpaper does not.



The bedroom with one random lone wall sconce.

Starting today, the renovation begins. It will continue every Saturday where we'll follow this project from beginning to end, asking you for advice, ideas, and maybe even a little constructive criticism :)

So, let's get this party started! Without further ado... Erin's first post!



There once was a girl who lived in a raspberry, or maybe a watermelon, you be the judge. All I know is it felt like I was living in Candyland and that had to change. However, being a first time homeowner, this is virgin territory - you mean I actually get to (have to?) make every decision on myself? Paint colors, flooring choices, lighting... I just opened a Pandora’s box of décor. Thrilling but also overwhelming.

I now have so many questions to answer, so many options to choose from – like a friend recently likened to me, its like planning a wedding – you have the overall vision for what you want the final product to look like but the devil is in the details.

The Adventure Begins: To Wallpaper or Not to Wallpaper?



Closeup of wallpaper in the bedroom.

That is the Question. The answer: NO! Please dear home decor lovers, do not torture the inheritors of your handiwork with the misery over removing some pattern you probably put up on a whim. No one puts up wallpaper and doesn't regret it later. Patterns are meant for pillows, seat coverings, perhaps the occasional piece of pop art, but not the entire wall (or apartment!)



Time to tear it down!

After more than 16 hours of steaming, tearing, pulling, and picking with my freakin’ fingernails I no longer live in Candyland. Instead I'm now in a construction zone, looking at bare sheet rock otherwise known as a blank canvas!



The bedroom with its chocolate brown trim.



The reading nook ready for inspiration.

Now the question is, what to paint?

I’m looking for a combo of clean and classic on the rocks, shaken with some warm and inviting, with a twist of chic to top it all off. But this is a huge decision – this is the foundation of every other choice I make going forward. Neutrals? Tans? Blues? Greens? What about trim? What about contrast, juxtaposition, uniformity. HELP!

So the first question is... if you were me, where would you start?