I've Got a Crush

On home renovation inspiration. We'll be breaking the seal on redoing our entire house when we return from NYC so I'm banking all the tear sheets I can find right now! I think my vision is starting to come together.

I have a crush on dark floors in bright white kitchens,



on tufted ottomans for my future living room,



on a eclectic mantle,



on sweet vignettes in unexpected places,



on perfectly packed gallery walls,



on subtly sultry bedrooms that use my favorite shade of grey,



And on every girl's dream closet!



Swoon, right?! Now I'll have to see how we put all of these different puzzle pieces together. It'll certainly be an adventure worth sharing!

We Interrupt This Broadcast

Due to a litany of technical difficulties I'm not able to bring you the grand reveal of my newly painted condo today as promised. But take my word, its fabulous! And I swear, I will share all very soon.

In the meantime, visitors to Apartment#34 have kindly taken time to say hi, send suggestions, and generally say really nice things about my renovation adventure. I want to thank everyone - commenters and lurkers alike for taking the time to stop by. THANK YOU! I now understand why this whole blogging thing is so addicting. It feels amazingly good to get a note of encouragement from total strangers!

I thought I'd take a moment to respond to everyone and let you know what you have to look forward to.

• I have my heart set on painting my radiator, but it requires sand blasting and heat resistant paint. But fear not - a solution is in the works. Stay tuned on that one.

• Carrie and Carol- I think great minds must think alike because I am in love with grey right now. You'll soon see.

• As for my fashion based inspiration, the fall shows are always the biggest influence on my aesthetic - I think its living in Seattle that makes me a lover of layers.
  

Here's an attempt at fashion to room translation. I look at this gorgeous outfit from Day Birger et Mikkelsen

and translate the color palette, the great use of pattern, and the fab mix of matte and luxe fabrics in this room by David Lawrence

(via Habitually Chic)

You'll have to determine if I pulled off anything remotely as successful once my place is ready for its Ta-Dah moment.

I have to share another source of inspiration I found this weekend. My amazing man surprised with a stay at Hotel deLuxe in Portland. On the outskirts of the Pearl District, this tdf hotel is perfect for a weekend getaway.




If this doesn't make you drool then I don't know what will!

As for what's next, I'm going credenza crazy, looking for lighting, dreaming of new bedding and trying to determine what project to tackle next.

We hope to return to our regularly scheduled programming tomorrow!

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!