Apartment Life

Apartment Tour! Bedroom

- Melody 2 Comments

I feel like this bedroom is only marginally bigger than the one I lived in at my parents place. But! Hardwoods! 8 foot ceilings! Big windows! I updated to a queen size bed when I moved (ballin’.) so that takes up most of the room. But here’s how I laid everything out!

Peek into the bedroom from the hall.Here’s the view from the “hall.” AKA, where the bathroom, bedroom, and linen closet doors collide. For the warmer months I am LOVING this chenille blanket + quilt combo. Keeps me warm enough without needing to kick them off in the night. Texas summers are REAL. West Elm rug!This is the West Elm rug I mentioned in my rug ideas post a couple days ago. It’s thick, fuzzy and soft but sheds like crazy. Thanks, wool! I think I’ve decided to move this one into the living room since it’s the size I want and purchase the black and white one from IKEA. Saving that $$$! Thoughts? Texas pride.I love this quilt! It’s another score from my aunt’s antique shop in downtown Gladewater, TX. (Country Girl Collection!) That chevron pillow cover is from H&M. Did you know they have house stuff!? Reasonably priced, adorable house stuff. I’m a big fan of their pillow covers. That Texas flag? Yeah. It’s humongous. It was hiding in the back of my parents closet! It flew for a while in front of my dad’s work and dad (graciously) took it when they retired it. Way to take one for the team, dad. That milkglass lamp is a super cool Goodwill find, I think. was my grandmother’s! The salt lamp is $19 at Walmart. Don’t let Urban Outfitters screw you out of $20. Get it at Walmart.

Mirror!I’ve had this mirror forever. It’s incredibly heavy and only hangs in this orientation for some reason? That brass lamp was $9 at goodwill! The red nightstand you see peeking out is a campaign dresser from Canton Trade Days years ago. It needs a new coat of paint and updated hardware, but I can’t wait to see it come back to life. Kleenexes are from Target.

 

Mood lighting.Hi. My name is Melody and I'm a jewelry hoarder.Also a sunglasses hoarder.Hi, my name is Melody and I’m a jewelry hoarder. (Largely due to my employment at Gaudy Me + Dressin’ Gaudy.) A couple of years ago, my parents found this old mannequin bust and gifted it to me for Christmas. I LOVE IT. It houses my bulkier necklaces and temporarily that (sweet) Goodwill hat.

Dresser set upFragrance hoarder, too.Drawer pullsI’ve had this dresser FOREVER. It’s incredibly heavy and it’s nearly taken off a toe or finger many a time. I’ll replace it someday, but for now it’ll do. I updated it to this (very) light minty color and added drawer pulls (again) from my aunt’s antique shop. I think I’d like to either repaint it or stain it, a huge project unfit for my 3×5 patio. But I’d honestly replace it before I did that, I think. I’d like to keep all of my appendages.

Whiskey + JewelryHello.My mom had the genius idea of storing my bracelets on dad’s whiskey bottles. Out of sight there’s an old Tazo tea box from a set I bought my sister for Christmas one year where all my earrings live. It has six individual compartments so I can separate them by size and kind.

Chucks + rug tassels.Couple of thrifted bags.Purple dressDropcloth curtains!My mom bought me these dropcloth curtains as a genius idea for my whole apartment. They’re 6×9 and keep out plenty of heat in the summer. I’m planning on bleaching or dying them and adding fabric or something to help them pop off the wall.

 

And in case you think I’ve got a place for everything…

pants.Pants in a pile on the floor with no home.

denim.All my denim hanging on the wall. I hate it.

files.Oh and all my files on the floor. At least they’re organized. (They’re not in that filing cabinet because I’m replacing it, in case you thought I was a huge idiot.)

Still to do:

-Swap rug for IKEA one
-Add hanging storage beside mirror
-Buy throw pillow covers for bed
-Paint campaign nightstand
-Add more storage for denim + pants
-Update dropcloth curtains
-Clean out closet. Again.

 

And there it is. The bedroom! What do we think? It’s a hot mess, I know. I’ve got plans to make it more cohesive, I swear! But I love it. Mismatching is my jam. What would you do in here? What do you think?

 

xx

 

How To Spray Paint in an Apartment

- Melody

Look, we DIYers love that spray paint. I’m a huge fan of the flat matte by Valspar, especially their black and white. Yum. But living in an apartment limits the projects I can do. Like, staining a medium to large piece of furniture or dying fabric in a washer. (I share a half-size stacked washer dryer with three other units.) But! There is a way to spray paint on a patio! This is especially helpful if you live in a high-rise or have nowhere else to go.

I’ve had this basic floor lamp for about five years. It’s always been black and I never painted it or tried updating it. I did, however, DIY a metallic gold chevron lampshade for it! (Apparently that post has disappeared?! Just trust me.) I debated whether or not I should set up by the dumpster or invade the little corner lot space by a neighboring unit. Instead, this is how to spray paint in an apartment!

spray paintFirst, collect any newspaper or weekly sales flyers. For some reason, I get, like, six grocery store’s sales every week. I’ve started saving them for painting projects. Tape them all over any surface you don’t want paint flying onto. It was pretty windy the day I did this so I took extra precautions and taped higher than I would’ve normally.

Spray paint

Second, cover your bases! Make sure you put something heavy on the corners, and if they’re separate pieces like mine where, tape them together so they don’t go flying up in the middle of a spray and paint hits the ground. Before...

Before…

After!

After! What wonders a coat of paint does.

I had planned on stripping the skinny barrel shade I had and making a wire mesh shade like this one. But the cost of supplies and all that extra I’d have leftover made me hesitant. Then I came across this one while in Waco a couple weekends ago. It’s perfect! Now, to paint or not to paint.

Wire shade

What do you think? Would you leave it in its raw state? Or pop it with some hot pink or chartreuse paint? (What is WITH me and hot pink paint?) Thanks for letting me share!

 

xx

Apartment Tour! Living Room

- Melody 3 Comments

UPDATED 5/30/17! Check out how Wayfair handles TV stands in small spaces!

Yes! Finally! After two months I’ve dubbed this place decent enough to show to the internet. I thought I’d spare you from the 43 photo heavy post and split it up by room. That way you can get the full experience.

Up first, we’ve got the living room. 90% of what you’ll see in my place is either free, thrifted or Craigslist. A la Vintage Revivals style.

The patio door on the left side of the living room. That light!Craigslist couch score.

 

THAT COUCH THO. It was a sweet Craigslist score right before I moved. It fit snugly in the bed of my dad’s truck and after a quick coat of pink paint by Valspar, it brought it into my eclectic mess of a style.  (heart emoji eyes all day.)

A plant from our big move at work.Target floating shelves.

 

These white floating shelves were a surprise find at Target. The three of them, just sitting there, waiting for their mama to take them home. $7 a piece I was happy to do it. But the instructions LIEEEED. You’re apparently supposed to easily just shove the plastic anchor screws with no pre-drilled hole. Well, an early 1900s apartment has PLASTER WALLS and needs a really big pre-drilled hole. After an hour of sweating in a contorted position at 11:30 one night, I threw down the screwdriver and gave up. I gave it another go a couple days later once I cooled off and pre-drilling is the key. That bottom one though, since it’s the first one I did, is leaning wayyyy down. Whenever I decide to rehang it I’ll have to patch the hole and paint over it. Fingers crossed.

See that little white dresser? I’ve since replaced it with a tiny, half-moon shelf, but Wayfair had some better ideas! Check out the post they wrote collaborating with other bloggers living in small spaces here! Once I (FINALLY) get to move someday, I can’t wait to check out what options they have. I’m way into mid-century these days and there are some crazy cool ones right now! Like this, this and this. ALL FOR UNDER $300! How do you style your TV stand?

Goodwill score!

 

Both of the chairs were thrifted; the gold a $20 Goodwill score and the green tweed a $2.50 (YES. $2.50) estate sale. I think the green tweed is a little bulky for this space so I’m thinking a slim, worn-in leather chair would really fit better. The gold chair needs a recovering in a cool, modern gray or a bold navy. That’s beyond my skillset right now, but maybe someday. There’s a rogue blue suede footstool that the snake tongue plant is chilling on. It belongs with a matching wingback chair that just couldn’t fit in this place. It is SCREAMING for a hot pink velvet makeover!

Patio!

Both of the plants are scores from our big work move. I’m trying hard not to kill that snake tongue plant. It’s in desperate need of a repotting. Hopefully it’ll survive! My green thumb really only applies to succulent and cacti, but I actually killed a succulent last week so I’m not sure how accurate that is. All of the photos bordering the patio door are from Social Print Studio, my personal fave for easy Insta prints.

SO THERE YOU GO! It’s been two months and I change something almost every day. Since I shot this I’ve already changed several noticeable things. It’s like that game where you have two pictures side by side and have to note the differences.

 

Still to do:

-New entry table/shelving
-Replace green tweed chair
-Bleach dropcloth curtains and add pompom stripes
-Hang wicker pendant over green chair
-New, bigger rug
-New coffee table
-Art for gray statement wall

Totally achievable with a little saving!

 

What do we think? What would you do in this space? I think I’ve solved my rug dilemma! Good news on that front. Let me know your thoughts!

 

xx

5 Living Room Rug Ideas

- Melody 2 Comments

AKA apparently the hardest decision I’ve ever made. When I moved in, all of my furniture and house stuff had been in a storage building for a couple of years. I had just about forgotten what I had! Since I knew living with my parents during that time was temporary, I snagged a couple of 5×7 rugs from Urban Outfitters for my future place. Two years later, I still love them! That’s got to be a good sign.

However, the 5×7 is proving to be a bit small on my hardwoods in the living room, and with a giant, hairy miniature horse running around, I need something a bit bigger. Like, the 8×10 department. So for the last month I’ve scoured the internet looking for inspiration and a deal (around $250) for a new living room rug! Here are a few I’m thinking about.

 

ONE:
IKEA RugThis rug from IKEA is so great! I’ve bounced back and forth between three styles: black and white, loud pinks and blues, and white rag rugs with speckles of all colors. 6.5×10! For $99?! It’s a STEAL. My bank account approves. My only worry is that it wouldn’t be wide enough.

 

TWO:

World Market Rug

Another black and white from World Market. Stripes! This one’s a bit pricier at $230 for an 8×10 and it’s unavailable online! But it’s still a great deal and it’d be either of these black and white rugs that I would consider if I went that way.

 

THREE:

WestElm Rug

Ugh. Do me a favor and zoom in on this rug. That pink! The name has ‘macaroon’ in it! West Elm you get me every time. $300 for an 8×10, but tack on the extra $25 delivery surcharge plus their shipping costs based on your order total. (Who does that?!) So $300 ends up looking more like $375! I actually bought this rug in 8×10 for my bedroom, but it sheds like cray cray. I’d do some hard deliberating for this rug before I pounced!

 

FOUR:

Wayfair Blue RugI found this rug after I fell in love with the concept of a blue patterned rug from this post by Mandi at Vintage Revivals. How neat would this blue look with the pop of hot pink on my couch?! $262 for an 8×10 from Wayfair! (Free shipping over $50! Take a note, West Elm.)

 

FIVE:

Wayfair White Rug

Sigh. With any one of these rugs my plan is to layer a sweet cowhide rug on top. (Because, obvi, a cowhide rug has been on my wishlist for literally years.) But this one. My heart. It’s a rag rug, for starters. And if you zoom in there are all kinds of colors! How sweet would the cowhide look layered on this? But the majority of it is white. And that may or not be a problem with a dog and the proximity of my patio shaded by a crepe myrtle. Still a hot contender! $221 for an 8×10, also from Wayfair.

—–

Well, there you have it. My inability to make a decision drives me to three completely different rug styles. Which one is your favorite? What rug would you pick for an eclectic style living room with 100% thrifted furniture? Thoughts?

 

xx