I thought I would share with you one of my most favorite projects and spaces... creating a home!
A few years ago I snagged a steal of an apartment in the same neighborhood I was living in at the time. I had been to one of the units in the building before, and knew that if it ever went on the market I would need to do whatever I could to get my hands on it.
At least once a month I would drive up and down some of my favorite streets and wait for a 'for lease by owner' sign up be in the yard... and one of those days I got lucky. The sign went in the yard and and very day I met the agent and handed him a deposit check. No time for questions - I knew I wanted it.
750sqf - open concept, lots of light and even (my favorite part of all) a screened in porch - dreamy!!
so here you have it, a few of the before pictures of the space.
(the true before had dark gray walls in the living and bedroom and a bright red/black combo in the bathroom... I went with softer colors to brighten it up and give it a cleaner feeling!)
Since sharing before & afters of all the rooms at once would be too easy, I'm going to share one at time (there are only 4 before and afters) staring today with the LIVING/DINING ROOM.
BEFORE
paint color || BM Camouflage
AFTER
I love love love this space!
When I moved in, the renter before my had the room flip flopped: sofa in front of the windows, and windows covered to avoid a glare on the TV. By changing the layout, I was able to bring more light into the room, create a welcoming entry space (front door it in the back left corner of these pics).
While I don't love the TV being a focal point of a room, or center of a mantlepiece, I do like having it angled to one side of the room. Plus by adding the giant bull print from my boyfriends ranch to the mantle the room felt like it now had two directions, a living room on one side and a dining room on the other.
There are so many, what I like to call, treasures in both rooms... it is a collection over time, travel, countless garage, estate sales and junking trips to lots of fun places!
And its a habit that will always be part of me.. my great-grandfather, grandfather and even my mamma all stop(ped) for any 'sale' sign and it's hard to leave without a good treasure or find, it doesn't matter how big or small!
The only thing that was purchased 'new' for this space was the white sofa. I had a big, down-filled sofa for a few years, it was the most comfortable sofa ever... and provided some of the best naps in history! But moving into an older home, means really narrow door frames - you learn something new every day. The movers tried to fit the sofa in through both the front and the back doors, from ever angle you can imagine, but it was just not going to happen. Solution:
IKEA Flatpack Sofa for the win! It came in 2 flat boxes, required minimal instructions and with a bottle of wine my sister and I had it assembled in no time. A white sofa is not the best choice, but the whole cover fits in the wash and fits back on perfectly after washing (hang to dry!!)
I would love to tell you where each piece is form- but thats a lot, and most of it is not from a store. So I a made this, to give you the same look and feel:
candle || plant
