New House Tour

Here's an update!

Living Room first ...

Not much has changed here. Some books have been rearranged as well as a lamp or two. 

Some new pillows & pillow covers. But the biggest improvement was getting rid of that big ol' TV.

I have moved into what used to be the Spare Room. I was really needing to pare down how much clothing and how many of pairs shoes I have, so I figured moving into the smaller room would force me to do that! It has, but I still have a ways to go!

Clearly, the biggest changes are in here. I did finally replace the old Ikea dresser with a new Ikea dresser, as well as brought in my old childhood dresser with some new knobs added from Anthropologie. I got some new lamps from Target and I love the little rug and colourful swirly pillow both from CB2.

I added in some Ikea shelves to the wall for shoe storage, and finally got around to properly covering that vintage chair. New bedding is from Winners. And I actually bit the bullet and made new curtains from an Ikea duvet cover. The "closet" situation is also much improved by maxing out the ceiling height and hanging two of these bars from Ikea.

Here's the Kitchen which is fairly unchanged ...

Just a few Mccoys and a chopping block over the sink to create more counter space.

And the Bathroom ...

Yes, I did finally get around to hemming the Anthropologie shower curtains and goodness what a difference!

Though at this point, this room could use a good re-painting since my landlord didn't get around to it when repairing that ceiling mess.

There are no updated shots of the big back bedroom which used to be mine. Currently it is very sparsely furnished and decorated since I'm renting it out. I did however move the lovely Flora and Fauna curtains from the spare room in there and they look great on the window. I do plan to put a few of the things from the boat in there as well as a small couch and maybe a desk when the current roommie moves out in the Spring. 

the spare room update

Due to a wonderful but slightly nutty summer that involved the bathroom ceiling collapsing, and visits from my fabulous siblings and friends from the Big Apple, those new ideas I had for the spare room have been slow in coming to fruition.

And though I still haven't painted all that untreated wood on the shelf or the bed,

put upholstered panels on the headboard,

replaced the Ikea dresser,

or properly re-upholstered the little chair;

I am truly amazed at the difference rearranging the furniture, and adding some darling curtains from Mod Cloth and some sheers from Ikea has made!

If you'd like a reminder of what it used to look like go here. There will be yet another roomie moving in this weekend to make it her own and fall in love with Marcel.

welcome to the bedroom - pt 2

Here we are with the rest of my um, lively bedroom.

Having all this stuff out in the open was my short-term solution to the tiny closet when I first moved in here and as much as I would love to make my room look like this ...

I actually really enjoy waking up in the morning and figuring out what to wear while lying in bed - and did you see the price tag?

(Josephine Baker is my inspiration in all things - Marcel is just a small leopard)

This is a rental and I'm not sure how long I'm going to be here, so while I'm willing to contemplate a craig's list dresser to replace that shelf and hanging my hats above the racks, I can't see investing a whole lot in here.

(another bare bulb in a wierd spot that I don't know what to do about)

This is the "work" side of the closet. I currently have a straight job where I have to dress like a professional lady. So I try to dress like a professional lady from the 40's or 50's as much as possible with the skirts on the other side - to be clear, this was my schtick long before Mad Men.

(I swear I wear all of these shoes)

And here we have cat's corner. In swing dancing speak that's where all the cool dancers hang out, but this, of course, is Marcel's spot. I realize this is not great "decor", but it's his house too.

(your eyes do not deceive you, this wall is a different colour, no I did not paint it)

There was a time when he could jump on top of that radiator no problem, but Marcel is 15 so he doesn't quite have it in him anymore. The chair helps him climb up to his scratching post, and he is very fond of staring out the window. Sometimes he even goes out for a while.

(I've actually had this dresser for more than 30 years)

And here is the miniature closet and its contents.

I actually wore the purple crinoline all day on Saturday, just for fun. It made so many people smile! Ok, so maybe there is a prom dress or two in there that I will never wear again, but for the most part I use this stuff. Gift wrap, sewing machine, feather boas, and winter clothes all hide themselves away in here.

More jewelery I made & my best friend on her wedding day 10 years ago.

I guess the truth is although I like to decorate my house, I like to decorate myself more - is that so wrong?

welcome to the bedroom - pt 1

Now that my spring overhaul is more-or-less complete and I've tidied this place up I'm ready to show it off. The hilarious part about this (at least to me) is that now that I see what it looks like in photos, this room is a bit crazy.

There is a whooooooole lot going on in here because I have a whole lot of stuff:

(this lamp needs a bigger shade, and the dresser and side table are a bit too matchy-matchy in this space)

shoes, skirts, dresses, jewelery, purses, hats, wigs, cds ... but I can explain - really - I have some wonderful excuses ...

(still working on the inspiration for this wall)

You see, for the last twelve plus years I've been a swing dancing lindy hopper, teacher, and performer and so I need all those shoes and dresses and earrings and wigs and hats and cds ...

(this painting is a family heirloom and I need to ship it to my bro in Arizona)

Nevermind that I sold my dance studio a couple of years ago and have been trying to figure out what to do with my life now that I'm almost 40. I'm still the same size as when I was 25 so I'm keeping my stuff.

(the "fun" side of the closet - that shelf should probably be painted, not sure about the colour though)

You never know when you're going to need 12 flapper dresses or fairy wings or a giant blond afro.

That's me on the right.

I made the tiny green vase on the left and I never seem to have enough hair elastics, but perhaps I'm trying to make a silk purse ...

There is actually a closet in this room, but it barely holds all the aforementioned wigs and crinolines ... so more to come. But clearly I could use some suggestions regarding "editing" so have at it.

(card drawn & painted by my sister Ceciley)

Part 2 is here.

bathroom shelves

Saturday Matt came over and put up the shelves. They were left over from an old shoe rack that did not survive my move but were actually the perfect size for this space.

After looking at all sorts of nice shelf brackets I decided I wanted to spend as little money on these shelves as possible - thank you Ikea. Clearly they need to be painted but although the weather this weekend is fabulous I don't feel like doing it when I could be on the island basking in the sun. The roomie made short work of putting her stuff in here so they were a much needed addition.

I got my last mccoys in the mail finally.

I love the little bird bath! but it is much smaller that I was expecting and I really don't quite know what to do with it. Maybe actually use it as a planter and put a little ivy or violet in it?

Also don't know what to do with the TP. It used to have a holder here.

This is hiding the radiator shut offs and needs some kind of camouflage.

And I really need to do something about the lighting ... thoughts?

bathroom by ikea

When I moved into my little house I was fairly impressed by the size of the bathroom. However it was notably lacking in a couple of areas: no mirrors and no shelves ... how does that work?

Well in my world it does not, so it was off to Ikea to solve these problems "tout-suite" and wouldn't you know they had a mirror with a shelf that fit in the strange little space above the sink.

And of course they had inexpensive shower curtains and bath mats in colours that work with the pale green/grey on the walls in here - no need to paint thank goodness. I got the little bowls and cups on a trip to NYC at Pearl River. That place is amazing and clearly I'm a sucker for pretty ceramics.

The ceiling in this room is weirdly low since it is a funny little addition to the house but my Billy bookcase, which had previously only seen book & cd action fits in here perfectly and has transformed itself into a very useful bathroom shelf-thingy/organizer for make-up, towels and girly things that prefer to be hidden behind closed doors.

A friend gave me this larger Ikea mirror and I did of course put some Anthropologie knobs on little Billy quite some time ago. Now the rest of this room needs to join the party. The wall above the toilette could use a few shelves too.

I managed to score two of these Anthropologie shower curtains on sale just after x-mas, but the curtain needs some hemming due to the two open sides of the shower so I'm trying to get motivated to do that this weekend.

I also ordered a couple of sweet mccoys on ebay to vintage things up and tie this room into the kitchen since it opens directly onto it. So, toothbrushes?

Tissue roll holder? I never have any real idea of the size of these things until they arrive so who knows? but cute, right?