My Apartment - For Today

I won't lie - I want a bigger place. I hold no romantic notions about small places. It's not easier to clean, quite the contrary. In a place this small you can see everything you own all at once. There is no where to hide anything. I'd like to move to a newer, cleaner, larger place. I am no longer enamoured with old places. I don't want character or trim, but rather the character will come from my furniture, art and accessories. I want simple, white walls, white floors (that don't squeak), large closets and in-suite laundry (what a luxury!).

It's been difficult carving out a home in this tiny studio. It has been a lesson in restraint and is a marvel of organization. It's my home. It's the place I go to escape chaos and to rejuvenate. So it must be beautiful. And, to me it is. I have created a haven in an inhospitable, neglected building. I've done it with no money. And my apartment loves me for it. When I walk in the door at night, I feel embraced. Here is the current incarnation of my apartment. There is still so much to do, but for now I'd like to just rest and pretend it's done.

Living area. My favorite things are the three Ps. Pillows, pottery and paintings. Maybe it should be four Ps, to include pink. I am also obsessive about lamps.

Pottery collection.

I make all of the art in my apartment. On a whim, I continued this painting onto the wall.

Bookcase holding DVD player. I'd like to put a little red lamp there, for now just have a votive holder.

Moon lamp from CB2, one of my favorites. I wanted one for years!

Sleeping area with one of my paintings. Working on a new painting for that wall. Curtains behind the bed are where the murphy bed used to be. It is now a closet for my paintings. Closet to the left of bed houses my shoe and purse collection.

Guilty of overpillowification. Pillows satisfy my need for textiles.

The pink doors. A reminder that nothing but love comes in or goes out. My knock-off Noguchi lamp from Target. When I win the lottery, I'll buy a real one.

My Kenneth Wingard vase, a gift from my sister-in-law, was given a place of prominence. I have fine gifts from her all over the place. When the votives are lit, the vase casts the most wonderful shadow on the wall. The top of the ottoman lifts to reveal storage where I keep my family pictures.

I've been purging for a couple of years. I used to have 100s of books! This is all that's left. Mostly books on Buddhism and art. If I owned this place, I'd tear down this wall to open up the kitchen.

Dining area.

View of dining area from walk-in closet. Office is behind the bookcase. Should have unplugged that cord! Cord is for my computer. The building was built in 1926 so there is a problem with not enough outlets.

A couple vignettes from my kitchen. Wooden pink pig from Indonesia. Pink tea cups are part of a Mikasa set I bought at a garage sale.

This is what my apartment looks like for now. Just to give an example of how it's changed with very little, here is a record of how it looked last April. More white, more orange and more minimal. Last year I craved orange. For now I am craving pink.

The moral of the story. Anyplace can be beautiful, you just have to fill it with love. Thanks for taking this journey with me!