My Humble Abode, Part 1: A Preview

Happy Friday dear readers! I hope you're having a lovely day, and have a fun weekend planned. If you follow my Instagram, you know I've been working on my home this week. It's a slow process, but that's okay.  I believe you should allow a home time to evolve. If you decorate your place too quickly, you will become bored.  I'm estatic to be back in my hometown of Cleveland. 

As always with a new place, it took sometime for this apartment to speak to me.  Your place has a soul and a unique character, if you listen it will tell you what it wants. I've always had a love affair with wherever I've lived and now this place is no different. I am hoping to never move again.   :-)

I'm calling my style dollar store chic. I want my place to be: simple and clean; modern, yet warm and cozy;  retro, groovy and mod. It needs warmth because my main window gets the northern breezes from my beloved Lake Erie.  I want guests to feel free to plop down on the sofa put their feet up and cover themselves with a soft blanket. Nothing's too precious, so not to worry if something gets spilled. The sofa cover is washable.

I want lots of color. I know I'm breaking a lot of rules, but I don't care. One of my major goals is to prove that pink can be a thoroughly modern color. It's not just a girly color, and it looks great with every color. I've used various shades of pink, have paired pink with green, grey, orange, and blue. There's no such thing as too much pink.

Other styles I'm influenced by are: mid-century mod, minimalism, bohemian, Japanese, and industrial. But please don't call my place eclectic, I prefer the term collected.  I have collected various things that I find beautiful.  Just not too many, clutter will not do. 

Now here's the kicker.  My budget is $100.  How do I reconcile all these different influences and on such a tiny budget? Follow along to find out. I will also have a lot to say about organization. These pictures are bad, but that's the natural light in the middle of the day on a gray day in Cleveland, and I actually love it.  I sure feel grateful for my fab girl cave.

Want more pictures and less words?  Be sure to follow @margiemax on Instagram.

Going Home

Hello my dears!  How are you?  I've missed you terribly.  I have some great news!  I am writing a book.  It's the hardest thing I've ever done, just how do so many people write books?  SMH. Amazing.  Humans are amazing.

The other news I have for you is that I am moving to a cute apartment in Cleveland next week.  Yep. Cleveland, my old hometown.  Strange circumstance has led me back to Cleveland via Denver, lol. Lots more about Denver in subsequent posts and in my book.

Here's a couple of previews of the new apartment. It's small and has great character, including wood floors!  I can't wait to get in there! I have many ideas on decorating, but it will have to evolve slowly, will, of course, be simple and include a ton of pink!  This is it, dear friends, this is my retirement home.  I am never moving again. Hooray!

The place is quiet, clean, has beautiful windows and is just so.... me.  My personal space is very important to me.  Without it, I cannot maintain equilibrium.  I hope you will follow along as I make this place my home.