My Apartment - For Today

It's taken some time, but my apartment and I are having a love affair. My personal space is very important to me. Here's a quick peek at how she looks today.

I love color, especially pink.

I'm a big proponent of color psychology. I got the knock off Middle Kingdom vase at a thrift store for $4.00. If you need cheering up, try a pop of yellow.

The chandelier is a work in progress.

Yep. I've got vase addiction.

Some New Things in My Apartment

Since I've been so remiss in blogging, there's a bunch of cool new stuff in my apartment to show you. I think I have design ADD. I change something literally everyday, even if it is just moving a vase or changing pillows. In decorating - just like in fashion - I believe accessories make the room (or outfit). I love changing my accessories. As you know, I'm super cheap, so when I want something new - something old goes out. I sold some vases that were collecting dust in my closet.

Over the years, I've dreamed of owning my own shop. When I got tired of a piece, it would go into the shop. It's the ultimate in recycling!  And there's nothing more fun than sculpting a vignette with vases.

Inspiration

When I saw this lovely home, I almost had a heart attack.  Pomona's Boutique-Style Space via Apartment Therapy.  Of course!  Boutique Style!  I could create a boutique in my home.  I dearly love beautiful objects, but I have several rules for the use of objects.  To be beautiful is not enough, they must also have a function. This is why I love pottery, tea pots, dishes and candlesticks.  Also, display is as important - if not more so - than the collection.  Beautiful objects must have room to breathe, and not compete with each other. Clutter just won't do. I love how Pomona has gone vertical with her collection of beautiful objects.  A quick word about yellow.  Is that yellow vase just too fabulous or what?  I want it!  Pomona is very smart in her use of yellow.  A little yellow goes a long way.

Pomona spoke of her treasures as being things she collected during her travels. I felt a little wistful when I read that. I think I'm catching the travel bug. Then I realized - I also have treasures collected from my travels.  Okay, my travels mostly consist of traveling Northeast Ohio, but hey, I've still collected some lovely vessels. This is a big step for me. I decided to admit that I am a collector (shudder!). So my lovely collection needs proper display. I knew I wanted to go vertical. After much consideration, I got this lovely piece from Land of Plenty. I got a great deal on it, the delightful owner cut me a break since I blogged about her shop. I had a lot of fun considering this piece, I measured the piece and measured the space and plotted my display - just like a real designer!

Look at this fabulous score!  I got this lovely vintage Indonesian batik from The Bomb Shelter. Of course I got it on the stupid cheap. It's large and it's framed. Heck, a frame of that size could cost $100. I love it! My place is kinda taking on an island resort look that I think is cool. I think it might also be maturing a bit. I want to make old lady chic a valid style.

I bought this necklace at Dot's. It is so gorgeous, I couldn't put it in the drawer, so decided to display it with my scarf collection. My place is unapologeticly girly. This necklace makes me think of Stacy London, who I adore.

Here's a couple of cute little vases I got for 99 cents each at a vintage store.  I love the Asian-inspired shape of the lidded vase.

As you know, I love deconstruction, and I love using items for purposes other than they were intended. My red lamp is now functioning as a vase.  Don't worry, it's easy to turn it back into a lamp should the mood strike me. I am addicted to the genie shape!

I mostly use second hand and vintage objects in my decor, but I like to mix in something new now and then. I got this ice bucket from Target. It's part of the oh joy! collection. I love the color, although I wish it were a little more peachy.  You have to be careful when using coral or salmon color as too much can look to fleshy. Originally I bought it because I needed something to store my curlers in, but it's too cute for that. It has a place of prominence on my new etagere. I'll be showing you the styling of my etagere in my next post.

New Stuff

I wasn't supposed to be thrifting...but there I was in a thrift shop.  Abbey Ann's to be precise.  I almost didn't stay, the smell of cigarette smoke was suffocating.  Then I saw it.  The most fabulous lamp. I couldn't stop staring at it.  I knew it would be coming home with me, I was smitten.  And I knew I would deconstruct it, turning it into a vase.  Here it is in my home.  I love it!  Love its size, shape, and most of all its matte finish!

Remember my all time favorite vase that I broke long ago (see previous post here)?  This vase reminds me of it, even though the shapes are different.  I've never seen that vase again (except one time on a Danish blog), but if I ever run across it in a vintage shop I will snag it!

In the meantime, my new vase looks gorgeous.  I rearranged my little bookcase again and I'm really happy with it.  It just might be perfect.  All the pieces are matte finish.  Matte finishes make the collection look a little more upscale, less mass produced.  A few of the pieces are vintage.

I know I've already shown you my new opalescent bowl, from Sweet Lorain in Cleveland.  Please humor me, I must show you again.  Isn't it gorgeous?  Catches the sunlight so beautifully.

I'm a little embarrassed that I've been on a buying spree lately. In my defense, I do everything on the cheap, and it's about to stop!  My apartment is near perfect.  My pottery collection started to bother me.  I wanted a less mass produced look, and I wanted more vintage pieces.  I craved simple shapes, matte finishes and more sophistication.  And - oh yeah - I wanted more pink!  I just can't live without pink!

I believe these vases are all vintage Haeger.  They came from the following Etsy shops:   Queen Cotton Fabrics,  Cherry Berry Vintage and Happy Day Antiques.  Each shop owner wrapped these beauties very carefully so they arrived in perfect condition!  I so appreciate that.  I love ordering from Etsy, so much easier than Ebay. You can interact with the buyer and everything ships so quickly! I guess because there is no middle man.  And sometimes you get a cute little thank you note from the shop owner.  Such a nice touch.

The little painting is new, and reflects my love of the color scheme gray, brown and pink.  I custom mixed the brown, and I must admit it is the perfect brown.  Kind of like chocolate ice cream.  Oh gosh, I wish I could paint my apartment!

I almost forgot - I got these perfect salt and pepper shakers at Abbey Anne for $1.50!  I gotta thing for shapes.

My Apartment: The Process and Some New Stuff

Good day dear readers!  Hope you are doing well!  This was a difficult week for my family and me.  We had a death in the family.  Unfortunately, with death brings drama.  Some members of my family acted ... hmm...how to phrase nicely.... let's just say I'd would've preferred to be treated differently. I can't understand why at my advanced age I still allow my feelings to be hurt.  But, there it is, I am sensitive. My girl Haley asked me what I expected.  Right.  This person has been treating me this way for 52 years.  Why would it all of a sudden change?  Why am I still surprised? That's what the Buddha meant by letting go of attachment and expectation. I keep expecting her to change, she does not, I allow it to hurt.  She doesn't hurt me, I allow her to hurt me.  If I let go of the expectation, then I no longer give her the power to hurt me.  Simple.  But not easy.  Also had drama with lawyers, doctors and the heat is friggin' killing me.  

You know how it is with chronic illness.  Like anything else.  Good days/bad days.  You learn not to take anything for granted.  Pain is bad today and changes in my meds have me sick as a dog.....but.....

Even though I felt like shit, I spent some quality girl time with my sister-in-law yesterday.  Just the prescription I needed.  Always feel great after that.  She's a world traveler so she had a ton of gifts for me!  Ah, it's great to be queen.  I'm stuck in the A/C again, but...it's not really a complaint.  You know my apartment is small and  humble, and I love it!  I have a lot of new things today to show you.  Yes, it's a balance.  I'm a lover of beautiful things, but I still want simplicity.  I'm moving slow, but I'm having fun.  Since I didn't suffer with insomnia last night, I am having a cup of my favorite Colombian coffee, and the music is loud.

Here's how my living room looked this morning. I experimented with not using a rug, I get so sick of straightening it.  It looks odd to me without it, though.  I hate carpet!  I miss wood floors and wish I could paint the walls.  Oh well.  I'm lazy anyway.

Wish I could afford a new rug.  It's crazy what rugs cost!  I'd love to have something that looks tie-dyed or even perhaps a Moroccan wedding blanket.  Oh well.  I have a lot of pretty new things, take a look:

  

How fab is this!  A beautiful pink tea kettle.  This was a mothers' day present from my adopted daughter Haley.  I gotta lot of love in my life.  So grateful, honored and humbled.

As you know, my new favorite color is gray!  I almost fainted when I saw these pieces at the Goodwill!  ASA Selection tea pot and tea cups!  You already know I am obsessed with ASA Selection pottery.  Such perfection and simplicity.  I have been coveting this set for a long time.  I first saw the set at a gift shop in Cleveland.  $54 for the tea pot and four cups, too much for my cheap ass. I spied this lovely set from a distance and couldn't get over there fast enough.  Okay, it's only got two cups, but who cares?  I got this set for $3.00!  Yep, $3.00.  Score.  I have one other piece of ASA Selection pottery.

My beautiful footed bowl.  I bought this years ago for $24.  I thought it was ridiculously priced at the time, but had to have it.  It is so perfect in its simplicity.  It's very tactile, as pottery should be.  Matte finish, my favorite.  And did you know a beautiful piece of pottery will sing?  This one makes a beautiful sound when you run your finger around the edge.  Kinda like a Tibetan prayer bowl.

Here is another vase I got at the Goodwill.  Beautiful simple shape, beautiful matte finish.  It's marked made in Thailand on the bottom.  I'm sure this was available at Ikea at one time.  Got it for $1.00!  I'm fighting the urge to paint it hot pink, cuz it's already perfect.  I tend to paint vases that are not perfect.  Pictured along with the vase is part of my rock collection.  Yep, another obsession.  I love rocks.  Loving beautiful things and maintaining a simple, uncluttered look is all about balance.  Sometimes I panic that I have too much stuff.

I've finally committed myself to decorating my balcony.  But I gotta do it on the cheap.  Here is a cute solar lamp I got at Target.  Not cheap.  $9.99.  Almost didn't buy it.  But do love it.

Yep, another obsession.  I admit it.  I'm really five years old and I play with toys.  I have a few of my favorites in my cute little damaged, yellow lacquer box (for the story of this little box, click here).  I love toys, but can't figure out how to display them since I don't like clutter.  May have to have some custom furniture built by Antonio Ballatore.  Maybe I'll do a vertical wall toy display when I when the lottery.  But for now it pleases me that I have a toy box on my end table.

I've been looking everywhere for a pink light bulb, to no avail.  I finally found a red one at Target.  I kinda dig it.  Nice cheap way to add some spice to your living room.

Meet my new coffee table!  Isn't she gorgeous?  Oh gosh, I just can't get enough of neon colors.  Especially love how the cover is balanced by the black and white stripes.  I have a blanket stashed in there, I love my A/C so much that sometimes it feels like a meat locker in here.  I love covering up while watching Rules of Engagement. (I'm obsessed with this show, I watch it over and over - it's hilarious!)  Since my place is small, I love using multi-functional, easily moved pieces.  I got this at Target for $19.99, which is a pretty good price.  It was all I could do not to buy two more ottomans.  I was digging the square ones, in a neon pink and turquoise.  Love those colors together.  But desperately trying to exercise some restraint.  Not always easy, humans sure make some beautiful things.

Speaking of beautiful things, here is a little glass garden I put together in my living room.  As you know, I love vessels.  Ceramic and porcelain are my first love, but I dearly love glass as well.  For some time now, I have been mixing glass and ceramic in my display.  But for today, I thought I'd do a glass display and a ceramic display.  All are pieces I got on the cheap (including that Murano-looking blue piece - $3 at the Goodwill!).  The little blue flower bowl to the right is an expensive piece.  It was a gift from my sister-in-law who, as you know, buys me the most beautiful gifts.  I dearly love it.  She got it in Seattle!  One of my favorite cities.  Click here for my series on Seattle.  I put it on top of a glass piece I got for cheap at TJ Maxx, to give it the place of prominence it so deserves.  This little glass garden has two influences.  One is the great Dale Chihuly.

The other is this pic from my paper inspiration file which, thankfully, is dwindling thanks to digital technology.  (O at Home, Winter 2008)  Paper can be so hard to manage.  I strive to be as paperless as possible.  I know it seems like an unlikely color combination, but I love the color combo of blue and orange.  To see my other blue and orange experiments in a previous apartment, click here and click here.

Sister-in-law brought this promotional flyer for me to see.  She knows me so well.  The flyer shows amazing pieces by Benjamin Moore.  His work is amazing!  I particularly love pieces that are miraculous exercises in balance.  I wonder if Benjamin was inspired by the great Elsa Rady's Cycladic Swing.  I'm going to send him a message and I will update.

Here is yet another fine gift from sister-in-law.  A mug from the original Starbucks' store!  And my favorite place in Seattle, Pike Place Market.  I love the graphic art on the mug.  I love Seattle, I dream of living in a loft over Pike Place or in a house boat.  As you know, I dearly love rain.

Here's yet another new vase from the Goodwill.  I know, I know. I have a lot of stuff.  I am organizing today, though, and some stuff is getting donated. I do love organization.  This beauty was only $1.00.  Love the shape.  Thinking of painting my bookcase white (again).

And because even the most mundane object, must be beautiful:  pink dishwashing soap by Palmolive and pretty sponge.  The sponge was a gift from my favorite cousin.  Man my peeps sure buy me some good shit. Stay tuned to see how my apartment turns out.  Happy Saturday my loves!  xo

Thrifting

Ahh.  I love my apartment.  I love Saturday morning.  I love puttering around my apartment.  I have some new goodies from thrifting yesterday that I'd like to share.

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New floor mat that I got at the dollar store (for $1.00)!   I'm not usually attracted to patterns, but this looks like a gorgeous water color.  I almost hate to stand on it, but my back had been hurting while washing dishes.  This solves that problem, which makes it even more beautiful.  Beauty and function.

Funny, I thought for sure I was going with pink and yellow for Spring.  For some reason I have been very attracted to blue.  I got this beautiful blue glass vase at the thrift store for $1.00!  I love art glass almost as much as I love ceramic.  I also enjoy mixing the two. The little pink tea light holder was ten cents!  These pieces look so ethereal in the sunlight, I cannot capture it with my camera.

Look at this scarf!  I almost had a heart attack when I saw it.  Now that is what I call orgasmic pink.  Only $2.00! I love this color so much, I will probably have paint custom mixed at Home Depot to match it.  I want to put it on a LARGE canvas since I can't paint the walls.   So for the cost of $4.10 I updated my humble abode today, proving once again that beauty and style don't have to cost a lot.  If it's your home, you should love it!  What about you dear readers?  What are you doing today?  I hope you are enjoying your weekend.  xo

Vase Obsession

I love beautiful objects, just not too many.  As you know, I am obsessed with vases.  My favorite is ceramic, but I also love glass.  I love their simple forms and their tactile nature.  Loving simple living, and loving collecting vases is a delicate balance.  I panic when I think I have too much stuff.  Yet, I love to hunt for gems at the Goodwill.  My rule is one (or more) vases must be donated before bringing something new home.  Here are a few new vases I bought on the cheap from Goodwill.

I am in love with the simplicity of these beauties!  I am especially in love with the white one.  It reminds me of the concrete bowls I have been craving (see post below).  It has just the right amount of organic edge and I love the pop of silver.  These vases were both made in Vietnam and I got them for the incredible price of $3.00 each!  Just think, if it hadn't been for the lift on the trade embargo, we never would have experienced Vietnamese pottery (see previous post here).  President Obama recently made a historic journey to Southern Asia, including a stop in Burma, where he met feminist icon Aung San Suu Ki.  Perhaps there will no longer be a need for economic sanctions against Burma and we will be able to experience the beauty of their ceramic traditions.  Hope so!  Sorry, I digress.

I think of pottery as sculpture, and started experimenting with placing vases on top of each other.  Something I haven't done before.

The Influence

I think it would be cool to make a table or lamp out of vases.  For more cool sculptures, or assemblages as she calls them, see Hilda's work at art design kitsch.

So I piled vases on top of each other.  With a piece of glass on top it might make a cool table in an industrial/urban setting.  But it looks too much like a missile for my taste, so I disassembled it (like we should all missles, oops there I go again).

Here are some vases piled in my kitchen.  I kinda like them.  Not sure why, but I love orange and gray together.

Here is another new vessel.  Not sure if it used to be a light, but it is made of glass and is the most amazing color.  I got this one for only $1.00!

Here it is on my end table.  I love a pop of yellow! During the day it catches the sun in the most intriguing way.

The vase in the middle is new and was also $1.00!  I needed a piece with some height and I adore its matte finish. Simple vases with matte finishes are hard to find.  Periwinkle is another of my favorite colors.  I am amazed how much color I am using in my apartment!  So there you have it.  I spent my day doing one of my favorite things:  arranging pottery.  And it only cost me $8.00!  I really should own a pottery store and/or take a pottery class.

High/Low

It's a difficult balance to be design-obsessed with no money to spend.  On the other hand, having no money to spend forces creative solutions.  I am always more interested in how resourceful people become when faced with a design challenge like a small budget or a small place.  Still, wouldn't it be great to decorate a room - just once - where money was no object?   I am always trying to come up with new ways to display my pottery collection.  I like open display, but am tired of the ubiquity of Ikea's Expedit and its many copy cats.

The gorgeous Kansai Bookcase from Anthropologie is haunting me.  I love its severe geometry and its simplicity.  I would love to set this between my living room and kitchen, still giving the look of an open space.  Ah, but at $1,200 it is not to be.  I wish I could build furniture, but I am sure this is difficult even for a skilled builder.

It seems my list of wants for my apartment goes on and on.  I'd love to have a new ottoman.  This shiny teal one from Target would fit nicely.  The price of $89 is comparatively reasonable, but still too high for me.  So I keep my eye on the Goodwill.

Here is a piece I had to pass on at the Goodwill, and it broke my heart.  It was only $5.00!  I would love to paint this baby yellow (like this dresser in previous post) and add some new handles.  And look at those cute little legs!  It's difficult to be an artist without a pick up truck or a studio.  But I will not give up, I will find a new medium that is clean and non-toxic.  Because I must create, I have no choice.

Weekend Art Project - Painting Vases

Hello dear readers!  Hope you are having a great weekend.  I wanted to give you a sneak peek of an art project I'm working on.  My first art project in my new apartment!  Well my first non-digital project.  I'm working on some really cool digital projects.  But for now, it felt great to play with paint again.  It's been so long, I've been craving it.

First I bought a couple of cheap vases at the Goodwill.  I spent about $4.00 on vases.  They needed to have a simple geometric shape and a rather porous finish.  I selected the one above for its beautiful shape. Its finish was not original and chipped in a couple of places so it had to be sanded.  I've mentioned a few times that I am itching to add some blue to my apartment.  Still... you know... I love me some pink.  I went round and round - pink or blue?  My cousin said I already had pink covered in my home.  True dat.  I decided on a lovely shade of baby blue.  Besides, blue looks great with pink.

Ta da!  Here it is in its beautiful new shade.  Since the finish was porous, the paint went on easily with a brush.  No spray paint mess, perfect matte finish.  I kinda dig it.

This poor unloved baby had a great shape but a poorly applied, careless finish.  Not sure if it's original, might  be one of those textured spray paints.  This one could have been part of my ugly vase installation.  Since I dismantled that installation (sometimes I wish I hadn't), I decided instead to give her a make over.   I sanded the heck out of this thing, but had to give up my perfectionist tendencies.  Though smoother, this baby would never be completely smooth.

Ta da!  You know you love it, and so do I.    I actually dig the texture.  And I love its half moon shape!  Definitely Ikebana inspired.

Here are the two lovelies together.  This is my idea of upcycling.  What a gorgeous shade of blue!  Now I am on the hunt for more cheap, porous, simply shaped vases.  I also covered a canvas in this beautiful shade.  I am so crazy about this color I wish I could do an accent wall in it.  Since I'm not allowed to paint the walls, I thought it might be cool to go monotone in my display - have the painting, the bookcase and all the vases in the same color.  A tactile, accent wall!  Stay tuned - more discussions of the beauty of blue coming up.  If you are not a fan of blue, I promise you will be by the end of the week.  :)  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!  xo