My Aparment - for today

Below I outlined renovations I'd make to my apartment. Since none of these are possible, there's only one thing to be done. That's right - rearrange. I am pretty happy with the current color scheme. Here's how my apartment looks today:

I wish I could afford to have those sofas professionally reupholstered.

My work area is very organized, but needs a lot of work to make it prettier. Please forgive the pile of paintings. I am in the process of opening an Etsy shop.

I have a thing for blue bottles.

If I owned my apartment....

If I owned my apartment (and had a lot of money), I would love to do an almost gut renovation of it.

First, I'd like to tear out this wall. I dream of having an open kitchen. I have the ugliest kitchen on planet Earth.

After tearing out this wall, I'd love to have the appliances - which would include a small refrigerator and a washer and dryer - lined up on one wall. I'm not sure why they they would put a large refrigerator in such a small apartment. And just look at that monstrosity of an oven! Shameful. I don't know what landlords are thinking sometimes. The worst part of this eyesore is that it doesn't even work. That's because I am boycotting the robbers also known as East Ohio Gas.

I'd like to have open shelves for my cute dishes. About the only thing I'd like salvaged from my kitchen are these two vintage remnants. The oven hood and the waste disposal, which both need industrial cleaning.

Since I can't rip out the cupboards, I'd like to paint them white. Except that I am too lazy. Not happening. I would like to hang a curtain to hide the kitchen. This weekend I was bothered by the square opening between the cupboard and the counter. (I know, I can obsess about the weirdest things.) So I made the decision to close the kitchen off a little from view by hanging a painting there.

It pleases me that the kitchen is partially obstructed from view. I'd like to put a cute bench under the painting. I've got my eye on the curb.

My landing strip is nicely hidden behind the painting.

The wall I'd like to tear down has a recess in it, where the murphy bed used to be. I've thought of using this area for my office or for my entertainment center, but the apartment has such a small amount of outlets, and they are not conveniently located. I also thought of putting a built-in bench and lots of pillows, Moroccan style there. For now I just use it as a storage area for my paintings.

It would be cool to have a loft built for my bed. I think the little curtain is so cute! I'd tuck my office under there. Image Apartment Therapy.

I'd like to tear out all the walls and replace them with something like this to make the place lighter and airier. Image unknown source. And, of course, I'd like to paint the floors white! Although, if I had a lot of money I'd probably move. I'm tired of old buildings, I crave clean and modern. This building is not relevant to the way we live today. Still, it's fun to dream.

Winding up gray obsession (for now)

Dear readers, as you know I've been obsessing about gray a lot lately. I think it's Abigail Ahern's fault. Everytime I read her blog, I want to paint my apartment gray. I love gray with pink, and I love gray with orange. The other day I went shopping, thinking that I was going to buy some gray pillows. Instead, it was turquoise that kept catching my eyes. Color. It's a fickle, but joyful thing. I'd like to wrap up my obsession with gray for the time being. Here are some pics from my inspiration files. Hope you enjoy!

Flickr user fac_610.


Lawrence's South Boston Light Box via Apartment Therapy. I love Lawrence's home. If you love art, as well as artsy display, you will love his home.

Jessica Helgerson via The Style Files. I love this room! Love the gray walls, standing lamp, white sofa, orange pillows and gray poufs.

Michelle Lives with Art via Apartment Therapy. This home tour is sublime. Michelle has a great eye. I love these paintings, they remind me of some work I am doing replicating the gray paint city workers splash on graffiti. This room confirms my belief that gray looks great with acid green as well.

Here's some accessories I think would work well in Michelle's beautiful home. Iris Zohar's onion vase, pillow and pouf by CB2. Thank you for humoring me during my obsession with gray. I'm moving on to turquoise obsession, but I'm sure will return to gray at a later date. Stay tuned.

More favorite rooms

Dear readers, like you I have a large inspiration file. I'm trying to get more organized with it and get my favorite rooms posted on this blog. As you know, I am a sucker for Bohemian modern style, and anything in pink.

This is a very fine example of Bohemian modern. I could move in here! Isn't this the most inviting sofa you've ever seen? I adore a classic sofa done in modern colors. Image via Poppy Talk.

One of the cutest dining sets I've seen! I love it. Image via Two Dot Two.

Alan Higgs via Beautymist. As you know, I am obsessed by white floors (can't believe I haven't done a post on that yet). But yellow floors? Never even thought of that. I love this room, but it's definitely a place I'd like to visit, not live in. Perhaps this room is a great cure for winter lethargy. I adore those Florence Knoll (?) benches in hot pink, I want them!

What to do with your toy collection, Vol. II

Dear readers, as you know I obsessed with urban vinyl toys. I'm not sure why I dig 'em so much. Maybe it's my interest in illustration. Plastic can actually bring the creatures we envision to life, it's amazing. I am always interested in toys as art as well as the artful display of toys. Here are a few examples, hope you enjoy!

This awesome grandfather clock by Ryan McElhinney is made of Buzz Lightyear, Hulk, etc. figures painted white. Makes me want to run out to Target to buy some Hulk figures to spray paint. Image via Yatzer.

This is another image from Yatzer. The homeowners have their Pez collection lined up on the back wall of the room. I love this kind of cohesive display of a collection. Even though they have a rather large collection, the room still looks uncluttered.

Here is an example of a wonderful display of toys and games. I apologize for the poor quality of the image, but I'm sure you get the idea. I'm having trouble with .gif files. If anyone has any pointers for me, please contact me. Thanks so much! Image via flickr user famapa. She also has a marvelous photo blog called My Funny Eye, check it out. For more examples of toys as art, see my previous post here.

Happy Birthday to the First Lady

Happy Birthday to First Lady Michelle Obama! Mrs. Obama is arguably the most fascinating woman to grace magazine covers in years. Much love to you, First Lady. May you continue to flourish. The best birthday gift we can give the First Lady is a donation to Haiti. See her plea for Haiti here.

Dear Yoko, I love you

Yoko Ono is a fascinating woman. She has known prejudice. She has known great tragedy. Yet she has remained strong and never waivered in her work for peace. She is also an incredible artist. Her music is a bit avant-garde and can be challenging. But once you've acquired the taste, it's sublime.

These multilingual posters/postcards are from Yoko's flickr set WAR IS OVER! They are meant to be printed and posted everywhere. They say, "War is over, Happy Christmas from John Lennon and Yoko Ono." Even though Christmas is over, the sentiment is always pertinent. And especially so with the world joining together to help the people of Haiti. Top row: Tibetan, English, Hindi. Bottom row: Burmese, Thai, Korean. I find other languages so beautiful. I am embarrassed that I only speak English.

"A dream you dream alone is only a dream.

A dream you dream together is reality." yoko ono

All images from Yoko Ono's official flickr photostream. (link) Yoko, you go girl. Thanks for being an inspiration! xxoo

Help Haiti - We are all connected

If you are like me, you've been praying all day today and can't stop crying when you watch the news. I was going to write a post on how to help the people of Haiti, but it seems the blogosphere already jumped on this. An excellent example of how artists and bloggers are coming together to help can be seen at the lovely Victoria's blog, sfgirlbybay. Another great example is the wonderful blog, Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. Once again, we have witnessed the incredible power of the internet. We are all connected.

It is possible for good to come of this terrible tragedy. It is heartening to watch the world come together to save lives. I believe with all my heart that the majority of people are good. Perhaps military can be used to save lives rather than to take lives. Perhaps we can unite in our common humanity. Pass it on.

Currently obsessing about....

This chandelier. I've been seeing lots of chandeliers made out of branches. I love them. Too bad I am not a very good DIYer. I need to commission someone to make this for me. Also love the table and dark wall. Image Door Sixteen.

This collection of black pottery. I love the way the pots are cohesively displayed and that acrylic box is perfect! I need one. I've been wondering if I can incorporate black accessories into my decor, and still keep the place airy. Dan shows that it can be done. You simply must see the rest of this gorgeous home! Dan's MMC (Mostly Midcentury) Home and Gallery via Apartment Therapy. When touring Dan's home, it is evident he is a cutting edge curator. So, it's no surprise that he owns a gallery. His gallery is entitled Devening Projects + Exhibits.

This bedding from Anthropologie. Swoon. Still obsessing about gray.

More favorite rooms

Here are a couple more of my favorite rooms in my inspiration files. They have a style all their own, call it shabby minimalism. I've never had much money to decorate, so I always did a sort of shabby chic out of necessity. In fact, I was doing shabby chic long before it even had a name. Anyway, these two rooms have elevated shabby to a whole new level. I love how they are minimal, but I also love how they have a soft edge.

I believe I've shown this room before in a post about yellow. I simply love it! I love sofas with covers casually thrown over them. Perhaps it comes from my college days where I always had an ugly hand-me-down or from-the-curb-beer-and-cat-stained sofa. I also love empty frames used as art. And how cute is the frame with a small picture placed casually in it? I love unexpected display. Image flickr user Ramonah.

Another darling shabby minimal room! Oh how I love this room, let me count the ways. Those chairs, pure porn. Love the stacked suitcases. Love the laissez faire showing of the cords. I love the rebelliousness of the cords. Cords are a necessary evil, and so much trouble to hide. I like this attitude. "Fuck it, I've got cords, get over it." And the best part - how cool is that tarp used as a rug! Love it. Wish I could see more of the room, looks like there is a pile of pillows in the upper left. I think I could live without a sofa if I had a pile of pillows. Image flickr user linsmika.