Apartment Hunting

So I have an interim apartment for the moment marking the beginning of my post grad life, but it's a sublet and I'll have to move out at the end of the summer. If I'm able to find a job, I'm hoping to continue renting. Moving home is the other option which isn't exactly ideal (although it may very well be necessary). So I've taken to looking at apartments. Is everything currently out of my price range? Of course! Does that make it any less fun? No! Mainly because I'm not having to make any actual decisions at the moment.

So what am I absolutely in love with right now?

Exposed brick and large windows! It's gorgeous and I love it!

I have no idea where this image came from and unfortunately can't credit it (I found it on Pinterest, but it won't like me back to where it's originally from). Wouldn't you just love to curl up in that window seat and read? Preferably with a cup of hot tea or coffee in hand? The only thing that could improve that picture is a throw and a large bookshelf.

This next picture is from Apartment Therapy and I'm head over heels in love with the exposed brick. It even has an old fire place that's been decorated with candles! Does it get any better? I love how the dark wood floors work with the brick and the furniture compliments it so nicely. This apartment also seems to get a lot of light which is just lovely. Remember folks, I'm living in a basement. Light is not my friend right now.

So what do you all think? Not everybody loves brick as much as I do. Are these places you'd want to live? What makes up your dream home?

My Week

I'm back in the full swing of this point everybody and it's not too bad yet. But it is eating up a good chunk of my time. I wish I had interesting adventures to tell you about or amazing design feats accomplished. Sadly my week has been fairly monotonous. The most colourful part of it has been the highlighters I'm using to take notes with. Even my post-its have been relegated to the back of the drawer for now. This post was supposed to go up midweek, but at some point during my sleep deprived nights I misplaced the cord that attaches my camera to my computer. So here it is now. My week in pictures everybody, hold onto your hats!

First up, the notes, the agenda. It's so exciting you can hardly breathe! Right! ...Right? Notice the poor quality lighting, perfect for eyestrain.

But by midweek things were looking up! The mail arrived. Two packages filled with free books! Yes, this was definitely the highlight of my week.

I started putting things up on my wall. No frames, a few show posters, but it's a start. There's still a lot of blank space so at this point I'm hoping to just sort of fill it up collage style with colour. Maybe some more show posters, maybe some prints and coloured fabric. Whatever I can find. 

So that's my week pretty much summed up. Hopefully I'll have more to share next week. Have a wonderful weekend everybody.

Hanging Around

Why hello there various wall hangings that have been in my room for years. Literally years. I have this tendency to collect little pieces like this while I'm on vacation, but i never do anything with them. I think they're gorgeous; I do. But what can I do with two tiles from Mexico and two watercolours from Victoria, BC? So they sit, leaning against mirrors, dressers, walls. I love them, but I don't know how I can make them work.

I have this vision in my mind. I'll have my beige walls, covered in strategically placed washi tape and on top of that pictures. In my mind these pictures are black and white to contrast the coloured tape and will be in uniform black frames to tie it all together. I don't have those things just lying around. I have colour and paintings that don't require frames and tiles and this woodcarving that a dear friend brought back from Singapore.

The intricacies are just gorgeous don't you think? I love the arabesque lines. It's so different from everything else I own. It either needs to go on its own wall or be front and centre, surrounded by a mish mash of images. I'm thinking hunting down old frames could help. Tie it all together by having nothing match? Don't get me wrong. I love all of these things (especially the woodcarving, sentimental value you know). I just don't know what to do with them!

I'm all questions right now, very little action. But seriously, does anybody know what to do with tile? Do you dear readers have design problems like this and how do you resolve them? Let me know in the comments! I would love to hear from you!

New Year, New Inspiration

So the holidays are over; I packed up the decorations today. The baking is almost all gone and our final family birthday is taking place this evening. Let me tell you one thing, I am tired. Definitely too tired to start on one of the many projects I have in mind for the new year. However, I'm not too tired to look for some design inspiration. I just love looking at other people's ideas to see how they can look in my place. So to tide you all over for the day here are some beautiful pictures that I've found around the internet.

This bedroom is from the Canadian House and Home website. I love the use of neutrals with just a pop of pink for some added colour. I also think the chandelier is an interesting touch; it's sleek. A small space like a dorm room can incorporate some of these ideas. Hanging your own chandelier is highly unrealistic, but the colour scheme is easy to recreate.

This next bedroom was found via the Lovely Undergrad. I love the use of light which is something easily emulated in a dorm room. I also love the clean lines. I desperately want that alarm clock, so much cuter than my cellphone alarm.

This dorm room featured on the Refinery 29 website is a lot bigger than  mine (I could never fit a lamp, let alone a Greek column in my room), but again I think elements of this design can work anywhere. I like how pictures are grouped together. I think it's a little more personal than buying one huge poster to cover up a wall.

Another dorm room featured on Refinery 29, I love the wall art. They used Wall Pops, which are stickers for the wall, to create the stripes. I've been looking into decals for my walls to add some colour. I think this is a brilliant way to get around the fact that you can't paint the walls.

These images have really inspired me to create something beautiful out of my room. I would love to incorporate these images into my design. I think finding things that inspire you is a good first step to design. Now I just need to work on the follow through.

Pillows Pillows Pillows

I have an obsession with pillows. I can't explain it. An excess of pillows serve no purpose, they destroy clean lines, but I can't help it. They're cozy put a throw over the back of a couch, a few pillows on each side and I feel like I'm home. Coziness is key for me when decoration a room. The major problem with this pillow obsession? They're expensive.

Right now I am absolutely loving the vintage style, linen pillows from Esmery-Caron.

Pillows can be found at Restoration Hardware, which is where all images were taken from

I adore these pillows. They're neutral so I could take them from apartment to apartment easily. They're French and I have to admit I'm drawn to all things with just a hint of French. They're also out of my price range. They seem to be selling off right now; I saw them in a local store for a little over $20, but it's still out of my price range. 

A few other options I scoped out online are even worse at $40 and $49 (both pillows can be found at Supermarket. Aren't they so tempting though?

mosaic star linen pillow cover black

detroit map title pillow cover

I don't need pillows, but I would like some. I'll be moving soon and want to make my next place feel like a home. I'm thinking of sewing pillows like these myself. Now I'm not a sewer, in fact I barely passed Grade Nine sewing, but it's worth a shot no? I know quite a few costume designers who could set me on the right path fabric wise and I'm sure I could borrow a sewing machine. Do-it-yourself design has never been my forte, but it's looking like my budget calls for it. Does anybody know if sewing will actually be cheaper in the long run?

For the next few days I'm going to be searching for some clear, simple instructions for a BEGINNER sewer. It's the internet, it has everything even instructions simple enough for a sew-i-phobic like myself. Now let's all hope I don't hit my finger with a needle.