A Happy Home-iversary!

Aug. 1 came and went so quickly that I didn’t even have a chance to celebrate my two-year home-iversary! I resigned my lease, so I’ll be in my current apartment for at least one more year (barring any major life changes). There was a bit of a rent hike, but it’s only an additional $20 a month—not something I’m excited about, but definitely not worth the expense (and hassle!) of a move. Plus, the consensus seems to be that my place is a steal for the amount of space and the neighborhood (Chicago’s North Center). I do love it!

Let’s take a look at how far it’s come:

Living room

Dining room

Bathroom

Kitchen

Bedroom

It’s not perfect. It never will be. Design is a constantly evolving process—and that’s exactly what makes it fun!

Outside of a few little things here and there, I’m VERY happy with the living room and dining room. But putting everything side-by-side here makes me realize that the kitchen and bathroom are kind of a different style than the rest of the apartment… Looks like I know where my next projects will be! Stay tuned.

You Pick: Living Room Rug

I’m having a really hard time deciding on a vision for the living room. I’ve never had such a bold wall to contend with! I’m certainly not regretting the paint job, but I feel like a need a colorful rug to bring some fun—and femininity—to the room. It’s a bit Don Draper right now. (Speaking of, anyone watching the current season? Snoozefest!)

A rug is a real commitment since it’s generally a pricey piece, but I think it’ll really set the tone for the room. I’d hate to make the wrong choice, so I’m enlisting your help!

For a refresher, here’s the living room:

The living room and dining room feed right into each other, so I’d like there to be some cohesion, but it doesn’t have to be matchy-matchy. Here’s the dining room:

Originally, I wanted to go with a cream shag or flokati rug, but this is a high traffic area, and honestly I don’t think it’d stand a chance. The cat’s always in there. We eat in front of the TV all the time (though I’d really like to break this habit). This is where people hangout when they come over. I’d give it six months tops. Same goes with one of those super popular Beni Ourain-style rugs. Plus, I think I might fall out of love with it after awhile.

I want something fun but somewhat timeless (I hope to still like it in five years). Something bright since there’s already so much dark. Something with a hint of elegance but nothing traditional. And hopefully something that won’t break the bank but is quality (no Dhurries, please!). Is all that possible?

I’ve cobbled together some ideas. Which rug do you like? Or do you have a suggestion? Please, I’m all ears!

1. Martha Stewart Chevron Leaves | 2. Surya Frontier 918 | 3. Safavieh Cambridge | 4. West Elm Ikat Links | 5. Savanna Ikat VE01 | 6. Savanna Ikat VE03 |
7. Surya Scion | 8. Martha Stewart Poppy Field

Before and After: Dining Room

I’d just like to start this post off with a friendly reminder of what the dining room looked like before I moved in…

Gah, the horror! Who on Earth thought that was a good idea?! Sorry, I should have warned you like they do before they show something disturbing on the news. Luckily, the management company painted it white—though it was a terrible, cheap, chalky white, which was definitely one of the reasons I was eager to change it.

I started gathering inspiration and tested a few sample colors and landed on Benjamin Moore’s Whispering Spring. (For those of you interested, I used the Ben series with an Eggshell finish, and it was about $40/gallon in Chicago.)

Well, actually, I thought I was putting Whispering Spring in the living room, but then I decided to paint the dining room too. (Living room reveal coming soon!) So before this weekend, my dining room looked like this:

Certainly an improvement over the Flubber green, but nothing great. And now…

Ta-da! I love it! It’s subtle and fresh and a little bit preppy. I really like the way the walls match—but don’t match—the inside of the pendant light.

I figured I might as well wipe down the blinds and polish the floors since the room was nearly empty, but damn, it’s amazing how long it takes to get a room put back together after painting when you factor in deep cleaning. Oh well, it desperately needed it, and in my mind, it adds to the delightful new color!

There’s still a ton to do, like hang artwork (no, that taped-up newspaper isn’t staying), re-stain the table (don’t even ask how that happened…) and buy curtains, but we’d need a lot longer than a three-day weekend to get all that accomplished. Stay tuned for more updates!

Weekend Sneak Peek: Moore To Come

I honestly think I’m going to have a hard time sleeping tonight. It’s not that I’m excited about Good Friday or the Easter Bunny’s visit (though that candy aisle at Target was harrrrd to walk past today)…

Me and BM are about to become good pals.

No, I’m finally taking the leap and painting! The original plan was to paint the living room, but now I’ve decided to paint the dining room and one wall in the living room. The landlord’s approved, the paint’s been bought, the holes have been patched and the ladder is on it’s way (thanks, dad!). There’s no turning back now…

Ah, naked walls!

Curious what colors I went with? Well, the dining room is going to be one of the colors I tested a couple weeks ago, and the living room will very soon have a dark accent wall. That’s all you can know for now : )

There’s so much to do, but hopefully I’ll have a great Before and After to show you early next week. Wish me luck! xoxo

Urban Nesting’s Top 10 Pins

How are we feeling about Pinterest these days? I’ve had more than one girl friend over the past few weeks say she’s overwhelmed by it, or that she still likes it but no longer “love loves” it. I’m not going to lie: It makes me anxious some times. So much inspiration, so little time! I try not to look at it right before bed.

But I also know I’ll never leave it. It’s such an amazing resource, even in just in the organizational sense. I’ve been old-school “pinning”—aka ripping pages out of magazines—for years and years. Just ask my mother. And my filing cabinet. But now that we have Pinterest, I can have all those ideas in one place. And it’s portable. And sortable. And searchable! So long clutter. Pinterest in amazeballs.

OK, I should never say that again. Sorry.

So I mostly use Pinterest for three things: 1. Home decor inspiration (including home DIYs), 2. Recipes and 3. Gift ideas (in a secret board, of course!). Sure, there’s the other boards about architecture, beauty, fitness and fashion, but those kind of fall by the wayside in terms of my main interests. What do you collect on Pinterest?

Well, if these numbers are any indication, recipes are where it’s at. I checked out my most repinned items specifically from Urban Nesting, and five of the top 10 are food! Here’s a rundown (and don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest… if you’re not completely sick of it):

1. Foodie Friday: Pesto-Stuffed Chicken

2. Foodie Friday: Strawberry Mango Salsa

3. I Want That Wednesday: Urban Backyard

4. Foodie Friday: Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

5. Foodie Friday: Brown Sugar Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

Rounding out the top 10:

6. I Want That Wednesday: Indiana Basketball Card
7. Completed This Space: Entryway Vignette
8. Dining Room Revamp: Part I
9. DIY: Dipped Wooden Spoons
10. Foodie Friday: BBQ Shredded Beef Sandwiches

Dining Room Revamp: Part II

Man, I did not realize how much work would/could go into this dining room! I can’t find a picture of what it looked like when I first moved in, but I’ll keep looking (my iPhoto is in serious need of organizing… and backing up!). So we’ll start here for now:

You probably remember this picture from Revamp Part I when I snagged my awesome teak dining table and Eames replica chairs. I still haven’t had a dinner party yet, but it’s coming. A Friendsgiving perhaps. But that’s only if I can get some more things squared away in the space first. It’s a work in progress:

We (well, my dad) finally got around to hanging the vintage pendant lamp. I looooove it! I bought it about two years ago now for something like $20. I’d kicked around the idea of painting it but decided just to go with the antique gold and teal colors. It definitely brings a bit of Hollywood Regency or Moroccan glam to the room. Look at the cool design it casts on the ceiling when it’s lit up:

The rug is where I’m really struggling. It was a hand-me-down, so free is always good and I like the way it breaks up all the wood in the space, but I don’t really have anything else salmon colored in my entire apartment. Does it matter? The pendant is glam and the rug is tribal… is that OK? I’m still struggling with how to mix and match styles. My instinct is matchy-matchy, but I’m trying to fight it.

Maybe a new rug is on the wish list, maybe not. I change my mind about it every other day. But while I contemplate it, my next steps are to get the new artwork (it’s just leaning against the wall on top of the bar for now) framed, rearrange the gallery wall and complete the entryway vignette. I’m hoping to have all of that done by the end of this month, but framing is darn expensive so we’ll see…

Thoughts, ideas, criticism and Pinspiration are always welcome!

Dining Room Revamp: Part I

Ahhh I’m beyond excited about my new dining furniture!

Isn’t it so great? It took A LOT of work via Craigslist (I actually even bought a table, then decided against it and sold it on Craigslist for twice what I bought it for… BOOM!), and a couple trips out to the burbs but I think it was all worth it. The table is teak and in great shape now that I oiled it up. There’s two leaves that slide out, making it perfect for dinner parties. Sure, it’s a tiny bit big for the space, but I’m not going to live here forever. And for $100? It was too good to pass up.

And the Eames Eiffel replica side chairs I bought from a furniture store that had recently come under new ownership. (It was now called Sofa & Rug and would have no need for a stock of chairs, obviously.) Granted, they’re not the real thing, but I’m hoping I can work save up to that and replace them over time.

I’m feeling completely re-energized about the space, and I really want to switch out the light fixture (prolly something I should run by the management company but…) and get to work on the bookshelf revamp. A rug might also be in the running to break up all the wood, as well as some artwork for above the bar. Stay tuned!

I want that Wednesday

Well guys, bad news: My kitchen chairs are kaput. Ever since my Christmas cocktail party, the chairs have been really wobbly. I had my dad tighten them up, and they held out… for like three days. (I was just sitting on them one night to do some computer work, that’s it!) It looks it’s time to upgrade.

That said, I’m kind of at the mercy of Craigslist. I don’t really have the budget to purchase a new dining set from Crate & Barrel or the like. But that’s ok; I like the hunt. I haven’t found anything yet, but I LOVE cane (for whatever reason) so it’d be awesome to work that in. Unfortunately, there’s a ton of that French provincial crap out there that is most definitely not my style.

Uh… no

Now these fabulous MCM cane-and-leather chairs on the other hand…

I’ll take all of it!

But really, there’s so many great chairs out there that I won’t limit myself to cane (I guess…). I’m actually a lot more worried about finding a good table! But that’s the joy/pain of mixing and matching. I’m also concerned about having too much wood in one room… this could take a while!

(Images: The Bella Cottage, Malhold Photobucket)

I want that Wednesdays

So I’ve been thinking about my soon-to-be dining room a lot (well, really the entire layout of my new apartment), and I’ve developed a crush on Tolix café chairs. Maybe it’s not the chairs themselves – I can’t imagine straight-up steel is the most comfortable thing in the world – but perhaps I’m drawn to the pop of color they bring. The actual name-brand chairs are made in France and will run you about $275 each, so I doubt you’ll be seeing them in my apartment any time soon. But they’re pretty to look at!

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Photos courtesy of style-files.com and lanaloustyle.com.