How We Made Our New Apartment a Home

Earlier this year, Erik and I made the big move to a new apartment. When I say big move, I mean really big...a whole two blocks away from our old place. Our old apartment had lots of charm- old wood floors, glass knobs, tiny hexagon tile in the bathroom, to name a few things. It was a typical pre-war apartment building. It was cute, full of character, and the perfect first place for us in the city. Eventually, though, the issues that come with living in an older building (like a leaking ceiling/roof, for one) outweighed the charm.

If you know me well, you know that I love old things. I LOVE vintage clothing (check back soon to see what I found to wear to Erik's work Christmas party this year!!!), old furniture, dishes, buildings...anything that has a story and a past. Even the house I grew up in is closing in on 150 years old.  Needless to say, moving from a place that had such history to a place that was still being updated the day we moved in was a little out of character for me. We decided that we loved our neighborhood too much to leave so we took the tiny leap and moved a couple blocks down, into a newly renovated apartment.

It was a fresh start...and a very blank slate.

Choosing the color palette was more difficult than I thought it would be. Since the first time I laid eyes on the red and blue flamestitch (bottom right), I loved it. I was so certain that it would be the perfect inspiration for our new living room. While I dug through my 'collection' of fabrics searching for reds and blues, another palette started to surface. It was softer, lighter, more subtle, more Northwest...what was happening to me?! I love bright colors...I AM bright colors! Why was I being pulled to this neutral palette? I knew Erik would love it...especially because we had pillows with fuchsia, orange, and even flowers in our last place. I couldn't decide so I took the issue to the people who I knew would not hold back their opinions...my facebook friends!

 Right or Left?!?! There was no clear winner! I had to make a decision and just for kicks I chose.....

The Neutrals!!

And here is the before...the blank, bland, cream, living room. AND our new, comfortable, gray Kravet sofa!

We organized the books (a perfect backdrop for any space!)...

Found THE PERFECT coffee table on etsy (click here to see this guy's shop...amazing) and paired it with a simple chevron throw rug.

I slaved away on my little sewing machine...not really...but it took a few week nights and a Saturday afternoon to finish up the pillows. Here are three of my favorites...

And a couple close ups...

One of my favorite movies and a gift from my Papa Garrett...my Casablanca poster is finally on display after so many years.

And after a few months, a little shopping, collecting, sewing, and picture hanging...here is our lovely living room, the space where we hang out, read, eat, and live.

I've learned something very important through this move and this 'make-over' of our living room. No matter where we live, whether its an old house full of stories, an apartment with lots of history, a simple, clean, renovated place or somewhere in between...it's what WE bring to the space that makes it a home (but a few new throw pillows won't hurt).