To one day own a place that’s big and high enough to paint one of the walls black — that’s a nice dream to have, isn’t it? Although I’m slightly resistant to the whole ‘feature wall’ thing, I’m definitely open to something a little more dramatic.
However, as there is no way I’m ever buying a white sofa (that’s simply asking for trouble and high dry-cleaning bills), I reckon using interesting furniture as a contrast is the safer option.
This came to my attention on a roundup from Apartment Therapy. I’d love to be a collector; finding and keeping things that are a bit different, a bit weird, but speak volumes to me. It seems to be in my DNA to constantly cull and throw things out — and our living situation doesn’t lend itself to any sort of hoarding habit anyway.
While I don’t exactly adore everything they’ve done with the place (especially the lavender walls and a pink-tiled bathroom), it feels like a home that hasn’t been dressed up and styled for a photo shoot. I’ve been poring over interior design images for months in my newly-acquired home-decorating obsession, and what strikes me about most of them is their utter impracticality. Sure, they’re nice photos, but does anyone actually live like that?
That’s why I like this apartment. It really reflects the residents’ personalities and taste, as well as how they live. Neil and I inspected a local charity shop recently and I’m hoping a certain sideboard will still be available when we finally have the space for it.
(Side note: when we first started renovating Neil’s gran’s house, we discovered an old photo portrait like the one in this house tour, but much bigger. It is not something I would ever want in a room with me, let alone near my bed. It reminds me too much of The Others — I call it the Scary Picture. No one has any idea who the subjects of the portrait might be.)
Hello, nurse!* What a gorgeous coffee table. Check out mstrf’s Etsy shop and you’ll see some amazing pieces of usable art. I can’t actually decide which piece is my absolute favourite — I’ve just pointed out the one that initially caught my eye.
There’s this current obsession with ‘shabby chic’, isn’t there? We visited a lot of independent furniture shops while my mother was visiting, and middle-class England seems to be consumed by a desire for French-inspired, ‘distressed’, country-style furnishings. I don’t get it. Well, I do get it, I just don’t see the point. Especially with artisans / craftsmen making stuff as striking as this.
(I like restored furniture, though, as previously posted. One thing I’m really looking forward to when furnishing the new place is trawling the charity shops for old furniture needing a little help to look new again.)
* Animaniacs reference.
I tried to describe this to Neil over a beer, but he just couldn’t see it. But now that he has, we’ve got a bit of a plan for (part of) our bedroom. I’m voting for a brown-black frame with white doors (but I am also a fan of all-white).
There is still a question of where and how we will position our wardrobes — only a tape measure and actual access to the property will be able to help us.
That wall-mounted sideboard. Those chairs. That perfect floor. I could swoon with envy.
I’m not crazy about the lighting (I never am, I haven’t got there yet), but that’s the only thing preventing me from saying that this living room is perfect for me. I feel a fantasy IKEA hack coming on.
Via wzn’blog.
It’s only when I look at my wardrobe that I realise how important the colour (shade?) grey is to my tendency to fade into the background.
Er, what?
Basically, I like grey. I think a pale grey wall looks incredible with gloss-white woodwork (by that I mean skirting, facing, dado rails, that sort of thing), and I think it makes touches of colour stand out so much more.
Oh. Emm. Eff. Gee. I am suffused with desire for that bookcase. There’s nothing I don’t love about it. Except maybe the top would get very dusty because I’m too short to bother cleaning it.
Via desire to inspire.
I’ve been collecting a few prints — and am eyeing more — as the above is pretty similar to what I want to accomplish. I’m still proud of the teenage-crush-wall-of-posters behind my bed that I put up when I was 17, and I’ve been itching to be able to re-create that. But less no Gary Barlow this time.
Via Interior Slime.
I’m sad that timing dictates the inability to buy these dark green chairs. They would fit in perfectly — with a little work on the legs — with my fantasy home. Very stylish.
I’m not crazy about the wire chairs, but I like the layout, the extremely sleek storage unit, and the wall shelves. Great focal point.
Via handsremember.