Small Items that make a HUGE Statement

1. Lamps: Call them multifunctional for adding light and also being a piece of decor; but lamps are something every small apartment should have. Overhead light can be too harsh but lamps can light the hard-to-get places. For me, two or three white lamps will really bring out the fact I'm going with a chocolate and white theme. Plus, I really like white lamps. 
2. Shower curtains and matching hand towels: Coordinating these two small items in your bathroom means you need to do little else do dress up your bathroom. Using matching colours like tan, red or forest green keeps everything looking very neat. A matching rug would also be optimal as well. 
3. Flowers/Plants: A simple few pots of live plants makes a very large impact, even in a small house. You don't need to have a bamboo tree for your place to look great. A vase of fresh roses or dahlias, or an aloe plant by the window looks refreshing and also freshens up the air. People worry sometimes about too much state-of-the-art technology but going back to the roots makes for a cozy home. 
4. Clocks - Clocks come in all different shapes and colours, from round and white to square and wooden. Not only do clocks tell the time, but having one in a room just seems to always feel right. Everybody will occasionally glance at the clock to see what time they may need to leave, or what time their show comes in. Soon, you'd wonder what you did without one. Picking one with your kind of taste--whether oversized or small and chic, is the fun of it. 

IKEA Solutions for Home Office for Apartments

LAIVA DESK $24.99

SPACE-SAVING DESK

SMILLE GUEST CHAIR $29.99

Putting It All Together

ONE OF THE MANY PAINTINGS GOING ON THE WALL

A BEGINNING OF AN ACCENT WALL

SOME BAR CHAIRS

DRESSING UP THE BOOKCASE

My manta is: You can never have too much art in your house. Anything can be made into art: wine bottles, old wood, anything. You don't always need to go to fancy art galleries to have a huge impact in your space. You can find art in the most creative places: empty glass jars with unique shapes, flower beds, old stones--even painting something that is plain and mundane just to add that extra spark. I am always rethinking ways to make our space homey, cozy and artsy...Think outside the box and go crazy. Even if you think it's a ridiculous idea--it's still your idea and that makes it unique and original.

Working with Small Spaces

People often see a closet and use it as a closet, but sometimes that space would be better utilized as a small office or a bookshelf. I see a lot of little spaces in the apartment I want to use to its best ability like little ledges and window spaces. You can do a lot with a bit of space! All you have to do is think about functionality and be creative. How will it benefit you? Will yo get use out of it? Is it something you need? Some people cannot do with a dining table but if their apartment is too small, a dropleaf table can be a dining table and also a desk when not in use for eating. Areas that are used for multi-tasking are best in small spaces, it isn't like there is room for a sitting room, a parlour room, the den, etc to all be separate. Though we wish!

Collect Your Decor

One Month Crunchtime

Oh shit. What is it about procrastination that makes it seem so alluring but it's really poisonous? It's like a great big piece of chocolate for a diabetic. Some people have rage problems, some people snore--my problem is I procrastinate and with 1 month until we are officially moved in, I have a lot to do.

I had written down a lot of stuff I wanted to do and how I wanted it done on this blog which is precisely why I created it. Then DUH! I forgot to read it. So I have to go through it and think, think, think. I forgot about things like rugs for the bathroom and wine rack. I FORGOT THE WINE RACK!!! When life gets shitty, when there's romance in the air, when I cook....I need wine. A wine rack is as integral to my being as the TV is to a jock who watches ESPN. Seeing my wine beautifully displayed in a rack is like watching the Superbowl on an HDTV. It just makes it that much better.

So, note to self: get rug for bathroom. Do people normally freak out this far ahead? Isn't this the time when people just begin looking for apartments? I don't know if I have the time-line right or wrong but my room is filling quickly with boxes and boxes and bags of stuff and my mom is freaking out, lol. She's coming in here and falling over all these boxes I'm hoarding for some imminent date in the near future. She's been a bit concerned since a bag with ceramic mugs crushed the cat's tail. Whoops.

I HAVE AN INKLING I WANT TO DO A DARK GRAY

I am doing what I fear the most--FINALLY going to the paint store. Why have I put this off? Why have I discussed my joy to paint the room but haven't bought the goddamn paint? Well, quite frankly, I'm afraid to waltz into Behrs or Benjamin Moore and stand like some freakin' idiot scratching my head with a blank stare going on. Uh.....I've never painted anything before except my nails. I don't mean to piss off my feminist friends and sound like a dumb ditz but seriously...I don't want to fuck up the walls and I have NO clue what I'm doing. I'm going to go into the store either embarrassingly clueless or with a set of Google instructions in my hand. I'm not sure which is worse, especially since I'll probably be just as clueless with the paper in my hand. I don't know how to pick the best color for an accent wall and what happens after that. Should I tip the paint-guy to do all the brainwork for me? Lol. I'll have to credit my artistically put together apartment to some guy who picks his nose in the paint store. Yay.

O-Range Ya Glad It's Cheap?

Couches are pricy and a huge investment. But they can make or break your living-room. A drab couch can undermine your greatest efforts to modernize a drab house, and a couch in the wrong colour can wreak havoc on the aesthetic or mood of your humble abode. I found a riveting orange sofa at IKEA with what I see as : mod-artsy potential. Fiancee thought it suited somebody with ADHD in a mental institution who had a bubbly, laugh-when-nobody's-in-the-room personality. Hmmm....Black and gray\tan couches are so overused. How many people do you personally know who have orange couches? Or a mint-green one? Or  one with bubbles all over it? Someone is selling a salmon pink sofa on Kijiji right now as we speak! Salmon pink. How is that for a bold statement? It doesn't say Tuna Time. It says : boldly different. Cheerfully here. Modern but fun. I'm pink and I still think. Something like that. Plus,  the orange couch? It's on sale.