IKEA Solutions for Home Office for Apartments

LAIVA DESK $24.99

SPACE-SAVING DESK

SMILLE GUEST CHAIR $29.99

Home Office for Small Apartments

Whether you are a student or a full-time worker, everybody needs an office for their printer, fax machine, computer, etc and to organize their paperwork and files. That way, when it is time for tax returns or to pay bills, you have all of your paperwork in one, neat area. Unfortunately, it would be impossible to construct a Trump-tastic desk in a teeny apartment but that does not mean with a little innovation you cannot create an impromptu desk!

Using hinge tables, a small corner or crevice or against a small wall--there is possibilities for a small home office. Perhaps a wall mounted desk and a simple chair will suffice along with some under table file cabinets. I want to add a small home office where I can use the computer and keep everything organized, and since space is at a minimum, a wall-mounted table would be the most likeliest. But these things can be very attractive. Adding a colorful vase on the desk or some paintings above the desk can help the area flow in with the rest of the house--as well as using a table that is the same colour as the walls.

How To Spice Up a White Bathroom

The bathroom decor should always be chic and calming. You go to the bathroom to de-stress and to rejuvenate yourself. You want everything to be clean, bright and light. I have a white bathroom and I haven't gotten around to decorating it yet other than hanging up a canvas painting I created a year ago because I've focused primarily on the living room decor. I'm not going to paint the bathroom--I think the white really works in the space and I have wanted to accent the white with some trendy red decor like shower curtains, vase, soap dish, etc. Keeping it bright and cheery is a nice way to enjoy a bathroom. Red and white striped hand towels would put the icing on the cake!

Last Minute Inspiration

"To select well among old things, is almost equal to inventing new ones."
This is very true. That is why there is dozens of interior decorating websites and magazines--to give YOU the inspiration to invent a cool new house/room and also so you'll buy their brandname stuff. 

I LOVE HOW SIMPLISTIC YET HOW MUCH OF AN IMPACT THIS COZY APARTMENT HAS.

PUTTING PHOTOGRAPHS ABOVE A BED AND PAINTING THE WALL ADDS LIFE AND PERSONALITY!

IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE LUXURY OF BIG WINDOWS, USE A LARGE MIRROR IN IT'S PLACE FOR THE SAME EFFECT

MATCHING THEMES (BLACK & WHITE) AND MONOCHROMATIC COLOURS KEEPS THIS PLACE COOL. NOT TO MENTION THE SMALL DETAILS LIKE A VASE OF FLOWERS AND THE SIDE TABLE!

THE RED CARPET ADDS A PUNCH TO AN OTHERWISE DULL SET UP!

THE WOODEN TREND HERE IS APPEALING AND A SIDE TABLE WITH DECOR OR A COLLECTION OF SOMETHING, PLUS A LAMP IS A NICE WAY TO RAMP UP A BORING ROOM.

EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS SET UP SCREAMS COZY, SERENE AND PEACEFUL. THE USAGE OF POWDER BLUES AND ABSTRACT VIBRANT RENT PAINT WITH STRIPES KEEPS THIS COTTAGE-FRESH LOOK VERY MODERN.

THE USE OF CREAMY LIGHT COLOURS KEEPS A ROOM LIGHT AND BRIGHT AND CHEERY! ADD SOME COMFY PILLOWS AND YOU'RE GOOD TO GO!

UTILIZING SPACE AND KEEPING IT LOOKING NICE IS IMPORTANT. HERE, A DESK BEHIND THE SOFA LOOKS VERY NATURAL WITH THE LEATHER EMBOSSED WHITE CHAIR AND MATCHING WHITE DESK. EVERYTHING FLOWS SEAMLESSLY.

A POP OF ACCENT COLOURS IN DECOR CAN MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE ON A CREME AND WHITE PALETTE.

   I like to just have beautiful rooms on display so I can peruse through them and perk up on anything I see that I'd like for my own space.  There are some creative-minded people out there with fabulously decorated and innovative homes! 

The Elephant In The Room

A 46" TV IS ONE BIG HONKER

YOU SHOULD ONLY GET A LARGE TV IF YOU HAVE....A LARGE HOUSE.

There was a great deal on HDTV's at Best Buy today and my fiancee couldn't resist but to buy one of the biggest ones for our modestly sized living-room. I am fearful that the TV will be an embarrassing monstrosity and space-eater in the living room. The first thing you will notice, and the ONLY thing you will notice is the huge 46" TV sitting in the living-room when you walk in. Forget anything else........the huge TV is unavoidable. I hope I am just over-reacting and it'll fit in nicely and look great, but seriously........who needs a 46" TV?!?!? I'd argue who would even NEED a TV but then again I'm an avid fan of Criminal Minds. I was pretty excited about the TV, because as a girl, I get excited about any kind of shopping...........but I wonder if a 37"-40" TV would be more than big enough for our small abode?

Collect Your Decor

Paint Selections 2

The living-room and hallway are likely to be the same colour so I am continuing my paint selections from Benjamin Moore with the living room and hallway. You will also see this paint in the kitchen because the living room wall extends up to the kitchen cabinets (it's open concept). 

Living room Paint Selection:  pony brown, autumn bronze, mohegan sage, dakota woods green. 

COCOA BROWN PAINT

TAUPE

SAGE IS LOVELY

If the hallway IS to be painted separately (which might happen because of a piece of furniture separating the hallway from living room like a bookshelf, then these are the colours I'd use : alligator green (pares nicely with pony brown); Aztec yellow (will go hand-in-hand with autumn bronze); cocoa brown, taupe or smoked oyster. 

Paint Selections

I have pored over what colors to paint each room for months but have narrowed it down finally. I want the living room to be calming and cozy, the bedroom to be lively and the bathroom to be chic. So by room, these are the suggestions. 
Bedroom -  bermuda grass green, bayberry, beechnut or wasabi. 

I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED YELLOW

WASABI PAINT IS COOL

CARIBBEAN TEAL

Bathroom - tapestry gold, camel, burnt caramel or Carribean teal. (Runner ups: marmalade, Appalachian spring and driftscape tan). 

MARMALADE

CAMEL

Basement Bellissima

I am hell bent on creating a basement space that is modern, artsy and functional. One that does not necessarily feel like a basement. I want to accentuate the windows and bring in as much natural\artificial light as possible so this means clip-on shelf lights, lamps and mirrors. I never really thought about lamps before. I always assumed the ceiling pot lights would be fine, but the more light, the merrier!

You wouldn't expect a lot of greenery in a basement so house plants that can survive in shade are on my top list of things to get. I think wall sconces add a baroque, traditional element and will look great against the paint! So to liven up a basement flat these are some good things to get:

-lamps
-lights that attach to your shelving
-floor to ceiling bookshelf
-light coloured paint
-wall sconces
-mirror opposite your window

-accentuating the basement windows (sheer curtains, perhaps?)

The Crash Pad Factor

If you're under 35 without mini brats and a spouse you likely will understand what I mean by having your place used as a crash pad. It goes without saying that friends will decide to move in for a weekend and crash at your place after a night on the town. Since a few of our friends live out of town, it only makes sense they stay over. 

But how does an apartment function both as a crash pad and as a cozy, organized and clean environment? Well, you have to have "emergency" stuff. Emergency toothbrushes, extra socks, lots of liquor, wine glasses, shot glasses, beer mugs, martini glasses (and martini shaker for that matter), extra pillows, extra sheets and extra covers are a given. If you're like me and want your guests to feel right at home but don't have a guest-room, invest in a futon/sofa bed. 

This arrangement is cool for snuggling with friends under covers during an all-night movie marathon or letting as many friends as can fit crash. It is a good idea to have breakfasts foods, munchies and different beverages to suit the average crasher. 

  I hope to have nice decor and simple but chic furnishings but I want to leave a good impression on company. Invest in incense, candles, room deodorizers and sprays and an iPod dock with decent speakers. If you go clubbing or to bars a lot, make sure you have tons of good lighting and mirrors so everyone can get dressed and sexy and get all narcissistic as that's what liquor inevitably does. I don't care if someone smokes 420 or has sex at our place but I do have one rule---when we want you out, you better be gone.  

Music Is The Heart

   Just as the house makes the home, music is the soundtrack of your life--a cliche that rings true in my particular life. Music can be festive, joyous, healing, calming and romantic or just plain fun. There's a time for jazz music, a time for house music and a time for Christmas carols. Like many people sick of the nail-on-chalkboard music on the radio\TV that is nonsensical they have turned to "real" music, any music that is worth listening to that still makes sense and sounds like, well, music and not the nasally musical of some spoiled Beverly Hills girl's diary. 
    I do not have the time nor the resources to be a music snob. I think their brains operate differently than most peoples, like astronomers or morticians. Perhaps they suffered some emotional trauma as a child and had to come up with varying unique ways to be original and irretrievably cool (the you-can't-find-these-1930s-kicks-"cool" not Abercrombie-Lacoste cool".  Kudos to them. I'm lucky enough to have music snob friends who have a vast library of music from artists I've never heard of. But at social gatherings, the music is being pumped and yes, it sounds good....never mind if it is in Finnish. 

    I bring up music because if music is the soundtrack to our lives, and our best moments in life are spent with family and friends, a great deal of that likely spent in the home; then somehow the home and music should at some point be combined to reflect the taste of the house-dwellers. When I think of the music I enjoy, I picture myself having an Indian sarangi or some original Jimmi Hendrix vinyls or at least a big blunt and a nice drumset. But I don't have any of these things, mostly because all my music is online and is played mostly in the car. There is so much noise in the world and when I come home--I want to relax in SILENCE! But even without music playing, maybe the soundtrack can still be influential.

   Music has largely been influenced by my sister, as much as I regret saying it. I can argue it but the fact is she listens to Deep Dish and so do I. The thing about music is....there isn't enough to have your own exclusive collection! And when I think of the influences of my music tastes, I think in art form and in a way I can apply to the home. I normally drink when I listen to house, or plan to drink later on. So having a beautiful wine collection and vintage spirits as a collage of my amour for liquor and the way house music evolves me, I can relate my alcohol to my house music. When I cook, I play Pavarotti and Charles Aznavour--so I can equate bowls of sumptuous fruit and aged balsamic oils as odes to opera music. 

   When I think of jazz and blues, I think of relaxation. I think of candles, incense, dim lights and dresses. I'm not going to hang full-length gowns all over the living-room but candles and incense I sure can. Perhaps a figurine of a jazz player with a trombone on the mantelpiece is a nice homage to this emotional, deep and personable music that moves even the matter in my bones. When it comes to pop music and top 40s, I think of modernity and pop art and having that around the house is easy, as well as a cool array of Chanel lipsticks and a vintage mirror. It is all about vanity, beauty and everything superficial like Rolls-Royce, the Holiday Inn and all the such. And with the classic rock, a tribute to the Beatles can be found in the room. I'll have to photograph that from all angles for the blog!
(A photograph is on auction so now as we speak, a secret auction so I don't know the price of the signed Beatles photo done Warhol pop-art style).