A Heavenly Home: Bring on Spring

            Lately, I have been in one of those ruts, you know when you want spring to come? Well this weekend, I woke up early and decided to get our apartment ready for spring. I watched a Dollar Tree Easter decoration video from Doltonadime and got the best ideas to decorate our home! I immediately got in my car and headed to the dollar store. I got rid of a lot of my decorations because a lot of them were girly.  I typically decorate 3 areas in our home seasonally or based on holidays. I decorate our coffee table, our dining table and the entry way. I will keep up these decorations for most of spring until about mid May.

            Our dining table has a pretty vinyl polka dot blue and white tablecloth. I am not usually a fan of vinyl but the pattern was so cute I had to get it. Plus, vinyl is nice and easy to wipe down. Then, I put a set of daisies in a vase on the dining room table. Not many decorations, as we use the table frequently, but it’s cute enough. 

            Nex,t I worked on our entryway. I put up a little vase of flowers. Again, I chose daisies because they are a gender neutral color and I feel like they really brightened up the space. Usually I am not a fan of decorating for Easter; this year is no exception. However, I found these cute eggs at the dollar store and purchased this egg Ferris wheel (from Jo Ann’s) to place by our door. 

          Lastly, I decorated the coffee table with pieces I have had around the home. For example, I like to have a placemat or two on my coffee table at all times to use instead of coasters. However, I was so tired of the boring tan. So I decided to use one of my boyfriend’s old pillowcases and folded it. It will need to be washed after being used and is temporary. I am hoping to find a few placemats as I shop around. I also placed this iron teapot I purchased a few years ago on the table. In my old apartment, it had pink flowers, but I took them out and added daisies. Finally, I placed our book “box” that is used to hold our remotes on the table. 

        I had one casualty that did not make it to our home (or did in small pieces). I got a snow globe chick that I was going to put in the entry way.  I decided to save it and break off (very gently the snow globe pieces) and wash out the glitter and use it by the door.

I am very happy with the design of our home. While I am a strong independent woman, I love decorating my home. Again, I am fortunate that my boyfriend is flexible with how I decorate our home, as long as it is fairly gender neutral (no pink or purple colors). How have you decorated your home for spring? How often do you change the décor in your home? 

A Heavenly Home: An Office for Two

                As stated in a previous post I have lived in many different places, basements, dorms, studios etc. However, my boyfriend and I have never had the luxury of having a two bedroom apartment until now. We are very fortunate to have a two bedroom apartment and actually save money on rent living together now. However, we are still working out the kinks of decorating.
                When we found out we were going to have a second bedroom my boyfriend told me he wanted a man cave. I was okay with this, because he gave me permission to decorate the house as I see fit. Of course I still consulted with him on our design of our house. However when we moved in he noticed he didn’t have a TV cord in the room. So in the end we made the second bedroom our office/guest bedroom. This is the one room (besides my bathroom) that I feel comfortable decorating in purple and pink (at least on my side).

 We each have a half of the room for our personal items. We have our desks, bookshelves and he has a dresser. In the middle we have a futon which pulls out as a bed. The best part is when you walk up the stairs the main thing you see from the office is the futon and the coffee table. It makes the room look cohesive.

 

"Guest Bedroom"

 
              We each decorate our “sides” however we see fit as these are our own little personal spaces but the middle of the room looks clean and cohesive. I really enjoy the look of our office. I find it to be comfortable and functional. I also think that it looks appropriate enough for guests to sleep in. Also, I enjoy the fact that I have a place that I can sit down and complete my work if I want to. I can keep other areas of my apartment for rest and relaxation and use the office for work as needed.

 

"Hers"

 

"His"

 

     Have you ever decorated an office for two? How did you make it work?



 

 

A Heavenly Home: Wall Décor Haul

                When my father came to visit me a few weeks ago, he told me that I did not have enough wall art. As I stated in a previous post, I moved away from decorating for myself (a girly girl) to decorating for a couple. I had to change the way I was thinking when decorating.

                Tonight on Valentine’s Day, while getting supplies for dessert, we decided to stop by Kohl’s for something to hold our keys. So we got four pieces of décor for our living room. We purchased the key holder and then traveled around the art section looking for items. Besides the fact that my boyfriend spent a lot of time looking at sports memorabilia we were able to select a few other pieces. The “Love Lives Here” sign was only $4! Then we got two other pictures, each one depicting my boyfriend or I. He chose the music note one to highlight his love of music. I chose the outdoor city picture because that reminds me of a place I would love to travel to.

      

        

                We still have a few more pieces to add to finish off our living room. We need two more pieces next to the mirror above our sofa. We also purchased a new coffee table because while I have loved my coffee table for five years, it has seen better days and needs to go to coffee table heaven.  We also purchased two new matching nightstands. When those items come in I will be sharing them in a blog post. Also, stay tuned for a blog post about my “little pink drill” and my pink tool kit. I am an independent woman who finds accomplishment in building things on my own.  

                What have you purchased for your home to make it yours? I really feel like our apartment is becoming “our” home. 

A Heavenly Home: Decorating for a Couple

                I have lived on my own for almost 10 years. From experiences in dorms, to a basement, to a one bedroom apartment and beyond, I have had many opportunities to decorate my home.  As a homebody, I have enjoyed the process of decorating my new place and making it my home.

 As I grew, I began to be obsessed with everything purple. I had that purple v-tech phone. You remember that popular gel one? I loved it! I loved decorating my homes and making them mine, comfortable and pretty. I spent a lot of time making my room look more pretty than functional (stay tuned for a later post on functional versus pretty decorating).

                A few months ago, I came up with an interior design dilemma, I moved in with a man. I had to change my way of thinking when it came to interior design. I had to get rid of all the purple in my house and make it comfortable and gender neutral for both of us. My boyfriend is not very picky regarding to how our house is decorated as long as he has access to technology and his needs.

                When I first rented my studio, I purchased basic pieces.  To be honest, I would have loved to have a purple high heel chair, but I had to think seriously about it.  I wanted to get classic pieces that would last for a long time. I decided to purchase girly items that can be easily changed: pillows, artwork, sheets, comforters etc. I have to admit it was a bit sad to say goodbye to some of those pieces when I moved in with my boyfriend, but I often remind myself that we change and grow in life and sometimes our needs change. I didn’t get rid of all my purple and girly items. Some are in my bathroom; some are in my closet for guests (such as my blanket from my college dorm) and others were donated to a thrift store.

                The hardest part of living with someone else is the art of compromise. I believe men are taught at a young age to go with the flow when it comes to designing a house. Or they must just not really care as long as they have a comfortable place to put up their feet at the end of a long day. We worked as a team to purchase red pillows and very generic pieces that we both like. Our apartment is not done yet, but it looks more like us rather than like a girly girl lives there.  My boyfriend is very patient with me as I move around decorations on our coffee table and puts up with my OCD tendencies such as putting away remotes when not in use.  

Living Room for Two                  Living Room for One 

Bed Linens for Two                      Bed Linens for One

 If you are just beginning to move out on your own, consider purchasing neutral pieces so that you can take them with you as your life changes and you grow. Also, enjoy this time to make it YOUR home. It won’t be long before you live with a roommate or a boyfriend or spouse.  If you’re just beginning to move in with someone, remember to compromise. Do everything you can to make it a home that you both want to live in. Pick out pillows, art and linens together.  Take your time and enjoy the process of finding new pieces that fit both your personalities. Remember it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.

Have you ever had trouble decorating for two? What did you do? Enjoy decorating your home!