Monday, June 25, 2012

Apartment Therapy


As promised, following my last post, I am updating with lots of goodies from the past few weeks.

A couple of weekends ago, my dear family drove up to Charlottesville to pay me a visit and see my first apartment as a married lady.  And of course my parents would not care what the place looked like, but if you know me, you know I dress to impress... and this of course includes my home.  I had all kind of project ideas I wanted to implement to make my house our home, but with a new job and few precious months with my husband before he would be gone for the summer, I had little creativity and energy to do anymore around our place than rearranging the magazines on the coffee table.

Family coming was just the kick in the pants I need to get the ball rolling and a few things I've been itching to do.

The first thing was to FINALLY finish painting our bedroom.  When we moved into our apartment the entire place was beige... and I mean BEIGE. Floor to ceiling.  Moulding, trim, doors, walls, ceiling.. beige. A few months after we moved in, I went to work painting all the moulding, trims, and interior doors and nice clean semi-gloss white.  Then I filled in the living room, kitchen and hallway walls with a sunny yellow, and finished off the kitchen with a super cheap backsplash (i.e. Sherwin Williams wallpaper that looks deceivingly like metal.)


I decided to get out of my comfort zone in our bedroom and try out an accent wall. For some this is less than uncomfortable, but I'm a bit of a traditional girl... just let me live in Pottery Barn and I would be pretty happy. BUT, I knew I would only be in this apartment for a couple more years, so why not try something out now? If I liked it I could implement it in other homes in the future, if not, at least I know what I don't like.

Before:





During: Hello skyblue accent wall!




After: The bright, tranquil, cottage-y bedroom I was dreaming of. UNFORTUNATELY.. my sad little iphone camera get a wee bit wet so the lens makes everything look kind of foggy.. but you get the idea!


*The reupholstered ottoman will get a post all its own.  Completely worth it, but, guys, what a project!





Drawers were painted using Valspar Eggplant undercoat, crackle glaze finish, and Valspar Antique white over coat. Also, I realize I have much too much jewelry and am STILL working on a good way to organize. I would love suggestions!




Brown wooden shelves from Target.. I always say, a little spray paint goes a looonng way!



This bedroom comes fully equipped with a cuddly cat who doubles as a table ornament.

Sorry it took so long to finally get some pictures up.  I'd say I'll be more diligent in getting up specifics from some of the projects that made this room.. but I probably won't.  This week is busy busy busy and next week I'm headed to see my husband in the muggy south. It's going to be wonderful! 
Stay tuned.. I will post again, eventually.

Lots of love,
DD


3 comments:

  1. Dianna! It looks FANTASTIC! You can paint in your apartments?? I want to ask if we can do that!!! We are moving so I am about to start doing quite a few projects around here, too. Fun things to keep us busy while the guys are away :) Can't wait to see the ottoman tutorial!

    Amanda
    It's an Easy Life

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    1. Oh thanks sweet girl! Our landlord did imply that we may not get our security deposit back if we don't paint it back to beige, but I think it is COMPLETELY worth it not to live in blandness for three years. You should definitely find out if you can do the same. Good luck with those projects!

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  2. I love the cottage-like bedroom style! And I really like the dresser... I might try to salvage a nightstand or something and give that a try. -Hayley

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Thank you for your thoughts!