Back in the swing of things

So I haven't posted in a while....I've been a busy busy girl. Just wrapped up studying for/taking the GRE, and as soon as that was done I moved into the new apartment and commenced classes. Whew, senior year I'm sure will fly by but it's already exhausting me. Ochem is not my friend.

Anyway, so with the move into the new place is a new chance for decorating! Yay! Our aparmtent has lots of big big BIG white walls and, of course, white they must stay. The scale of the walls makes decorating difficult, as none of us broke college ladies can afford large-scale artwork that the space calls for. So we're trying to make do and find other solutions. Here are some pics I've used for inspiration:

Since we have no money for one big piece of art, we settled for a collage look of a combination of posters and artwork that we have all collected through the years, like the one above and below:

To bring more color into our otherwise-hospital-white apartment, we have a giant pile of pretty patterned pillows...

And a project in the works: Making giant colorful balls to hang from the ceiling made of a collection of paper-tissue flowers glued to styrofoam balls.

It's not exactly House Beautiful, but it's at least College Beautiful :)

Concrete....everywhere?

As I was browsing through my saved photos files, I noticed a theme: I like me some concrete indoors. I think it's the dark blue/grey color and the unique texture and depth it has....anyway, take a look:


I absolutely LOVE this fireplace. So simple. So good.


How cool is the variation of grey on this wall?

Built-in vase. Nice.

I think this might actually be steel, but the concept is the same. I like how they incorporated a structural necessity into the design so it looks like it's meant to be there.

My Dream House: Master Bedroom Edition

Aaaaand my favorite part of the house to design: My bedroom. As with the livingroom, because this area of the house would get heavy useage, I'm not quite happy with everything I've picked out here, but hey, if it's a dream home, it'll change as I get new ideas, right?

I'm going for a somewhat dreamy, sophisticated room that I really relax in .

Here's the color palette I'm thinking of:

Pretty pretty elegant purple with grassy green for accents.

I also like this darker eggplant-y color....a whole bedroom painted this color might be a bit much, so maybe I'd stick to accents in a darker purple too.

I've been in love with this Tord Boontje light fixture since the second I found it. Against the dark walls, I would probably get it in the white version.....it casts the most beautiful shadows!


A big white armoire is a necessity for all my clothes....

....as is a giant, slightly ridiculous mirror. I don't usually like super girly or Victorian styles, but this really really appeals.

I really like the simplicity of this headboard with the one beautiful photo....

But I also adore the idea of using a tapestry or giant cloth from my travels as a headboard. Maybe I can combine the two ideas somehow?

Lately when I visit antique stores I've been really into antique handkerchiefs. Maybe I should start a collection and display them like this over my windows....

I want to keep the room clutter-free, but I have a lot of books, so I like this idea of putting a shelf over the door to reduce clutter.

For bedside tables, I like these simple shelves. They could fit a tiny little reading lamp and whatever book I was reading at the time, plus an alarm clock and not much else. I'd probably have to make space for the old letterpress blocks I just found, though....I like how the letters are displayed on this one actually.

A comfy couch to sit on when I put on my shoes and a shelf for displaying meaningful photos is a must, of course. I like everything about this picture except those pillows...

So now all that's lacking really is a rack to place clothes on as I try stuff on in the morning and take it off at night, and a vanity to hold my jewelry, perfume, etc. Still on the hunt for those....

So this pretty much wraps up my dream home. Hope you enjoyed....I know I would if I actually lived there :)