Monday, May 19, 2014

House Tour Inspiration

My mom and I went on a house tour this weekend of 5 beuatiful homes in Lincoln Park.  It was a fundraiser for a local school, but mostly, my mom and I are both home design obsessed, and it was a fun thing to do together.  Before I learned that I was not allowed to take photographs, I snapped three images that I wanted to catalogue for myself.

#1 is a kitchen that I unexpectedly really liked.  The counters were a green polished granite (!), the backsplash was stainless, and then there was a ledge above the backsplash of the same green granite. Awesome.

#2 is an unusual, pretty way of venting the door to a laundry closet.


 #3 is an antique light fixture that reminded me of something I want to do with my own cheapo foyer fixtures (i.e. diy update the beading).




Monday, May 12, 2014

Master Bedroom Nook Styling

It is so satisfying to finally (read: 10 months after moving in) style a little built-in nook that's been sitting neglected for nearly a year!  After an offer from a photographer friend to come shoot the apartment, many of these long-neglected areas were finally styled.  Certainly, there  is still room to add some additional touches, but the improvement is amazing!

Here is the little master bedroom nook before:


And here it is after:

Of course, there are some minor things that you'll notice still need some attention.  First, there is a plant that still needs a planter, and also, a planter, that needs a plant - obviously. Second, there is one file box missing from the top shelf.  But it has some great items that are true necessities, for example, the magenta geode and empty blue vase - ha :)

Somehow, I made this built-in area feel not only calming because it is simple and organized, but also very functional.  It holds files that we rarely need to access on the top shelf, freeing up valuable space in our single file drawer office.  It has a box to hide random odds and ends, pictures that need framing, and other things I am hanging on to for one reason or another.  Any I've hidden the cable cords in a mediocre way.  I'd call that a wild success :)