decorate with recycled magazines

In order to celebrate the season the best way I know how, I'll be posting the 12 Days of DIY December here. Check back every day for something new to make, bake, or create to get ready for Christmas!

I now live in a household where both inhabitants work on the editorial staff of magazines. This means there are a LOT of magazines in the house. I hate just recycling them (such a waste!), so I decided to figure out a way to transform magazines into holiday joy. Turns out, there are a lot of options!

One I've actually already tackled this year is creating magazine "trees."

Isn't it cute? It's basically the easiest craft you can imagine too. The materials required are one magazine. That's it. Just rip off the cover, fold each page, and you have a cute little paper Christmas tree. No muss, no fuss. I'm still deciding if I want to take the next potential step and glitter it up - it would definitely look cute, but I kind of like the paper look. Maybe I'm just a magazine nerd. Imagine a little forest of these on your shelf, each one sparkling a different color.

Another way to get some paper in your tree might be:

Pinned here

This one is made with felt, but I think it would be cute with glossy magazine pages (or even more darling with book pages!)

You might also make a classic paper garland from old magazines, or craft a holiday collage. There are a ton of options for upcycling old magazines in crafty ways - just in time for Christmas!

decorate with diy holiday letters

In order to celebrate the season the best way I know how, I'll be posting the 12 Days of DIY December here. Check back every day for something new to make, bake, or create to get ready for Christmas!

Perhaps it's the English major/editorial assistant in me, but I absolutely adore decorating with words. Cross-stitching a cute little motto? Heck yeah! Typographical art? Sign me up! Which means I definitely have my eye on those cardboard and wooden letters you can get at craft stores. They are just begging to be zhushed up for the season.

Spray-painting them gold would be an excellent and glittery choice, but you could also mod podge on some scrapbook paper for a lovely seasonal pattern. I kind of love the idea of using the pages of a book (A Christmas Carol, anyone?) to add another level to it. Paint on some candy cane stripes! Make them look like a wreath! The possibilities are endless. This one would be a little bit tougher, but I am totally obsessed with it:


Shiny!

Premade letters don't have to enter into the crafting. I absolutely adore this example of some very simple text (it might even just be posterboard?) in a non-traditional holiday color that would definitely brighten up your room for the holidays (pun intended!).



If you're really hardcore, you could attempt the light-up DIY marquee letters that are all the rage these days. Basically, any time you take some letters, make them pretty, and spell out a word, I'm ready to embrace it. Hang it on your wall, set them on your mantel or a windowsill, just share the beautiful wordy love.

Not sure which word you would use? Try some of these: Merry, Joy, Xmas, Noel, Ho Ho Ho, Santa, Jingle, Holly, Snow.

display your holiday cards

In order to celebrate the season the best way I know how, I'll be posting the 12 Days of DIY December here. Check back every day for something new to make, bake, or create to get ready for Christmas!

Yesterday we talked about making holiday cards, so now it's time to hit the flipside - how are you going to show off the cards that you receive?

There are plenty of inventive DIY options for displaying holiday cards. You can, of course, set them up on a mantel or windowsill for simple admiration. Just sit back and bask in the glow (or, more likely, spend your time doing some other holiday task!)

Or, you can mix it up a bit! Last year, I kept it very simple...simple enough that I feel a little silly calling it a "project," but hey. It's my blog!

I bought a set of Christmas ribbons at Michaels and created a little card garland to hang on the wall. I used one pattern for the length of the garland and used another pattern to create two little bows to hang on each end. Then we hung the cards up with binder clips. If I do this again this year, I would pick wider ribbon for more dramatic effect (and to sustain the weight of the cards - oof!), and I would love to get more Christmassy clips; perhaps red binder clips or red & green paper clips would do the trick! This option was, as I said, ridiculously easy, but also made sense since (being the first Christmas my roommate and I spent in our apartment) I had no idea how many cards we would get! It turned out to be more than I expected! I had planned the length of the garland to not dwarf the few cards I was planning to get, but it was great to be able to add more and more.

Another easy way to display holiday cards is on the fridge; you might have seasonal magnets already, but if not, why not DIY some adorable ornament magnets like these from Young House Love?

One of my favorite card display options is the classic clothespin wreath.



We have one of these at my parents' house, and you get to display your cards AND have another wreath in your house at the same time! What's not to love? I'm not sure if I'll have time to make one this year, but it's much easier to make than I would have expected! Plus it's one of those things that you'll use year after year once you've made it.

learn to cross stitch

In order to celebrate the season the best way I know how, I'll be posting the 12 Days of DIY December here. Check back every day for something new to make, bake, or create to get ready for Christmas!

I have a secret to tell you about cross stitching. The only two things you really need are a pattern and patience. That's it!

Cross stitching is a great craft to try out because of the low entry cost. No expensive supplies or special machines - just get yourself a hoop, some fabric, a needle, and some embroidery floss and go. There are tons of lovely patterns available for purchase, and plenty that are shared for free too!

Patterns: Wigglytuff, Tattoo font, Joker & Harley

 These are some of the cross stitch projects I've done. They look pretty good to me, and I really just jumped in a total beginner. It's been a lot of fun, though as a word of warning, recognize that a more complex pattern might take longer than you expect. I almost squinted my eyeballs out of my head to get that Wigglytuff done in time for the birthday!

When looking for a pattern, it's best to find one that's marked suitable for a beginner, though if you can get a look at it and see what kind of stitches it requires, you should be okay. If it's all the basic full stitch, no matter how complex it looks, just keep making Xs and you're good to go! Just take your time and keep a close eye on the pattern. I'm partial to this one for sale on Etsy, but there are also a lot of great free patterns collected on this Pinterest board. A lot of cross stitch patterns easily available are a little more old-fashioned/country-style than my personal tastes run to, but just keep looking! There's a great community of crafters who have created patterns suitable to all tastes.

Pick out a pattern today and start today - a cross stitch is a great decoration and a great gift.

make a holiday wreath

In order to celebrate the season the best way I know how, I'll be posting the 12 Days of DIY December here. Check back every day for something new to make, bake, or create to get ready for Christmas!

Hanging a wreath on your door is the best way to say "hello, holidays!" Growing up, my family always hung a big real evergreen wreath on the outside of the house, but wreaths made from fresh boughs get expensive and (sadface!) they only last for one Christmas. There are plenty of beautiful wreaths available in stores (I drooled over more than a few last time I was in Target), but there are so many ways to make your own wreath. I'm hoping to craft one this month yet, so here are a few ideas!

I didn't get a chance to blog about it, but I made this super cheap and easy yarn wreath for Halloween. All you need is a foam wreath form and some yarn! I added black ribbon and some paper letters for a little extra flair. It took me around an hour to wrap the wreath to my satisfaction, and I was really happy with the results! This would be great in a forest green for Christmas, or maybe a sparkly white or gold. If you go green, I think it would be utterly charming to add some of those round red pushpins like little holly berries! Add a big bow, and you're all set.



This year I've had ornament wreaths on the brain. Everybody here knows I love a little glitz and glam, and it's just so sparkly! This tutorial makes it seem pretty easy (though not as easy as the yarn wreath!), so I might make a trek to Target and the local dollar store to pick up some fun ornaments. (I have other decorating plans involving ornaments as well, so I could use a stash).

And, of course, you can always grab a simple vine wreath and zhush it up with ribbons and glitter and bling! As long as you have a glue gun and are ready to experiment, making your own holiday wreath can be a snap. Put it on your door, or just on a wall, and be ready to welcome the holidays in!

style cure: post 2

The Style Cure soldiers on!

I've been keeping up well (I think) and am totally overflowing with Thoughts and Feelings about my room. We were assigned to pick our room and, as I said, my bedroom was the obvious choice. It's the space in the apartment that's mine, and I really want to class it up.

For the weekend, we were sent on a style treasure hunt. Unfortunately, I was out of town much of the weekend (at my grandparents' house, which is a lovely place but not necessarily one I would recreate for my own living space), but I did start doing some online treasure hunting! I started up a board on Pinterest for the Style Cure to keep all my inspiration in one place. I'm going to keep pinning and try to seek out some more inspiration in real life too throughout the project.

I also made the first BIG PURCHASE for my snazzy new room today, but I think I'm going to keep it to myself until I see how it looks in the space. I'm really excited, though, and I think it will be a real gamechanger for the room. Fingers crossed!

Today is outbox day! I have some t-shirts that I need to get rid of, but for the most part the problem is there isn't ENOUGH stuff in the room, not too much.

There's enough ideas swirling around in my head to keep me going through the rest of the month, but they're starting to take form in my brain. Hopefully at the end of the month I'll have something to show for it!

apartment therapy style cure: the beginning

I have now lived in my apartment for 8.5 months, and things...are fine. Fine, but not awesome. I had this idea, you see, that my first apartment was immediately going to be the prettiest girl at the ball, an extravaganza of fine taste worthy of many a shelter blog. That is not the case. Don't get me wrong, I love my apartment! There are a lot of things in it that I love; I just haven't spent the concentrated effort on "designing" that I thought I would. It can be hard to set time aside for decorating when you're living your life. Luckily, Apartment Therapy to the rescue!

At the last minute (yesterday evening), I decided to sign up for this round of the Apartment Therapy Style Cure. Basically, AT will be sending me an email every day to give me a task or project related to redesigning a room and, when the month is over, the room will be redone! I will admit that I'm pretty terrified by this prospect. I've never done a room, properly. I've never painted a wall or done a large scale DIY project. The only furniture I've ever bought is the couch from which I write this post! But my bedroom in particular has been the part of the apartment that I really want to feel like "me" but doesn't at all. It's just sort of...there. All my stuff is there, but no one would look at it and say "Oh, that's Jennifer's" (unless they recognized my stuff).

So...wish me luck, gentle readers! If any of you want to muddle along with me, you can either sign up at the link above to receive your daily email, or just keep your eye on the AT website for new posts on the Style Cure. I'd love to know if you're doing it too, so drop a comment below if you want to share in the adventure! I'm going to try really hard to keep up with this, despite this being a super busy season for work (and for FUN. Yesterday was my birthday, by the way. I got older! It happened!)

octo-obsessed

I recently attended a company picnic at the Zoo, and while I saw a lot of cool things (fighting tigers! pettable stingrays! an improbable number of Duck Dynasty t-shirts!), what most inspired me was watching the octopus climb across the glass of its tank. You might not know this, but I totally love octopuses. They're weird and a little bit creepy, and so so cool.

So I whipped up a little Polyvore set, in case you'd like to bring some of the creepy coolness of our eight-legged ocean friends into your style or home:

tentacular spectacular by ficklekitsch 

Fabulous, right? I'm deeply in love with that scarf, and wouldn't the morning be better if you were sipping your "wake up" beverage out of such a bright and tentacley mug? (Fun fact: mine is water! I don't drink coffee.) The totebag is a straight up cute version of the octopus, and I really like the pseudo-Victorian vibe I get from the rug. It would be a great way to add a little bit of off-kilter class to a space.

Have you ever found style inspiration in the animal kingdom? Would you decorate with tentacles or does it all just look like so much kalamari to you? ...mmmm, kalamari.

home improvement: writing nook

This weekend, I added another room to our apartment. It didn't take any construction permits (and trust me, you don't want to see me handling power tools) or even good ol' fashioned magic - just some simple rearranging! I even did it all by myself to surprise my lovely roomie when she came home from work. The cat mostly got in the way.

 

From the first time we saw our apartment, I was brainstorming how we could set up the slightly odd living room. The illustration below will show you what I mean! The previous tenants had their TV blocking the front nook with the couch against the back wall, leaving the entire nook empty and useless (I think they put a litter box back there? Whatever.)

Man, how long has it been since I did an MS Paint illustration of something? ...not long enough, you say?

 

Look at all that wasted space in question mark land! I wasn't about to let a perfectly good nook go to waste. My plan was to put the TV on the back wall and stagger the couch in the middle, leaving enough room to access the nook. I put my desk back there as a kind of console table. Which was cute, but not really functional. So the wheels in my head started turning around and around, like they do. I eyed up the desk. And I eyed up the wall. I'm not especially gifted in spatial reasoning, but I was Pretty Darn Sure that the desk would justtttt fit alongside the outside wall.

 

In a surprise boon, I got some free furniture from my mom's newlywed boss (mazel tov!), and the new bookcase I brought home was just the motivation necessary to do a little switcheroo. Switch switch it went, and suddenly, we had a writing nook/office where naught but "behind the couch" was before!

 

 

I have so many plans for this nook; there's a decorative craft project I'll hopefully be undertaking soon, and I'd love to brighten the space up with more art (Belle is lonely!). Once the weather gets warmer, I plan on repainting the bookcase, so I'll have to start pinning ideas for that! (Right now I'm sort of feeling ombre on the inside? Maybe a stencil? Anything goes!) Obviously we have to decide what sort of things we're going to keep on the shelf - leaning towards more decorative, since just out of sight there are three massive bookcases double-shelved with books with more books in the built-ins AND an entirely separate shelf K is keeping in her room. Maybe I can put some of my pretty coffee table books out (they were banished from the proper shelves for being non-regulation size).

Here's a close-up of the bookcase:

It's a cute pale blue in real life, but it has a few dings (probably from when SOMEONE was trying to haul it in and out of the back of a Nissan Versa...oops) so refinishing is on the list. Oh, and up on top is a peek at an easy and quick "project" - I framed a page from my alma mater's calendar. This one is of the old-fashioned mailboxes student receive their mail in. Old-timey, black and white, a secret personal connection, AND free? Sounds like a winner to me!

As always, pics are from Instagram. Follow me there to see it all in real time!

settling in

It's aliiiiiiiive!

Yes, it's true. Contrary to appearances, this blog is still alive! What have I been doing that's so important? Well...moving. Whoever said that moving was easy was lying to you. (I don't believe anyone has ever said that moving was easy.) Who would have thought a person could accumulate that much stuff? And yet once I was in the apartment, many trips to Target were necessary for more stuff! Mysterious...

Dining room, circa moving weekend. Check out that sweet built-in!

As of now, House Snark is still very much a work in progress, which is both fun and frustrating. Just like every shelter blog tells you, making a well-appointed home takes time. I would rather make do than run out and spend a lot of money buying things that I'll probably regret (also the running out and spending a lot of money isn't actually an option right now. Budgets!), but it's sometimes hard. Kaitlin and I both really want to have an organically created home, with lots of things that are handmade, vintage, and just plain old awesome. Sometimes that means living without a dresser (hello!) or a coffee table (hello again!). But problem solving happens - I've got clothes in my closet, obviously, as well as in storage crates on my IKEA shelf (I would show you but one of those crates is holding my underwear and...I don't really feel we've reached that level of intimacy, Internet.) and a pair of folding chairs have served admirably as places to set computers, plates, and beverages while sitting on the couch.

Speaking of the couch, that's one thing that I am really pleased with. Neither Kaitlin nor I had a couch going in, and I knew that was something that would be really important to both our day to day life (where else are we supposed to watch Downtown Abbey* and play Mario?) and really difficult for us to get into the apartment on our own (we both drive compact cars and, PS, are delicate noodle-armed young maidens). So the couch needed to be set before move-in day. My mom agreed to be my shopping buddy (she drives a Ford Escape!), and we made a plan to visit a local used furniture store to check out the selection and possibly stop by to check out the clearance section at Steinhafels.

But the used store turned out to be a lot less local than we thought, and I'm afraid of bedbugs, so Steinhafels became the first stop and, well:

With cameo appearance from my mom's foot

I even WANTED a grey couch! It was on my secret mental list (because I didn't want to want it too badly) and there she was, waiting for me in the warehouse clearance section (which is PAST the normal clearance section and is, indeed, in the warehouse) looking pretty as a picture and comfy to boot. Not to mention all clearance was an additional 15% off THAT DAY ONLY (oh sales, you do enliven my blood and bring the caps out of me). In the end, the couch B A R E L Y fit in the car (I had to ride with my knees squashed against my chest because the seat was pushed forward all the way) and was in the neighborhood of 45% off. Not too shabby! Plus, I was right about the comfy thing (I'm sitting on it right now, so I would know.)

Next up on my list is to hang some art and continue to deck the halls. I'll share some more pictures once things are more to my liking. I ordered some curtains for my bedroom that I'm super in love with, so hopefully they'll look just as good in my room as they did on the internet.

Until then, blogizens!

*OMG Downton Abbey! I somehow hadn't seen it before, so K and I are working through it. All of Lady Mary's outfits are TO DIE FOR. Possible post upcoming.

operation update: delusions of gallerie

I want a gallery wall. They're trendy right now, and I know there's some backlash against them, but I don't care! It's a great option for people (like me!) who don't have/can't currently afford a big piece of art. This way, you can show off a lot of little pieces. And even if you do have big art, there's no reason not to also have a gallery to show a few other pieces off. It lets you support a variety of artists, which is always a great thing to do! Plus, look how pretty:

Source: housebeautiful.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: plushpalate.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: tumblr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: younghouselove.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

There's so many ways to rock the gallery wall, from museum quality cleanness to the funky clipped on art above. You can mix and match your frames or keep it classic...the choices are endless! Personally, I think I'd like to mix and match a bit, but keep it mostly in the same color family. I have two black frames already; one already has art in it, just waiting for me to decide where I to start my collection.

Kim and Scott of Yellow Brick Home just did a great post about how to layout a gallery wall, especially when you're working with limited space. It's all been really inspiring to me, and it makes me want to Buy Art Now! I would really love to have a wall full of prints from artists whose work I admire! I started a pinboard of prints that I would love to buy. There's some (okay, mostly) dorky TV and movie inspired art, but I'm a dorky media inspired kind of person, so I think it works out okay!

Do you have a collection of prints you'd like on your wall? I'd love to see them! Alternately, maybe you're a steadfast original art or bust kind of person -- what's your favorite piece you own?

operation update: bits and pieces

Remember how I was updating my room? Well, after rearranging the furniture, things definitely stalled out, but I've made a few little changes in the past couple weeks that have made me happy. It's always those tiny touches that make you smile and help reinvigorate you on a project. I'm looking around the room AS I TYPE and it's actually making me smile. I've got a long way to go, but I'm feeling positive about the path I'm on. Maybe I'll allow myself to enter the home goods section again!



For my birthday, my parents offered to buy me the lamp of my choice. And lo, six months later, I finally found the lamp that was worthy. I got this beauty at World Market (one of my favorite stores!), and I love the vintage feel. It looks like a cool DIY project, which does make me feel a little bit guilty for just buying it outright, but damask! This lamp is actually part of World Market's super nifty Mix and Match Lamps. Just pick a base and then find any shade in the appropriate category: accent, table, or floor. (My guy is an accent lamp!) I actually saw this base ("Greta" in turquoise) over the summer, but I wasn't feeling too passionate about any of the shades. When I stopped in last week and saw matching damask, I was a goner!

The lamp is pictured with a lovely little pail that JUST HAPPENED to match my comforter! I use it to keep pens and pushpins and all those desky things. Pictured with the pail is a sweet pair of Quidditch goggles. Oh yeah, you know you're jealous.



In other way past due news, I put up my wall decal! My mom got me this one way back in spring when I was still away at school. I didn't want to stick it up with only a few months left in my apartment, and then it just kind of sat on my desk for month after month. I was cleaning my room, and when it came time to clear my desk, I was sick of having the decal sprawled out on there and decided to stick it up then and there. It was a very frustrating process (those darn curlicues!), but I do love wall decals, and this one is super "me."

So the whole thing together looks a bit like this:



Go desk, go! It feels like a very Grown Up Writer thing to do, have a cute little desk set up. Now I just have to a) do some writing, b) keep myself away from fabulous office supplies, and c) stop piling up all my clothes on the chair. Those shouldn't be too tough to overcome, right?

in search of: jewelry storage

What I'm going to do with my jewelry has been an issue I've been considering for a long time. I have pretty much two modes of "storage" for my jewelry; either it all lays out and makes a mess or it's packed away into terribly unstylish plastic tubs. I really want a storage solution that's also stylish, so I can show my pieces off, have easy access to it, and take advantage of the touch of color and sparkle I could have, using jewelry I already own as a piece of art!

I own a lot of long necklaces, so a jewelry tree/stand, as cute as they may be, just isn't going to cut it. I'm open to buying a piece, though working a little DIY magic is tempting. Here's a spread, from ready-made to DIY, that I've been pinning to my "Room Inspiration" board.

Source: etsy.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: designspongeonline.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: pixieinpumps.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: mamamekko.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: urbanoutfitters.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: simplyphoto.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: styleyourlifeblog.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: becauseimaddicted.net via Jennifer on Pinterest

Okay, so I snuck a stand in there, but c'mon, keys! How cute is that? And I could use a little stand for my earrings and rings. As much as I'm in love with those printer's trays, right now, I'm thinking about repainting a coatrack that I liberated from my last apartment. With some spray paint, it could add a funky edge to my room while still sticking with my kind of...airy outdoors-inspired theme. (That's a dumb way to describe a theme, I should work on that.)

How do you store your jewelry? Do you keep it tucked in a jewelry box or do you try to use it as a decoration? I'm just excited to stop keeping my pretties inside a tupperware!

operation update: new layout

I'm holding off on posting more pictures of my bedroom until I get a little further along for purposes of drama/excitement/etc. But I finally rearranged it last weekend, and after a week of living in it, I'm still pleased! So this new layout is now the official set-up of my updated room. I used the Icovia Space Planner to create some mock-ups of the before/after. I didn't measure or anything, so these aren't 100% accurate. They're close enough for my blood!

Before


After


I was worried about lining up the majority of my furniture along the wall, but I actually really like how it looks. It creates a little "living area" on the left side of the room where I think I'd like to put a rug. It also opens up the rest of room, giving me more floor space and showing off the beautiful hardwood floors.

Rearranging everything has brought to mind a lot of new design/decorating ideas as well as convincing me of which ones I definitely have to do.

Still to come:

• Wall decal for between the windows


• Line the inside of the bookcase shelves with some bright paper (why did I buy a black bookcase?)


• Take down cork boards, use one for inspiration board (cover with fabric?)


• Jewelry storage (I'm thinking this one, but I've been shopping Etsy too)


• Get some art on the walls (also: frames)


• Desk organizer stuff


• Rug shopping


• Get another table lamp


• Desk chair (I'm using one of our kitchen chairs for now)

So much left to do...but with the room rearranged, I'm really feeling confident about moving forward. That was the big step, and now that I know the way it fits together, it's a lot easier to pinpoint what needs to be spruced up. And I'm really excited for the shopping portion of this redecoration, of course!

operation update: revving up again

The job I had been interviewed for didn't end up panning out. It's disappointing, but I still have applications places I would really love to work (and ones that are more suited to my long-term goals), so I'm not heartbroken. The only real change is that now that I know I won't be asked to pack up and move in the next two weeks, my update project is back on the rails. It's been in stasis, really, since I got home, unsure of where I would be next. It didn't make much sense to lug all my stuff down to the basement/unpack the other stuff if I would need to lug it back up/pack it all up in a week or so. But my other prospects are within commuting distance of my house, so I'll probably be here for a good long while. It's time to get the ball rolling again!

Today, in a spurt of energy, I took the last of my "stuff" boxes down to the basement (except one I can't lift). Perhaps tomorrow I'll start cleaning out my closet to make room to store all the other stuff I don't want to put in the basement (mostly my kitchen/cooking supplies. also, shoes). Whatever the schedule, it's time to get a move on.

That said, I have accomplished a few of my update goals!

1. Bedding




A new "grown up" bedding set was at the top of my list, so it was the first thing I bought! This is the Jeslyn Comforter Set from Springmaid. I got it at Target, because Target has cute home goods! I was initially waffling on the color but now I absolutely love it and, yes, it's got birds on it. My plan was to go with a sort of baroque/damask theme to the room, but now I'm going a little more light/naturey. I'm hoping to get some branch/bird decals to go on my bookcase in order to lighten it up (it's black as night).

And yes, I got a Kleenex box to match. Couldn't resist!



2. Desk!

You might recall my obsession with a desk as real "grown-up" furniture. Well, I finally got one!

I first found a desk at Pier One. It was a lovely little white sawhorse number, and I was immediately smitten. We went to World Market after, and I found a very similar desk, but it was smaller and had a laquered finish that I didn't like. There was another desk that looked interesting, but it was much more expensive than the other desk (which was already at the top of my price range), so I passed it by.

My mom and I went back to Pier One later that week so we didn't miss out on the desk, which was on sale! Except when we went back, we realized that it wasn't on sale, so there was no special rush on it. I decided to wait.

Meanwhile, life went on. I scrubbed off my mom's old director's chairs, and she remembered seeing some replacement canvas for them at World Market. It would be a great way to spice up our porch! We went back to World Market, and I decided to poke around the desks again, just in case. I always love to shop for furniture! And I discovered that the desk that was too expensive for me was now marked down to cheaper than the Pier One desk! I gave it a good look and...well.


The Charles Sawhorse Desk from World Market

The desk is still packed in a box in the garage, but I'll get a good picture of it once I have it set up and in the room. I was drawn to the timelessness of the warm natural wood, the shelving space on the bottom (the Pier One desk had zero storage space), and how solid it was. This is a desk that I could probably use as a kitchen table if I needed to. It's definitely big kid furniture.

That's my progress so far! It's not much, but my two major purchases have been made. The rest is cleaning, accessorizing, and arranging!

Now, if you'll excuse me, my $10 thrift sale bread machine is beeping...and that bread smells good!

operation update: the plan

Hopefully most of you have picked up on the fact that I'm graduating in (ulp) two weeks. This means an awful lot of very exciting and moving and important things, but it also means this: I'm moving back home. For an indefinite period of time.


Our lives in the style of the always adorable Pear Pear on the chalkboard sticker (very cool!). Japanese courtesy of Kaitlin.

I've already started packing up most of my things from this year's apartment. It's sad, but to be honest, it was still student housing, and I was never really able to personalize it (all standard furniture, etc). My room at home is already pretty personalized, but it's definitely a young adult room. Not a young professional.

Obviously, it doesn't make sense to completely redo the room, when I'll (hopefully) be moving out within the year. But at the same time, I did decide that I wanted to live as close to my ideal at any given time -- no waiting for the perfect scenario allowed! So I'm planning on doing some tweaking and, with luck, will blog about it until my room is a (slightly) new place!

Things I Won't/Can't Change

1. the color (I actually selected a, in my opinion, rather sophisticated pair of blues when my room was repainted in high school. Still love 'em!)
   
2. the bed &
   
3. the dresser &
   
4. the nightstand (which are all part of a set that was bought for me when I was a wee one and is still really nice/stylish)
   
5. existing window treatments (we put up blinds a few years ago, and they get the job done!)
   
6. floor lamp (I love this lamp. Hopefully when I post pictures of my room as-is, you will love it too)
   

Things I Plan to Change

1. bedding (I still have a Harry Potter bedding set on my bed. Go ahead. Laugh for a moment, then be jealous. Then we'll move on)
   
2. desk (I don't have one! but I want one. I feel that's one of the key elements that will separate general teen "bedroom" into an adult's "mini-apartment inside your parents house" for me. Also, a place for my laptop to live when I do have a real apartment!)
   
3. rug (maybe. I used to have one when I was younger, but it didn't fit the redo. Now I'm sort of hankering for one again to tie the room together. I might be watching too much "For Rent" on HGTV.com)
   
4. furniture accessories (I have a vague notion to put drawer pulls on my dresser and nightstand. I'm feeling that might liven them up/make them feel "new" without much work or cost)
   
5. bulletin boards (I have them. Three of them. They saved my room from being covered in posters, which I'm thankful for, but as fond as I am of them, they've gotta go if I want to update the room. Alternate solution: place one stylish poster in each of them and pretend they're wooden frames.)
   

That's my starting point. Any suggestions, folks who have done it before? Are any other graduates worried about making your "old" room a good space for the "new" you?

Also, happy May!