Murky stinky gross - ick!

So, a couple of years ago, I was trying to find myself the perfect rug for the pennies that I could afford.  I saw a rug on overstock.com but they don't ship to Canada!  Blasphemy!

It was more of a lime colour.  In hindsight, I'm glad it didn't work out.

So, instead, I resorted to desperate measures.  I tried to spray paint a pattern on an old, some-what soiled rug.  However, the white didn't show on the rug.  Insanity insued.  I used HOUSE PAINT.  So the rug looked alright but felt like a pumice stone (yet, I will tell you, that with great disappointment it did not leave my feet silky soft).  And now, after two years with all the crud that had gotten stuck to the stiff paint it looks something like this:

 The blurry ghost in the right corner is my boyfriend's lovely thumb.  It looked a lot better with the couch on it but I've given that away to charity.

I was on www.allmodern.com and saw some uber cute rugs however none of them fit my budget or the space that I'm moving into:

So, the winning rug is (da dadada!!!!!!!)....

Yes, it is from CL and YES! I'm going to dye it yellow.  Apparently you can put fabric dye in a water spraying bottle.  I'm gonna give it a go this weekend.  Pray for me.

Light and flight

I'm trying to figure out what I want to do about my light fixture for my new place.  Here are some gorgeous pieces that are giving me inspiration:

Prototype by Karl Zahn

Encalmo-Stamen Pendant

Normann Copenhagen 

 Louis Poulsen - Coconut Pendant Light

I want something minimalist but won't fade into the background.  I don't want it to look "ikea-ish" and it shouldn't be fussy.  I have a light fixture right now and I love it but it's a bit small.  I'm thinking about framing it with the metal frame of a larger rice paper lantern.

Another project in the works?  Yes?  YES!

Arrghhhh... I hate the waiting game

I made an offer on an apartment and it doesn't look like the owner is very motivated to sell.  I need a place before I'm homeless!

Okay, I need to de-stress and think happy thoughts.  I saw these Victorian style chairs on Craigslist for $40 each.  Yes, the colours are atrocious.  But it was a great price and they had really great bones.  And they were still in excellent shape.  So, I decided I would transform them into something I would love.

They were ugly ducklings:

I can't remember who made the chair that was my inspiration but it took me a while to find this water resistant, stain proof Waverley pattern at a decent price (Thanks JoAnn's!  It was worth going to across the border for!):

Then I spray painted them a shiny black and refinished the edges with trimmings.  Voila!

Dream-like Galaxy

I love these pendant light shades, by Moonbasket which was started by Cape Town designer and artist Dani Le Roy. It aims to both support a community-based project and create beautiful items for living spaces.  I'm a novice crochetier (I don't even know the correct term!) but I'm doubtful I would be able to gain the skill to replicate these.

Having a couple of these gorgeous shades in my home would make me feel like I'm in an ethereal galxaxy.

Love.Love.Love

P

Mind is wandering, so is the eye

I'm working late but have nothing to do.  So, naturally, my mind starts drifting off into the world of home decor.  These are from Fullhouse Consignment, a great consignment store with a great selection of mid century furniture.  I bought my pendant lamp there for a great deal.  Too bad I have to leave it there for the new owners of my apartment. These little side tables are just a bit too pricey for me.  Sigh.Sigh.Sigh

 

At the same time, however, since I'm getting the Eames inspired chairs with wooden legs, it might be better of that I pass on them.  It would look too busy with all the rods of metal on the ground. 

www.fullhouseconsignment.com 

Every day I'm hustling

I'm pretty sure that I got this from my parents.  They put three kids through university on lower than average incomes by making wise decisions on the stock market and real estate.  They taught us to live on less and if we wanted something there is always a way to get it without paying full price.

Now that I'm planning my move, I'm trying to sell of as much of the stuff I don't want in order to fund the new stuff that I do want.  I'm making lists of DIY projects and constantly adjusting my budget and shopping list.

So far, I've sold my bed, which will pay for over 60% of my new bed.  That's usually my magic number.  If I buy something, I need to sell something that will make up 60% of the new expensive purchase.  I'm an avid consignor of clothing and the exercise not only helps me clear out space but save money and reduce my carbon footprint.

Selling this:

Gets me these chairs and 2 stools from www.nood.ca

I sold this Louis Vuitton Mini Ribera (it was just too small for me):

And bought this bed from Ikea:

and found two underbed drawers for $12 dollars each!

I'm going to have to change those awful handle pulls and get black contact paper or paint them. Major score!

I also sold my patio set (which I will miss because it was the perfect modular patio set.ever).  I'm saving the money for a sideboard, which I hope that I can find on Craigslist for under $100.


P

Changes happening with the speed of light

I'm excited that I've sold my current apartment. But now I'm consumed with thoughts about interior design, floor plans, open houses, financing, etc. etc. etc.  I haven't found a new place to live yet but I'm keeping my eyes open.

Every time I come home, I look around with pride and a bit of sadness because I'll have to say goodbye to my first home very soon.  So before I start going into my ramblings on what I want to buy and what I need to do, I'm going to pay homage to the place I called home for almost two years.

I have wonderful real estate agents.  Here are some pictures that they took of my place.  90 % of my furniture came from Craigslist and I either hacked it up or re-furbished them.  There's nothing a bit of spray paint, contact paper and ingenuity can't do.

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll go through each of my favourite pieces.

P