Hey guys !
So sorry I’m late ! I was on a work site for the last two days and had zero time to post …
I’ve been a bit overbooked with new projects over the last months and as cool as that is for my business, my own home has suffered a nasty bout of neglect.
That doesn’t mean I haven’t meticulously planned everything in my head already but I haven’t had enough time (and money!) to buy, and install and paint and hang everything I want in here. The wallpaper was a big change and finally lit a fire under my ass to get things moving, sleep be damned!
Since that post, some things have evolved and I want to get you up to speed on where we are today.
So, let me introduce you to the all new toys in the house !
The chairs.
I found these gorgeous Balinese chairs second hand, 60$ for the pair. Although, since nothing in life is that easy, they were 1 hour from Paris (each way!), so I had to call on my brother once again (… sorry …). But they were lovely happy people and it was totally worth the trip !
These really spoke to me for extra seating around the coffee table. I love the exotic touch, and they can be folded which is unexpected and totally awesome for a small space. They’re also a low seat but with a back to rest on, which is not very common and very appreciated. I always love to sit on poufs around the coffee table when it’s an option, so I took to using these instantly even as the host ! Plus, it feels like a throne, I’m not gonna lie.
At the beginning of this project I decided to put all living room items on wheels to be able to move things around easily. I found some cute little gold wheels at the hardware store that I’ll be putting on the table, sofa and now these adorable chairs.
I have a secret hiding spot behind the couch where I can store them for more space, to be able to take them out for guests in a pinch, but for now I’m a bit in love with them so they’re staying out. I’m also going to work on making the wood a little lighter so some more DIY is in order. I do need to find some cool cushion fabric for the seats and so far it’s a bit of a puzzle. Mixing prints is comparable to a quadratic equation, people. It’s serious business.
The rugs.
I wasn’t crazy about the light floors, so I went and covered it all in shaggy Flokati rugs for some serious 70’s groove and a delightful feeling under bare feet ! I managed to cover almost 13’x9’ for 140$ which is quite a steal, and it adds hella texture which is a must in any interesting home. Plus, look how preeeetty !
I also received my beautiful Urban Outfitters Magic Thinking rug, as you may have spotted in the last home post. It’s amazingly perfect, overdyed, and a real statement.
And finally I’ve been on the lookout for a faux-zebra hide for-eeeever and I think I finally found the one, so fingers crossed for it to happen in the next few days ! After that I need to stop, as much as I love layered rugs it’s starting to be a lot, and I need to live with it for a while to re-assess the situation and see what works and what doesn’t.
The desk.
I bagged this gooooorgeous 60’s desk with star feet that you may have noticed on older pictures ! Sadly, it’s a little too small for my desk chair. But I ain’t no quitter ! This year’s about being creative so let’s create a new desk out of this old one instead of complaining ! And I wasn’t going to stop at the size problem, so this one is going to be a full-on, Grease-level, makeover, including changing the color (and that finish does not want to be painted, let me tell you!) and changing the pulls.
Now that will have to wait a little bit for now because it’s going to be a pretty time-consuming DIY and I need to plan ahead.
Now that you’ve met, here’s our family portrait, in “living room mode”.
Okay I get it, it’s a terrible family portrait. There’s crap everywhere, and we can’t even see the cute little rug because of a giant annoying yoga mat ! I’ll do sooo much better at the end of the week, promise ! But as you can see, it’s coming along, however slowly. I’m glad to see some exotic furniture in here everyday and it also made me realize I need more wood tones in my decor.
As a tiny bonus, here’s a looksie at the beginning of a discoball “collection”, if you will. I’ve got some ideas, but so far, what a beaut’ !
Now, following last week’s « New Year, More Me » post, I decided to re-think some of my original ideas, as one does.
Leaving the « non-wallpapered walls » of the living room white seemed like the way to go in 2016. Playing it safe(-ish) and letting « the eye rest » according to decor guidelines that I-don’t-know-who made up. But it’s 2017 now and it’s all « no-holds barred » up in here, so screw it !
I realized I don’t want white walls, and who’s to tell me I can’t paint the wall in a bright blue shade ! No-one that’s who. Yeah… You hear that, imaginary decor person in my head. (What ?)
So I tried it out on Photoshop and behold ! Joy and happiness, and everything right with the world. (…Too much ?) I’m not even that much of a “blue” person – apart from the ocean or the sky -, my first instinct for picking colors always goes more towards the pinks/oranges & purples of the world, but for some reason, it had to be blue !
As soon as I get my hands on the perfect shade I’m going to go for it ! That might be by the end of the week so keep an eye out !
I can’t wait to see what it looks like !
My philosophy on paint is simple : Don’t like it ? You can always cover it up.
There’s no need to be scared to try bold colors, it’s just a little paint. I’m always excited to try out one of my ideas on a wall, and see if it works, because most of the time it does. Maybe you bought something that turns out to be too bold, but you try it anyway because, well, you opened it and turns out it’s great ! And it pushed you to be bolder.
I have never felt that kind of happiness from opening white paint, let me tell you. But buying a sample you find gorgeous, let’s say a cotton candy pink, even though you had no plans for a pink wall in your future, and applying it on a wall, just to see what it looks like, that leap feels awesome ! Because it’s about listening to yourself. If you’re eyeing that pink color, then there’s a reason, and what’s stopping you ?! I guess what I’m saying (in a very clunky way I might add), is try new things !
Besides, paint is cheap. Worst case, you lost a few hours, best case : happy new wall !
And also, it might just be me, but I looove to paint walls, and trim, and pretty much everything. It’s like meditation to me. I might be the only one though… what a weirdo.
Anyway to recap, lots to do, as always, and not as much time as I’d like, but at least things are finally moving and I’m very glad to be bringing you some progress !
I seem to only have two speeds anyway : snail-crawl and hyper-speed so I’m going to try to change that !
I am going to be on vacation next week so there’ll be no new posts, but I’ll try to update you on the wall before I leave ! I’m off to Norway to see the Northern Lights, (I know you hate me right now) and get my mind blown clean off. There should be no shortage of inspiration from Mother Nature herself so I hope to come back refreshed and full of ideas and great new color palettes. I’ll be bringing you back some pictures for your own inspiration !
In the meantime have a great day, the good news is it’s Wednesday, and like Bon Jovi always said, “we’re half-way there” !
See you all in a few days for a bonus post !
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