I've lived in this apartment for six years now. That's the longest I've ever lived in any one place. In my adult life the previous record for time spent in one apartment was two and half years. Growing up, the longest I ever lived in one house or apartment was five years. Am I getting antsy to move? Oh yes! But one thing about living in an apartment for this long is that I've been slowly decorating and re-decorating it, piece by piece, a little at a time. It's like a fun puzzle.
It all started with the mantel. I wanted to bring an architectural feature into the room to give it a little more charm. I already knew I wanted to paint over the stenciled wall in the room and, once I found the mantel, had the reason to do it. Making the mantel fit in the room also meant rearranging furniture and switching out some pieces. What a great excuse to go shopping!
The white IKEA coffee table was always too big for the room but it was a great stop gap while I looked for something more appropriate. The week after I bought the mantel I came across this glass and chrome side table in the clearance section at Pottery Barn. Score! It's not only a better fit for the room, the chrome and glass help it to disappear a bit. In this small space, I need all the help I can get to fit more furniture without making the room look crowded.
While the white rug was great for brightening the room, it didn't last long before it was stained beyond saving. In the first month that it was in the room, the cat threw up on it. I flipped the rug around so the cat puke stain was under a chair. Then, a month or two later, I had a coffee accident that stained it again. Gah! I was not meant to own a white rug! When I came across this chevron rug at Urban Outfitters, it was love at first sight. Lucky for me, it was also on sale. I also replaced the desk chair that's paired with my West Elm Parsons desk and added in an IKEA RÅSKOG cart, which I'm using as a bar cart.
I still plan to replace one of the blue wing back chairs with a small settee or love seat. I feel like this room is just too small to contain two matching chairs. The thing that's holding me back is that I'm finding it difficult to find a comfortable love seat or settee that's less than 50" wide. But, hey, the hunt is part of the fun when it comes to re-decorating a room.
I'm sure this room will continue to evolve. Once I settle on a settee, I may find that I need to switch out some other element in the room. That's just how I roll when it comes to decorating. I'm not attached to anything and I thrive on changing it up frequently.
Images: Jason Loper
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