Learning to Love the Living Room

At H-land, I had my work cut out for me in my "living area" space since it was a bit awkward. Most apartments out here tend to combine the living and dining space. Mine was an awkward L-shape AND had awful vertical blinds.


However, over the course of a few months I was able to complete this transformation:

To get things started, let's add a couch and some pillows/throws from back home in NC -

Hmm, not really feeling the tiny TV on the Ikea start kit. Though I highly recommend the set... it seems as though Ikea no longer carries it! Sadness.


Anywho, now, for the real AFTER...

Anyone spot the end table from my first segment of "Hidden Potential?" Yep, there it is.


It took quite sometime to bring things up to speed like this but here's a source list if you're interested in anything I used. I'm currently in the midst of decorating my new living room that's got a totally differnet layout. I'm still weighing what I should use from the old place so chime in if you have any favorites!

Sources: Hutch (Henredon, Salvation Army), TV (Samsung, Best Buy), Flowers (Pier One), Curtains, rod, pillows (Bed, Bath, and Beyond), Chairs (Caprice Furniture), Coffee table (Lack, Ikea), End table (Salvation Army), Blue vase and Giraffe accessory (Pier One), Couch (Home Furnishings Liquidation in CA), White frames (Ikea), Lanterns (World Market), Lily tealight holder (Z Gallerie), Black frame and kissing print (AC Moore), Silver Fortune Cookie (gift, Red Envelope), Plates (Target), Table Runner (Curtain folded over, Linens N Things), Dining Table (Caprice Furniture).

Blank Slates: My First Apartment

Lovely card and doormat greeted me when I moved in from Miss L. 
I doubt H-land residents are getting the same treatment these days.

It was a very big step for me - my first grown-up apartment. Senior year of college, I lucked out and got a single with its own bathroom, but this was the first time I'd have my own real (read: not dormy, cinder-block wall treatment) apartment.

A little over a year ago, I moved out here and took up residence in this humble little 780 sq foot gem in Sherman Oaks, CA in a complex that will be known to you as "H-land." I had a great first year at H-land, thanks mostly to Miss L, my friendly resident manager.

However, nothing great lasts forever apparently and this summer, Miss L was out and new management was in. I recently moved from H-land to M-ville, a delightfully cheaper, brand-new complex that is (thus far) management drama free.

On this blog, I'm going to be doing a lot of features on decorating my *new* M-ville apartment (more on that move later). So really, it's important that you have a sense of where I started and what's going to change in the new place.

Here we go- here's my blank slate from July 2008 - (I'll be posting pictures of how I decorated this apartment in future posts.)

THE KITCHEN

 Oo, look at all that natural colored wood. And a bar! Ate at that a few times before I had an actual table. The rest of the time, it became my catch all for papers I was too paranoid to toss out.

THE BEDROOM (oo la la)

The humble beginnings complete with sweet Duke T-Shirt comforter

(most of those shirts were free believe it or not) and yes, yes that is Batman.

Hey look, there's the corner. Exciting!

What's up Mr. Walk-in Closet? Guess what my "lovely" apartment manager says to me when I moved out of this apartment, "oh you got really screwed on the closet! Mine is way bigger here."

Yes, you're starting to see why I moved.

THE BATHROOM

Okay, for a small apartment, this was a pretty ginormous bathroom, I gotta say.

Lastly...

THE LIVING ROOM

And here you can see my super neutral couch...

PS - As you can see, I had a deck but I was out on it maybe once in over a year of living there. Part of the problem was it was right next to the front of the building and felt almost like a playpen for people to watch me hanging out there from the street.

OH, and my bedroom window was right by the box to buzz people in. People also liked to have arguments out on the stoop (right beside my window as well). So that was fun and felt very safe too. Not to mention the fact that after Miss L left, there was a distinct increase in the loudness and obnoxious of the people outside my window.

Coincidence, I think not?

Look out for a few posts on my move shortly.