3.15.2012

DREAMING ABOUT LIGHTING

Now that the rug situation is almost resolved, I have moved on to obsessing about lighting. I abhor the light fixtures that came with the apartment and fantasize every day about replacing them. Unfortunately, replacing the lamps is way down on the priority list. But a girl can always dream...

Here's a round-up of some lamps I've seen lately that I'd consider for our home.




Source: westelm.com via Alice on Pinterest


Source: dwr.com via Alice on Pinterest

Below are a couple of similar looking DIY pendants that won't break the bank.





I'm seriously considering the clear globe lamp from West Elm for the bedroom and dining nook. I better start saving my pennies! I first saw the lamp on this Birch and Bird blog post and totally fell in love with it. Normally I'd like to get something that's vintage, but I don't want to take the vintage theme so far that it makes our place look like an antique store. It's good to balance out the vintage stuff with some contemporary pieces. And I think pendant lamps would be a good way to introduce something more modern looking and provide a nice contrast.

3.12.2012

CHEESE BOX NIGHTSTANDS


We finally have matching nighstands! This is actually the first time I've had a proper nightstand on my side of the bed. For the last few years I've been either living without one or just had a basket to hold my reading materials. The Dude has had a series of salvaged nightstands we picked up from various places.

So a few weeks ago I bought a pair of vintage round cheese boxes from Stepback for the purpose of using them as nightstands. I really like that they're round, which provides a nice contrast to the big rectangular bed and dresser. We just slapped some castors on them to make them a bit taller, and because I like putting castors on just about any piece of furniture! This was a simple, instant gratification DIY project, and I'm so pleased with the results!



I especially love the seams on the cheese boxes, particularly on the one right above with the numbers stamped along the side of it. Back in the old days these boxes were used to age cheese.

Here's a play-by-play of how we attached the castors onto the cheese box.

Materials and Tools

  • 2 cheese boxes
  • 6 2 in. brass castors
  • 24 bolts (size will depend on your castor)
  • 24 nuts (size will depend on your bolt)
  • 24 washers (size will depend on your bolt)
  • Pencil
  • Power drill



Turn the cheese box upside down and position the three castors to where you want them to be.


Use a pencil to mark where you'll drill the holes.


Use the right sized bit to drill the holes.


Fasten the castors to the cheese box with the bolts. Turn the box over carefully and place the washers over the bolts.


Fasten the nuts to each of the bolts and you're done!


They look old and lovely. It pleases me to no end when we're able to acquire a used piece of furniture (or in this case a used item repurposed as furniture) instead of buying something brand new. One of my decorating mantras is to use preloved furnishings as much as possible because it's better for the environment and, to boot, they provide a lot more character than something that was manufactured recently.

3.06.2012

RUGS! RUGS! RUGS!

Ever since we moved into our new place at the end of January, I've been obsessing about rugs. As I mentioned before, one of the building by-laws is to have at least 60% of the floors covered. So I've been trolling the internet looking for the perfect rug.

These are some of my favourites among the hundreds I saw...

Source: overstock.com via Alice on Pinterest
Source: overstock.com via Alice on Pinterest


Source: westelm.com via Alice on Pinterest

Source: westelm.com via Alice on Pinterest

For one reason or another, I had to pass over the rugs above even though I really, really loved them.

We are seriously considering FLOR as an option. They specialize in carpet tiles that you can put together yourself to create your own customizable rug. Given that we need specifically sized rugs, this is probably the best option for us.

This is what I'm considering for the dining nook:

Source: flor.com via Alice on Pinterest

For the living room:

Source: flor.com via Alice on Pinterest

For the bedroom, I'm considering a non-FLOR rug. This cute grey chevron rug is from Urban Outfitters. I didn't know they had a large home decor product line until recently.


I ordered some carpet tile samples from FLOR. Once I see them I'll make a final decision. I can't wait until this whole rug saga ends because it's been eating way too much of my time and mental energy.

The Dude is not looking forward to putting together the carpet tiles but he'll just have to suck it up. At least, it's not piecing together IKEA furniture! He was so traumatized by the last ordeal that he has declared that we will never ever shop at IKEA ever again.



3.01.2012

DECORATING WITH VINTAGE WOODEN CRATES



Decorating our new apartment has been very slow going. I've been preoccupied with finding rugs because it's required by our building (and the deadline was yesterday!). But I managed to decorate a little corner of my office space with some vintage goodies.


I recently visited my most favourite vintage home decor shop Stepback and picked up a few gems - among them a pair of vintage wooden crates to repurpose as storage/display furniture. I love their whitewashed finish. So one of them now is sitting on top of the file cabinet holding my vintage toolbox collection.


Actually this whole little corner is a vintage haven. The horse bookend and the fan atop the crate and the flower frogs and wooden letterpress types resting at the bottom are all vintage finds. Some I scored while thrifting, others I bought from vintage sellers. It's funny how they all got accidentally concentrated here, but now that I think about it it's the only space where I can display some of my vintage stuff. The rest of it is still packed in a box because I don't have wall shelves to display them on like at our old place.

Wooden crates offer so much versatility when it comes to home decor. The other wooden crate I have is temporarily serving as a side table. I've seen some other creative uses for them: as bookcases, a shadowbox, a nightstand, a catch-all box, etc. I especially like the ones to which castors have been attached.


The shoe storage/landing strip above is made out of milk crates. I love, love, love it. If only our entryway were that spacious!


This hodgepodge of wooden crates put together to make a modular bookcase is genius! Love the flea-market style look.

I hope to share soon here what I'm going to do with the other things I got from Stepback. Hint: it also involves repurposing an object for furniture/storage use.