Résidence de l'imaginaire: Floor Plan

This is going to sound weird, but the other night I had an Interior Design dream. 

Good lord that sounds super nerdy. But I guess it's less nerdy than dreaming about living in Middle earth or something like that. (But who am I kidding, I've totally had those dreams too). Anyways, back to the point! The Ikea visit during our Seattle vacation brought back a surge of emotions. Specifically an intense desire to have my own apartment where I could decorate however I want. I dreamt up this beautiful and efficient single bedroom apartment. Sure it was extravagant in my dream but its a dream, I can do what I want. Don't judge. I've decided that it would be a fun project to have here on this blog and a good exercise for me. 

So here's what's going to be happening. I'm going to design an imaginary apartment! And share everything with you all. From the floor plan to the cupboards, from the flooring to the pillows, I'm going to do it all. I'm going to call the project: 

Résidence de l'imaginaire  

(Imaginary Residence in French)

So here is part one of résidence de l'imaginaire, the floor plan. (And you'll have to excuse me, I don't have CAD [computer aided design] yet, so my floor plan is made in paint)

This is my single bedroom apartment! I'll be designing a home from this floor plan and we'll see what I come up with. I'm looking forward to it but it's also going to be a lot of work. 

Update

After finals week Rhanden & I flew to Seattle to visit my best friend Melissa. It was an absolute blast! But also, no internet access so I've been missing from el blog. I stupidly forgot my camera otherwise I would have lots of pretty pictures for you but alas my brain failed me and the only pictures we took were of my lovely boyfriend and Melissa's fat cat Tobias.

But we did get to visit Ikea! Which is one of my favorite places. It makes me want my own apartment so freaking bad I can't even explain it! I don't usually buy much but it's such inspiration!Using your small spaces wisely and reducing waste! (We've recently been studying urban sprawl and wasted space in cities and it's now an issue that really urks me, if urks is a word). I grew up in Washington and forgot how adorable some of the houses are. Washington and Oregon definitely have a unique style. (I tried finding pictures on google of what I mean but it failed). Anyways I don't have any pictures from the trip but I did buy some things from Ikea. I'm getting a bigger bed so of course I had to get a new comforter!

I realize that it looks REALLY busy in this picture. But it's a simple white comforter with a leaf pattern in navy blue all over it ($15) and with the accessories I picked out I don't think it will be too much. And honestly, in real life it doesn't look so chaotic. I got navy blue sheets from Target ($15) and a blue decorative pillow from Ikea ($3) that I plan on decorating somehow (I'll keep you posted). I really want to get this blanket to add some texture and reduce the pattern:

 

It looks like a cable knit sweater and I think the extra texture would really make the whole set look complete. Textures and patterns can clash if you have too much going on but the added texture here will really balance out the pattern of the comforter. Once I get everything put together I'll upload some pictures. I'm moving into my new room around new years so I'll have pictures of it around then. 

An update on the painting situation. I painted my bathroom a light turquoise/blue and the bedroom a grey and the leftover blue from the bathroom. Again, pictures around new years. Anyways, there's a quick update!

-Rae Rae

Things Are Starting To Look Up...

I have been MIA recently and that's because it's college kids hell week: FINALS.

It was a stressful week of finals that got worse because I got sick. But now finals are over and I'm headed to Seattle in a few days for a much needed vacation. 

But what is more awesome and actually relevant to this blog is I'm moving into a new room with my own bathroom. And I actually get to paint! I'm awaiting landlord approval on my paint choices at the moment but I will keep you guys updated on the process. My landlord is trying to sell the house next year so colors can't be too brash and need to help the place sell. I'm trying to pick some neutral yet lovely colors to put in 2 rooms that don't have the greatest light sources. Here's my ideas so far:

I found this lovely inspiration photo for the bathroom on stumbleupon:

I'm mostly looking at the colors. I want to use a blue like this on the walls because it's not too dark and very neutral. And then I can go in with a coral shower curtain and accessories to really brighten it up and make it feel happy. 

For the bedroom I'm thinking a pale peach or a light gray. "Sun kissed peach", "Apricot Lilly", or "Twilight Gray" by Behr were some of my favorite choices. 

We'll see how it goes and I'll post pictures of the room remodel as it progresses.

And I'll be updating regularly from now as well. Now that I actually have time. 

D.I.Y. Yarn Letters

Finals week is totally kicking my ass so instead of spending time making my own things or coming up with a unique D.I.Y. here's a sweet idea I found online. These are so cute especially for the coming holiday season.

Full Instructions from here: http://jenloveskev.com/2011/11/29/d-i-y-yarn-letters/