manylinks

Despite the fact that we have been in this apartment for 3+ years, we don't have a lot on the walls and our 'living room' area needs some serious help. We have a nice TV stand and hutch from Material Culture, but a lot of our other furniture is IKEA and has not traveled well (SF-Baltimore-Philly). Basically we have a long rectangular kitchen, a large main room that serves as the living/dining area, two bedrooms, and a small bathroom (which inexplicably 1. Has a window in the shower and 2. Has impossible to match teal tile + a black/white checkered floor). We also have nice hardwood floors.

Part of the reason why we've waited to do anything is because for a long while we assumed we would buy a house in Philly and remain there for a good 4-5 years before I finished school. But we've scrapped that plan and have decided that we like this place and will probably stay here until we move again (currently we think that will be to Pittsburgh).

So it's time to begin Operation Tastefully Decorate our Rental with Grown Up Furniture and Wall Hangings. On a relatively limited budget.

I'm starting small : I bought two of these lamps at Target this weekend

They were a tad pricey (about $50 each) but I love the glass base and they work with our couch. I haven't been able to find them online.

I've also started to collect a few prints to hang, mostly from etsy


By Ashley G
IKEA frames



Substudio



Substudio (love the lure catalog!)

A few other shops that I've been checking out:

benben
dkim
JHillDesign
Ink&Wit
Treepminus3
Yellena

And some design sites where I look for ideas:
Apartment Therapy
design*sponge
design-phan
print & pattern
unclutterer

To do list:
1. Hang prints above couch
2. Hang prints above extra bed
3. Find 2 endtables
4. Find a piece of furniture (barrister cabinet?) for empty living room wall
5. Eventually buy corner cabinet for dining area
6. Massive computer/bookcase area purge

On an unrelated note, I tried the eggplant recipe suggested by Nina and it was really good! We had it with fish and brown rice. Now all we need is a house that has a porch big enough for a grill so I can try Nik's idea.