new place, new bedroom?

About a year ago I was over the moon when I received my new bed frame. There was even a post titled “My Bed is Here, My Bed is Here.” That was before I realized my jerk cat was going to love it as much as I did and would feel the need to walk across the top and sharpen his claws.  I’ve tried everything that one does to get their animal to stop using a piece of furniture as a scratching post (double sided tape, cayenne pepper, no-no scratch spray, a squirt bottle, etc, etc).  At least now when I pick up the bottle he hops off it but he just goes back on it when he thinks I’m not paying attention.  This has been happening for a year and I have given up and my headboard looks like crap.

my new bed before The Mayor destroyed it...

Once the move happens I will have a new space and will probably want it to feel different. The other week I found a Craigslist score for a brass headboard and couldn’t pass it up.  I’m not sure which is going to stay in my room and which is going to go into the guest room. 

$30 bed frame!!!

But I’ve been pining over the bright, simple, more farm house bedroom feels that have been going on in the Pinterest world lately, maybe one dark navy wall that the head board will be against?  It is such a harsh contrast to the more modern look I originally was going for but new space, new feels? Right?  I had recently purchased a solid blue duvet cover but The Mayor being a tabby leaves his light and dark hairs on everything… so I think I need to move toward a pattern. I’m looking at adopting a dog so soon there will be even more hair to try and hide.

bedroom 2 by blackbeigebrown featuring

Two weeks and I will know how I feel about the actual space and which room is going to get what!

Here are a couple pictures that have been crushing on and hoping to use as inspiration for my new spaces.

thinking about a dark accent wall - jade green, navy, or charcoal gray

keep the bed gold? or paint it?

So many decisions to be made!

project, projects, projects

Time flew by and all of the sudden it is Spring and I haven't finished any projects and I'm moving in a month and a half!  This means that I haven't started any project because I know that I'm going to move soon.  I can't wait to have an entire canvas of a house to play with!

Projects I have on my list of to do's:

1. refurbish my free Papasan Chair (that is just chilling in my hallway until I move).

2. paint my free lamp (navy?) and make my new lamp shade work

3. frame for my painting from Nicaragua

4. complete throw pillows with the fabric  I picked up in India (over a year ago....whoops)

5. paint my extra craigslist dresser (that is being stored in my hall closet until I move... I'm kind of turning into a hoarder prior to the move).

6. Finally finish my first craigslist dresser that I picked up two years ago...

I immediately painted it white with a homemade chalk paint. Not thinking it thoroughly through I didn't put a wax or any type of top coat.  Since I put my make up on over it and usually have a cup of coffee while doing so it quickly became stained and dirty looking.

After reading a couple blogs I decided to try out oil paint. After thinking I had accidentally poisened The Mayor for a couple of hours I was finally able to appreciate the nice glossy finish.  It turned out beautiful, glossy, and lacquered looking!

    

Now it just needs some new knobs...

chairs, chairs, chairs

I've been eyeing a chair for a while for my sewing station.  When I first moved into my apartment I bought a couple of cute teal stools from Ikea.  However I think these stools were made for children. The legs kind of buckle and the seats bend (and I swear I'm not that heavy!).  I haven been waiting for quite sometime to purchase a more permanent chair.  I had been looking at the stylish clear acrylic chair everyone has but after Virginia over at LiveLove DIY said that it was the most uncomfortable chair I decided maybe it wasn't for me.  I finally bit the bullet and ordered a chair last week! It's pretty darn cute and sturdy!  I just need to get a little pillow for it and it will be a lot mroe comfortable.  The chairs below all gave me a little inspiration... if only I could afford any chair below.

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7

Upholstery Fabric Spray Paint

 I finally ordered another couple of bottles of upholstery fabric spray paint from Amazon so that I could finish my $20 craigslist chair.  I had done research previously and ended up purchasing Simply Spray in navy.  I had read that you had to buy a lot of this stuff to make it stick but I didn't think that I needed 6 BOTTLES for this one chair!

Mid Project when I ran out of paint... 

     

My new cozy reading corner!

The navy ended up covering really well after going through all 6 bottles.  The fabric is a little stiff but I think it is because I was painting a crushed velvet chair.  A different fabric might not stiffen the same.  If you look closely you can definitely tell it was a DIY but for a chair that is going to sit in a corner for reading it will be perfect.  I'm not sure if this is the route that I would take for another piece of furniture and will just invest in a chair I like from the beginning... someday...

Office Inspiration

I love my apartment in capitol hill but as rents rise in Seattle I think logically this will be my last full year in my first adult apartment. Although I'm super bummed about this I'll be moving into a house that is owned by my family and will give me tons of space to play with.  I still have another 10 months before I move but my mind has been going crazy with the space and freedom I will have! I can't wait for all the projects :)  The new (to me) house will have 2 extra rooms... I'm thinking of turning one into a wardrobe room and the other a guest/office.  There is tons of inspiration for feminine, glamorous office on the internet these days.  I don't want to wish away the rest of my time in the city but I can't wait!

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10

DIY Compact Bar Cart

I love the idea of a drink cart however in a smaller apartment sometimes they can be challenging.  Back in January I picked up this little cart at Cost Plus Wold Market and thought it was perfect (I did wait patiently for a sale)! However the longer it sat in the corner all naked, the more I felt I needed to dress it up.  

My naked little bar cart

I stopped by Ace Hardware and purchased four paint samples that were next to each other on a gray swatch to achieve the ombre' look that I had in mind.

I have been seeing so many cute pop, fizz, clink party decorations that I couldn't help myself.

I had 4 shelves so I added a cheers to the end. 

Would I paint it with anything besides metalic gold for the letters?  I need to double over the letters to make sure everything looks well covered but I'm pretty pleased with my monday night craft project.  I can finally feel like my drink cart has a little more party to it.

M 

Reading Nook Inspiration

1\\ 2 \\ 3 \\ 4 \\ 5 \\ 6 \\ 7\\ 8

I've currently been craving a little cozy spot to curl up and read and I have the perfect empty corner for it.  I've been putting together a look board on Polyvore. Now its time to start plotting how to make this happen on a small budget.  I picked up a velvet wing backed chair for $15 on craigslist. 

I've been reading lots of reviews on this product. And have ordered some cans of Navy.  Stay tuned to see how my DIY reading chair turns out!

M

Turntable Love

I recently got a turntable from my dad and have started frequenting a couple record stores by my apartment. There is just something different about flipping through albums and they just seem to jump in my arms to be taken home. Unfortunately I did not have a good spot to put my new love and sitting on top of a speaker is just wrong.

Old Turntable Home

I salvaged a pice of wood from my parents house that would fit my turntable perfectly.  Then proceeded to stain it with a walnut finish so that it would look similar to my Better Home and Gardens TV stand.  I went to the local hardware store and picked up a couple white L brackets to attach it to the wall in a minimal way.

Ta-Da!! looking good turn table! 

I need to find a basket or bowl or something to put on top of the speaker so it doesn't look so naked.  I also had had my eye on a white ceramic ram head that I had seen at Retrofit Home.  I did not have a place in mind yet and I felt silly buying something that I didn't have a home for.  Once I put the shelf up I had a great vision for the ram head.

I finally found a home for my peacock painting from India as well

I used a clear acrylic frame for the my peacock silk painting but I'm not sure how I feel about it.  I might need a gold frame around it to make the print stand out a little more.

looking good!

Now if I could just make up my mind on what color I want my speaker covers to be I could get that done and my entertainment center will be looking great!

and a selfie for good measure because I got a new necklace

DIY Terrariums

I've been trying to figure out a way to have plants in my house with The Mayor.   

So far the score is 

Mayor Buttons: 4 

House plants: 0

I picked up some globe terrariums (from Safeway of all places).  They caught my eye since they were hanging from the ceiling and my brain immediately went to "my cat can't reach that!"

I woke up Saturday and headed to a local nursery called City People's down in Madison Park. After walking around with different ferns and smaller plants in my hand I stumbled upon the air plant display.  They just seemed really easy, cool, and I decided that was the way I wanted to go. 

They even had instructions so I don't kill them.

I also picked up raindeer moss to add some brighter green to the mix

I picked them out in different sizes so everything didn't end up looking uniform.

I unhooked them all and did them one by one.

They turned out so so so so good!

Ha, he can't reach them!

M

My Bed is Here! My Bed is Here!

After only an hour of frustration my new bed is all put together! It looks better than I even imagined it!

Of course I had forgotten to pick up queen sized sheets which required a Target run at 9:00 at night. And my will power at that time of night is very very low. So my scouting of night stands turned into a purchase. 

This little yellow cutie came home with me! My vision on Polyvore is actually coming together and looking great.

 Next up is artwork... I need a new piece for above my bed. I'm in love with this Johnathan Adler print but since it is out of my price range a DIY version will be coming soon. 

I was also internet perusing and decided I had to have this ceramic retro phone holder for my night stand. Thanks to Instagram I recently stumbled on Hattan Home and have been discovering the most adorable apartment accessories.

I'll just live in this apartment forever please & thank you

M

Spring Lighting

Had a great weekend working on the maintenance of  life.  I'm completely done working at the hotel and have started my new job. It's going to be an adjustment but I'm pretty excited. 

Spring time means tennis shoes! I had been swooning over everyone's leopard print slip ons but couldn't rationalize spending $100+ on them. Yay for Asos! These guys get me the look I wanted at a price that didn't kill my budgeting. 

Lots of apartment updates are coming as I just renewed my lease meaning I'll be in my spot for another year. This wonderful lamp walked home with me one evening from next to a pile of free stuff. Go ahead and call me a dumpster diver but I had to have it AND it's actually still works!

My sunglasses were getting out of control and I needed to clear the top of my dresser for my sanity. This was a quick fix that turned out cute

When I was in India I saw this lantern and had to have it. This past weekend my dad came over to help me make sure I didn't electrocute myself. It is now sitting over my breakfast table in the kitchen and I'm in love. 

I finished up the weekend enjoying the weather at the beach with J. It made me want to fast forward to June!

M