Teeny Tiny Warm and Inviting Apartment in White, Beige and Gray

Today as I was looking through some of the Apartment Therapy's "Small Cool Apartments" of 2012, I came across this gem of a living space and I thought I'd share it with you. This teeny tiny apartment is only 210 square feet, but still manages to look open and inviting due to how the apartment's owner set the up the space and the gorgeous and simple white, beige and grey color scheme she utilizes through out.

This is my favorite part of the apartment. I'm in love with the set up of the tiny space under the lofted bed -- a small desk with tiny areas of storage built in, a nice shelf with adorable white storage boxes stacked perfectly on top, two storage units, and plenty of little storage "accessories," such as the magazine/mail sorter on the wall and little bins and holders on the drawer unit on the side wall. Add to all of this a cute silver lamp and a decorated cork board behind the desk, and you've got a space that's beautiful to look at as well as incredibly functional.

This little part of the apartment has nice neutral tones that nicely balance out the white in the rest of the apartment. I love how cozy this area looks -- the accessories on top of the two shelves along with the wall art and beautiful cloth mannequin dressed in scarves and necklaces give the space I nice "lived-in" look that is both warm and inviting.

This shot of the living area in the apartment shows the large window that gives the room a lot of light, which definitely plays up the apartment's gray,white and beige color scheme. I love the long, flowing, ivory curtains, as they give the space a very romantic and elegant feel. The little white tables in front of the chair don't take up so much space that there's not enough room to walk around the apartment and work as a great coffee table, or in this case, an extra work space.

The bathroom also has the same white, beige and gray color scheme and, although very small, still seems to have a good amount of storage. 

Here's a picture of the apartment's layout. The apartment's owner did a wonderful job maximizing her storage space despite the apartment's tiny size -- definitely something that those of us who are just starting out on our own in similar teeny tiny apartments can learn from!

Have a great Saturday everyone!

Source: Apartment Therapy

Happy Bedroom in Orange and Tan

I found this awesome tan and orange room online and thought I'd share. Even though I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a huge fan of the color orange, I can't deny that the pops of orange present in this room are totally winning me over. The tan working as the "base" color of the room would be incredibly boring left on its own. Thankfully, whoever designed the room sparked interest with the bold orange accent color, found in the floor lamp and table lamp on either side of the bed, the the pretty throw at the bed's end, a select few of the bed's pillows, as well as the floor cushions stacked and stored under one of the tables. Even though that sounds like a fair amount of orange in the room (and, okay, maybe it is), I think it definitely works because the orange pieces in the room are small enough that they don't overwhelm the room, but manage to add a bit of fun and spark to such a small space.

houzz.com

Another cool aspect of the space are the cork boards up against the wall above either table at the sides of the beds. Their length allow plenty of space to pin up whatever's interesting you at the moment -- photos of friends, inspirational quotes and pictures, magazine clippings, whatever you want --- there's room to post it all!


Have a happy Tuesday everyone!

Fun Ways to DIY a Boring Lamp

Happy Saturday everybody!

Okay, for all of you DIY-ers out there, here's a cool project to try out if you want to spice up your room or apartment with a fun home "accessory". Below I've shown some examples of how you can take an ordinary lamp and make them really cute (or cool, or awesome, or whatever) by adding a few extra touches. There are tons of way you can fix 'em up that look great but aren't too tricky and won't leave you with empty pockets. Take a look!

BHG

This gorgeous bright teal lamp has been decorated and doodled on using a white Sharpie oil paint marker. Better Homes & Gardens suggests trying out delicate and sweet paisley and flower patterns working from top to bottom on the lamp base. I'm personally in love with this project and would definitely try it out (if only I had the artistic talent, haha)! 

BHG

This sweet pink and green DIY lamp shade comes from the fine folks over at Better Homes & Gardens. Here, two different papers, one green (used to make borders at either edge of the shade) and one with a pink and green pattern (used as the main center), are used to create something that is really fun and adds an extra touch of prep to your lovely space.

Young House Love

I found this DIY lampshade project over at the blog Young House Love, one of my favorite blogs to checkout whenever I'm in need of a good idea for a DIY project or just some general inspiration. For this project the young couple that authors the blog took a simple white fabric shade and used some new fabric with an awesome yellow print along with a hot glue gun to make this stunner of a lampshade. You can find the instructions on how to do a similar project for yourself through the link.

Midwest Living

Another way to go about dressing up a plain ole' white lamp shade is to paint it using a stencil. Midwest Living suggests using acrylic craft paints for best results. I love the idea of taking a small-to-medium size stencil and repeating it on a shade using varying shades of the same color (as in the example above).

BHG

I love this simple and feminine lamp. The bottom of the basic white shade is embellished with delicate handmade mini paper flowers.  Check out the instructions from Better Homes & Gardens through the link.

Okay, that's all for now. Have a great Saturday! Back for more later!

Wall Decals of the Month: Birds

Hello!

For today I've rounded up some of my favorite wall decals picturing birds (some even have trees). They are all really sweet and will give your room (be it dorm or apartment) the perfect touch of whimsy and color  that will add interest and fun to your space (without having to worry about those troublesome holes in the wall left by nails!)

Let me know which ones you like best!

signchick1 on Etsy

trendypeasdecals on Etsy

JaneyMacWalls on Etsy

thestickerhut on Etsy

ghettovinyl on Etsy

DecorDesigns on Etsy

urbanexpressions on Etsy

Thanks and I'll see you soon (with more posts)!!!

Magazine Holders -- All Dressed Up!

Magazine holders are great for storing favorite magazines, important school papers, notebooks, you name it...any way you look at it, they're just useful! So why not dress 'em up? Below I've given some examples of how you can make and decorate those bad boys all by yourself!

Martha Stewart

In this example, wallpaper was used to cover up the backs of ordinary magazine holders so that when put together side-by-side, they become one single cohesive print. Pretty cool, right?

Craft Corners

These DIY magazine holders were made out of just cardboard and wrapping paper. I love the bold and colorful prints! Definitely eye-catching and very cool!

Ana White

Ana White

If you're feeling super crafty, you should definitely try out these beautiful handmade magazine holders, made of plywood and decorated with scrapbook paper. Very pretty!

I've been working on a bunch of different posts that I'll be sure to put up soon! So, again, stay tuned for more! Thanks and see you soon!

Industrial-Mod Desk Space in White and Green

This office area has a great industrial-mod feel. I like the clean lines and mostly metal pieces of furniture and accessories. My favorite part is definitely the green desk -- I love the pop of color it provides in contrast with the white and silver of the rest of the space. It'd be a really cool look to try out in an apartment if you're interested in modern spaces with a lot of clean lines, and even in a dorm where you can try out the same color palette with things like your bedspread/sheets (mostly white with a bright color, such as the green) and then the metal desk accessories, such as the lamp and the alarm clock.

Stay posted for more to come soon!

Cool and Colorful DIY Keyboard

Apartment Therapy

I was looking through the Apartment Therapy website the other day when I came across this cute/awesome/sweet little DIY project that was done by blogger Eng Gee Fan using masking tape from Japan (which can be found both at the site that's linked to the original Apartment Therapy post as well as in the "Supplies" section of Etsy). Pretty cool, right?

Apartment Therapy (again)

Thanks guys and I'll be back for more soon!!!

Delicate Desk Accessories: White Brocade

This is a collection of white metal brocade desk organizers that I found on The Container's Store website. I love the delicate and feminine look -- perfect for dressing up those boring wooden desks in college dorm rooms!

Purples and Blues (That Make Me Swoon...)

BHG

Now that I've started this little blog, you should probably know that I'm in love with the colors periwinkle, lavender and soft blue. For some reason, those colors (either on their own or all put together), put me at ease and give me a sense of calm and serenity. Well, now that you know about my adoration for that particular color palette, it probably wouldn't be hard for you to imagine how much I would fall over (in swoon-like fashion) over the room that this post is about.This little space, both a sort of living room and office, got a makeover over at Better Homes & Gardens, where the decorators intended on creating a place that could serve as both a great workspace (for two) that can also transition into a convenient place to entertain. All of this was to bed done on a super-strict budget to, which the decorators accomplished by incorporating pieces of furniture from ikea (a college student's/small apartment dweller's go-to source for cheap furniture that's easy on the eyes). I thought this space might inspire some of you who (like me) swoon over this color palette and inspire you to create your own lavender/pale blue/periwinkle paradise (or room, or apartment…you get the idea).

BHG

This is the office/desk area (that, as noted earlier in this post, can easily be easily transformed into a bar or buffet for a dinner party or get together). 

BHG

BHG

Here's the complete layout of the space that the folks at BHG made over.

Thanks for stopping by! More posts to come soon!!!!

Rethinking the Nightstand: Five Creative Alternatives to the Standard Bedside Table

Hey all!


Here's your first taste of what "The Girl in 25B" is all about! I hope you like what I've come up with. Stay tuned for more to come soon!!!

College dorm rooms aren't always spacious enough to accommodate a lot of extra furniture (other than what has already been provided by the school). In this case, we're going to consider the bedside table or nightstand. Would we love to have a nightstand that stands alone as its own exquisite piece furniture? Absolutely! However, a lot of times there just isn't enough room for one. Not only that, but buying a whole new piece of furniture can put a serious whole in the college student's already tight (okay, very tight) budget. Annoying, right? Not to worry! There are some great solutions out there that are perfect alternatives to the standard nightstand or bedside table. I've listed a few below...

                                                                     From BHG

I have to admit, this little light pink metal rolling cart has been the object of my obsession for quite some time (which I think is totally justifiable, I mean look at it -- it's adorable!)  It's a simple enough item, just a basic metal rolling cart, painted light pink and outfitted with accessories. In this case, it's being used as a "mobile home office" (which is a great idea too), but, for our purposes, let's imagine it as a bedside table. On the top shelf you can put a pretty lamp (one that's perfect when placed next to a bed for reading and lounging), you're trusty alarm clock and perhaps one or two books that you've been reading recently. The bottom two shelves can be used for storage -- I love their ideas of using a vintage suitcase to store some of your stuff. But you know what makes this cart perfect? It rolls! The fact that you can move it around means you have almost infinite possibilities in how you can arrange your room. Need to open up that space for another use? Want to change the look of your room? No problem, just roll that little cart somewhere else in the room and you're good to go!

                                                          From Apartment Therapy

Here's another example of a colorful little rolling cart that works as a useful piece of "furniture".

From Apartment Therapy

I'm also a big fan of the idea of having an ottoman used for a nightstand. It can be used for two different purposes -- a cute little place to sit for a friend that stops by your room, as well as a piece that you can pile stuff on top of if you're only in need of a few essential items every night (note: this is a much more casual look and won't appeal to everyone, as you'd have to come up with some source of light, like a standing lamp). Ideally, the ottoman would have a lid and work as a storage unit as well, though that is now what's pictured above. I believe that there are many stores that make these ottomans though, so please leave a comment if you know more about where you can get one!

From Apartment Therapy

Here's an example of a pretty standing lamp that is perfect for if you're using an ottoman as a nightstand or if you'd simply rather not put a lamp on whatever you plan on using for a nightstand.

From Apartment Therapy

If you want to go super simple, then you can always go with the standard chair, like the one pictured above. The fact that it provides a flat surface for your lamp (if so desired), alarm clock, books, or plant even (I like the cute little one that's showed in the picture). The chair in the picture is pretty standard and has a look and shape that's easy to find when looking for furniture (especially on the cheap).

From BHG

I'm adding this last one because, even though I'd imagine that this would be hard to pull off in an actual dorm room (as you'd need to be able to drill nails into the wall, which most schools don't allow), it's, well….really cute! If you have the ability to drill nails in the wall at your apartment complex and are short on space, than I would seriously take a look at this look: just take a pail, paint it your desired color, get a pretty hook to hang on it, drill it into the wall, and voila! You're good to go!

Alright, that's all for this post, but don't worry -- I'll be back for more really soon! Thanks for stopping by!