Friday, September 5, 2008

Decorating

David and I have been living in this apartment for over a year now and though it is furnished it, of course, isn't cute. Though I must say the futon has a cute cusion and is actually comfortable - still I hate the white frame.When we moved in I sort of resigned myself to the fact that as a full time volunteer I wouldn't have the money to make the apartment cute. Well, now after a full year, I can't take it anymore!

Earlier last month we rearranged the whole place. By whole place I mean two rooms, oh and I pushed the kitchen table closer to the wall. Anyhow, there just wasn't much color so I decided to look for some fabric to bring about some change. Because I live in the boonies there are only three fabric stores within a two hour drive - two quilt shops and Wal-Mart (yes, I cringe at the thought too).

I went to the quilt shops and found fabric I LOVED, but it cost $9 a yard. Not horrible I realize, but making only $50 a month (most of which is spent before it is in hand) made $9 a yard seem impossible. Reluctantly I went to Wal-@*%#. They had lots and lots of fabric for $1 a yard. I found a beautiful green and spent $5 on fabric and $2 on thread and I was ready to get out of the florescent cave.

As you can see I only have one of the curtains up, that is because I broke the sewing machine needle after the first curtain when I tried to hem some jeans. No worries the second one is well on its way, so I hung the first one for inspiration.

Also I have been very tired of the walls. The rearranging took care of some of that empty space, but there was a wall in the kitchen/dining area that drove me nuts. Recently my family visited so we drove down to Santa Fe (2.5 hours) where there happens to be Target, and I found this little beauty - yay. Don't you just love how they put an outlet in the middle of wall? What in the world?

So overall the place definately doesn't look like it would if it were truly mine, but at least now it has some color and maybe a little style. Only problem. I still can't stop drooling over these wall decals on Etsy.

6 comments:

  1. The fabric you chose for the curtains is great -- and my favorite color. I am always drawn to green -- perhaps why I have so many green pieces in my Etsy shop. Anyway, they definitely brighten up the space. Have you ever thought of painting the frame of the futon. That might be a quick fix for a splash of color.

    I read through the last few posts. Fabulous that you are taking fiddle lessons. How are the lessons going? Also, what type of volunteer work do you do? I saw in your workspace post that you teach. Just curious... :)

    Anyway, wonderful blog you have here. Just the right mix of Etsy, crafting, and personal stuff... just the way I like them. Nice to meet you! - :)

    - Theresa

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  2. Ha! There's an outlet in the middle of our kitchen wall, too! It's very hard to decorate around! But, you're doing a good job so far!

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  3. You know what?? You make it work for you :) Great job. When we had our first apt, I bought canvas from the dollar store and painted it fun colours, like $3 was all it took :)

    Fabric glued onto a cavas works too.

    There is so much you can do. Love it!

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  4. You are on your way! Looking good so far, can't wait to see it when completed.

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  5. I like all the yellow in the kitchen! My last two blogs were all about decorating my new house! It's definitely more difficult on a budget, as I'm in between jobs. But it's much needed!

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  6. I just found your blog. It's a nice read! Anyway, I wanted to let you know why there's a plug in the middle of the wall. They're usually there because a refrigerator used to be located in the vicinity. It's usually that way in older buildings. We have it that way in our house too.

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