I Wanna Be Where Your Heart Is Home

As you all know I've moved to Brooklyn. I'm still living in Bed Stuy, but this time I've got a little 4th floor walk up near a park. It's a nice place, though it's not my dream place. The kitchen really leaves a lot to be desired. I seriously lack in cabinet and counter space. So I've been trying to remedy those issues with creative and colorful storage options.
These pictures are just dreamy and I love a colorful, quirky kitchen that's just filled with stuff to inspire me. I'm not one of those sleek, modern, kitchen kind of girls. Like with everything else, I like a little whimsy.

In the Sun

Cleanin' Up by acelovesvintage featuring Wet Seal tops

This is basically what I wore/am wearing today. The first is for work the second is for cleaning up the new anitques I scored when I get home. My loving mother got me a gorgeous mahogany dresser that I've been lusting after. Only $30 at a local auction. It's curvy and has feet and it terribly dirty. But it will be amazing. I also picked up a new to me kitchen table yesterday. In what my mother and I have come to call the "divorce" between B and I he got our beloved 1950's yellow formica table. I got the kitten and the apartment, so I can't complain. But lord I loved that happy yellow table. Since I moved I've been searching everywhere for one and last night I hit pay dirt. I had to drive an hour and a half but she only cost me $75(way under the 300 I'd seen for some others) and she's gorgeous, I've named her Doris Day. She needs a whole lot of cleaning but I think she'll look lovely, I can't wait to have a glass of lemonade on her. Pictures as soon as she's all spiffed up!

What I'm Listening to:

In the Sun- She & Him

P.S. antiques are a great way to go green!!

Painting Away

Today I'm painting my new room. The walls will be a pretty orangy color.
There will be turquoise and purple accents and hopefully some peace.
These are my inspiration. Wish me luck!

Mirror Mirror On The Wall...

There is no real reason for this post other than I happen to think that this collection of mirrors looks lovely. I love the subtle colors and the layering of objects. I also love the array of polariods you can see in the mirror.

A Little Help?

What do these rooms have in common? I'm trying to decorate my new room(mommy comes in this weekend to help) and I love both of these rooms but from what I can see they have very little in common. Can you find anything? I'm trying to figure out what I find so appealing about the both of them and how I can translate them into my own room. Any ideas?

Well Meaning Chaos Revisited

Breaking up means getting a new room. I've decided that staying in the room I had shared with my ex would be a cruel sort of joke on my fragile psyche. So instead I'm switching it up entirely. I have a two bedroom apartment but as I have mentioned before there is a sitting/dining room in the front of the house that is almost never used. The truth is we never found a good use for it. However, it is by far the most lovely room in the house with big windows that over look my beloved park and it's also the biggest room in the house. This room shall be my room. I'm putting curtains on the doors still I can get actual doors and though it doesn't have a closet my loving mother has offered to come in and help me come up with a solution.

A new room of course means new decorating. This room is, more than any other room since my relationship started, my room. And I want it to reflect that. I want it to be a sanctuary and I want to feel like a queen in my room. This all got me thinking about the aforementioned topic of well meaning chaos. I think that's exactly what my new room needs. I want clusters of pictures that mean something to me, I want lots of soft, plush surfaces and piles of well worn books. My theme is of course going to be modern Moroccan with a bohemian tilt. I'm thinking spicy colors with splashes of turquoise, lots of soft fabrics like velvet and silk and a cozy little reading nook next to my desk. I'll keep you posted on the progress, cause I have to say I'm actually really really excited about this. I'm also really excited about having two new roommates to make the place home with. Have any of you gone through a tough breakup? How did you make your life/home feel like your own again? What did you do to help you cope and get better?

What I'm Listening To:

Annie and the Bee Keepers- Pirate Ship

Girly Girl

I loved this bedroom from the second I saw it in Domino (RIP).  I love the sweet pink heart sheets and the interesting mix of frilly girly pinkness and plaid and how it all seems to make sense together.  I also have a thing for tiered tables, I know it's weird, but I love how intricate that look.  This one which is all stacked with books and candles and hand picked flowers is just so charming.  I'm currently on the hunt for a tiered table to use as a bar in our sitting room (yeh we have a sitting room, I don't even have an explanation).  The subtle wallpaper is also just too sweet.  I just love how all of the patterns seem to play off each other rather than compete, how do people make that work??

What I'm Listening To:  

Start Wearing Purple- Gogol Bordello

Modern Moroccan

OK, I stumbled upon an article on Apartment Therapy about modern morrocan style and how lovely is this?  I guess this would sort of describe how my bedroom in Boston looks though there is significantly less white.  I love the bright cheery colors and the sexy mix of fabrics though.
How great is that peacock blue?  Like I said awhile back I love that color and i had wanted to paint a room that but maybe painting a piece of furniture in such a bold color is the way to go.  I'm definitely going to be adding some turquoise accents to my purple and burnt orange room when I get home.  Perhaps some lovely gold and magenta accents will make their way in there as well.  And if I ever get really crazy maybe I'll just go ahead and paint the walls a cheery, sexy peacock color.  Here's my little polyvore creation of how I would like it to look...

Bedroom Inspiration by acelovesvintage on Polyvore.com

I'm thinking a few home made pillows, a colorful new rug, some great turquoise curtains and a new coat of paint on our bedside tables(though I think I would do turquoise since my man would kill me if I painted one pink) and it's good to go.  I've already got great bedding and that chandelier.  So what do you guys think?  What's your decorating style?

What I'm Listening To:

Day I Die- Drug Rug

^ This band is awesome and they're managed by some friends of mine.  They're a super cute couple from Boston and they're on tour now so go check them out!

Mansion, House or Shack

Remember playing mash when you were a kid and how no one ever wanted to get the shack?  Well I stumbled upon this little "shack" in Hawaii via Apartment Therapy and I'm thinking that if this were my shack I would be pretty ok with living here and shacking up with a cute boy(hopefully not one of the ones written on the piece of paper from seventh grade though).

Right Now I'm Listening To:

You Can't Always Get What You Want- The Rolling Stones

How Tweet

Corny blog title, I know.  But how gorgeous is this?  I've never been a bird owner myself, they look so delicate I'm scared, but if I were to be a bird owner this is how I would like to do it.  This picture comes to us from a gorgeous post on Apartment Therapy on how to turn an old armoire into a gorgeous birdie palace.  How beautiful does is look against those robins egg blue walls and can't you just hear the pretty little chirps?

A Country Kitchen

My kitchen at home is a bit countryish.  The kitchen I grew up with is very countryish(I'm talking chickens outside the window).  A country kitchen to me feels very homey and inviting.  While my overall style may not be very country I do love a primary colored kitchen with lots of vintage touches and this one is just that.  Besides the lovely view it has some of the cutest little vintage odds and end.  It seems like the sort of place you want to hang out.  What's your kitchen style?  Clean and classic?  Delightfully messy and eclectic?  Kitchy or country?  Let me kn

Weird Obsession

Behold, the almighty couch.  It is the centerpiece of our homes, it says, come, sit, drink hot buttered rum with me.  At least that's what mine says.  Maybe yours prefers wine, but my couch and its faux fur throw blanket beckon you with temptingly warm drinks.  Now, this is my weird obsession, I love, seriously love, velvet couches. 
I know it's a weird thing to be obsessed with but it's true.  My love of a coffee shop is largely based on the presence of a large, slightly worn velvet couch in some sort of unexpected color.  See the above picture, perfect.  
My couch at home is a warm beige color which hides a multitude of sins and is, yes, velvet.  I wish I had had the guts(and a less picky boyfriend) so I could have gone with something a bit more out there like this lovely pink one or the amazing piece of upholstered sexiness below, but none the less my couch is warm, fuzzy and inviting.  By the way, if I were rich I would buy that pink couch just to sit on and eat cupcakes while dressed as Marie Antoinette.
It may seem an odd thing to be so hopelessly devoted to upholstery, but I can't get enough of the soft feel and the inherent glamour.

What can I say?  Maybe I was Liberace in a former life.  What about you guys?  Do you have one piece of furniture or texture or color for your home that you just can't get enough of?Something that's your thing, your signature?

Dare To Be Different

Ahhhh how peaceful.  I can just imagine reading in here for hours.  And yes, I would be reading Harry Potter.  I love houses and rooms that are a bit A-typical.  This one is the perfect amount of bohemian and artistic.  It's the kind of room where you could dream.

What I'm Listening To:

Treat Me Like Your Mother- The Dead Weather

Kitty Bear Stays: A Little Piece of Paris In Brooklyn

Ok, I want this apartment.  I will admit to occasionally trolling craigslist just for fun, just to see what nice places are out there and this morning over my lovely cup of coffee was just one of those occasions.  Then BAM, I found this. OK OK, I know it's not the nicest place ever, it could use some TLC.  But look at those chandeliers!!!!!!!  
It's a studio, not far from where I live now but much closer to my favourite cafe, bonus!  I love the hardwood floors, though they admit-ably need polishing.  I also love the nook by the window, can't you just see a cute little window seat there?  And guess what, I've already got the perfect one.  Also, yeh, that's a fireplace, I can just imagine me curled up on a  rug with hot cider, lots of pillows, a sexy man and a good book.  OK Ok, maybe one or the other.  Also, can I point out that pressed tin 15 foot high ceiling??  How lovely is that?  It's a studio, so it would be cozy, but for just me and my little furry companions it would be perfect.  Add to that the fact that it accepts said furry companions and I'm in fixer up heaven.  

My French Apartment by acelovesvintage featuring aerie

This is how I imagine my lovely apartment with all of my favourite things in it, in no particular order.  Of course there would be lots of cupcakes and pretty lingerie and a lovely red fainting couch and for whatever reason a peacock broach.  So, my question is, is anyone looking to place hold my apartment for me for the next year?  Hmmmm, takers?

Cat Nap Like A Queen

It's getting to be that time where I could really use a nap again and I think this is the perfect place.  I know it's a bit cheesy but I love me a round bed.  I know, how Playboy Mansion of me.  It just looks so regal!  I love the subtle mix of colors and how they played with the height of the room, just glorious.  

Peacock

I want this bathroom!  OK, confession, I love peacock blue green as a paint.  I helped a friend paint her room a really lovely shade of peacock teal and fell just completely in love!  How soothing and sexy does this bathroom look?  I love the bronze and magenta accents, it gives it such a regal feel.  What do you guys think, bright paint yay or nay? I would love to paint a room this color, but I've just never had a room that it felt right for.  Le sigh.

What I'm Listening To:

Right As Rain- Adele

A Little Romance...

Feather Blog

I love how simple and romantic christmas lights or as I prefer to call them "fairy lights" can be.  Sure, they can come off as tacky, but don't they look just lovely here?  There is a roof outside of my roommates window that we hang out on sometimes but it's too dark at night, so we're thinking of putting up some christmas lights for a little ambiance and well, so no one falls off the roof.  What do you guys think, fairy lights for anything but Christmas, yay or ney?

Halsey Kingdom

Meet my home sweet home for this glorious summer.  My apartment goes by the name Halsey Kingdom and is inhabited by the most wonderful group of artists I have ever met.  The above pictures are of my room.  The bottom is the desk from which I currently greet you.  It's still a work in progress but it is certainly starting to feel like home...

What I'm Listening To:

Barking At The Moon- Jenny Lewis

A Kitchy Kitchen

I love a happy kitchen, and I'm beginning to think I have a thing for orange.  But come on, don't you love those cute blue chairs?  I also love the sink, the hung up mugs and that awesome trash can!  Where does one find a turquoise trash can?????  Do you paint it?

Stuff Like This Is Why I Moved...

Thanks to the wonderful Joanna Goddard of Cup of Jo blog I am now aware of one of the most glorious things I have ever heard.  The Domino Magazine Tag Sale.  Now, I loved Domino, it was the only magazine I read religiously and subscribed to.  Mind you, the month after I subscribed it tragically folded.  Thanks economy.  

But, this my friends is the silver lining.  The, what I assume are disgruntled, staff of Domino are selling off the lovely leftovers of the magazines prop department.  And for really cheap might I add!  Nothing is over $500 and most of it is under $10.  Yes, I said t-e-n.  Could I get a better welcoming to the big city?  When is it you say?  It is TOMORROW!  It starts at 10am and goes till 5 and is located in the garden apartment at 13 West 9th.  I'll see you all there!