Apartment Progress... Kitchen

So here's my small open kitchen; nothing special but at least it's new. The broker told me the cabinets would be white which I would have liked a lot better, but oh well. I'm missing doors on one of the cabinets which the landlord says is on backorder, but after six months of waiting I'm starting to doubt his story... I was going to paint the back wall a color but I don't want to draw attention to it so I'm keeping it white for now. The boxes above the fridge hold household items; lightbulbs, vacuum bags, extension cords; ski clothes; and my paint kit.

UPDATE: check out some more recent pics here.

Stencil Love

(courtesy of design*sponge)

(courtesy of chronicle books)

I had the pleasure of meeting Ed Roth of Stencil 1 the other night and not only is he super nice and terribly cool (he also wears sol moscot frames), he's amazingly talented. He showed me his new book of reusable stencils, Stencil101 Decor, the perfect kit to help you create a patterned wallpaper effect which I can't wait to try! I'm thinking the wall to the right of the bookcases, or the back wall of the bathroom. I'll keep you posted :O)

His brooklyn apartment was recently a sneak peak on design*sponge and it's really inspiring me to get my place finished. Be sure to go here to see his other stencils and here for his blog to see his designs in action.

Living Better With Less... Getting to the Root of the Problem

(nebb frames by sol moscot)

Have you ever hated everything you own? That's how I've felt for the past few weeks, more like months, about my entire wardrobe. Holding back from going on a major shopping spree (well, my wallet's been holding me back more than sheer will power) allowed me time to think about what I'm really unhappy with, and I realized it's my glasses. I had a pair that broke a year ago that were my favorite pair ever. I wore them for five years and when they broke tried to replace them with a similar pair but never love LOVED them. The 2 pairs above are the ones I just got and am crazy about them! Having them, now my wardrobe doesn't look so bad after all...

The point is we all go through periods where we hate everything we own. The key is to step back and try to identify what the main problem is before taking any drastic measures. For example, maybe you just need to replace your coffee table instead of getting all new furniture. Have you ever had a similar experience?

Living Better With Less... Reinventing the Wheel

(stefano tonchi home office courtesy of the selby)

I often tell people when organizing a space, it's not necessary to reinvent the wheel for every area or thing you're organizing. I apply the same general guidelines to everything I do with a few minor changes.

For instance, in the bathroom keep your regularly used products in the medicine cabinet for easy access and extras (or oversized everyday products) and not so often used things in the lower vanity. Apply the same logic to your home office; there's no reason to keep 50 pens and pencils and four reams of paper on your desk (unless you seriously use that much). Depending on how much storage space you have and how you work, keep a small kit near you: extra pens, pencils, eraser, stapler, and whatever else you need to function on a day to day basis, with any extras somewhere else and replenish as needed. If you find you're constantly replenishing then store more in your easy access spot. Personally I keep my extras in the kitchen cabinet...

Making Decisions: The Editing Process

Having moved twice in the past year and a half, I've been going through everything I own again and again, editing and re-editing. Some may call me a minimalist, and while I don't consider myself one, at this point in my life I'm pushing to get as close to that as possible...

I follow these key points when editing:

• don't force the decision on whether to keep something or not; this takes the pressure off and allows you to think freely and more honest on how you use or don't use things
• make immediate decisions first (things you have no doubt what to do with)
• don't box the things you're unsure of in closets, cabinets, and/or hide them behind furniture, allowing yourself to forget about it
• keep all the things you're unsure of out in a designated area of your home so you have to look at it, if you have a lot, pull out a few things at a time so you're not overwhelmed

As I see these things everyday (remember I'm in a studio, I see ALL my things everyday!) I gain a new perspective on them and I've actually kept a few things I was close to getting rid of and donated a lot more than I thought I would; kept a large frame I haven't used for years (pic above - I'm now looking for a cool print to put in it and I still need to repaint the back wall) and donated a lot of clothes and books that no longer spoke to me. Since I'm allowing myself to take my time with the process, I'm very happy with all the decisions I've made, so far no regrets :O)