The short answer is nothing immediately...but this summer, when I can be outside and paint some things, putz around and fix other things, there will be a bit more activity. I am still in need of a bike, and the worm bin will be coming from Minnesota sometime soon (!!! so excited!). Other kitchen purchases in the future include tart pans, a few more pie tins, some more glass frigoverre jars for my collection, a strainer, and cheesecloth.
But the main focus is really to bring in some art and color. Plants aren't doing so well in my space, and it looks like the radiator in the living room is the only that can sustain life (succulents at that). And my bookcase is both crowded and too bare...it needs both purging and thoughtful rearrangement. There is a place on the bottom right that is still waiting for my typewriter from home--it was my grandmother's Royal typewriter that I finally got fixed in a grand adventure with this one in Richfield.
But yes--I've been debating and debating and debating what in the world to do with art in my place. I've pretty much decided that the space above my couch area will have all thrift store frames spray painted black and a combination of old photos, art from Etsy, and other finds (yes indeed handkerchief from my great-grandfather brought back from France after World War I...I will frame and display you!)
And I'm thinking that I finally know what I'm going to do with the wall opposite my bed. Even with my two closets and the hard-to-reach storage areas above the built-in closet, I needed a bit more clothes storage (what can I say... my grandmother is to blame for that particular bit of my genetics). So - what I'd like is to have a darker-ish wood dresser opposite the current part of the dresser that is a built-in...not matching, but not the light birch that's in my kitchen.
Let's just say the things in my apartment don't really match...the cream on the walls doesn't match the cream on the switchplates, I have cream tiles that don't match the wall in the bathroom that are right next to a white bathtub and sink and a cream toilet...it's ridiculous. Not to be nuts, but it's silly. It makes me want to take apart my entire apartment sometimes.
Anywho---the point is that it makes it hard to say "Oh this color will go perfectly with the bedspread!" ...because then it will look terrible with the floor and wall. So---in the bedroom I have a cream wall, a creamy duvet, a dark brown wood, and purple speckly industrial carpet.
Think of the colors that go with this...red? No. Orange..no. Yellow hell no. Green...maybe. It'd have to be darker...but I don't want that since there is so little light in my apartment anyhow. Blue....meh...kind of? Purple? It'd have to be downright on the money, which isn't really what I want either. So, my solution ended up being not trying to have things match and just going with it (see: my copious and colorful shoe collection on display). It works, I think, because I'm not trying too hard. I have a feeling designers would have something to say on the matter, but they don't have to live in my 400 square feet. So...I kind of like the idea of going multicolored and light, which led me to this pretty specimen for over my bed:
The colors aren't quite right, I don't think, so I let this one go on ebay. But I've got my eye out for something like this (thanks ebay alerts!).
And my mom found these gorgeous prints of poppies (I love poppies) ---but I'm just afraid they're too clash-y with the carpet.
Speaking of shoes, I think I'm going to pay one of my labmates in cookies to help me build a shoe rack, as mine is overflowing and I want something that is not made of plastic. Something a la this, but shorter and running about the width of the bed:
And classier. This particular labmate makes all sorts of cool things, so I'm sure I can end up with something I'm really happy with...something Danish-inspired and pretty so it flows well with the dresser next to it. But what to put above that, you ask? Well, I'm thinking a tension rod for my scarves would look good above the shoe rack, and then perhaps a mirror on top of the dresser to open up the room even more.
I also have some doilies from my grandmother that I'd like to frame, though these may end up in the space between my bookcase/desk and the cooking rack.
With one of these clocks:
Or this one: (I can't decide!)
I'd also like to splurge for this beautiful diptych of Boston:
There are lots of other possibilities, but I do enjoy the thrill of the hunt that comes with thrift store shopping and never knowing what you'll find. But sooner or later, I'd like for my apartment not to be all....blank. So yes---any thoughts? Brilliant ideas? Let me know!
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