Showing posts with label design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label design. Show all posts

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Studio Apartment

Happy February break to any teachers or students. I am so happy to have this week off to relax, unwind, plan, and organize. One of my very first mid-winter break tasks was to finish getting my apartment together. I've been piecing it together bit by bit since I moved in last October. I finally am to a point where I feel really ready to share it with you. Enjoy the pictures. Click on any of the photos to get a closer look! 

First, a Panoramic shot of my living area. This is where the magic happens.


The entry way is the first space you see as you walk into my studio. It's pretty basic, a small shelf to hold my purses, scarves and boots, a shoe mat and a little coat rack. The shelf, the coat rack, the teal basket and the polka dot door mat are all from Ikea. The "Make It Happen" print is from Lara Casey's shop and the gold polka dot key tray is from Target.


I really enjoy that even though this is a studio apartment it has a separate room for the kitchen. This space is great because of the compact cooking area and the spacious eating area. I was able to bring my kitchen table that my Dad made while he was in high school. It's a great piece and the benches work perfectly in the space. I also love that I finally have a spot to hang my Warhol flowers print, and newly hung today a sweet little chalkboard and wire basket from Gabby. Lamp, ikea. Chalkboard, target

The bathroom is a bright little room. The largest challenge in here was finding a place to store everything. I ended up getting a wire shelf from walmart to put over the toilet to create some extra shelving. For the most part it works very well and makes everything very easy to access.

The living room is by far my favorite area of the house. It has my sitting area, my bed, my piano, and everything I really need. The walls are full of artwork and prints with sentimental meaning and things that inspire me. The very neutral pallet is calming but the vibrant blues and golds give the space some excitement.
The prints above my bed are taken by myself and my father and are framed in ikea ribba frames. It's special to me to see my photo(right) hanging next to one of his. In a way it helps me feel connected to my dad and something he was passionate about. The oil painting above the couch is a lovely piece I found at homegoods. I was so happy to find a painting with exactly the right colors and one that could take up a large portion of my blank wall above the sofa.

 The frame collage above my keyboard is another favorite of mine. There are pretty prints, inspirational quotes, and sentimental things all mixed together. The neutral colors help keep the frames united.

One of my other favorite pieces in the living area is the blue glass lamp. I bough it at target soon after moving in and I love how it looks on my thrifted side table. 

Bedding and pillows mostly ikea and homegoods. Lamp: target, sofa and chair purchased used, side table thrifted, frames either repurposed or purchased at ikea. Quote canvas and framed piece are both handmade. 

One non-pictured area of the apartment that I do love is the closet space. I have a large closet for clothing and an even larger craft/office area closet. Someday I'll share those but for today that's all. 

Hope you enjoy my happy little space. If you are ever in the area I'd love for you to swing by! 

Monday, November 5, 2012

DIY Chalkboard on the Cheap

This may be my final bedroom update post for awhile. For those of you who remember I have been slowly adding to my bedroom since we moved into the apartment. Yesterday I added an awesome personal touch to jazz up a huge white spot on the wall; a Chalkboard. I have been looking for ideas for this awkward white space foe a long time now and finally it came to me- chalkboard paint obviously. So I started considering my options. I thought about painting the wall, but honestly I felt like it would be so expensive and such hard work for that tiny small space. Plus I've already painted some crazy stuff on my walls, I wanted something I didn't have to 100% commit to. So I decided to do add a chalkboard that could attach to the wall. I looked at decals, but they were so expensive and I probably couldn't use it more than once. So I assessed what I already owned to see what I could come up with. I already owned chalkboard spray paint (which has been invaluable in making some awesome things and only cost about $7). All of the sudden it came to me- I should spray paint poster board! I wasn't sure if this would work but spending a dollar on a piece to try it seemed like a good option. So far so good. Just grab your spray, do a few thin coats of paint and let dry. It's not exactly like a chalkboard, but I can mostly erase it, and write on it with chalk so it totally works for the situation at hand. I hung it up with four tacks (1 in each corner).  Essentially this project cost me $1 and hardly any time. It spruces up the white spot on the wall and lets me use it and change the images however I want.

Here are some pictures to give you an idea of what the chalkboard looks like in my room. :) And a little Maggie Love for all of you!



 Happy Monday! Have a great week!

Friday, August 31, 2012

Home Sweet Home

The moment of truth is here!! I am finally going to post some apartment pictures. I will go into some details about each room, and all the pictures are numbered for easy understanding of what's what. If you missed the earlier post on the apartment check it out, it has before pics of the kitchen, living room, and my bedroom! 

Welcome to the Living Room!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Free Samples

Hello All! Sorry I haven't been posting at all this past week- Since last Saturday I have been moved into my new apartment near State College with my friend Derek. I have so many great things to write about, and projects we have done on the house- but there will be time for that later once I can access internet from home! For now I want to just show you a brief preview of what you'll be seeing...

So far we have explored a little bit, did tons of thrift shopping and bargain hunting! One of our favorite local places so far is called Cool Beans Coffee and Tea. We just adore them for having free wifi and tasty coffee! This is the street it's on- cute, right?
I can't wait until fall hits the trees around here will look so beautiful!

Monday, August 13, 2012

ALL CAPS!!!

Most of you probably don't know this but I don't really like it when people type in all caps. It makes me feel like I am either being yelled at or I am talking to a 13 year old girl who just got kissed by a super star (aka over-the-top-melodramatic-excitement). The other day I found out that my friend Derek and I got an apartment down in state college for student teaching- I was so excited that I found myself typing in all caps- (gasp)- I could hardly believe it myself, but it proved how excited I was to get this apartment and start planning and moving in! I AM SO EXCITED!


I am very excited as well to post pictures and updates on my blog as I accomplish some home projects. Since I haven't seen it in person all I have is Derek's description and a few photos he took when walking through. Since the pictures aren't great quality and aren't of the house when we are living in it I am only going to show you 3 to give you a taste of what we have to work with. Also I wanted to share some images and ideas I have for 3 of the spaces in the house; the kitchen, living area, and my bedroom! Enjoy!

Friday, November 11, 2011

The Magic Flute- On and Off Stage

This year at school our Opera is The Magic Flute. I am playing the part of the First Lady, and really loving it! The show is this weekend Friday and Saturday at 7:30, and Sunday at 2:30- and FREE!

I was really excited for dress rehearsals to start and couldn't wait to find out about hair and makeup for my part! Our director's instructions came out something like "Dark intense makeup, and really crazy hair- the bigger the better." These abstract directions were enough for me to figure something out, but the other girls playing the Ladies and Queen didn't really have an idea of how to execute it- so I decided to take charge of makeup and hair for those parts. Slowly throughout the week more and more people kept asking me about hair and makeup advice and voila- I am now acting as the hair and makeup designer for the show. It's pretty exciting and I really love it. Some of the cast was just fine figuring stuff out on their own and I just used some guided instructions for those without as clear of a vision. However, the Ladies and Queen makeup, along with some ideas for the spirits and Papagena have basically been my baby this past week. I have spent so much time looking for hair and makeup inspiration it has gotten a bit crazy! 
Either way- anytime I do anything I give it my absolute all- so I wanted to share with you all the hard work I am putting into this show's makeup/hair design! 

Here are my inspiration collages for the Queen and her Ladies-
Each board represents a different character- the hair styles, makeup, and colors act as inspiration for the design itself! 

The Queen:
Black and Silver eye makeup
Strong Dark Brows
Crazy "mohawk" of teased hair


First Lady:
Long teased out hair with tons of curls with some volume on top
Greens on the eyes to contrast a red dress

Second Lady:
Short dark teased out hair, bump in the center
Blue eye color  to contrast gold dress


Third Lady:
Enormous Beehive, but more teasing
Purple and Pink on the eyes for her blue dress 


This is only one aspect of the planning I have put into this, check out my Opera Inspiration Pinboard on Pinterest to see MANY inspiring photos for these parts and more!

After the show is over I will be posting the results of the designs- 
I would post some now but don't want to spoil it for those planning on attending!

Hope to see you there!