College Living

Well, as promised (albeit a little late and not 100% done), here's Kate's new room. She officially moved out of her college dorm in December and moved into a beautiful apartment with a friend and fellow student in January. Because of the timing, I didn't really start the decorating process until the week after we got back from NYC. That gave me just three weeks to pull the whole thing off!

Let me begin by saying that my photography stinks. (And I could have ironed the coverlet!) I tried on three separate occasions to photograph this room and it just wasn't working out well. Every day was cloudy and no matter what I did, the yellow walls just glowed! The apartment was given a nice fresh coat of paint throughout—green in the entry/dining/living area and other bedroom, red in the tiny kitchen (yes, it works), and yellow in her room and the bathroom. I'd bet my last $10 that they're all Benjamin Moore colors, and this one in particular is Concord Ivory (BM HC-12). So if you're familiar with this color, you understand that the walls look a bit more lively in photographs than they do in person.

Okay, back to the design. Here's what we had to work with: bureau, two lamps, two large frames, bed frame, desk chair, rug, large floor basket, miscellaneous accessories. Here's what I had to buy: all of the bedding, pillows, one lamp, desk, bedside table, two frames, art canvases, waste basket. And I still need to replace the desk chair, bedside table lamp, and work on the windows.

The bedding and the pillow you see to the left came from Kohl's. The quilt is called Casablanca by Chaps and the pattern is beautiful. The majority of the pillows I scored at area shops; a few for as little as $5 each! My favorite is the multi-colored paisley from White Home Collections. I almost kept that one for myself.

The sweet side table was purchased here in town from a vintage-inspired shop called Laurel & Grove. It's much different than the rest of the furniture, but it's important not to match everything to begin with. I fell in love with it and I grabbed the cream cable-knit pillow while I was there as well. The teapot is from The Ritz, the tray from Twin Elm Farm, and the teacup was my great grandmothers. Have you seen the pretty little $10 bouquets at Whole Foods? Well, that's one of them and it was my gift to Kate the day I took these photographs.

The desk was bought at Target (it's part of their Threshold line) and I simply painted the nickel knob a golden bronze. The bamboo chair I've had forever, but it's getting replaced with the gray beauty you see below. I just picked it up at TJs. The art canvases Kate and I made. You can see how here. I also made the book page art over her bed and her Hogwarts letter. Take a peek at more photos below.

The lamp you see on the bureau was purchased at Target. I then painted it using two types and colors of spray paint to get the look I wanted....first the dark, then the light, then spots of dark again. You can see a more detailed picture on my Facebook page.

The built-in bookcase is located across from her bed and beside a double closet. The bamboo chair will be moved in front of the radiator and I will continue the hunt for large baskets to help fill in the space (the shelves are very deep) and give her more storage.

One last shot of the bed. She has decided to forgo curtains for the moment. I think you can see the (awful) blinds and her string of white lights on the windows. The sills are wide, so she takes advantage of the space, and she uses her bed like a sofa and props her pillows up against the windows and wall. All in all, not a bad start for a limited budget.

I promise to replace the photos if I'm lucky enough to take better shots!