Apartment Love - Vanity

By Emsu

While a lot of the heavy rework in our apartment was completed by my lovely husband, there's one set of projects I completed all on my own, and that's my bedroom vanity.

Raus and I went to a thrift store in Ann Arbor and picked up this old desk, now transformed into my giant makeup chest. I sanded it down and painted it. The black chair was found in a separate Ann Arbor thrift shop (they have so many good ones here!).

The body of the lamp on the left was purchased at Ikea, and the body of the one on the right, as well as both lampshades, were purchased at Target.

The dishes I use for my rings and some earrings are from Bed Bath and Beyond. Most of my jewelry are treasures from my travels. The little card is a haiku written for me by my younger sister :)

This tree was originally brown and meant to hold earrings, but I decided to transform it into a bracelet holder, since I had no place to put all of them, and painted it black to match the vanity.

Some trinkets from Korea - a coin purse and a jewelry holder, where I keep my lucky tiger's eye stone.

                       

My two journals.

One of my favorite mini projects! I bought the frame from Michael's - it's just a simple wooden frame (it has 2 parts, a front and a back). I then cut up some lace I received when I got married and secured it with ModPodge in between the 2 wooden frames. Very easy, and looks cute!

My other favorite little project! I bought the frame at a thrift shop and bought the little knobs at a craft store (Michael's again, I think). I think painted the knows and the cardboard inside the frame black, and glued the knobs onto the cardboard. Again, super easy! I think my favorite necklace is the mini ocarina on the left. Love ocarinas, oh man.

And lastly, mini polaroids of some of my favorite people. 

Thanks for reading friends! This was one of my favorite posts so far :D

Our Apartment: The Study

For the study we wanted somewhere where we both could do our work, a little space that both inspired and calmed the soul. With little room to play with we opted for two large shelves that run across the length of the room, and a desk on the opposite wall, rather than against the window. 

We painted the walls a light grey again, and filled the room with splashes of color. The red chairs were purchased from a yard sale, while the desk and lamp are from Ikea. The two shelves we got from Home Depot, cut to the length of the room.

The little bits and pieces are collected from our travels, little reminders of where we've been and where we want to return. 

Korea is excellent for picking up cute little stationary pieces. They do cute better than anyone. 

A lot of the room features home made projects. The magnetic pin board is a old picture frame, some metal from home depot and fabric from a thrift store than Mary Soo put together. The posters were quotes from some of my favorite Wes Anderson movies. 

I really like this room and I feel we used the space really well. I hope you like it. 

Our Apartment; The Dining Room

The dining room was the first room decorated. We decided on a dark slate color and a light grey for the walls, and switched the lighter color from the bottom half to the top. I wanted a room that mixed minimalism with thrift store finds. Again, thanks to Ikea, Salvation Army and a host of other second hand stores in Ann Arbor, we were able to do this all for a couple of hundred bucks. 

We brought the table top and the legs from Ikea. Buying them separate is a much cheaper option that buying a complete table. The chairs were purchased from a couple of different thrift stores in Ann Arbor, as was the mirror. 

The art work was our attempt at the crayon paintings you find on Pinterest. Rather than just lining them up and allowing them to trickle down the canvas, we used a hairdryer and just made pretty patterns with the crayons. 

The cabinet is the White PS Locker from Ikea. We got the lamp from another thrift store while the little bunch of flowers are dried from our wedding day. 

The room has become a really nice space to relax in, whether it be for dinner or when Mary Soo needs to spread her books out during a study session. 

Our Apartment; The Kitchen

So it's nearly been a year since we moved into our apartment in Ann Arbor after making the switch from Korea. After living in crappy little flats in Seoul we really wanted a place that felt like home. With limited funds we couldn't do anything too drastic, but with a lick of paint and some purchases (Ikea and Salvation Army) we have started to make it feel like ours. 

We painted the walls a light grey, while we repainted the cupboards to freshen them up. 

I like to cook (and I'm quite skilled at making a terrific mess while doing so) so it was important to have lots of surfaces in the kitchen. We got two kitchen stands from Ikea and put them together. 

The rest of the kitchen is pretty simple, a little few touches of memories from Korea, some on display storage and a cute garlic holder we found in TJ Maxx for a couple of dollars. 

There is still more to be done (pictures on the walls etc) but its a good start with the budget we were working with, and i'm pretty taken with the green lino floors and surfaces now.