The fastest decorating project ever: Apt #13 takes life

The movers arrived Friday morning and the unpacking ended somewhere after dinner time. Luckily I had helpers...and wine! Here's what was accomplished while you were at the beach drinking beers and eating hot dogs. (I'm jealous)

 Look who it is again??

 My runners from Apt #12 fit perfectly in the hallway!

Looking into my room.

 BAM! There it is!!
I'm happy to report I spent only $200 to get this room together, mainly because I already had A TON of stuff. Here's what I bought.

Curtain rods: IKEA. Don't bother going anywhere else. Curtain rods needn't be a huge expense and if you're paying more than $20 per, you're wasting your money. Mine are the LUMMIGs that you can get for $14.99 each.

Curtain panels: JCPenney! Yes, this is the second time I've scored great curtains (at a long length-no hemming!! 108") for $39.99 a panel! This place is a gold mine.

Roller shades: Home Depot $10 per shade.

I moved the "Wall of Fame" from the bathroom (that would be weird for my roommates) to this huge wall. I think I'll stop here. And no, I didn't plan/measure/think it out. That's not how I do and thank goodness I pulled it off. 

That's all for now...Yes, there's a bookcase I'm hiding from you because it's holding all my crap. And the bed needs a headboard. (I know, that was a problem before...)

#13 Bedroom Sneak Peek

Miraculously, I got the majority of my unpacking and decorating done this weekend. It's amazing to think that it took me nearly a year to get Apartment #12 "just right" and it only took a few days to get #13 in line.   I didn't have to buy much because I downsized into a shared apartment from my own studio, just window treatments and miscellaneous tools. I'm not completely done but wanted to share the view so far.

I'll post nicer pics and share my resources this week. I must say, this decorating thing gets easier as I keep repeating the process...

NYC Move-in Day is Here!!

After 1 month and 5 days, my THINGS are arriving from Fort Lauderdale. For those of you who were wondering, my mover (Flat Rate Movers) gave me a month of free storage along with the move. This was amazing, seeing as I moved here without anywhere to stay and just found a place about two weeks ago.

I thought I'd post some "Before" pics of the apartment before the madness begins. My roommates graciously gave me free reign of the apartment and luckily we have a need for nearly everything I'm bringing. I'm psyched to see how my stuff will fit in this new place. Finally....some space for 9 lamps!

 The common areas.

Oh. You, again?

Looking into the hallway from my room. 

Reader Love.

I want to pay homage to my readers today after getting some lovely comments from all over the world! As I said before, I check out my Google Analytics weekly and wonder WHO you are....especially when I see hits from China, Chile, Finland, hell, even Rhode Island (Mom, is that you??).

Kara has been a constant presence on the BBB almost since I started writing. She hails from Iowa, is an evident dog-lover like me, and takes the most gorgeous pics of her kids. I have to mention that she did the most badass project EVER and transformed a wingback chair into gold by using upholstery paint.

via Living in the Moment 

Ayanna is another reader who shares the same challenges of having a full-time life with decorating aspirations. She's a math tutor and busy mom to a little cutiepie. Her decor strategy is to "tackle one room at a time"--sound familiar? 

Here's her "Before" of her latest project

via http://www.sensitivesnapdragon.blogspot.com/

We've got some love from Belgium from Design Elements. You'll see Europe's best real estate featured daily on this blog. 

Lastly, we heard from our neighbor up North from Canada. Stephanie writes on Canadian Home Love, which chronicles her new life, complete with a "new husband, new house, and new COUNTRY"!! She's another dog lover and you can see her renovations here. 

Ladies, thanks for the feedback! It's so great to hear from readers and get to know you through YOUR blogs!! Anyone else out there?

Again, thanks for reading and your support. 

xx court

Daily Dog

Just in case you missed him.....Higgies says hello.

Furniture delivery supposedly scheduled Weds or Thurs. Stay tuned for pics!

You asked for it: Apartment #13 photos

Here's the moment you all have been waiting for....pics of Apartment #13! I moved out of my boyfriend's apartment Sunday night and moved my three suitcases of clothes (and Higgins) into the new apartment. The rest of my apartment is on a moving truck and the deliver is to be determined this week. Hopefully I'll have my things before Memorial Day weekend. 

Here are pics of my room. You'll be very happy that I held out and didn't get the aforementioned studios. 

 I think I'll put my bed on this wall. There's enough room for my campaign nightstands (which were used in Apartment #12 as the entertainment center). Yes, that's exposed brick!

 There's a weird nooky thing going on to the right of the bed. Not sure what I'm going to do with this but it's a nice feature.

 The proposed bed wall faces two windows that are not the same size. I'm thinking I'll use curtains to fix the proportions.

A better view. My sunburst mirrors are going in the middle. 

The best part???? WALK. IN. CLOSET. A rarity.

Enough about me...what about you!

I've monitored who visits my blog...where people are viewing from...how often do they come back...and I'd like to say THANK YOU. It's so cool to see that Google Analytics map light up with countries as far as the Philippines (hey cousins!), Ukraine, India, Kenya, and the like.

What I want to know is....what about you!??!

Who is reading, following, etc?

What are your design dilemmas?

What do your homes look like?

What challenges do you face when designing your space?

Please send me your pics, stories, and backgrounds. Somehow a bunch of people read this site on a daily basis and I have no idea about YOU....and I want to know!

Shoot me a comment or a mail at courtneyvelasco (at) gmail (dot) com.

Black walls are still on my mind

 I'm still stuck on the two windows in my bedroom. FYI, this is a COMPLETE luxury to have TWO windows in your NYC bedroom!

I hear that the room gets VERY bright. I'm wondering what it'd be like to paint my window wall black??

Lonny.

Apt #13 Inspiration

It's been quiet because I haven't moved in yet. The landlord is supposed to paint the whole apartment for us and that was postponed out to tomorrow am. So there's no use in Higgins and I exposing ourselves to noxious fumes....our brains are already tapped.

So no pics yet. I know....you hate me. Here's some images I'm bouncing around for my room--curtains.

The design dilemma in my new room is there are two windows of two different sizes on one wall. I'm thinking I'll use curtains to create the illusion of symmetry. The debate is whether they should be white with black trim (with a black linen roller shade) or black with white (and vice versa). What do you think?

 My love Ryan Korban

Images via Lonny

Apartment #12: In Full

Here are the final snapshots of Apartment #12. 

Apartment #12. Wilton Manors, FL
688 Square Foot Studio
Gables Wilton Park

Apartment inspiration

The meeting with the new roommates went extremely well! I was up all morning brainstorming a look for my room.

This image from the McQueen exhibit at the Met (yes, I'm going SOON) may be it.

Apartment #13: Girly oasis in Hell's Kitchen

My new roommate, Jen, sent me this as her inspiration pic after seeing my blog this week:

I. DIE.

Could this be any more perfect??!?! PS: I've been digging that flatware for a hot minute. This is gonna be awesome.

Meeting Jen and Roommate #3 tonight for drinks at my favorite Thai restaurant, Room Service.

 source

This image and the decor at Room Service will (hopefully if agreed) be the inspiration of Apartment #13.