Happy New Year everyone! First post for 2015, and it's long overdue!
2014 has been such a fantastic year and one of the biggest milestones I had in the past 12 months is finally buying and moving into my own place. As some of you may have read in my Project Condo series, it's a long and sometimes grueling process to select, edit and curate pieces for an apartment so small. The whole journey taught me that independence does not come cheap, buying furniture and keeping a well maintained home is a big big challenge. I have frequented a handful of interior decoration blogs to help me with my DIY journey, and even though my place is far from being fully finished, I can say that I've made some progress.
Recently, I received an email from a blog reader asking for some tips on decorating (Hello Lanell!) and I'm happy that a.) someone other than my family actually reads my blog and b.) that I can use the blog as a platform to help fellow first time condo owners in DIY decorating. Now here's a disclaimer: I am not armed with a degree or even work experience in interior decoration and my home is a product of trial and error. I'm definitely not an expert, but here are some things that I've learned from the DIY home improvement journey.
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| Current apartment set up and a bit of an inevitable mess |
1. Try living with what you have for the meantime.
This decision was really brought about by the fact that I have no budget for a major renovation, plus, I still don't have guts to take risks when it comes to buying colorful furniture and completely commit to it. Considering my fickle mindedness, I took the safer route, kept the furniture and walls neutral so that there are more options for me when I decide to change the look of my place. So far, the color scheme that I ended up with is the following:
60% white - since the condo came with white walls and white tiles, I kept it as it is to minimize costs
30% black and gray - I chose either grey or black for my big pieces namely the sofa and the bed. I chose dark wood for my other furniture to match the doors and cabinets.
10% pops of yellow, pink and blue. Apart from the fact that it can be changed easily and it's cheap, my pops of color came from throw pillow covers, flowers and curtains.
Also, before going on a buying spree, try to live in your newly turned over unit for a while and see the flow of your day to day activities. For me, I knew I didn't really watch TV that often so I didn't go on buying a TV console yet. I needed additional shelving in the bathroom so I bought a stainless steel towel rack (2,500 Php) and glass shelves (900 Php) where I can store my bathroom essentials. I bought a shoe rack that served as a drop off area of not only my shoes but also my bags. Getting a good idea of your daily routine allows you to prioritize the important things to buy for your home.
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| What my place looked like around November. I did not make any renovations but only added furniture an decorations. |
2. Flowers and plants make a huge difference
Since my place was mostly in monochrome, I needed a few living things to deviate from the coldness of black, gray and white. I made sure each area (living, dining, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom) had at least one plant in it. Apart from the fact that plants make cheap and beautiful decorations, they also clean the air and get rid of toxic elements brought about by using cleaning agents and disinfectants.
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A couple of baskets and a water plant in a vase can be found in my bathroom as well. Baskets were brought from Make Room & More for around 375 Php each. The glass shelving and the towel rack were installed by Ring Rob, Robinson's in house concierge
The live plants that I have in my condo were taken from my mom's garden. She gave me snake plants, a cactus and some plant that can survive just by putting it in a vase with water.
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From L-R:
The Snake plant which is the tallest one is holding up well. I water it every other day and according to some blogs that I've read, it's low maintenance and impossible to kill.
The second one (I don't know what it's called) is almost dead! I really don't know the cause but I think it's from lack of direct sunlight.
The third one is also doing good because it's just a smaller version of the snake plant.
The fourth one is a pineapple plant and is still surprisingly alive
In the morning, I put them under direct sunlight. My unit faces the morning sun so between 8-10, a bit of sunshine peeks through my window. Hence the long board so that I can just roll them to where the sunlight is!
3. Pay attention to lighting
Upon turnover of your unit, only the basics are provided including overhead lighting and it's up to you to veer away from it and create an additional ambiance to your place. In the morning, I leave my curtains open so that the living and dining areas are more exposed to natural light. In my bedroom, I installed yellow lighting to invoke a bit of warmth which makes rest more inviting, then kept the white light in the living and dining areas because those are the areas where I work and eat.
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An IKEA floor lamp in my living room! Gifted by my good friend Rina!
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My apartment currently only has overhead lighting and the bulbs are totally exposed. Aaaah I'm really ashamed of that and I know I should install some fixture at some point but I haven't been able to decide on something that I really really loved. I compensate for putting candles and lamps so that the attention is brought to eye level instead of the ceiling. In my bedroom, I even used LED Christmas lights in lieu of a normal lamp. I loved the effect and it also does a good job of providing enough light when I read at night.
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| Created a vignette using my dried flowers in a vase, candles, a kalesa decor I brought from Vigan (150 bucks!) and a small cactus given by my mom. She bought a small container at Daiso for 88 Php. Candles are from Alice Blue (495 Php). |
Because travel is such a big part of what inspires me, I framed a few photos that I took from my local travels as well visits to Melbourne, New York, Paris and Mechelen. These remind me to keep my wanderlust alive and find myself another adventure.
I don't follow any rules in decorating. The important thing that you should remember is that your place should be a reflection of who you are and the things you love. While some people are aiming for picture perfect homes, I like me a bit of quirk and irregularity. Keep in mind to discern when buying decor and make a mental reminder of what look you're trying to achieve. Be mindful of your routine in your space and how the furniture in your home is arranged to support it. Finally, just have fun with experimenting!
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| Bought photo paper and had these printed at home. Frames were bought from Robinson's Mall for 199.75 Php each. |
Travel-inspired typographic decorations can also be found in my place. This one is from Robinson's Mall and it spoke to me the moment I saw it. Each of these go for about 400 Php each from Robinson's mall. I also framed a geometric watercolor artwork that I did myself.
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| Drapes, geometric shapes and a bit of color |
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| My bed where I put some books that I read before bedtime. Check out my Bed time Story post here. |
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