finishing touches

well it's officially september, and if you remember, my goal was to get it up on the market by september 1st -- before winter sets in and minnesota buyers flee back into their homes until spring. so it's a rush to the finish line as i continue moving my belongings to tim's house (box by box), cleaning every last inch, and staging it to really wow everyone who walks through it.

new cabinet hardware. check!

and speaking about staging...notice the cute owl perched next to my knife block? my grandma actually painted that little fella long ago, and i've kept him with me as i move from place to place.

why did i swap out my Urban Outfitters statement chandelier? well, i was told to de-personalize as much as possible during the staging process. aka: take down photos and make the place as neutral as possible so anyone who walks through could envision themselves living here.

so i found a budget-friendly option at Menards that really fit well with my color scheme and wrought iron door and cabinet hardware throughout my entire place.

the secret of happiness

turns out certain people are worried that naming my dining room the opium den might hurt my reputation. well how about the poppyseed lounge? hmm, this might take some time, so as i ponder more socially acceptable titles to help you understand my vision, here are some photos from last weekend's project. what do you think?

here's a little background on my inspiration for this room: those who know me can understand why i ended up choosing a different (but equally vibrant) color for each of my four walls. as seen in my daily wardrobe, i am intrigued by mixing together as many patterns and colors as i possibly can. and now that i have my own place, it's starting to show through in my home decor as well.

the circular wall hangings shown above were a diy birthday gift from my lovely baby sis and i am so happy i finally got them up on the walls. i decided to have them hanging down from the ceiling, so i secured a string of hemp across the entire middle wall, and then hung each fabric circle down from there at different heights. i didn't plan it out in advance, and should have probably thought about their placements, measured, and used a transparent thread, but i was impatient and just wanted to get them up.

PS: for those of you still worried about the negative connotations of the term opium den, here's what a little google searching uncovered to prove that the word can be used to describe a design style:

• a peek into the home of olga naiman via design*sponge
• a post from the BBC's design inspiration section
• an LA spot, the figueroa hotel
• and of course, the one and only kitty cat klub in dinkytonwn

and i leave you with a quote (also found on my google search), which inspired the title of this post.

"i took it, and in an hour...an abyss of divine enjoyment suddenly revealed...here was the secret of happiness...at once discovered." -- thomas de quincey.

a perfect fit

 

once again my family proved how much they love me.

bright and early the day after the fourth of july (on our day off) they showed up at my door at 10am, paintbrushes in hand. and despite the humidity and the fact that i have no AC, they powered through it all: putty, sanding, taping, priming, and painting.

along the way we discovered there actually is a reason i dealt with all the short comments throughout my lifetime: i fit perfectly into the window, my ponytail just barely brushing against the top of the window frame. matthew didn't fit quite as well.

by 2pm i had four finished dining room walls, in four different colors. (well, we still need to paint a second coat...but that can wait) and now i can officially introduce you to my india-inspired opium den dining room.

up next: creating a wall-length wooden storage bench, scattered with silk throw pillows of all colors and patterns.

the pink room surprise

i've had a small quart-sized sample of "pink salmon" from glidden laying around for a while now. i'd been planning on painting at least one (if not more) walls of my dining room a pinky color, but wasn't completely sure what i wanted to do.

then today i came home...and bam. there it was. a pink wall. i guess dad got antsy and decided it was now or never.

any ideas for what i should do with the other walls?

walk with me, talk with me

here's a little walkthrough of my condo so far...

the real thing

my chandelier arrived early, all in one piece, on the front steps. i was so excited that the next week seemed to take forever. but finally thursday came -- the day chad offered to come over and install it in my dining room.

during the week chad had picked up a converter because the chandelier is shipped from the UK. crazy right? i also bought some circular globe lights (i think the candelabra candle bulbs look creepy) and these spherical ones remind me of giant bubbles. plus, they make the light sparkle.

so after a few minor setbacks -- like the fact that appliances from overseas are opposite from ours, white is hot, instead of black -- chad successfully installed the light.

i love it! and it's even on a dimmer switch, how perfect is that! now i just need a dining room table...

gypsy chandelier

i splurged.

i found this incredible, one-of-a-kind, gypsy chandelier at Urban Outfitters and i just couldn't get it out of my head. so after about two days of going back and forth whether or not i should buy it (and looking online for anything similar or diy), i was unsuccessful. so i bought it, and it's currently traveling through the US (SC, NC, OH and IN) and should get here by friday!

im planning on making my dining room somewhat eclectic. i already have a small bucket of this pinkish/salmony color for one of my walls, which i am thinking of texturing somehow. plus this colorful chandelier. any other ideas of how to make this room more funky?