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Wednesday, January 16, 2013

feathering my nest

In October, I shared that I moved in with the boyfriend over the summer, but have been silent about that subject since. Well, here is a little more on the matter.
As we are both graduate students, stuck in the time continuum that is this period between college & real life, we are living in "transition". Meaning that we won't live here for forever, & our "cozy" 975 sq. foot apartment isn't our dream place by any stretch of the word. Buuuut, I can't resist my urges to nest for much longer... 

When we first moved in, I styled up mini vignettes that made me happy (I talked about these "sweet spots" over on my friend Tiff's blog { here }), & those placated me for a while...

However, I am still on a mission to add pieces we I LOVE that fit in with what we have now (AKA hand-me-down, college era left-overs) & will mesh with the furniture we add over the coming years (I swear this is the last time I will move this bedraggled college furniture to a new place!)

Turns out my home design process is a lot like my wardrobe building plan...

So what is our my style? The boyfriend isn't that particular (just NO pink), & I am still on the journey to figure that out, but I am attracted to clean, minimalistic design. I blame my first sheepskin pelt from Ikea for my LOVE of all things white, fluffy & Scandanavian.

We have a pretty good base of sleek white surfaces - block storage, side tables, coffee table, book shelf, mod plastic chairs - so for now I am looking to incorporate some items with a little more personality.... because nothing else says this is MY house like a cow hide rug, amiright?
{ 1 chic tulip table // 2 decanters to gussy up my bar cart // 3 fancy pouf for my feets // 4 white fluffy pillows make my heart happy // 5 I can't sleep without a fan, & my current dust-bunny could use an upgrade // 6 two words: cow. hide. (I plan to pick one of these bad boys up at my local flea market come Spring) // 7 plants I can't kill: prints of succulents // 8 purty shag rug // 9 why sit when you ran rock? // 10 Nashville subway art, we got no subway, but we have art }

What do you call your home design aesthetic?

Classic Prep? Girlie Boho? Scandanavian Sleek? College-Chic?

Next home purchase on your radar? Any other cow hide rug lovers out there? (holla!)

P.S. Looking to see more of this gal's burgeoning home design love, check out my Pinterest boards for home, living room, bedroom & more

*Update: This post is now featured on DailyBuzz Style. Check out the other "cozy home" posts { here }

30 comments:

  1. My boyfriend and I are in a very similar spot. He's in graduate school, and neither of us really had the income to buy a whole lot when we moved in together in September, so we've been mixing a few new to us craigslist finds with his college pieces and making do. Unfortunatley we have a lot less space than you (about 550-600 sq feet) So we're stuck with shopping for function over style right now.

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  2. Seriously, you need to get that rug, it's so you. My home decor style is more classically modern, or as the design world calls it, transitional. We love traditional pieces, but hate the bulkiness, so we go for pieces that have a classic feel with a modern twist. :)

    xo, Yi-chia
    Always Maylee

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  3. I never really thought about my design aesthetic until I got my apartment (almost a year ago–yikes!). I think I'd have to say it's eclectic, slightly girlie and a bit unexpected. But that could change!

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  4. I feel you girl! My boyfriend and I are recent college grads and do not have the needed cash to decorate like adults. We're currently living with a lot of college left-overs and I find myself itching to upgrade often. I'm not sure what I would call my home style exactly... but I love large windows, light/calming colors, and comfortable spaces.
    Good luck with the upgrades!

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  5. Love the Nashville art! That thing is awesome!! I am totally still in weird-cheap-mismatched-furniture college mode, but I'm trying to be ok with that until the day I can BUY furniture that MATCHES (such a novel concept). I think minimalism is beautiful in a home, especially considering how much stuff we all accumulate! Nice that your boyfriend is letting you take charge with that, he's a keeper!

    perfectly priya

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  6. Isn't that such an awkward home place to be in? I avoided decorating my college home as I figured I would be moving around a lot... I've been here three years now and figured its about time to settle in! Good luck with the decorating :)

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  7. Ohhhh it's hard! Really hard! We just moved into our own house and the process of decorating/selecting the right furniture and making it our own personal style is exhausting... Thank God for IKEA... :)


    happymedley.blogspot.com

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  8. Seriously I cant wait until I can just pitch all my "single" furniture and get new stuff! I love the cleanness of all of your picks... clean with a touch of flash! great stuff!

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  9. My boyfriend and I have been in post college, random furniture and decor phase for almost 2 years now. I'm hoping when we move somewhere that we can start over :) I love home decor and wish that I had some more personal touches at our place!

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  10. nice picks! it takes time to move outta the college mindset into adult living (hey i'm 30 and i'm still working on it!), but you'll get there. i'm still learning what i like too and have found that i tend to gravitate towards mid-century modern and clean lines. so i love that tulip table!
    -- jackiejade.blogspot.com

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  11. Pictures please! I'm totally with you Jess - as a student I'm not out in the 'real world' yet either, and most of our furniture is also hand-me-downs. I've been on a mad nesting kick recently and and doing the exact same thing - trying to find little things to bring everything together! :)



    life-etcblog.blogspot.com.au
     

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  12. Love the things you've picked out.  My husband & I recently bought a house so we are in the process of decorating too.  Our weekends are spent painting and at home stores looking at curtains!  hah!  I love it but it is tiring because I want one thing one day, and something different the next.  I like contemporary mixed with antique pieces- so I have an eclectic style!
    :)
    Allison

    A's Fashion Files
    Shop Kawaii Kitsch by A on Etsy, and get free domestic shipping with code FREESHIP

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  13. Love all of your picks, Jess! My boyfriend is luckily one who doesn't care much either, unless it's hot pink. And since he always lived in furnished places, it's all my stuff. That's both good and bad...only one person to point the finger at if I don't like it! Mine is kind of a mishmash, modern but warm and lived in....that's the best way I can think to describe it!

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  14. Love your pics!! I am sure you'll be loved by many on world's 1st eyewear styling community —— plus.firmoo.com, could we have the honor to see you there?

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  15. I was chuckling at how you described your styles w/ being in college///transition ... when I was married to my ex-husband, he was a full-time student, and I would say, "Oh, our decorating style is starving student"!

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  16. loving all of these pieces for your house! I want that blue pouf... I've wanted one for so long, just can't convince my bf :)









    xxx
    Lady à la Mode

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  17. Woah - I need to stop complaining right this second... 600 sq feet... that is impressive! I have found that the less space I have, the less I need, and I like that!
    xx

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  18. Ooh I really like how you describe your style! And thanks for voting for the rug, the bf is still on the fence, but I want it so badly!
    xx

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  19. Thanks, it is nice knowing that I'm not the only one with a less-than-Pinterest worthy home... sometimes it is so easy to get caught up in what I want NOW, that I forget to appreciate that building a home is a long process that takes many many years!
    xx

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  20. I know, I think that Nashville art is a must-purchase! Love it so much. And yes, just took a big load of STUFF to Goodwill, trying to embrace the minimalism!
    xx

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  21. SO awkward... there is so much I want to replace, I don't even know where to start, but it isn't like I can just throw it all away either... where would we sit to eat!? haha
    xx

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  22. Yes, thank goodness for IKEA. The only problem is our closest one is 4 hours away, and I almost had a break down in the sofa aisle last time with the boyfriend had to convince me that the couch I wanted would definitely NOT fit in the back of my sedan. Sad face.
    xx

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  23. Some days I literally want to toss everything outside and just sit on the floor until I find/save up for furniture I love... but because that is not practical, I will just continue to purchase pretty coffee table books to distract myself with! haha
    xx

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  24. Grad school = time warp, I swear. I am 25 and still living the "college" life... le sigh
    xx

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  25. Thanks for the pep talk Jackie! I love mid-century modern pieces - I need to get better at trolling our flea market for picks on my budget!
    xx

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  26. So perfect that we are on the same page. There are tiny spots of my apartment that I love, but not enough to photograph the whole place. I just got some new side tables, so I might have to share my styling of those soon :)
    xx

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  27. Ooh I really like the way you described your style. It is my dream to get a little cottage to fix up one day! Good luck with your decorating dreams!
    xx

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  28. All our stuff is mine too - cast offs from family that I am certainly thankful for, but those pieces have now seen better days. Since we aren't married, I purchase things for the house that I want, but I hope one day Ty and I can work together towards creating a house that is "our home"
    xx

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  29. um, yup - that is definitely my style: starving student chic!
    xx

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Thank you for your comments, they make my day!!
xx