East Village Craigslist

I've been really missing living in Manhattan lately. I started to furnish my imagined East Village abode from Craigslist last night, and today it all seemed to come together with a few additions from Overstock and ebay.


I loved this little round table (perfect size for my new (imagined, but lets be realistic) smaller abode...and have always lusted after the eames shell chairs with the wooden eifel base and these knock-offs are on sale at Overstock for $187/pair.


Next up the living area...I still need to find a coffee table but I love this sofa with the vintage industrial rolling cart as a side table and this rug:

I really love this chair, but feel like it needs something a little more subtle (and a little softer)then the hit you in the face green, so I found this vintage french ticking fabric on ebay.

















And of course I couldn't live without books, and everyone needs some extra storage, so these metal shelves from HON (there are 3 available, so perfect to line a wall) fit the bill, but I would add some vintage wallpaper to peep out from the back, maybe this busy, but bright pattern that I keep watching on ebay but never seem to buy:


Finally a few accessories; these antique drafting stools (there are four available) would look great set at different heights with a few ferns on them in a corner or by a window, they also continue the sort of industrial theme I have going in the shelves and tables so far, maybe could even use one of them with a lamp on it for a side table next to the chair:

and finally a mirror to hang over the sofa:

I like this one because it is smoke glass, so a little more subtle than a regular mirror.

That's it for my imaginary move to the East Village...on a side note, I really need to figure out how to lay out a photo collage on the computer so I can put together inspiration boards......

Oh, one more thing, all of these craigslist items are located in the east village (except for the mirror, which is in the west village) so easy pick-up and delivery.

My Living Room These Days

This is my living room right now (or at least a few days ago when I cleaned it up to put in my new rug) This rug is to replace my old one, which was the same color scheme, but a much nicer pattern, which my cats ruined by "claiming" it (other wise known as pissing all over it) in some bad behavior elicited by the birth of the baby and the move to Brooklyn. I don't love this one, but it is big (9' x 12'), the right color palate, and was $125 at Housing Works.
All and all the living room is looking not so bad, still needs a lot of things, but you know, livable. However, then we have the other side:

so when I moved in there was a piece of french moulding on this wall (there are still bits and pieces of it) It is actually all over the apartment, and I sort of like it, but this particular panel had a piece of framed drywall over a cut out, and just drove me crazy!!!
I can't find a good picture of it, but here is a before:

I have been complaining about it for months to my sister, who has obviously known me for a long time, and says constantly, "Don't touch it, I don't want to hear about you trying to pull it off!" Up until last week I heeded her advice, but one day the baby was asleep, and I decided that I could just take off the dry wall that was backing the shelf in the other room. So nice right, see through the shelf from both sides, let a little light into the interior room. I carefully cut the drywall along the inside of the frame so I wouldn't take off any more than necessary, and I started to pull it out.....however, it left an icky edge. I looked at and I thought, "if I just pop off this frame, I can just pop off the whole piece of drywall and then I'll put the frame right back in, and make a nice little finish to the living room side of the shelf." So, not wanting to destroy an old plaster wall, I gingerly tested my theory on just one side of the frame, and it was easy, so I decided to proceed.....but!!!!when I went to pull off the third side, it had been glued, rather than nailed to the old wall, and a good chunk of the wall came off to. Now I have a hole.

When my boyfriend got home, who, like my sister, has known me for a long time, he didn't scream or yell, he just said "oh, honey, what have you done?"

I obviously have to fix it, but for now I just hung a painting over it, which begs the question, why didn't I just do that to begin with?

Also, the library shelf below is a recent Craigslist purchase ($30!!!), this is not where it will permanantely go, but it is currently being used as a deterent to the baby messing with the hole.

Virtual Fleamarket/Dining Room or Entryway Design

Vintage chrome and marble dining table
2 Antique chairs with sunburst pattern seats
1960s Style Hanging Lamp
Vintage Bookshelf
Vintage Schumacher Wallpaper

Plus these curtains from Anthropologie.

So funny story...I couldn't find my camera yesterday, I finally found it today. However, I discovered it in a zippered pocket of my son's bag after a yogurt exploded and I rinsed it out. Hopefully it will dry out and work....we'll see. So my plans to post pictures of my living room in progress with sofas and curtains I am thinking about was foiled. I did finish (mostly) painting my entryway, and started to assemble a collage of my collection of postcards. It is the first "art" I have hung up and it really made me start to feel like this might be a home for us.

Anyway, all of that aside I was surfing craigslist for, well for anything really because I have hardly any furniture for this apartment. I found this amazing dining table (pictured above) and was really trying to figure out if I should get rid of my little Paul McCobb dining chairs I've had forever (they just wouldn't work with the table) Good thing I am pretty broke right now, because it was really a moot point, I can't afford the table. Instead I made a little imaginary dining room, all from Craigslists finds, some vintage wallpaper off ebay (meant to line the back of the rather dusty looking, but awesome vintage shelf) and some sale curtains from Anthropologie (I can't figure out how to post pictures from their website so I just have a link) So, if anyone were to read my blog, I designed a nice little entryway (or add some chairs and it could be a dining room) for them.

PS The whole thing costs less than $500.