i LOVE this desk!!!

i'm a huge fan of apothecary dressers.  wait. dressers?  cabinets?  whatever they're called.  and hidden stuff?  so cool!  i would like this better if it was the small drawer thing, but this is still pretty cool.

from here.

maps in the home

so this link has some cool pics of maps used as decoration.  of these photos, i like the ones below.

as a floor!

wallpaper!

paris!

on a dresser!

in multiple frames!

more paris!!

and then, to show my love for maps, here is an AWESOME map that i have in my house.

to do in my apartment: redo the stairs

i would LOVE to buy my place.  i didn't think i would ever say that, but i have a lot of ideas for what i could do with it.  i could really turn it in to an airbnb and make a lot more money if i could add a second bathroom.  and one of my ideas is to turn the spiral staircase shown here

into a thin staircase with one change in direction.  i think i would have the opening change, instead of stepping on to the staircase on the right hand side at the top, i'd move it to the lefthand side then have it go down against the brick wall and turn once and go in to the dining room.  anyway, thats an idea and then i saw this change in staircases (from a ladder, though, not a spiral staircase) to a totally functional staircase and it makes me want to do that!  check out these before and after pics from here.

window benches - wow. what a creative title!

my mom sent me a cool closet bench and bookshelf.  i can't find the picture right now, but it was a closet that they put shelves in on all three sides, took the door off, and then put a comfy overstuffed bench so you could sit IN the closet and read.  how fun does that sound?  she knew i would like it because she knows i like things like this: window benches.

from here.

when i was little, i tried to convince my parents to add on to our house (as if money grew on trees!) and give me a bay window in my bedroom (the smaller room, not the one facing the street at 1210).  i never got it (understandable! doesn't really add a ton of resale value! - ha!), but i still love looking at things like this.  love the colors in this next one.

good use of space for a random walk-up space.

do you have a window bench?

yellow or purple kitchen??

in my last apartment, i had a yellow kitchen.  it was kitschy and i LOVED it.  i accented it with purple pieces.  and it was HARD to find purple kitchenware.  i found a few bowls and some plastic utensils, but not a ton.  eventually, after living there over a year, i FINALY found purple kitchen towels and oven mitts.  i found them in a grocery store in DC.  my former roommate ruined my kitchen mitts, so i called him and asked him to get them for me.  he did!

so you can imagine how excited i was when i saw this post about purple kitchens.

i've posted a few pictures of the ones i like here.  this one is super cute and subtle.

this is a different type of purple, and not on the counters but on the walls and backsplash.  nice.

and saving the best for last:

how AMAZING is this??

PINK.  ORANGE.  AND PUPLE!!

i love it.  its my favorite.  so cool.

movin' on up!

i can't count how many times i have praised stairs here (actually, i probably could, but am not going to).  i love them.  LOVE them.  just love how they look and function - so cool.

earlier today, my sister-in-law sent a listing for her mother's childhood home which is on sale in north dakota (link here, if you're interested).  and this house has. amazing. stairs.

how nice are they?  such a lavish and beautiful entrance.  love it.

ironically, apartment therapy posted today about STAIRS.  funny!  small world.  and they explain what is needed to pass code for most stairs. so interesting.  here is a cool staircase that i liked from today's article (found here).

books make you look smarter

i don't listen to the radio much, but i've started to a bit in the mornings before going to work and recently there was a question of the day that i found chuckleable. it was something like "70% of people have this to make them look smarter." many people guessed glasses or pocket protector or things like that. the answer was books. its true that i used to give books to my brothers so that they would look well-read (even if it was just a jason bourne story). not sure they fully appreciated it, but i DID.  :)

in honor of books and reading and being smart, here are some cool libraries in people's homes that are enviable.

more where those came from here.

also, figured i would show you my small little collection. this is me at my desk with my books on one side and dvds/cds on the other - those make you look smaht, right??

in my next apartment...

so it appears that i will be moving in 2 months time. i need to commemorate my current apartment, but until then, i am going to begin collecting ideas for decor (which i have been doing all this time, but now i might have room to do things!).

i've been looking at furniture, because i will have to buy quite a bit of furniture for my next place and boy oh boy!  its expensive.  so i would like to get some used pieces to redo or bring to new life.  the only issue is, living in a city, there aren't many random garage sales where i can pick things up for cheap.  der.  and the consignment stores are actually quite expensive.

in any case, i would love to do this on something.  here is the aftermath, what i quite love, and what it was.

maybe some colored books? from here.

i guess thats why they call it a bathroom...

because you can take BATHS. bahahaha.  ok, that wasn't that funny.  but i have to write about these bathrooms.  they are
GOR
JUS

so gorgeous.  find more here.  below are some of my favorites.

the following one makes me feel a bit exposed... what if someone came by??

and this one i like because you could float around... reminds me of the springs in new zealand, rotorura.

stairs! they're everywhere!

last week, i wrote about some funly painted stairs.  funly is a word, right?  ok, it's not.  i'd like it to be.

well, now there are MORE stairs from here.  that just keep getting crazier and crazier.  here are some of my favorites.

this one would be great for rolling suitcases up and down.  (or kids, if you have them)

up and do and round and round

i love stairs.  i'll say it again.  they are so cool.  what would we do without stairs??  i'm in france today and i went for a walk in the village.  there weren't any stairs. but there were hills.  and i was tir-ed after the walking.  i would've liked to have seen some fun stairs like these.  from here.

organizing - i LOVE it!!!!!!

the other day at work, i was talking about how i read a bernstein bears book to my nephew.  and my colleague said "i loved bernstein bears!  the messy room was my favorite!" and i was like "that's MY favorite, too!"  here is a picture of it.

my colleague said "there's the bulletin board - i love that!" and i do, too.  so, when i saw this post, i instantly loved it.  here is the before and the after.

click here for all the details.

and doesn't that closet remind you of the bernstein bears closet??

fun storage idea!

thought this ingenious storage idea for the unused space next to your fridge was a great idea.  i have a step ladder next to my fridge, but maybe someday i'll do something like this...

from here.

what sayst you?

i LOVE this kitchen!

for some reason, kitchens are starting to become my favorite room in the house.  or, rather, favorite room to look at in OTHER people's houses. and favorite to think about what i could have some day.  i feel like if i had an amazing kitchen, i might want to cook more.  ha!  so i was blown away by this kitchen.  what do you think about it?  whats in your favorite kitchen?

if you want to see the "before" pictures, check them out here.

repurpose! don't throw out!

so i have this side table that i love, but no where really for me to put it.  it was in my closet, taking up room and not being functional.  i'm thinking of giving it away.  but then i think... well, if i move soon, then i might want it...?  so i'm not really sure what to do.  in any case, it is in great condition and very sturdy and i have always loved it.  and i thought of it when i saw this cool repurposing.  it was an old dresser and now its a fun kitchen storage area!  what do you think?

then (and this is all from here)