8 Things I Want for My New Apartment Pt. 4

There are always a million little things that go wrong in the days leading up to a move. I lost several hours (!!) over the past few days on the phone with our property manager, our current super, our new super, our movers, and our painters — coordinating around schedules that refused to align, despite my best attempts to push each party one way or another. But! We prevail. Move in day tomorrow, for better or for worse.

Sharing some final moodboards for the last two rooms in our new space. In the coming weeks, I hope to share how the rooms actually turned out, plus what I learned along the way in my (wildly unrealistic) attempt to update the space in a little less than three weeks….been watching a little too much HGTV, I guess. A few small things to leave you with before then: no, cosmetic-only isn’t the shortcut you’d think it is. No, wallpaper and paint samples don’t just show up in a few days. And yes, nothing looks the way it does in the photos online. But! We prevail.

The most up-to-date room in our current apartment is my daughter’s which I finished two years ago. I wrote about some of the design choices in one of my earlier sends here. I love her room (still) and will be keeping much of it the same as we move into our new space. The things now entering the equation will be some colorful curtains, a fun lighting fixture and wallpaper. I don’t really have any inspiration to go off of for this room because I already have a lot of things I like. I have however, looked at lots and lots of nurseries with red trim and pops of red to get a sense for how wallpaper will look against our already chosen red-ish/pink paint trim. I love this scene from Studio Humbug’s Instagram and have this kind of color scheme in mind for the space.

1. An Extremely Playful Wallpaper — If you’ve been reading this series, you’ve seen a lot of Sandberg recs. That’s because I’ve found it to be more affordable than some high end styles and it’s all in stock, which has been the challenge of this whole process. I landed on this design because I love Ottoline wallpaper and I like how this Sandberg pattern pulls off a similar aesthetic to the Madame Ziggle style. Fingers crossed it works!

2. A Colorful Chandelier — My daughter’s room is a mix of reds and pinks and I’ve been thinking about a red lighting fixture to add to the mix. One thing (of many) I have learned during this process is that rooms with not a lot of windows (in this case, one) need more lightbulbs to distribute more overhead light. I’m normally drawn to pendants and flush mounts, but have been steered in the direction of chandeliers to brighten the room. Loving this vintage style found on Etsy.

3. A Bobbin Mirror — This is something I already have in my daughter’s room and absolutely love. It’s the perfect shade of red and the bobbin style adds an interesting shape to the room. I have it placed above her changing table and I’m happy to report that she loves it too. It’s currently sold out in the red, but the burgundy is just as pretty.

4. Contrast Curtains — I’m thinking about contrasting the dark pink in the wallpaper and wall trim to a dark red with the curtains. This is something I’ll decide on down the road because I really think you need to live with the paint and wallpaper before adding on the decor elements to actually get a sense for how things will look. Plus, I have decision-making fatigue. But! I do love this style from Studio Humbug.

We have an extra room in the apartment which we’re planning to use as another small office space that will also flex into a guest bedroom. We decided to paint the official office in a pistachio green to give it a more masculine (ish) vibe, so with this room, I’m going full feminine with a floral wallpaper. It’s an extremely tiny space so we will be wallpaper enveloping to make it feel even more cozy. I love the office— particularly the paint trim to floral wallpaper contrast — in Heidi Caillier’s East Hampton project. We’ll be going for a similar look with a muted floral print and a sage green trim.

1. A Floral Print — I had my heart set on Howe’s Little F Wallpaper in Tutti, but the small scale of the print and the very colorful design felt overwhelming in this room with again, very little light. This Sandberg style has a similar effect, but at a scale that feels right for the space. I also like that it’s more ‘grown up’ and can flex into a refined guest bedroom easily.

2. A Vintage Writing Desk — I’ve been hunting the secondhand sites for something stylish but small enough to fit into the very small amount of space in this room. I absolutely love the look (and color) of this Scandinavian Extendable Writing Table. This one is too big, so I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for a similar mini desk if I can find it.

3. The Perfect Pull Out Sofa — A lot of you reached out to me last week with suggestions of where to find a great sofa — thank you!!! I’m going to do a similar thing here and attempt to crowd source for a sleeper version. Where are we finding the good ones!? This one from Maiden Home actually looks comfortable, with a good selection of material and color options.

4. A Pretty Flush Mount — I’m going against what I said above about multiple lightbulbs for dark rooms here with this ceiling light suggestion, but I’m okay with this room reading darker and hopefully, cozier. I see these Soane Britain scallop lights in every single House & Garden home tour. I love the shape and how the brass makes it feel vintage.

A quick rundown of things I <3 right now.

1. TWP Cotton Silk Organza Shirt — Have my eye on this really pretty cotton silk button down with the matching pants to wear as a set for an upcoming event. The color is perfect to transition into fall.

2. Jessie Bush’s Nursery Reveal — Timely! Love all the blue, especially the checkered rug.

3. Matilda Goad Pearl Oval Mirror — Just pulled the trigger on this in pale blue for my daughter’s bathroom which has a light pink paint and blue tiling. Going for an overall beach-y effect.

4. Monastery Skincare — A friend just gave me this skincare to try. The packaging is so gorgeous and the product is incredibly luxurious. I love the Rose Cleansing Oil which has quickly become a new favorite.

5. Smart Lightbulbs — I might be the last person to know that these existed. A very easy way to achieve dimmer lights in your home without an electrician!