August 18th, 2010
Decorating the little house
I love my little house. It’s tiny, well worn, and more than a little bit quirky- but it’s mine. Lately I’ve been wanting to redecorate the living & dining rooms, and I’ve been having visions of warm small spaces that will keep me cozy through the winter. But before I show you what I’m aiming for, here’s a little about where we live.
Our house turned 101 years old this year
It’s a cozy and tiny 780 sq. ft
There are seven little rooms in our house + an entry way, front & back porches
It’s one and a half stories & has lots of sweet little character features
So when I say “house” please take your idea of a house and lop off about half of it, add kitchen windows that steam up when you cook in the winter, and hard wood floors that are worn and comfy. Is it in the middle of the city, and do the houses around it need a bit of love? Can you hear teenagers practicing guitar and games of pick up basketball in the distance? Then you’re getting close :)
We’ve done a lot of work on it in two years, from electrical work, new doors & windows, painting the exterior to scary shanty/ future meth lab removal. But in spite of a lot of work done on the outside, we’ve mostly left the inside as we found it. That means that it’s full of semi-mismatched furniture bought for our old apartments, and odd paint colour choices from the last owners.
We’re on a tight budget, but my little house has great bones and I want to let them shine. I would love to take wide pictures inside the house without having to edit them because the dark paint pulls all the light out of the room. It think all it would take is a little paint, some bright colours and a little love.
So? This is going to be my fall project & these are what I would love my end result to look like…
Bright, crafty & modern! That’s the idea at least :)
Are you an interior design rock star? Please, tell me your ways…
I love the organization and colors of the inspiration photos. I’m a fan of organization, clean lines, neutral base colors, and throwing a pop of color in with accessories. If your blog designs are any indication, I think you’ll do well at designing your home.
These are some fabulous photo-ideas to work with. I only wish I could do things like this, and I’ll even head to the store in the hopes of decorating this way … and then I buy things in neutral colors, ha. Oh well. I can’t wait to see what you do with your home though!
Certainly lighter colour paint will make rooms seem larger, and well-placed mirrors do as well. All the best!
My mom and I are in the process of redecorating our apartment. It’s small and we can’t paint, but we can do a lot of other things to make it our own. We’re basically just working on one room at a time, buying little pieces until we can put it all together.
Excited to see what you come up with!
I love your inspiration pictures. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Right there with you, sister!
I’ve been DYING to redecorate my house. While it’s not “undecorated” I would love for it to look more put together. I’ve got the ideas, now I just need the funds.
I can’t wait to see photos and hear about the progress! This sounds like fun, but a wonderful challenge.
Now that my parents and me have agreed on me purchasing the house in five years, they are letting me start reno/decorating projects so that I don’t have to start when I obtain the house. This weekend I’m painting the home office and my bedroom. Next weekend I’m rearranging and purging items from the basement living room, and by the end of the year it will be turned into a media room.
The one thing that baffles my mind is that I cannot find peel and stick carpet tiles ANYWHERE in the city. They’re available at Menards in Grand Forks, but here it seems like a foreign concept. You should have seen the weird look I got from the carpet guy at Home Depot. Hmmm. Almost like it was a “you want peel and stick carpet? how tacky!” Ah yeah, just for the basement office!
I LOVE your inspiration! It’s so you and there are so many things about it that I love. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
I love bright and airy rooms – big windows and lots of natural light! We are still renting and in the process of looking around to eventually buy a house. (I try to be patient about the whole process, but to be honest – I’m Impatient!!!)
In an attempt to “get my fix” I’ve started collecting photos and filing them in categories (kitchen ideas, guest room inspiration, dining room/breakfast nook, outdoor spaces, etc…) in my picassa web albums account. It helps, but I’m eager to put things in motion. Someday… (sooner than later, I hope!)
I love that you’re going for white walls and open spaces! We’ve done a lot of furniture reconnaissance to fill our home, namely salvaging things from garage sales and using lots of good paint. Oh, and Ikea is your friend!
We got a lot of our ideas for projects from ReadyMade mag. Such a wealth there!
Whatever you do, pretty pretty please don’t paint over the to-die-for quartersawn oak I’ve seen in some of your photos (like in this post: https://kylaroma.com/2010/05/six-months-six-dresses-number-two/ )
It makes me swoon with envy!!
Can I tell you a terrible secret? As beautiful as it looks in photos, someone from a very long time ago definitely achieved that oak look with a paint effect. The baseboards seem to be real, but up close (on the pocket doors especially) you can tell it’s just painted and stained to look like woodgrain.
I’m not sure what to do with them! I would paint it all out (the wood in the kitchen & the rest of the house was painted out before we got here) but the pocket doors kind of complicate it. I think they’re safe, for now :)
I love your inspiration photos and cannot wait to see before and after photos of your project! I’m quite certain it’s going to be AHmazing!
I don’t really think I have a sense of style, per se. I mean, I love the use of color on walls. And usually figure out a way to integrate interesting art and furniture pieces to make a room complete … but, I don’t go into anything with a set vision … it’s always a work in progress!
I love all of those rooms. I can’t wait to see the end result. My decorating skills aren’t the greatest so you won’t get any advice from me. :-p
ok, these photos are AMAZING. talk about inspiring!
I can’t wait to see pics of your progress! My next project after launching my blog this weekend is to start decorating our place one room at a time, so I’m in the decor zone right now, so to speak :) Your little house sounds charming! My dream home is an older one with character and a story, and one that we can bring our own personalities to and make it our own. I’ve been intrigued with the small space living posts on apartmenttherapy.com- you could no doubt find some inspiration there!
BEAUTIFUL! What does it look like now? I’m often concerned that I have no style for decorating. I fear for my future residence…
Your house sounds lovely! I’m not an interior design rockstar, but good luck with improving your space! I hope we get to see some pictures soon :)
I am so far from a rock star when it comes to interior design. Our condo has not been painted EVER, so it’s just plain white. (Oh, except Joe painted the dining room this pale-ass-blue-that-may-as-well-be-white when he first moved in four years ago.) I keep dreaming of colors and themes, but when I wake up, it’s all a jumble and I have no specific inspiration, so I’ve left it looking like a plain old bachelor pad. I think secretly I’m waiting until we get into a more permanent place, where I can see us raising kids and chasing around a little Maltese puppy. Secretly I don’t want to spend time doing up our current place because I still kind of feel like I’m living in a dorm room. (Gah, I can’t believe I just confessed all that!)
I’m not a design rockstar but I’ve been experimenting in our little condo. I think the only advice I have is “don’t be afraid of colour.” My dad has always been a cream-coloured-walls kind of guy and he instilled a deep love of neutrals in me. That being said, after realizing that I needed a pop of colour in the bedroom, I bit the bullet and painted the wall behind the bed a deep turquoise. I cannot tell you how much I love the turquoise wall. The turquoise wall is so good for my soul. So I guess what I’m saying is that you should find your equivalent of the turquoise wall and go for it, unafraid.
Your house sounds so cozy and adorable. My condo is 680 sq ft so I can relate to living in a smaller space. :)
I am a terrible interior designer. I don’t even try. That’s what my best friend Brooke is for, I guess. She picked out the paint colors. She helped me come up with stuff to put on my fireplace mantel. She comes over to hang up pictures when I purchase new prints. And she decorates my Christmas tree. She loves that stuff, and I don’t… so it works out well. I always make dinner for her when she comes over, so she at least gets a free meal out of it. :)
Oooh – lovely!! :) I’m so jealous of your old house, too! lol. We live in Vancouver and there are gorgeous old houses but they’re literally in the millions. Oy. One days we’ll move out of the city into something sweet with character – til then, I’ll have to live vicariously through your re-do. Have fun!! It sounds like it’ll be a blast to do – I love the same style, too – the last photo has my heart (perhaps it’s the mismatched frames? *sigh*). Can’t wait to see what you do!
I love that we share the same interior design style. I want to come help! :)
Turns out I AM an interior design rock star…or at least I went to school to become one for 3 years. =) I especially love the last photo/inspiration shot! & my dream is to own a quirky little home in my home town’s downtown area called The Wood Streets, they’re all named after wood, Rosewood, Oakwood…it’s a not-too-far-fetched goal of mine. I hope you can spruce the place up a bit & give us a visual tour. I know your little home will be lovely!
I have no doubt you’ll do great with decorating your house especially after seeing what you did to your kitchen. You definitely should go to IKEA for frames to fill up your walls… I plan on doing that soon since it’s cheap & won’t hurt my budget. Also an idea for you — maybe you could scan some pieces you’ve created and have them framed since they’re too cute to go unnoticed!
I love the rooms that you chose as inspiration. I’m all about bright & light.
I can totally see you pulling off a similar look & can’t wait to see the photos of your home after you transform it :)
Wow, Kyla, you have some GREAT inspiration to draw from. I’m sure whatever you come up with, it’ll be fantastic! :)
If your style of home decorating is anything like mine, it’ll be an ongoing process, constantly changing and morphing and your tastes evolve.
You and I are on the same page!! I just moved into my very own studio apartment and are looking for ways to make it cozy, yet appear bigger than it is.
We should brainstorm together. ;)
xoxo
I used modern, crafty and bright as my words when I re-did my apartment. I am a fan of using one item (I used a pillow) to pull colors from so everything is sort of coordinated. Be bold and have fun! Also, take pictures!
I LOVE home re-dos, it’s always so much fun to see the before and after. I’m sure it’ll be lots of hard work but it’ll be so worth it in the end!
I absolutely love framed photo collages! I’ve always wanted to do one of my own and have one great wall for it, except that it’s SOLID concrete and I’d have to drill into it with a special bit and there’s electrical somewhere behind and I’m a renter. So…no. I have to keep dreaming. And living vicariously through you! Your home already looks cozy and unique, but I can’t wait to see what you do with the space! :)
If your home ends up looking even half as cute as your blog… ADORABLE.
I, however, kind of suck at decorating, but as a renter, I’ve made best friends with my sewing machine. Gone are the ugly mini blinds! In their place: chic, working Roman shades. If you have any interest in doing that, here are the instructions:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Roman-Shades-from-cheap-blinds/
And here’s how it turned out in my home:
http://ellemichelleunedited.blogspot.com/2010/02/its-coming-together.html
Beginners luck? Who cares, those shitty blinds are gone! Excited to see what you come up with. :-)
KR, your house is going to look beautiful without a doubt! Plus, you’re going to have tons of fun doing it, which is great. Best of luck!
Please take some before pictures so we know what a miracle worker you are!
Use light light light colors on the walls to brighten the room & make it seem bigger. Are the ceilings white? White ceilings make all the difference – they open up a room & make the ceiling disappear. If you like dark/bright colors use accessories to bring them in. Don’t try to pack big colors on small walls. I learned this one the hard way. <3
Thankfully the owners before us were lazy, so they left the ceilings white. I’m looking SO forward to lightening up the walls – while they went with warm colours they are still quite dark and it just makes these little rooms seem even smaller! You’re absolutely right :)
Damn, a teeny tiny house with 7 little rooms and a front and back porch… that sounds to die for, Kyla. I am craving a change in our living situation right now and even though I don’t know if/when we will be able to move, I love to dream about what our next place could look like.
I think the pictures that you picked out for inspiration are lovely and I can’t wait to see the transformation of your new place.
My personal favorite is a mix + match of light and dark. We have dark-brown furniture and a white couch and and white walls with some splashes of color mixed in.
I LOVE character houses! There are a million little old “Heritage Homes” in downtown Kamloops and I would LOVE to buy one but they are extremely expensive for their size and age. Location I guess.
Do you read younghouselove? I think it’s just younghouselove.com. I can get sucked into that site for HOURS!
They are *amazing* I could just live in that blog :)
Hey… I have a friend who is an interior designer in Chicago. They specialize in very on the cheap, DIY, and internet consultation… very cool stuff.
http://www.kellyandolive.com/
Their blog is super cute, and so are they – you guys are definitely make a connection. I think you would totally dig each other.
Oh that’s crazy cool, thanks! :)
That’s what Dave and I are on the verge of doing in the next few months. I describe it as not wanting our apartment to look like 2 recent college grads live there. :)
In theory I like to decorate but let’s be honest: decorating an apartment where you can’t change the wall color and limited capaiblities? Well, it doesn’t count all that much.
Since I’ve been home, though, I’ve started to add some pieces of flare if you will to my bedroom and I love it. The latest: bedside lights from Target, with hot pink circle shades and a silver bottom. I love them. They match with the bedspread but aren’t too matchy-matchy, you know? And they totally pop with my dark wood furniture.
I can’t wait until i have my own townhome/condo to decorate all for me. I know it will take some time but I’m excited about the prospect =)
I hate decorating. It’s killing me! I can’t make up my mind, then I change my mind, then I can’t afford anything I want! Grr! But I have faith that your little place will be magnificent and cute and pretty. And I’ll be envious. :)
My house is 103 years old. I bet your house and my house would be friends and have lots to talk about!
I love decorating. Excuse me, let me say that again.. I love decorating. I love it as much as you love crafting. For me there is nothing more relaxing than strolling through the isles of a home store searching for that one piece that just so happens to be on sale and is perfect for my little apartment.
I love all of the pictures you posted. We have similar tastes.
I cannot wait to see what you do in your redecorating. I love bring colors and light paint colors. I have no doubts that you will come with with something spectacular.
Ooh, I can’t wait to see pictures of before, during, and after! I’m definitely not an interior decorator/designer (I think I’m missing that gene), but my husband is great at seeing how a room fits together so we’re a good match!
(wow—I didn’t realize Canada had such crazies. My goodness. I’m so sorry they gave you so much trouble. It’s funny—about three years ago there was an *actual* meth lab bust less than a block from my house. A concrete bunker accessible from the garage, in use for over 20 years. Right next to a church. Ridiculous. Then there’s the house just down the street that was swarmed by black government SUVs last summer as it busted a drug ring. That’s why they call it Maple’hood I guess?)
I am not an interior design rock star, but there are a few things I have learned in my tiny 400 sq foot apartment:
–if there are things you can’t change, figure out how to work with them and not against them. You’re otherwise fighting a losing battle. I live in a dorm. No escaping the crappy industrial speckled purple carpet, the almost uncleanable-blueishish linoleum, the four different colors of cream paint on the wall, the small windows…I can’t change those things. But deciding on a color palette that is really all colors makes the ones I can’t change kind of fade into the background. This place will never be an all-white Scandanavian-inspired cottage, nor a beautiful lofy city apartment. But that’s okay. It can be a lot of other things, and whenever I’m sad about not having wood floors, I think about it all the way to the bank (living here means I don’t have to pay rent…which means I put $1000 directly into savings every month. If I do this for four years—-I have a healthy down payment on a house. And that’s what I look forward to)
–I am a thrift store collector (as you well know!). This can be really detrimental to a clean uncluttered house (not to say yours isn’t, but I have personally had some scares over the years). If I had the time and/or will I’d start a vintage Etsy shop. Instead, I took a survey of all my friends, asked about colors they love, if they like vintage dishes, what their favorite kind of snack is, etc…and now I view thrifting as a way to find really fun unique gifts to send to my friends all over the country.
–You’ve already done one of the best things you can do with a house; live there for awhile without making huge changes, investing tons of money in this or that—I moved in to my apartment last year with two two-drawer filling cabinets and a block of wood (free, from MIT’s reuse listserve). I then figured out what I really wanted and needed, and now have furniture that fits my space and my budget. (can you say $30 for a beautiful vintage Daystrom table? Thanks, Craigslist!)
Good luck, Kyla—I can’t wait to see what you come up with!