Apartment Inspo: Styling a chocolate brown sofa

Let me tell you a little story about a couch.

It's really a classic story: you have a beautiful sofa, and you arrange to have it brought all the way across the city, only to lug it down (or up) a narrow stairwell, giving yourself false hope that it made it through the front door, only to find that it will not and can not fit the rest of the way into the apartment or house.

You scuff up all the walls with whatever colour your couch is, you get some fingers stuck between cushion and wall, you get sweaty and sad. Yep, we all know this story.

I was given the most beautiful chocolate brown sectional from a gloriously generous friend of my parents' and I couldn't believe my luck - until it didn't fit into my new place. My fella and I had spent the whole day moving, we hadn't had dinner yet, and were feeling so defeated. We dragged ourselves away from trying, couch back into the truck bed, and went to pick up his dad. When we told him what happened, his dad said "Why didn't you just take it apart?". At this point I was hangry, defeated, and thought that was a ludicrous idea because the couch was so beautiful and I didn't want to 'take it apart'. Turns out he knew exactly what he was talking about (it's just undoing 3 bolts from inside the couch!) and helped us to do it the following day, once I was a little less hangry and a little more open to the idea. This simple trick made the couch the perfect size to just GLIDE right into my place (well, it felt like gliding compared to the day before). Man, did we ever feel good getting in after all of that.

I love chocolate brown couches - to me they are the ideal colour of sofa for the purpose of living on them. The risk of spilling wine or dropping chocolate on them feels, well, less risky. That said they're a bit tricky to match with other colours because they're so. deeply. decadent. So, I have some ideas:


~ Orange accents: Pinterest loves this idea. When you search chocolate brown couches on pinterest (and google!) you get a heck of a lot of orange. Sometimes I find this a bit too stark of a contrast and a bit too seventy's for me, even though I love 70's colour schemes, this one's not for me. That said, with the right combination of citrus-y oranges, whites, and a hint of green or turquoise, I actually really like how this looks. It's colourful and bright.

~Textured Neutrals: I love how beachy and light this looks. I also just love an un-cluttered, calming design for spaces meant to be comfortable. We're in a basement so I was nervous to have a dark couch. Turns out it does not feel dark or imposing or cramped at all, so I no long feel we NEED light neutrals for our pillows and blankets etc. They're certainly nice nonetheless, but I can't help but wonder if maybe my room mate and I are more colourfully inclined than this in the long run....

~Fun Patterns: This is the style my mum and step dad have gone with their couch, and I've always loved the way they've styled their living room. They have pillows made of old, recycled saris. We have a 'little India' in Toronto and it's the best place to go for such beautifully ornate and special items. I don't want to veer too much into any cultural appropriation or misuse of traditionally important and meaningful motifs, though, so that's one consideration. I also don't want things to get too busy. But my room mate did suggest that, with items like these, the busy-ness becomes more subtle when you have so much of it.

What do you think? Do you have a preference from these 3 options? I know I've got some design-minded folks following along and I would LOVE to hear your input and any ideas you have!

xo

The Big Move: First Updates

It happened! I've officially made my big move into my new apartment. It has been an exhausting process but an equally as rewarding one so far.

Last week my fella and I borrowed his dad's red pick up truck for some of our big items - including a chocolate brown, beautiful sectional sofa (which didn't fit in the doorway at first, but we found a way!), and we got most of my stuff moved over the course of 2 days. I kept some things at my parents' because I was only doing my official move-in later in the week, as I work from home so often and we didn't get internet up and running until this Monday.

By Sunday evening my room mate Kami and I were both settled in and both stayed the night in the new place. Both of my sets of parents helped me build my bed (thank you guys!) and so while I was surrounded by boxes, I had an idyllic comfy spot to land in after a long day. My coworker gave me the advice that you start with the bed, for exactly that reason. Even if you're not done unpacking, exhausted from moving, overwhelmed by it all, you can lay down and feel at peace.

Kami said it best when I asked her "How is this all feeling for you so far?". She responded with "It's a little anti-climactic, but in the best way. It just feels right." I can't agree more. Kami has been my best friend since middle school and we've lived in different cities on and off for 6 or 7 years. It's such a fantastic feeling to be living together in the same wonderful city now. We're going to have a lot of fun (and she puts up with my weirdness, so that's always a big ol' bonus... as seen above!).

Our new place is right across the street from the city's big big cemetery. This may sound creepy, but if you hail from Toronto you know it's a beautiful and peaceful spot where people walk, ride bikes, and enjoy some nature in the middle of the busy metropolitan city space. Right now, Toronto has been taken over by blooming blossoms on our trees - one of our parks is famous for it. We got to enjoy a couple on a walk home from dinner through the cemetery the other day. So, so lovely. Especially living in a basement apartment now, it's great to have nature so close by.

And here's a little peek at my bed room so far. I'll be arranging and changing things around, but for now this is my little quiet corner with my sunshine mirror for some cheerful vibes. Gotta have my sunshines around!


I can't wait to update you all on my decor progress and whatnot over the course of the next several weeks (or forever.... I have a feeling I'll always be having fun with this space!). Stay tuned :)


xo

Moodboard: New Apartment

I guess the first step of this post is to share that I finally signed a lease for an apartment this week!

The story goes like many others' stories: I moved away from my childhood home a couple of times, mostly for school, and ended up moving back several times. In the first move, I learned to choose my room mates wisely. In the third, I moved to Paris and learned to live alone and far away. In another, I lived with my mum for a while. The last, I lived in Waterloo for school with the most lovely house mate.

Moving back home has been a challenge. My dad and step mum and my brother, all of whom live here too, are lovely and I consider our relationships very close and wonderful. We've grown together and I am cherishing the last little bit of time that we all live under the same roof, especially as my brother leaves for university in the fall (to ENGLAND!). Nonetheless, it is difficult to come back to your childhood and family space when you've had so many tastes of your own routines, your own ways of doing things, your own space, your own little semi-separate life.

Sooooo, the right opportunity finally arose and I am going to be moving in the next month or so with my best friend Kami. I know some of you probably just cringed at the words "moving in with my best friend". I've heard the horror stories but have tons of faith in us and our free and open communication. Plus Kami is maybe the kindest soul I've ever met, so I'm sure we can make it work one way or another with kindness, compassion, generosity, and openness. I'm SO excited!

I can't wait to decorate. Given that I'm moving from home, I have to buy almost all-new furniture. I'm going to do my best to THRIFT as much as I can, or bunz trade or purchase vintage. But either way, this means I can make some choices from scratch, so I'm brainstorming (daydreaming incessantly) already and will likely share some of my pinterest finds here! Hope you don't mind some home decor inspo ;)


xx