Saturday, June 22, 2013

Dining Room Gallery Wall

In my last post, I mentioned that my husband and I moved during the month of December.  One of the first things I did was to set up a large gallery wall in our dining room.  While I wouldn't consider myself an expert on transitioning from home to home, I am a veteran enough of it to know that the best things I can do once everything is in the new space include:
  1. Pouring myself a drink
  2. Inviting friends over
  3. Setting up one room in its entirety
I know some people see moving as a long checklist that must have everything crossed off of it THAT DAY, but in my experience, that doesn't happen fully.  Additionally, when I make quick decisions about where things should go, I often see a better solution a few days later and wind up changing everything.  I would much rather go through the process slowly and thoroughly, reminding myself that not everything has to be placed perfectly within the first week.

Our dining room was an ideal place to start on this.  Save for the bathroom, it probably has the least furniture to place.  It's also relatively small and has the most wonderful long expanse of a white wall that BEGS to be covered with artwork.  Putting up items I love and artwork of my own went a long way to making this space feel like it was our home, and not a strange new apartment.

 Two of the pieces listed there are lithographs that I made in college, as well as a lithograph made by my friend Alicia.  My goal with this wall space as I continue to expand the gallery wall out is to keep everything NEUTRAL.  Our last apartment was a study in contrasts, with lots of deep navy blue, white, and pops of gold and red.  It was a little much at times and I felt more energized than relaxed around those colors.  With our new space, I want to have a much softer, neutral color palette that feels soothing and sophisticated.

Have you tried putting a gallery wall in your space?

Thursday, June 20, 2013

We Moved!

... to another lovely apartment just down the street.

And we moved in December, by the way.  Yes, I know it's nearly July.  It takes me a while to get my bearings.

This blog will now chronicle my efforts to turn our new apartment into a more sophisticated, adult space than our prior apartment.  I am proud of the work so far and cannot wait to share it.  Please check back to see how this space develops.