Our First Place: Making Our Rental Our Home

My boyfriend and I moved into our own place this past August and we love it. We fell in love with the coastal style of the development and all of its amenities (not to mention super close to work). Since it's a rental we've been trying to make it feel like home piece by piece - as far as our budget and it being a rental allows. We literally moved in with just our clothes and bedroom furniture - we had to start from scratch. Now it's a little over a month later and we are pretty darn proud of how it has come along considering our budget. My boyfriend definitely gave into some of the more feminine items I loved since he set up his media center along the main wall - it's all about compromise. We chose to place the sofa in the center facing the TV because of the recommended viewing distance from the TV and sofa. It does make it feel more cozy and we love watching movies there. Since we are loving how it has come along I had a photoshoot with my fellow west elm home stylist, Katherine Schwingel. She got some great shots and now I get to share them with you :)

Our apartment features:

West Elm

Origami Coffee Table / Quinn Sofa in Frost Gray / 

Balcony Bistro Dining Set / Antique Tiled Wall Mirror /

Parker Mid-Century Round Dining Table / Mini Abacus Lamp /

Scoop Back Chairs / Gold Leaf Gallery Frames /

Solid Silk Hand-Loomed Pillow Cover / Jacquard Leaf Silk Pillow Cover / 

Quilted Acrylic Glassware / Carla Peters Sand Glaze Vase /

Clear Acrylic Tray / Reclaimed Wood Display Shelf

Target

Threshold Windham Console Table / Threshold Basket /

Threshold Brushed Silver Linear Shaded Floor Lamp /

Black Gallery Wall Frames

Other accessories/decor from Ikea, Homegoods, World Market + more.

Xo,

The Land of Knobs

It's amazing how such a small thing can make such a big impact. In this case - knobs. Especially when you want to create an original look but are on a tight budget, changing the knobs or pulls on an inexpensive piece of furniture is just the thing you need. Another great thing about it is that you can have the same piece of furniture and change the whole look by simply switching the knobs. This goes for kitchen cabinets, console tables, dressers, door knobs, etc. I'll show you how this simple step can change the whole look...

This is the console my boyfriend and I bought for our small apartment entryway - well, it doesn't really have an entryway but that is the feel we are going for by putting a console against the wall close to when you walk in - we chose the off-white finish because we also have white lacquer chairs in our dining area paired with a walnut finished mid-century table (pics to come!).  We haven't changed the knobs but it will happen in the near future.

Right now this console is on sale for $112.49 at Target. We really liked the simple look of it - except when we got it we found out it's really only one drawer that opens and not two - oops, it still fits our apartment great and the price was on point so it's a win. Here are some knobs I found that could really work with our decor and style (maybe more my style..I'm the stylist, anyway, right?)...

1 / Agate Knob - Light Gray / $9.99 / West Elm

2 / Black & White Stripe Knob / $8 / Anthropologie

3 / Brown Carved Wood Vine Knobs - Set of 2 / $7.98 / World Market

4 / Antler Melody Knob - Tusk / $14 / Anthropologie

5 / Carved Turquoise Knob / $6 or 2 for $10 / Urban Outfitters

I'm really loving #3 because of the shape and dark features against the off-white console. Thoughts? I'd love to know :) 

Xo,