I do an updated house tour here every two years (see: move-in, Nov 2012, Nov 2014), so seeing that it is 2016, it is time for an updated tour. It is a bittersweet one though, because after living in this apartment and making it our home for the last 5 years, I just moved to Savannah, Georgia for grad school, so this is the last house tour of our New Orleans apartment. We moved into this apartment on my 20th Birthday (May 2011) and I took these photos the day after my 25th birthday (May 2016). This 1000 sq. ft. apartment has been home and so much more than that. We moved in to this apartment as engaged college students. We planned our wedding here, spent our newlywed phase here, learned all about decorating and DIY here, graduated from college here, lived here when we both got our first real jobs, and have grown as people and as a couple so much in the time that we’ve been here. It is certainly a hard place to leave and a place we will think back on often, I’m sure, but there are great things happening and ahead as well.
I’m so happy with the changes and updates we’ve made to this home and how much I’ve discovered my style here over the last 5 years. There are still little things I would have liked to do in different rooms if we were staying even longer (get a neutral colored sofa (!!!), update to nicer rugs, replace ceiling light fixtures) and bigger things too if we owned the apartment (renovating the kitchen layout!). But I’m so happy to have had this cozy little safe place to call ours.
Foyer & Dining Room:
The dining room (or foyer as we mostly call it, since when we first moved in we didn’t have a table in here) might just be my favorite room in the house. I love all the windows, especially those awesome arched ones, the church pew, the mid century modern console, the wall shelves — this whole room is probably the most representative of our “modern minimalist bohemian farmhouse” style.
Curtains are from Pottery Barn Teen, plant/console table we built ourselves, wall shelving we installed ourselves, dining room table is from the Nashville flea market, rug and quatrefoil mirror are from Target, baskets on the console table shelves are from Target, dining chairs, milk glass bowl, old Reader’s Digest books, small white cabinet, mid-century modern buffet, and church pew are vintage/thrifted, black lamp was a vintage makeover, Self-Portrait woodcut is by me, paintings in the room are by me, framed engagement photos we took ourselves, the glass jar candles are from our wedding, gold plant pot is from Home Depot that I painted, crock planter is vintage from my dad, and all other plant pots are either from Lowe’s or TJ Maxx. Walls are painted Smoked Oyster by Valspar in a Satin finish.
Living room:
The living room, on the other hand, is probably the only room I’m sad that I didn’t get to see my complete vision through on. I’ve hated (loathed) the color of these couches since pretty much the day we bought them and the next things on my house to-do list were to update the rug in here and get a new dark grey velvet sofa or sectional. See my living room design plan/inspiration board, here.
Couch and loveseat are from Compass Furniture in New Orleans, television/media cabinet is from Target, coffee table/bench base was bought from a little shop in the French Quarter and Drew and I made the tufted top, white coffee table tray is from West Elm, wood/metal side table was originally from Target that I made-over with a wood slice from the cake stand at our wedding, white bookcase is from IKEA, stretched quilt painting is by me, gallery wall pieces: “I love you” print hand-lettered by me, my favorite vintage photo of my grandparents, one of my first surface pattern designs (!!!), a sketch from my watercolor sketchbook, an elephant print that reminds me of my Mamaw (she collected little elephant figurines and that print reminds me of a shirt she used to wear), “Yours Sincerely,” painting I did a few years ago, my favorite picture of my sisters/nieces/nephew that I took when we were in Puerto Rico (with a stray cat), “It Doesn’t Have to be Perfect to be Beautiful” print from The Nester, a gold skeleton key that opened my childhood bedroom door (and was the official key for our secret club), a photo I took of my childhood front yard when I was home for my Papaw’s funeral, and my final drawing for the first art class I ever took at Tulane, curtains I made from white sheets, big turquoise velvet couch pillows are from World Market, teal and patterned pillows I made from World Market cloth napkins (these and these), gold and white pillows I made from West Elm cloth napkins, black pillows from H&M, buffalo check pillow from Etsy, light blue pedestal side table from Nadeau in New Orleans, wire basket (filled with yarn on bookshelf), wooden @ symbol, and inlaid box from TJ Maxx, floor lamp is from Lowe’s, silver table lamp is from Compass Furniture (scored it for $15 with a Living Social Deal!), 8×10 area rug from Lowe’s (scored it for $15!), glass candy dish, wooden ladder and quilts are vintage/thrifted, basket (with magazines in it behind the french doors) was a wedding gift, landscape painting on the bookshelf was a wedding gift (painted my Drew’s mom’s good friend and my 8th grade teacher!), globe was mine from when I was little bought for me by my Mamaw, the chalkboard message board was from our wedding (originally from here), beads are from New Orleans Mardi Gras parades, and the abstract paintings, ceramic artichoke. and throw quilt were made by me. Wall color is Asiago by Valspar in a satin finish.
Hallway:
This hallway, right off the side of the living room, runs all the way down the house. The kitchen is the first door on the right, office/studio is the second door and then at the end of the hallway is the laundry room. At the laundry room, the hallway turns to the right with the bathroom straight ahead and our bedroom to the left.
We didn’t really do much to this space, and it is one of the spaces I had design ideas for that just never happened. I would have loved to install board and batten down this hallway and build in bookshelves up to the ceiling in that middle section. I also think it would have looked amazing with a large hanging pendant light. But this is a rental, and priorities. We did paint it the same color as the living room: Asiago by Valspar at Lowes. It had a gallery wall of art up at one point, but after painting the walls I didn’t put the frames back up and opted for the simplicity of this one painting.
Bookcases are from IKEA, little cabinet of drawers was thrifted on a vacation in Savannah, GA, fleur-de-lis coat hook was a gift, painting is by Adam Hall, and the rug is from Urban Outfitters.
Kitchen:
Obviously it would have been crazy to do because this is a rental, but I really wanted to do a mini-kitchen renovation in here. I hate that the space could be used much more smartly! If we owned the house (or were going to live here longer and I could talk the landlord into doing/letting us do), I wanted to extend the cabinets along the window wall (where the cream colored cabinet is), moving the sink underneath the window closest to the pantry, and adding a backsplash, replacing the countertops, and re-painting the cabinets. If we were really going all out, I’d take down the upper cabinets (and rip out the soffit) and put a long, floating open shelf or two along that wall.
Kitchen rug is by Dash and Albert, black and white patterned hand towels from H&M, green utensil holder is a plant pot from Hobby Lobby, gold tray and wooden cheese board were Christmas gifts from my sister, ceramic apple and stool are from TJ Maxx, artwork above kitchen sink is a photo I took of the creek in my childhood backyard (more on that here), stitchery art is by me, most of the ceramic mugs and bowls I made, the floral measuring cup is Molly Hatch from Anthropologie, cookbook holder was a wedding gift from Target, cream colored wooden cabinet is from Nadeau in New Orleans, tall wooden cabinet is vintage/thrifted. Walls are painted Smoked Oyster by Valspar at Lowes.
Office & Studio:
I love my studio! I love the depth of the chalkboard wall and the double desk has been such a useful DIY and has evolved over the years we’ve lived here. It started as a desk for Drew and I to share, but he didn’t use his side very much so I eventually took it over and made one side my sewing station and the other my computer/design station. The rest of the room is a little busy, but I have so many different things I use this room for! Sewing, painting, sketching, design! The extra table is in here to use as a cutting table when cutting out fabric for my quilts. The small table I sit on the floor and use when I’m watercoloring or India ink sketching for patterns or doing calligraphy. I sit on the pillows and paint when I have a larger painting on my easel or stretched out across the floor. There are often art/crafting/sewing/DIY projects spread out all across the floor in here!
My desk chair is from Pottery Barn Teen, Drew’s wooden desk chair, easel, big ornate gold frame, crewelwork embroidery in gold frame, small brass pineapple, and brass plant pot are vintage/thrifted, baskets on the built-in shelves and the middle desk shelf are from Target, other smaller baskets on desk shelves are from Michael’s, rug is from Target, curtains I made out of sheets from TJ Maxx, pink curvy glass lamp is from Home Goods (got it on vacation years ago in Charleston, SC), standing lamp is from Target, small wooden table was thrifted years ago (it used to live in my childhood bedroom), shelves DIY built-in out of IKEA Extra-Deep Billy Bookcases, Painting Taboret is IKEA kitchen cart, elephant print on bookshelves is from this Etsy shop, Live Simply print from this Etsy shop, green elephant piggy bank is from Urban Outfitters, glittery gold frames on wall are from Michaels, abstract paintings are by me, floral print is by Anna Maria Horner, tall painting on the sewing side of my desk was bought at an estate sale and painted by Pierce Jonassen (the mom of one of my co-workers!), “It Doesn’t Have to be Perfect to be Beautiful” print from The Nester, a taped up print-out of one of my first repeatable patterns, white ceramic turtle is from West Elm, and silver desk lamp and cutting table (my old desk) are from IKEA. Read more about my art studio inspiration wall, here. Read about how we built our desk (an IKEA hack), here). Walls are painted Grey Ghost (Olympic from Lowe’s) in a satin finish. Chalkboard wall is painted with black chalkboard paint (also Valspar from Lowe’s).
Laundry Room:
This room is tight and stuffed, but I’m so happy to have this space!
The curtains used to hang in my freshman college dorm room (from Wal-Mart), the laundry basket is from TJ Maxx, the ironing board and cover are from Target, ladder from Lowe’s, my dad bought the washer and dryer for me (they were from a friend from our hometown that used to live in New Orleans –she was moving from New Orleans and didn’t need to take them with her), the deep freezer is from Lowe’s, the rug and the wire baskets on the shelves are from TJ Maxx, wall shelving Drew and I bought from Lowe’s, standing shelving unit is the MULIG from IKEA.
Bathroom:
Rug from World Market, hand towel from TJ Maxx, abstract painting by me, old books are thrifted, candles from our wedding, frames from Michael’s and spray painted gold, striped Turkish towels from Loomed NOLA, shower curtain made by me from a sheet, houses plant pot is vintage, and hanging plant pot is from H&M and macrame holder is from Etsy. Ceiling is painted Mint Whisper by Valspar at Lowe’s.
Small hallway right outside the bathroom is painted Semi-Sweet by Valspar in a satin finish and top art is thrifted, bottom is by me.
Bedroom:
Our bedroom is the room in this house that took the longest to come together. But finally we ended up with a room that feels like us. I love the black, white, and gold and all the subtle patterns! That black and gold geometric accent wall is such a showstopper and was actually really easy and simple to do! More on this room, here.
Headboard wall is painted Semi-Sweet (by Valspar at Lowes) and geometric pattern was hand painted with a gold Sharpie paint pen. The rest of the walls in here are painted Grey Ghost (by Olympic at Lowes). Bedding is a mixture of Target, HomeGoods, and West Elm’s Jacquard Leaf Duvet Cover and Shams. The “I Love You” pillow I made out of fabric I ordered in a design of mine (that’s my handwriting!). Headboard we made from an old door (see here and here), cream curtains from the pergola at our wedding (originally from Target) and white ones are from IKEA, rug and black pharmacy-style floor lamp from Target, dresser was Drew’s childhood dresser that we refinished, gold pharmacy lamps are from HomeGoods, gold I LOVE YOU banner is from Target, floral painting is by Lulie Wallace, girl with flowers print is by Raven Roxanne, geometric canister is from Hobby Lobby, ceramic dishes were made by my ceramics teacher in college – Sarah House, pink chair is from World Market, geometric pillow is from H&M, jewelry stand, white elephant, and black and white inlaid box were all Christmas gifts from my sister, shelving is the IKEA Expedit, copper twinkle lights are from Amazon, nightstands are vintage, art above Drew’s nightstand is by Emily McDowell, art above mine is a handwritten note from Drew. 🙂
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So happy to have called this sweet place home for the last five+ years!
