My Spare Room

I’ve lived in my apartment for 1 year now and much of it is put together but there is still a lot of ground to cover. I thought I’d share the progress of my spare bedroom which has been through a lot of changes and is finally starting to feel more finished. When I first moved in I intended to use my spare room as an office so I moved my bookshelves in, put in a desk, added a comfy chair then continued doing my work at my kitchen table or on the couch in my living room. It felt like a wasted space and I really hated having my TV be the main focus when you walked into my apartment. So, I moved my TV out of my living room, bought a new couch (that folds down into a bed for my occasional overnight guest), and rearranged my living room and spare room to accommodate the changes. I finally enjoy spending time in my second room and I love when I have people over that we can sit in my living room and chat on the couches without feeling obligated to have the TV on. It’s much more casual and conversational and I’m loving it. I’ll share updated photos of my living room soon but but for now, let’s focus on the changes in my spare room.

The before is kind of a disaster. It was home to boxes and spare items for longer than I’d care to admit. This was the first version of the room… When I decided it should be a library, it started looking a little bit more polished but was still a landing ground for extra crap. It was way too easy to move piles of junk into the space and avoid actually cleaning it up.

Here’s where we’re at now. It’s pretty sparse and the lampshade on my floral lamp makes me cringe but overall I think it’s a much better space than before.

The sign behind my couch was a weekend project for me. I wanted something bold and graphic and, because I already have a gallery wall, I wanted just one or two large scale pieces. I love the look of hand painted signs so I roughed out these big block letters and painted my little heart away. I think I still have a splinter in my leg from sitting on the board while I painted but it’s totally worth it. The couch is actually a futon which goes against everything I stand for. I have a real hatred for futons because they are generally pretty ugly. I love this because it has arms and when it’s folded upright it looks nothing like a futon. Sometimes when I feel lazy, I drag all of my pillows from my bed into this room and fold the futon down so I can really lounge. It’s awesome.

I’m still undecided about what to do behind my TV because in my perfect world, I would buy a ridiculously large TV and mount it on the wall. I have some art leaning around the room while I decide where its permanent home will be and if I decide to stick with my current TV then I’ll need to figure out an art plan for that wall. Any suggestions?

This room does still function as my office so I have a million vases stashed in my closet and the little dresser is full of ribbon, twine, shears, tape, business cards, etc. I am on the hunt for a taller dresser with more character (or a different way to store all of my necessarily floral supplies) but this definitely gets the job done for now.

That’s about it! I’m starting to really feel like my apartment is home and I don’t think I’ll ever tire of decorating and redecorating my space. I just wish I had more spare funds to help speed the process along!

couch: Urban Outfitters // pillows: homemade // throw: Nordstrom // side table: Target

floral lamp: thrifted // rug: Target // credenza: Ikea // striped storage boxes: Ikea

dresser: Ikea // gold lamp: thrifted