Meditation- House Tour

 Matt and I found our apartment in a very unique way-- since neither of us could make it to Kansas City to look at apartments before his posting began, we had to search online and rent sight unseen. Matt found ours using Google Street View- sitting in his office in Afghanistan he "walked" down streets in the neighborhood we wanted to live in, Googling addresses of buildings he thought looked interesting until he found ours. The real estate agent thought we were nuts, but looking at the pictures of our new home, I knew it was our place. The first time I walked in, I knew I was right.

Moving in together can be a tricky process- the two of you have too much stuff, or ugly stuff, or not enough stuff. We didn't have enough stuff- the furniture I did have had been destroyed by my cat or was just old and Matt sold all his furniture before he deployed. So we bought basic pieces from West Elm, Crate and Barrel, and CB2 and filled in with objects we already had or that we've found together.

I love the result of all the thought we've put into our space. I think it's really the perfect mix of both our personalities. Best of all, when I walk in the door there is that "aaaahhhh" feeling-- this is home, this is my nest.

The apartment has two lofts, and we've designated this the "guest loft". The CB2 daybed folds out into a queen-sized bed for when friends visit. The desk was on sale at West Elm and the chair is one of my favorite things - a maybe-real Eames wire chair I found at a vintage store in Cleveland.

Another view of the guest loft- The chair is from my Papa Seymours house in Forest Hills, Queens. I've been carting it around with me for 10 years. My gold pig (a Christmas present from my sister) resides under the chair.

Matt and I bought these little silkscreens (mounted on reclaimed wood) in Kennebunkport.

Looking down at the kitchen from the guest loft. The other flight of stairs goes up to the "library". The curtain next to the stairs is the entrance to my bedroom. This is my favorite kitchen I've ever had- the only thing I wish I could change would be a gas stove instead of a cook top.

another view of the kitchen

Matt traded his camera for this 200 year-old rifle in Afghanistan. I like to think the little pitcher next to it holds a genie, but more likely it was used for oil.

The view from the kitchen into the living room. Since Matt and I both love music, we've collected all our concert posters into this room. It makes it very cozy.

More posters (from L-R Royal Trux, Battles, and Passion Pit (which my friend got for me when they played at House of Blues in Cleveland). The chair is from my sisters old apartment in Brooklyn. We found it together at the Housing Works thrift shop in Manhattan and it's vintage Heywood-Wakefield.

Looking from the living room into the kitchen- we use my moms old steamer trunk (from when she went to summer camp in the Berkshires) as a coffee table. You can still see my Nana Harriet's handwriting on the shipping label!

This is the bar cart for parties. It's a vintage typewriter table we found at Thistle, a pop-up furniture shop in my neighborhood.

The bedroom is a work in progress and I will photograph it when it's finished. We did just buy matching owl lamps (from West Elm) so it's definitely going to have a sort of woodland-y feeling.

These Inuit drawings were bought at a Native American craft show by the trends group where I work. I got them for free! and they will go up in the bedroom.

Roberts favorite lounging spot under the stairs, going up to the "library" loft. 

The second loft is dominated by a portrait of "The American Lion" Andrew Jackson. This was in Matt's DC apartment and it's one of my favorite things of his.

The rest of the loft. The coffee table and love seat were in my Cleveland apartment and the love seat is Roberts "cat nest". He perches on the back and keeps an eye on all the comings and goings. I have coffee up here most mornings and Robert usually joins me.

So that's my home so far. I will update this when I finish the bedroom- I just got the first real bed of my adult life, so I'm very excited to work on that room. Thanks for coming along on my house tour!