apartment pieces // Homepolish holidays (II)

If you saw this post from last week, you know that I totally nerded out when a piece of my apartment was posted on the Homepolish Instagram. And if you didn't see that post, or the Homepolish instagram, then LOOK! A piece of my apartment was on the Homepolish instagram! :) Although the holidays are over, and you might be taking down those festive decorations, I still wanted to share the pictures that didn't make the instagram cut.

The project was simple, Homepolish wanted to share some ideas of how you can style your home for the holidays. Little touches to make the space more festive and bright. If you know me, then you know I'm a sucker for a theme, and the holidays are pretty much my favorite theme. I decided to focus mainly on my fire place wall (the fire place is sealed in the worst way possible, which is why I chose to hide it with a restored dresser) and a dining set up. I also chose to stick with a more rustic theme- mixing in a lot of natural elements with touches of red and gold.

All of the pictures (besides my personal gram) were taken by Emily Sidoti , one of the amazing photographers on the Homepolish team. It was so fun getting to work with her and see a space that I styled from all different angles. Literally. Besides me snapping a few pictures, none of my spaces have ever been photographed. This was such a fun experience and I can't wait to share more. Enjoy!

Photos by Emily Sidoti for Homepolish

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apartment pieces // homepolish holidays

Yesterday a piece of my apartment was featured on the Homepolish instagram and I nearly died from excitement :)

They asked their designers to show how they decorated their homes for the holidays and- to no surprise- the other designers came up with amazing ideas. So when scrolling through my instagram feed yesterday, and I saw my own apartment I was SO surprised/ beyond excited (it took effort not to squeal, but i think my cube neighbors would've thought I was crazy, so I refrained)!

Check out all the other designers festive creations & more on Homepolish's instagram (and don't forget to like mine ). You can now also follow the new color. me. quirky. instagram now up & running & kind of amazing, so don't miss out!

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apartment pieces // accent chair

I have always been a big fan of vintage accents in the home. Old photographs that were taken and framed before digital printing was even thought of. An ornate lamp that’s craftsmanship is purely flawless. Or even your great grandfather’s hand-made hat quirkily hung on your wall waiting for someone to rock. When it comes to incorporating a vintage flair into your space, you can’t go wrong with really any vintage piece that you like.

Lucky for me, my family is somewhat on the hording side, so when it came time for me to leave the nest, there were quite a few vintage pieces for the taking. My favorite, however, has to go to my grandmother’s naturally amazing accent chair. Adorned in my late grandmother’s bedroom for years, this piece was a great way for me to incorporate my vintage love as more of an accent rather than the centerpiece statement of my living room; unlike the navy sofa right next to it. Although it’s decades old, its details and shape perfectly encapsulate my personal style. It’s clean and simple, perfectly made, and when you add the right throw pillow the possibilities are endless.

While it’s style was perfect to place right next to one of my living room windows, and sentimentally I was for certain attached to, I was somewhat bothered by the fact that I didn’t know much about my favorite furniture piece. So I started my hunt for more information. The first place I went was my favorite vintage furniture site, One Kings Lane. For most lovers of home décor, or even anyone who likes to browse the vintage online markets, the site OneKings Lane is probably very familiar to you. However, what a lot of people don’t know is that this site goes far beyond just selling the products, they actually have an entire section dedicated to educating people on different types of furniture. It’s called the Home Décor Resource, and on it I learned that my chair is, most likely, of the French style and definitely an accent to my space. I also learned, ironically, that the chair style that suits me best is, in fact, a French armchair (I promise I didn’t cheat. It’s just that good).

Now although, I am certain there is more information to find on my beloved accent chair, for now I am just happy to incorporate such a special piece into my space.

And for those of you who are curious, it’s cat’s favorite chair too.

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apartment pieces // living room shelves

I know that this completely goes against my interior designer ways; however I must admit that I hung these west elm picture ledges legit MONTHS ago yet are just getting around to decorating them now. I know I know, how can I possibly survive sitting in my living room staring at an incomplete project for so long? And to be honest, I don’t really know but somehow I lived. There was a month there where I thought I wanted to move out so I didn’t want to put in the effort to decorate. And I do go home to Philadelphia a lot on weekends. But whatever the reason I am completing the project now, so be proud.

This past weekend I gathered the odds and ends that I had been hording specifically for this, and laid them all out on the floor. As you can see, my buddy loves to help me decorate. It honestly always helps to see everything that I have to work with all laid out right in front of me. This way I can see if there are any items that can be eliminate or need to be added. It also makes it a lot easier to see what items go well together or the complete opposite, the items that clearly need to be on different shelves.

With all these items, and three 3’ long shelves, it really came down to trial and error though. I would climb onto the ottoman or table (I’m only 5’3” and don’t own a ladder, it’s getting to be an issue) try something, get off, and see if I liked it or not. I did this over and over until I landed on this! And I have to say I love it. Yes, there are still prints that need frames but other than that it's the perfect mixture of new and old, machine-made and hand-made, basically it oozes the exact Sarah Style I so hoped for. Goal officially achieved, at least for this wall. 

west elm metal picture ledges // Lianne Dunsing photo // urban outfitters letters // green elephant // Nate Berkus for target mirror // frameless target mirrors // ISeeNoise colt revolver print // charmaine olivia. sunflower eyes