Naptown Girl in a Chitown World.

It's been just over a week and I'm in love...
in love with Chicago,
in love with the El train ride,
in love with my little home.

And since I finished hanging posters and paintings today, I figured I'd give you a glimpse into my Chitown haven:

Color-coded cinema. :) [who knew so many DVD's were white?]


Yes, those are shoes. They're not very comfortable to wear, but they make for interesting decor.


I have lots of scarves, why not make a mini curtain?


This theater shows mostly old hollywood films and new cult classics.


Notice the massive collection of vintage purses that I never wear.


My little reading/music nook. ♥


Hallway view. [Excuse the laundry.]


Walk-in closet! ;)


Tiny bathroom filled with pink.


Canvas-covered hallway.


and finally*, where I lay my head [at either end].

*There's also a kitchen at the other end of this
room, but in order to capture it's image properly I would have had to do dishes
...perhaps another day. :)

Sofa's Choice

Today's journey involved a trip to the fabric store in search of velvet heaven for my sofa. This proves to be a rather difficult task since I have very specific tastes and no idea what I want. I need something that will match both my green velvet chairs as well as my swivel armchair. This armchair is the bane of my fabric shopper existence in that my mother and I simply cannot agree upon what color it actually is. It's a faded velvet fabric that looks so amazingly interesting with darker shades around the seams and lighter hues toward the center. I swear that it's a faded maroon color [aka somewhat pink], my mother on the other hand swears it's a burnt orange color. I have a problem with any of my furniture being orange. Why? Because I plan to continue my collection of pink decor as I collect more home items and pink and orange simply do not work. A safe compromise would be to call the color 'peach' [think NARS blush in orgasm]. Pictures do not do this color justice so I cannot post for an opinion poll, but please, if you've been lucky enough to witness this mystery color chair [otherwise known as 'the conversation chair'] feel free to weigh in with your opinion.

As for the new sofa fabric, I believe I've decided to go with a multi-pattern approach like this:



Granted, my couch has no back cushions so that area would be the same fabric as the bottom, but you get the idea. These are my preliminary fabric choices:


The second swatch, much like the armchair, does not come across the same in person as it does in photos. It's really more of a shiny, golden peach. But, as I said, these are just preliminary choices, more research must be done.

Sofas and Chandeliers

I've been on an interior decorating kick lately. [I'm not quite sure why since I have no money and it seems a bit pointless to try to decorate this apartment into perfection when that just means I'll have more stuff to move come June.] Regardless, in my searching I've found that there are three items that are like decor porn to me: velvet sofas, chandelier lighting, and bookshelves.

The first is actually my mother's fault. Over the past year she's accumulated for me several beautiful vintage arm chairs, all velvet upholstery. Meanwhile, the other day I mentioned something to her about perhaps wanting a different couch. The one that I currently own is a hand me down from my parents and the upholstery is tan with hunter green stripes. My apartment on the other hand is decorated in colors closer to Marie Antoinette: pinks, sage greens, baby blues, etc. In short, the couch simply doesn't fit; but, much as I enjoy beautiful decor, I'm also a practical kind of girl that feels if something's serving it's purpose, there's no need to spend money on something new. However, when I mentioned my mismatched conundrum to my mother she started asking what type of couch I would prefer [she has connections for cheap vintage, hence the armchairs]. "Would you want a velvet one to match the chairs?" she asked...and with that one question an obsession was born. I believe the decision has been made to simply re-upholster my current couch into velvety goodness, but there have been a few google finds that I've fallen for in the process of searching for ideas:



One of my favorite things about the velvet is the way it ages, fading more in some areas and less in others. Two of my four chairs are like that and I adore the multi-shade effect it creates.



This sofa's called 'The Garbo.' Love the name, love the shape, love the color as well, but it wouldn't go with anything I own. However, the site does allow for color changes.

The chandelier obsession started a few years ago. Miss Kiley and I took a trip up to Toronto for a week and stumbled upon an adorable little boutique packed to the brim in vintage furniture and knick knacks, including a ceiling full of chandeliers. Unfortunately, this discovery also resulted in the realization that I won't likely be buying a chandelier in the near future since even the smallest and cheapest ones start at around $150. There was a time when I considered purchasing this Target knock off,



but I think I'd rather wait for the real thing.

Like this:



Or like the one in Victory Ford's apartment on Lipstick Jungle:



[Frankly, I wouldn't object to simply living on this entire set. Click on the image to see what I'm talking about.]

And now for the most erotic of the decor porn: bookshelves. Words cannot express how obsessed I am with bookshelves. My dream in life is to live in a place where there is an entire wall of built-in shelves, ceiling to floor. Part of this desire comes from an obsession with books, I think the other half comes from my obsessive compulsive need to have a place for everything. This is why this next image is absolutely orgasmic to me, these shelves not only allow for maximum storage of CD's, books, magazines, and movies, but they do so in a visually stimulating design. My only complaint is that the sides are open ended, I need a boxed-in frame to fulfill my desire for structure.



♥ ♥ ♥