Fantasy Apartment!

Since I have so much time to wait, I am coming up with ever more elaborate fantasies about our next place. I've been so busy the past few weeks with work that I haven't really had a moment to sit down and think about it, but in the past few days, since I've been sick with the flu, I have been on the internet 24/7.

Basically, I have a wish list for the kind of apartment I'd like, and also, since it's a chance to start over with decorating, a fantasy that involves many pages of flickr photos I've collected as inspiration for my possible new spaces.

First half of my elaborate fantasy: The Wish List

-I'd like to live in an older building, one that has some history, but that's negotiable.
-We both want wood floors.
-We need need air conditioning. It's been really uncomfortable these past few years in Long Beach, and with the humidity in Philadelphia in the summer, I will be very grumpy without AC!
-My ultimate apartment fantasy is washer and dryer in unit. It makes me giddy just thinking about it. A lot of listings in Old City have them.
-M's ultimate apartment fantasy is a dishwasher, since he usually ends up doing dishes. It would also totally satisfy my desire to disinfect everything with scalding hot water...but we both agree we could live without it.
-Storage space - like a decent amount of kitchen cabinets, bathroom drawers, and maybe a coat closet. These are things we don't have now that have really been annoying. Now we have a garage that we use as storage overflow, but I doubt we'll snag any kind of parking, much less a garage in Philly.

We anticipate a smallish apartment, most likely with one bedroom, though we're shooting for two.

Ok, so this is not really elaborate or fantastical. But I've always had attainable fantasies, so it's in character.

Second half of my elaborate fantasy: Decorating

I've been collecting pictures of inspiring color combinations and furniture I desire. I'd like to replace some of my Ikea stuff with vintage, now that I found out that Philadelphia mid-century modern finds are so much cheaper than here. I have no beef with Ikea, I think they are a great solution for people who like style but don't want to have to pay an arm and a leg for furniture. It's in the true spirit of modern design to have affordable pieces that make a statement. Not everyone can afford Eames, old or new. I'm happily looking forward to mixing my existing pieces with vintage finds. Here's the latest batch of inspiration pix:

1) Sewing table- my grandmother left me her amazing sewing cabinet for her Husqvarna Viking sewing machine. It's way too big to take to what will most likely be a small apartment. But I like the idea of having a dedicated table. Here's a vintage sewing table that looks slim and still useful.


If you have looked at my flickr site, you may have noticed my Saarinen knock-off tulip table from Ikea, the Docksta. I absolutely love it, and have been searching for matching chairs that aren't $200 each for, like, ever.
This is what the matching chairs should look like. Guess what? I found some. I looked at Philly's craigslist and someone was selling 3 rather scuffed up tulip chairs for $110. Really. It's true. So I had my brother-in-law go get them for me. I have a rehab project and new chairs waiting for me when I get there! Not only that, when M's parents found out about my find, they paid for them as an early Hanukkah present. Amazeballs!!

These are pretty much my existing kitchen colors: blue, red, green. I like the juxtaposition here, but doubt that M would eat off of or out of "used" servingware. It's a thing.

I've been wanting these Le Creuset red heart ramekins forever. I love the blue here...and of course the hearts sugar bowl.


Since we may have a one bedroom, I'm going to have to be pretty clever about my giant collection of books. This set up with the dark walls and wrap-around desk system in a bedroom was very striking.
P.S. I'd still need more room for books than this.

Again, I'm liking the lighter blue and white combo. It just seems so clean and light. Here orange and yellow add some color.
I tend to like bright, poppy colors, googie architecture, and Vegas neon vintage. I'm hoping my new place is a good opportunity to start over and make a nice transition away from stuff I bought because it was cheap and useful, towards items I really treasure.