While I was in NYC, I got to spend one night with one of my best friends, Maria. This was my first time seeing her since she moved into her new apartment, a 3 bedroom on the Upper East Side, and it was a bit of a wake up call. I need to decorate my apartment.
While the quarters were tight- railroad style bedrooms (look it up), one bath for three 20-something girls, and virtually no storage- Maria, Betsey and Megan have transformed the apartment into an adorable space that looks and feels like home. Accessories neatly stored, bath products tucked away in useful organizers, and a hook for everything you could possibly hang- everything has it’s proper place. Undeniably, one has to be more organized when sharing small living spaces, but they did it with style. There’s a bevy of warm and happy pops of color, everything is perfectly stored out of sight until it’s needed, and yet nothing looks remotely utilitarian. They’d even found the time to hang things purely for decoration… in exposed brick walls. That’s commitment to a style of living.
Now, our apartment is by no means on refugee-camp-levels of disarray, but we’re far from what I would call “finished.” There are a few remaining unpacked boxes, plenty of unhung artwork and a pathetic excuse for organization happening in my room. Seeing the great job that these three had managed to accomplish on a New Yorker’s schedule and budget left me thinking: what the eff is my excuse?
Couple this revelation with the fact that my dresser literally collapsed in on itself as I was packing for fashion week and all signs point to: ROOM-LIFT
Room-Lift is actually a term I stole from my mom- it was the i
name of her interior design business when I was growing up- and it’s exactly what I plan to do. Give my rooms a face-lift, starting with the bedroom.
Since I’m on a lease and a tight budget, I’m not going to invest heavily in anything I can’t take with me. So that means I’ll stick to elements like furniture, art and decor, like removable-window treatments and lighting. But the first step is gathering inspiration. A process that’s significantly easier thanks to sites like Pinterest, Apartment Therapy, Etsy and Design Sponge.
I’ll have plenty of inspiration for my RoomLift to share with you later in the week…
xoxo, SS
Samantha Says... 