Happy Monday! As I was trailing off to sleep last night after 6.23 episodes of Scandal, it occurred to me that I haven't shown off our "new" place in the way it deserves. We moved from our sprawling 2 bedroom, carpeted, suburban apartment to a concrete-floored, street-level, zero-bedroom studio at the end of May. WE LOVE IT. I was so afraid that we would get on each other's nerves (totally happens) but not nearly as often as one would think! We have all of this incredible light in our place that neither of us fully realized when we fell in love with it to begin with.
I used to feel guilty leaving for work, but now Daisy and Ralph can watch the world go by out the floor-to-ceiling windows along the whole west side of our apartment. The concrete floors are also really nice because nothing stains them! Red wine? Dump it. Muddy boots? Tromp on through! I'm not a neat freak by any means, so the concrete floors are sort of godsend in this household. Pretty much anything can be swept up or wiped away.
While I love white walls for the whole minimalist aesthetic, I also got my heart set on the idea of an exposed brick wall inside the apartment. Fortunately, this bearded guy I'm marrying (eep! that still feels weird to say!) is handy and patient and has access to power tools, so he made it happen. We used faux brick paneling from Lowe's. They were, like, 8 ft x 4 ft and cost about $25 each, I think. We struggled with how to adhere them to the wall. Apparently this sort of thing, if done improperly, can lead to mold?! Research told us to let the paneling acclimate in the new place for a few days before we put them up to help get the moisture and such in balance. We ended up screwing it into the studs and leaving gaps for the air to flow behind the paneling. Did it keep the mold away? I haven't been brave enough to peek, to be honest. #WorthIt
Even if the inside of our place wasn't hella adorable, it still has a lot going for it. We step outside practically onto Mass Ave!! For any non-Indy dwellers, we're steps away from half-priced Sushi Sundays and Froyo and Pizza and Tacos and Fish & Chips and theaters and museums and -- ahh!! All the things!! I actually chronicled all of this wonderfulness for IndyHub last month. You never know what the future holds, but this little space we call home right now is pretty great. ♥
just found your blog. lol i used to feel bad about leaving my doggies at home too but they love peeping out the window now!
ReplyDeleteXO Ellen from Ask Away
www.askawayblog.com
I sometimes thing my dog prefers it when I leave for a while. At least, she seems to get a little sassy with me when I'm home at a time I'd usually be at work. haha
DeleteIt's SO CUTE! Ahhh I'm so jealous of your brick wall. It looks incredible. I'm so glad you love your new home.. even if it isn't in the Bay Area ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you, lady! And I knowwwwwww. I want to live down by the bay, where the watermelons grow.
DeleteI love your place!! I love the exposed brick wall too, it's such a gorgeous aesthetic. I have a little place too, but I so don't mind it because a) less space is better for me, and b) like you, I'm walking distance to everything and anything in this amazing town. There's definitely something to be said for small apartments in great neighborhoods :)
ReplyDeleteIt really is so nice! We had to trim down so much on "stuff" just to move in that we have way less clutter by default. And the walking score is icing on the cake. ♥ Glad you're loving your place!
DeleteLOVE your brick wall!
ReplyDeleteThank you!! I'm pretty impressed with how it turned out, actually!!
DeleteThe brick wall is awesome! And I love concrete floors. I have concrete under my carpets downstairs in my house and I've thought of tearing the carpets up and staining the concrete.
ReplyDeleteDO IT! Seriously. I mean, I have no idea what all that project would entail but having concrete floors has been incredible and I really love it. #worthit
DeleteMass Ave is the dreamiest place in Indy. I'm so envious! I used to live over there, but couldn't afford it and wanted more space. Over to the canal I went!
ReplyDeleteIt really is quite pricey. And we are envious of the calm and quiet on the canal apartments every time we're over there. We might follow suit at some point. :)
DeleteYour brick wall is absolutely dreamy! I love the string lights -- I can imagine it creates the perfect ambiance!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I actually teased that our bedroom kind of looks like a cheesy Italian restaurant but I really do love it! And the light is so soft and warm. ♥
Deleteloooove I have been swooning over this brick on IG. I love that it's DIY it gives me hope. lol XO - Alexandra
ReplyDeleteSimply Alexandra: My Favorite Things
Absolutely!! And I expected the panels to be much more expensive for some reason! Definitely one of my more successful DIY ventures. ;)
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