by Furnishly | Oct 15, 2021 | Design Inspiration, Style
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Name: Sannaz E and partner
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Type of home: Apartment
Size: 1300 square feet
Time lived in: 3 months, renting
Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: It is just me and my significant other. We just recently moved in together and were so excited to combine our styles.
I definitely think my identity is reflected in our home — as a lawyer, I have a very type-A personality where everything has to have a place and my space is always clean and tidy. I think this lends itself to very modern, clean design. However, I still like to stay true to my Persian roots and have pieces that remind me where I came from like vintage Persian rugs coupled with ultra modern pieces.
Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: I would describe our home as modern Persian. We like to combine super modern design with traditional Persian rugs, as we are both Persian.
What is your favorite room and why? Definitely the dining room. It took so much planning and searching before it was put together. In addition, furniture has been delayed due to Covid. So, when we finally received our dining table, we were thrilled.
We painted the wall in the dining space matte black, found an abstract art piece my significant other has always wanted, and found the perfect black and white marble dining table to bring the entire room together. It’s a room we are really proud of and look forward to entertaining in this holiday season.
Any advice for creating a home you love? That it reflects your (and your partner’s) identity. It’s a space you have to live in everyday and spend so much time in, so an attention to detail and creating the most livable space (but also aesthetically pleasing place) is key.
This submission’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
by Furnishly | Oct 14, 2021 | Design Inspiration, Style
Name: Emily Quach, partner, and dog
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Type of home: Condo
Size: 950 square feet
Years lived in: 1 year, owned
Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: I grew up in Sunnyside, California, and made my way to the New England area from school. I bought my condo the last year, and it has been everything I wanted in a home.
Currently, because my life is on-the-go, I knew I could not manage a full-sized house. The condo had everything: two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and a balcony. I wanted to transform my home into a reflection of what I want in a home. I love to have an organized space with hints of a modern theme. I live with my partner and our dog, Sam. It is truly the perfect home for where we are in our lives.
A lot of my statement pieces are from my favorite stores, West Elm, CB2, and Homesense. I enjoy muted colors, but the living room is where I genuinely bring some color.
Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Airy, minimal, and modern
What is your favorite room and why? My bedroom is my absolute favorite. The bedroom is the ultimate minimalist room filled with comfort. The bed frame has storage drawers under the bed, and the mattress is heavenly bliss from Helix Sleep.
What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? The Hermes Avalon blanket is a bit pricy but fantastic quality and a beautiful statement in my bedroom. It gives me the luxurious yet modern finishing touches to the bedroom.
Any advice for creating a home you love? Create a mood board for specific themes you know you like. It took me a while to know what types of pieces I wanted to add while maintaining my modern vision. I learned this through many trial and errors of buying things out of convenience and realizing that the furniture or piece did not bring my home together or spark joy.
This submission’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
by Furnishly | Oct 13, 2021 | Design Inspiration, Style
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Name: Janet and Scott McLean
Location: Jávea, Alicante, Spain
Type of home: Townhouse
Years lived in: 1 year, owned
Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: We bought this home in 2017 and completely renovated it by knocking and rebuilding the back half in order to bring in light to what was a dark, traditional townhouse in a quiet pueblo. We love Mediterranean design, and this is reflected in the natural local fabrics we have chosen for the home.
We are originally from the UK but lived in NYC and also Melbourne, Australia for over a decade. Janet worked as a product manager in software development, and Scott worked in IT at a Melbourne university.
In 2016, we decided to follow a slower pace of life in Spain and moved to this beautiful part of the Costa Blanca where we offer relaxed holiday accommodation by the seafront.
Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Traditional meets modern Mediterranean style
What is your favorite room and why? We love to relax on the roof terrace with views over the pueblo, with a local vermouth, watching the sunset.
What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? The tiles in the ensuite are original vintage tiles from this house that we pulled up and saved so that we could reuse them
Any advice for creating a home you love? A mix of natural textures helps to soften the hard surfaces of tile and glass. Decorate with thrifty secondhand treasures, and dress the walls with pictures that reflect your style.
This submission’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
by Furnishly | Oct 12, 2021 | Design Inspiration, DIY, Style
Name: Erin Williams
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Type of home: Apartment
Size: 500 square feet
Years lived in: 4 months, renting
Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: I deeply identify as an artist and a creative, but this is the first place where I’ve really allowed that to come alive. I moved from D.C. to St. Louis in order to attend grad school. Since I know I will be here for at least two years, and I had the summer to really settle in, I decided to go full-on with the decor and the wall art. I gave away all my furniture in order to economize the move, so I had a clean slate to start with. But, in having to have gotten rid of everything (and generally purging my furniture after the dozen moves I’ve done before this one) I’ve evolved into becoming a minimalist, and only bringing in what I need, what I like, and what will work best in my space.
I moved into what I thought was my dream apartment a few years ago, but a bedbug infestation forced me to get rid of all of my furniture. When I moved from that place into the apartment before this one, I was gun-shy and only got the necessities of what I needed and suppressed all desires to decorate. Now, in a new state literally and figuratively, I allowed myself to really settle in and get out everything that I’d been holding inside.
What is your favorite room and why? My living room area! I have missed having a couch, and I recline on this one daily and often. I really, really want a Frame television but can’t afford one, so until this I have my television perched on an easel, which makes for easy pivoting from the living room area to the bedroom area.
Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: “An artist lives here.”
What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? The shoe bench at the front of the door. I was having a situation where all the shoes were kind of piling at the door when I came home, so the bench really helps with the landing strip aspect of the place.
Any advice for creating a home you love? Study, study, study! I’ve spent hours looking at spaces online and really got into how places were set and structured and what pieces worked best in smaller spaces. Think of your home as a refuge: Whenever I leave my home, I am so excited to come back because I know I have a self-curated, gorgeous, and calming space waiting for me.
Take some time to come up with a color palette or scheme; that will keep your eye sharp for apartment-specific decor to bring in. And be on the lookout for freebies and sales. I bought my couch on Prime Day, deeply discounted, and I found the canvas above my bed in a dumpster. I wiped it down, painted over it, and created the beautiful canvas above my bed as it is now.
This submission’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
by Furnishly | Oct 11, 2021 | Design Inspiration, Style
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission.
Name: Sarah Cambell, partner, Nick, and roommate, Peter
Location: Los Angeles, California
Type of home: Apartment
Size: 2,200 square feet
Years lived in: 2.5 years, renting
Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: I’ve spent the past eight months pouring myself into the interior design of our home. (I’m not an interior designer, but work as a graphic designer.) This project has been my creative outlet during quarantine and is a true expression of all the things I love.
I live with my boyfriend Nick, and our roommate Peter. We are all creatives. They are music producers, I am a graphic designer/art director. I love art and design, and I think my curiosity/experimentalism is reflected in our home. I really like playful design and things that are unexpected. I wanted to create a space that was artful but not cold or pretentious. An inspiring space that is still grounded and felt like home. I love color — light, rich, and playful colors. You can definitely see that reflected in the decor. We don’t want to paint or wallpaper since we are renting (and we have beautiful white Spanish walls) so I used color in other ways. I was given a Knoll book by someone when I first moved to LA; it’s really inspired me to learn more about modern furniture design. And LA is a really cool city for interior design, so I’m definitely inspired by living here. Also, I painted the piece in the living room, so my identity is pretty present in there.
I had no idea how long, tiresome, and expensive this project would be when I wanted to just “re-do” our living room. But it’s been a fun and creative journey as I sourced from estate sales, Facebook Marketplace, etc. I love mixing secondhand finds with new pieces that were worth the splurge! Everything has a story, and I finally feel like I did our beautiful space justice. I’ve learned a lot about interior design and my own taste through this project. Somedays, it felt like this project would never end, and I wanted to give up. But I managed to push through, and it was definitely worth it!
What is your favorite room and why? I’d say the living room! I really love our windows and fireplace; working around those features was fun. Nick and I built the low shelf on the back wall. I wanted that to fill in space over there and feel like an art gallery/hallway. The coffee table is my favorite piece in the house (s/o OfferUp). And I reupholstered the leather chair. I like the mix of colors and textures, like the contrast of our comfy couch with the structured chrome and leather chair.
Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Playful, modern, design-forward
What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? The last thing I bought was some colored glassware from HAY for the dining room shelves! I hope to keep collecting colored glassware, too.
Any advice for creating a home you love? Make a mood board of all the things you love to stay inspired. Go slow, and be patient going to estate sales/searching OfferUp, etc. If you can’t find the right piece, just wait. It will come to you! Enjoy the process and don’t be afraid to order and return things.
This submission’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
