Take a peek inside our place | How About Orange

July 10, 2007

Take a peek inside our place

Several people have asked for more photos of our condo, so here you go. The building was built in the 1920s. We wanted a place that had a great big living room so we could have lots of people over, but units just weren't made that way. Then we saw this place, and the seller agreed to knock down the wall between the living room and dining room. Perfect! So there used to be a wall behind the couch. Now there's just a pillar, there on the left.

All our furniture is assemble-it-yourself stuff we've accumulated from Ikea or Lowes or Target, except for the couch and chairs from Dania. The light over the table is a Home Depot find that only took us 2 hours to put up. :)

We decided to repaint every room in the place. This is Behr "Expedition Khaki" if you're curious. I painted all the wall art (except for the brown diamond shape behind the dining table; that's a cool woven tray from a friend) and sewed all the pillows and coasters. See more paintings here if you want. The whole reason I started painting anything is because we had empty walls, and it's cheaper to make stuff yourself.

Those are modular Flor carpet tiles and an $8 Target floor lamp.

Our old wicker chair and Walmart lamp got spruced up with pillows and an Ikea lampshade. That lampshade might be my favorite thing in the room.

This is the first time I've ever decorated anything, and I think it's responsible for unleashing a love of design I didn't even know I had. We feel very blessed to have this place. If it should burn down someday, that's okay, because material things are just temporary, but in the meantime, I'm having lots of fun.

43 comments:

Teresa @ good-grace said...

Stunning! Great photos! I love how personal the space is. Kudos!

casey said...

I love seeing how others decorate their homes. This makes me happy. Great job.

beki said...

You have such a nice space!

Paper Shop ink. said...

very nice! love the colors.

Anonymous said...

That lampshade is my favorite thing in the room too! Love it!

Anonymous said...

So beautiful.. so charming. You have such great taste!
Though I've not yet decorated my own place to my liking, I'm on the verge of beginning, and viewing lovely spaces like yours just makes me even more determined!
Thanks for the inspiration. (Love the lampshade, too!)

Heather said...

I love seeing how people have decorated their homes. It's so fun and gives such an interesting perspective of that person's life. Thanks for sharing!

It's gorgeous btw! :)

Anonymous said...

really yummy rooms! I love love the turqoise and yellow! makes you happy!

.::still blinking::. said...

Thanks so much! You have a beautiful home and a great sense of style. Very inspiring.

zobars said...

Wonderful use of colors and I love how you have light blue sofa and khaki walls. Any suggestions what color walls we should paint our family room in. We have orange curtains, vaulted ceilings and family room is attached to the kitchen and white cabinets in the kitchen with granite counters that are dark green.

Jen Jen said...

Hi Jess, I miss your home!!

studiosmith said...

My wife and I almost bought that same modern blue couch and chair from Dania too. We found a couple mis-match ones instead. I like your place. Makes me want to keep working to finish our place.ezraye

Anonymous said...

Your sweet abode is wonderful! What a true artist you are, in so many mediums. Makes me want to curl up with a good book there! Thank you for sharing with us.

La Petite Maison said...

I'm already echoing what others have said here, but I'll say it anyway... beautiful space! Thank you for sharing your photos. I, too, enjoy seeing how others decorate their abodes and just being inspired. :-)

Megumi said...

I loved reading the Bible together on your comfy couches. It's good to see you still have that lamp shade you bought with me on my birthday!

Jesse said...

I saw some wicker chairs on sale yesterday, and resisted, but now I'm tempted all over again!

I love what you say about why you started painting.

Anonymous said...

Looks like something out of a magazine.Great sense of style and artwork. May I ask where you got the buffet behind your couch? I've been looking for something just like that that isn't $$$$. Thanks!

Jennifer said...

It's beautiful. I love those flor tiles and want to get some too. Everything flows beautifully.

kate said...

What a great looking space! I'm jealous. :)

Anonymous said...

Very nice home, I love what you have done with it.

Anonymous said...

Love the couch, wall art, and lamp shade! Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

WOW! Everything is so neat and tidy!! Is it always like that? ;-)

Mum

Anonymous said...

I love love the look of your condo!

Ani
foodiechickie.com

sarah said...

Your place is definitely got a special touch! It looks immaculate and I love how you created your own works of art to display. I also live in Chicago and sometimes get stuck in decorating our condo. I still have a long way to go, but you've given me great inspiration!

Anonymous said...

Do you use pre-made pillow forms or do you make your own?

Anonymous said...

Jessica, I've always been envious of your talents as well as your taste in decorating. These pictures leave me awestruck!

PS-I featured your bookmarks on Cuteable recently, as they were just too cute not to share!

Green Mirchi said...

lovely!!! especially the pillows.. i love all of them!

Jessica Jones said...

Thanks guys--you're all welcome to come over and visit :) Megumi and Jen, I miss you too! Barry, you obviously have good taste. Sion, that's so nice of you! Mom, sometimes it's messier, but not too much worse. The pillows end up in weird stacks, and we move that bench thing from the window to in front of the couch to stretch out on while watching movies. So stuff gets rearranged a lot, but it's usually not too cluttered. If you didn't live so far away, you could visit more and see!

That sideboard behind the couch is from Ikea; good news for your budget, anonymous. Sarah, I absolutely use premade pillow forms! Either purchased pillowforms, or I just recover ugly ones that are on clearance. Sometimes that's cheaper.

bb said...

What a pretty place! Dang, girl - I wish I had your knack for mixing textures and colors. It looks so clean and fresh, but welcoming. I strive for that.

Thanks so much for sharing. :)

Anonymous said...

awwww, such an adorable place, reminds me of my friends babies nursery.

Jessica Jones said...

Well, it's good to know that babies will feel comfortable in our place. :)

Zobars, maybe a pale blue, because it's complimentary to orange? Or a light gold, if you want to stay in the same color family? I don't think these would clash with your countertops. A pale sage green could be interesting. You'd have to make sure you had some other orange and green accents around the room to tie them together, but it could be interesting.

Go look at the June archives at decor8 and scroll down a little to start looking at the rooms that feature orange. This might give you ideas, too.

Unknown said...

Great space, you did such a good job!

Amy Nieto said...

thanks fr sharing your space! and no, i hope it doesn't ever burn down!

Unknown said...

your condo is gorgeous, thanks for the sneak peak!!! :) i love your use of color & print!!! :)

all over the map said...

What a gorgeous place. The fact that you have decorated with reasonable items is so awesome. Goes to show it doesn't have to cost a lot to look and feel great.

How special that you have given your time and touch with your art work. Isn't it rewarding?

You are right. Material things are just that, material. We aren't taking any of it with us when we leave either.

lsaspacey said...

Lovely! I started reading your blog after someone linked to your fabulous DIY orange curtains. I love what you've done with your place and share your love of color and affordable design ideas. Thanks also for all of the great quizzes and info on free fonts.

Vineeta said...

i've been reading yr blog for a while now & its such a pleasant surprise to see your home! i love yellow & i like how u've mixed it with blues & browns. its all come together so well. & that painting you've done is just so sexy. im not saying anything that all these ppl havent already said. but well i so agree with them :)

Michelle said...

Really cute place, I can't believe that light came from the Home Depot, I never EVER find cute things there.

Unknown said...

I LOVE $8 Target lamps! It wouldn't be home without one...

Anonymous said...

I stumbled upon your blog and I'm loving what I see. What a great space you've got. Thanks for sharing your ideas and your talents.

rekya said...

your house is beautiful!!

i just found your blog today, and i'm loving going through it and finding all this cool stuff.

Sarah said...

are your end tables tv trays from target?

Jessica Jones said...

I think Walmart. We move them around all the time and fold them up when we need to add chairs to fit 15 people in our living room. There are way cooler end tables out there, but I can't figure out how to keep the "foldability" and convenience we need.