Moving!

This is my apartment. It's been my home in Boston for 3 years now, the longest I've lived in one place post-home. Due to my inability to live with a terrible landlord, I'm moving. Unfortunately, I probably stopped investing in this place over a year ago, knowing my time here wouldn't be forever. I'd hoped to do more with it. But I still thought perhaps (if you'll bear with me) I could do a tribute post because it is a great apartment. This, as they say, is where the magic happens! Here is how I live in 350 square feet.


In the top photo you can see I have quite a few chairs. Some stack and hide in a closet but I still have more chairs than a studio needs. When I took this photo, after my farewell apartment party, I'd already sold my settee.

Below the top photo and on the right, these shelves are dedicated for supplies. Most supplies are hidden in the metal boxes I keep buying and some are displayed with the machines on the shelves.

My studio has a 15'x18' main room with two windows. The kitchen is separate and the bath and an extra closet are off of a small foyer. It's inside of a mansard roof, which gives the walls a slight slant as you can see in the upper right of the photo above.

Above my bed is "my lady" or "my creepy lady" or "my creepy colonial." It's a charcoal portrait dated 1864 (which is by no means colonial) that I bought at Todd Farm Antique Market. I really love her. She is ghostly.

I've moved my furniture around every few months but this last arrangement is probably the best. The walls are a cool grey and I added a band of white below the molding (hardly crown) to make it appear more substantial than it is.

The curtains are Ikea but I took off the last 8" and added a band of silk in navy (hard to see in the photo).

Despite being here 3 years, it was hard for all but me to remember that my plates and glasses were not in the kitchen but in the built-in shelves just outside of it. It's also where I kept my non-electric coffee maker and vintage pan collection and dry goods in jars.

My table is a hollow-core door I stained to match adjustable Ikea tressles.  At first I'd hinged two doors so that I could, when I needed it, have an enormous work space. Those times were few and far between and I ended up separating them and using one as a headboard (see above). The table always functioned as half desk: half sewing, half extra kitchen counter space, half whatever else I needed. In fact, I tried to have most of my things serve two purposes.

A collection of wooden boxes holds many small but important things like a pressed penny and button collection. The fan is a Brimfield find (it's coming up again soon!).

The wool crewel I found for $6 at a discount fabric store here and made into a wide hem curtain for my clothes closet. The mirror I found being thrown out in my building; it bounces light from the windows into apartment and makes it look like I've got twice as much booze.

Sunlight on the wooden floors (my new apartment has carpet, sigh) and a crate I bought at Todd Farm Antique Market also serves as a bench when on its side (it has also served as a night stand when stood on its other side).

That is the gist of it. While it is a great space, I'm ready for a new place and hopefully a better landlord. The new apartment is in Boston's Audubon Circle (or Fenway), which I'm excited to explore. It's smaller, has less light (basement unit, for real) but some character to it and I'm excited about the challenges it will offer and hope to share with you what I do!

Thanks for bearing with me for that. Good bye, 83!