livebeauty's Profile

So fun! Doing this in my friend's apartment right now and was really glad to see this post. She was on the verge of moving...but instead we've moved everything around in the apartment and created a completely different home!. Amazing to see. Suddenly become a place that feels new, elegant, cozy...we all want to hang out there!

For instance, I unstacked a couple of stackable wooden bookcases from her office and put them singly on either side of her bed as night tables. Because they are long and low, they ground the bed and unify the room with the large wooden wardrobe and dresser. the room has gone from eclectic to elegant with this simple switch. The room feels furnished now, more stable, sexy.

Shop your home, loving it!

Answer these questions for yourself first: Am I extremely sensitive to color and light? Do I plan to fill my rooms...or leave them spare? Do I just hate these colors and want a clean slate, or am I not all that finicky?

If you're gonna heavily accessorize your walls and are more easy about these things... then choose a good primer and a less expensive paint.

If you're light sensitive and into shape and shadow...buy the best primer you can get and use Donald Kaufmann whites. Nothing else comes close. His colors float and get better with time on the wall. They are worth every dime if you're a light lover. You will not regret the 100 bucks a gallon. You're only buying enough to cover a few rooms, after all. Donald Kaufmann paints and a punch of 7.99 Ikea dimmers for your lights will give your condo a luminous, endlessly beautiful atmosphere. #52 is swooningly snowy, #28 is perfect with caramel tones. In the end, it's the cheapest luxury upgrade you will ever make. Totally worth it.

If you want light/ texture on the cheap, create depth yourself by treating your walls/ceiling like an art canvas. Prime your walls. Water down any cheapo colors you like: greens, blues, pinks, yellow, ochre. (use samples) Rub them onto the wall with a rag, or slap em on with a brush...like a patch work. Then water down the white of your choice (water based paint of course). Rub/sponge the watered down paint on the wall. One, two, 3 coats... until you achieve the desired coverage of white.

The walls look white...but as the light changes, you get a subtle shifting of color...like an eggshell. It glows. Gorgeous and really personal to the exact wishes of your eye.

sounds laborious but it's really meditative and fun. Gives a diaphanous glow.

Have fun with it!