LCY Yard Sale: Custom Headboard, Lamps, Rug, and English Roll Arm Sofa!

It's true. I am selling my custom headboard. I love love love it, but for many reasons, I am redoing my bedroom (again). Before ya'll think I'm crazy, the answer is no, I don't find it stressful, I love the process! I would absolutely keep it if I had anywhere to store it. Alas, I do not... I really need a temperature controlled storage unit.

Anywho. Prices listed below. Highest bidder gets it!

Email me at alaina dot lcy at gmail dot com if interested! Cash and carry in Chicago area. No shipping.

HEADBOARD AND LAMPS

custom queen headboard in Scalamandre fabric - $600
(would retail for upwards of $2000)

two pink Robert Abbey lamps - $100 each
(originally $260 each)

5x8' rug - $100

(originally $466)

Pottery Barn English Roll Arm Carlisle Grande Sofa 90.5" in Metal Gray Twill
see full product description here
(comes with two back cushions not shown here that have never been used)

Asking $1000 OBO, cash and carry.
(Purchased 1.5 years ago for $1800)

Ladyplace: My New Yellow Sofa!

Just like I always wanted!

Like my favorite living room ever (that of one Jenna Lyons).

Well, ok I didn't really get a new couch. But I had a lot of fun in photoshop the other night.

Playing around with different colors to see what it would be like with say... a delicious green velvet couch?

Or pink to really make it a lady apartment?!

But no... here's what my place currently looks like.

Not too shabby if you ask me!

But I sometimes wonder if it would be better with a much lighter color couch. Softer. More ladylike.

Or dare I say a white couch?

No, Alaina. You have dogs. Don't be ridiculous.

What say you? Stick with the the dark grey? Or slipcover it? Pottery Barn has some great light options for the Carlisle couch.

Happy weekend all!

Ladyplace: The "Office"

Well the peekaboo shelf arrived faster than a Jimmy John's sandwich. And it's perfect! Just what I needed for storage, a place to stow the printer, and some extra surface area (for paperwork and the like).

So I figured I'd snap a few good photos not with a camera phone to better paint the picture of how this space is coming together...

 

Not too shabby!

Not entirely sure what I want to do with my desk chair. If I keep it I desperately have to re-cushion and recover the seat. It feels like I'm sitting on a piece of plywood for 10 hours a day. Also not sure I want to keep the pink in the office area or just go completely neutral in these rooms (entry, living, work, and dining). I'm thinking neutral. Also not sure if I want to even attempt to hide the kitchen floor. The tile is pretty grimy... I was thinking a gold speckled hide. Or something soft in color like this one from Lulu and Georgia. But I'm worried it'll be too many rugs at the point. And I'm not sure how comfortable I'd really be having animal skin. Faux hides exist right? I need to look into that.

That's all for now, folks!

GET THE LOOK:

Ladyplace: Making an Office in a Living Room

For the first time since I moved downtown five years ago, I don't have a separate office in my apartment. Transitioning from 2+ bedroom apartments to a one bedroom has meant my living room is also my office. Fortunately, the transition to working in my main living area has been fine. I don't have any difficult walking away when I've had enough work. I cook (yea - I do that now! What?!), walk the dogs, go to the bedroom to read, take a bath, or just kick back and watch tv, ignoring the ever-present desk and computer.

That being said, it's not so much the living/working combo that bothers me so much as the lack of an organized work space. For storage and papers and product and shipping materials and files and office equipment et al. With the addition of a product line, managing part-time editors, and my new printer that's lived on the floor for the past two months, I need to get my "office" in proper working order. It's not just me, the ole iMac, and a glass of wine working late nights anymore.

So I've made a few small changes in the living space. Drastic to me. Barely noticeable to anyone else.

When I decided to move the desk by the window, I had it far over to the left, practically against the radiator. Notice you can fit an entire pouf between the desk and the end table next to the sofa.

I've also struggle with what to do on that wall by the desk. Months ago, I posted this instagram and asked for ideas!

Meanwhile I've had my beloved DIY bulletin board hiding under my bed, waiting for a spot. I can't bring myself to part with it; it's so practical and pretty and a lot of labor and love went into making it. The main reason I hadn't hung it was because I lost the hanging tools it came with. Little did I know you can go to the hardware store and pick up a "photo hanging kit." Very simple w/ a drill. Took two seconds.

And bam! I hung the bulletin board, complete with spring wardrobe inspiration, some personal mementos, and a TEG editorial calendar (even though we work primarily in Google docs).

I moved my CB2 folding table over there for the sake of seeing what it would look like. Finally got the printer off the floor.

Stepping back...

 It's like a little office!

(Excuse the mess in the kitchen. And yes, the giant dog bed is a part of my life and my home.)

But... I needed more storage in that nook. And quite frankly really loved having the gold folding table next to the couch like it was here...

So.

I'd been eyeing this other CB2 piece - the rolling peekaboo shelves - but the price point just wasn't in the budget. Did a little rummaging through my desk drawers and wallet, and it turns out I have a CB2 gift card from ages ago and a Visa gift card also from ages ago. Enough to put a huge dent in the $350 price tag! I called the store to make sure they accept Visa gift cards. They do. So I was planning on going today to get it.

When all of a sudden, I clicked on the Joss and Main sale that popped up in my inbox last night. And look what was on sale!

For $250 no less! Checked my J&M credit... awesome, I had enough.

Wham. Bam. Got it for "free."

I'm thinking I'll put the printer in the middle shelf, files on the bottom, and make the top look practical and lovely at the same time. Yay!

All of CB2's "lucite" peekaboo items are in the LA Modern sale - for less than CB2 sells them for! Coffee table, console table, side table, you name it. Check it out!

So the gold folding table can go back by the sofa. Not sure where that ceramic garden stool will end up living. Might have another yard sale.

You'll also see back in the corner this new floor lamp from the kind folks at Kenroy Home!

Darling thing really. And great price point on Amazon! I love how it adds height to that corner where before the gallery wall just kind of ended and there was this big blank wall.

So that's that! I'll have more updates on the new tv and bar areas since I switched that up as well.

Sorry for the dodgy photos. Literally shot them this morning on my iPhone. 

But hey - it's a post! Go me!

Happy weekend!

And re: the yard sale. Almost everything sold save for the rectangular mirror. Which makes me happy because I realized I needed it anyway. Thank you everyone!

Ladyplace: To Paint Black or Not? Help me decide!

My beauuuutiful and very WHITE Society Social bar cart arrived–yes, I went with white. Creature of habit to play it safe–and now I realize it just doesn't work against the all white walls. It gets lost. This whole wall in general is just... meh. So I'm thinking of painting the wall black. Again, creature of habit (office in first apartment, bedroom in second apartment).

I posted on Instagram asking people what they thought and a lot suggested a deep navy, (Benjamin Moore's Hale Navy in particular, which is awesome) but I am just not sure how that would work since the rest of the room is neutral greys, blacks, beiges, and whites. Thoughts?

Others are suggesting deep charcoal.

Or... what about bright pink?! Inspired by this and this.

Some say high gloss.

What say you?!

And for the record, 9 times out of 10 I kind of hate accent walls. But because this apartment is so small, it's more its own section of the room - the bar/library, if you will. It would hardly even be photographed with the "office" or the "living room" parts, both of which kind of have their own looks going on.

Ladyplace: Living Room Details

Today I thought I'd share with you some of the details to my wee lil living room.
Sofa is Pottery Barn Carlisle, rug is from Joss and Main, brass curtain rod and curtain are West Elm.

My Paris-inspired gallery wall complete with my own letterpress print of the Eiffel Tower.
You can purchase here.

The pillows on the sofa. Per everyone's suggestion, I removed the pink one, and am left with:
grey trellis from Serena and Lily , black and white spotted from Furbish Studio,

and gold polka dots from Caitlin Wilson Textiles.

Styling the new coffee table is a bit trickier with the different layers and round shape. I've included some of my favorite magazines, a vintage sterling silver tray I picked up at the Brown Elephant for $5 - I use it to store photo booth and polaroid photos (got this idea from my friend Caitlin Flemming), the marbled box is from Furbish Studio, and that beautiful white and gold candle is from a boutique in Charleston.

When I downsized, the only two pieces of furniture I was able to bring with me included the couch and the bed - the two pieces I never wanted my dogs on. So it was time to finally get them a bed they'd actually like. Unfortunately, the styles at Costco and Petco just weren't cutting it. Thanks to Harry Barker for this stylish black and white toile bed. It's the medium size so it's large enough for both of my 25-lb furfriends. They love it. And I'm happy.

This will inevitably change, but for now the $30 brass end table I got in Craigslist is showcasing a few decorative pieces from my old place. The milk glass lamp, the faux topiary (I can't keep real plants alive), a candle, some coasters, and my favorite porcelain horns that are Jonathan Adler but I got from Furbish Studio.

photos by Alaina Kaczmarski

Ladyplace: The New Coffee Table

so here's where we left off...

painted the walls white, got a new striped rug, added a gallery wall above the sofa.
love love love it, right?

well, if you recall from this pic of fiona getting eaten by the couch, it was a wee bit crowded.

this reclaimed wood coffee table from jayson home is my absolute favorite in the whole wide world. i got it for a steal at their warehouse sale, and i am NOT selling it, not ever, no way. but i need something smaller while i reside in this pocket-sized apartment. not wanting to spend a lot of money, i bravely dove headfirst into the dark abyss that is craigslist.

and after a couple of searches using the keywords "brass" "glass" "small" "coffee table" and "lucite," i found this funky lil guy!

which i immediately recognized as being similar to this lovely from lonny magazine (which i just so happened to include in my striped rug post)!

$100?! i emailed the seller and scheduled a time to pick it up. worst case, it didn't work out and i resell it.

similar styles are going on ebay for $175, $300, $899, and $1100! whaaa?! thaz bonkers.

so here it is! as you can see - it really opens up the space. so much more room for activities!

and from another angle. brighter, yes? and i love how the brass matches the brass curtain rods.

a lot less crowded than before.

Ladyplace: Arranging Furniture in the Living Room

So you may remember I originally placed the sofa in front of the windows when I moved in.

But I had to rearrange it because the sofa was blocking where the window AC unit needed to go.

So to this wall it went... which is fine but I wasn't thrilled about.

Next, to brighten the small space, I painted the room Farrow and Ball's Wimborne White.

...then added some oversized brass drapery rods from West Elm. Let me tell you, those were a real pain to hang on these slightly uneven walls. But how worth it!

Here's what the other half of the room was looking like. As you can see, I ran out of paint before finishing... need to get more.

So what I didn't like about this arrangement, while it made sense spatially, was that I was staring at a wall all day. This apartment doesn't get bright until the afternoon, so spending mornings sitting in a dark corner was less than ideal for kicking off the work day. 

Commence rearrangement #2
(and the arrival of my new striped rug!)

Desk goes over by the window.

 TV goes on expedit shelf.

 Bar gets downsized.

 And this big ole' wall remained blank for too long... I had no idea what to do with it, until one day, I did what I do best. Collected all of my art, grabbed a hammer and some nails, and went to town.

Gallery wall details forthcoming...

So what do you think? Which arrangement do you all prefer?