Mod Apron

Modern homemaking for the frugal urban mama.

Posts tagged furniture

Jul 23
Oh hey! I forgot to show you guys a pic of the sofa we ordered! Here it is, above. It’s from Pottery Barn, it’s a sleeper sofa (which is why it won’t arrive until mid-September - I’m told sleepers take a lot longer to make), and we ordered it in “Caramel Twill” which is basically like a dark tan color.  So excited! Our living room still has a long way to go before it’s even functional, let alone perfect. But we’re saving up and paying cash for everything, so naturally it’s a process. Baby steps, right? At least we won’t be sitting on the floor anymore. [image courtesy of Pottery Barn, of course]

Oh hey! I forgot to show you guys a pic of the sofa we ordered! Here it is, above.

It’s from Pottery Barn, it’s a sleeper sofa (which is why it won’t arrive until mid-September - I’m told sleepers take a lot longer to make), and we ordered it in “Caramel Twill” which is basically like a dark tan color. 

So excited!

Our living room still has a long way to go before it’s even functional, let alone perfect. But we’re saving up and paying cash for everything, so naturally it’s a process. Baby steps, right? At least we won’t be sitting on the floor anymore.

[image courtesy of Pottery Barn, of course]
Posted at 7:29 AM Tagged: sofafurnituredecorhomedesignhousespacewe paid cashbudgetfrugalsaving

Jul 8

Homebody

After creating last week’s new housekeeping schedule, I decided to start things off on the right foot by doing a whole-house general cleaning and decluttering. My timing couldn’t be better because the donation truck is rolling through our neighborhood on Monday morning and I will be ready!

Yes, this does go against my declaration of having claiming weekend’s off. But hopefully, this will be the last chore-filled weekend for a long while. Means to an end, people. Plus, I’m feeling especially “nesty” right now and when the urge to clean strikes, you’ve gotta seize the moment!

Yesterday, I deep cleaned the whole kitchen. Man, that felt so good. I loved getting all those little areas clean that rarely get touched. Today, I’m going to work on the master bedroom and the kids’ bedrooms. Oh, and I want to move our holiday stuff down to our new storage locker in the garage. Lots to do! All while hopefully fitting in an hour at the gym this afternoon.

In other housey news, after a search spanning many months, I found the perfect runners for our long hallway and ordered the rugs. I LOVE them and I can’t wait to see them in our space. I placed the order right before bed last night and I was so giddy about the whole thing that I fell asleep and literally dreamed about rugs all night. How sad is it that I am this excited about my new rugs? (Answer: Quite sad, actually.)

Anyway, the best part is that we paid cash (as we ALWAYS do these days because we are credit card FREE) and we got a smokin’ deal on some pieces for the house that I am really in love with. We’ve got our whole lives to get this place exactly how we want it, so I refuse to settle. Nothing is coming through our front door unless I really love it. And these rugs definitely fit the bill!

I’ll do a before and after hallway post in mid-August once our new runners have arrived!

It’s a beautiful sunny San Francisco morning and I’m really looking forward to enjoying a quiet Sunday puttering around at home. Puttering Sundays are THE BEST.

Posted at 8:17 AM Tagged: homehousekeepingcleaningschedulechoresdonationdecluttersimplifykitchenorganizefurnituredecorshoppingwe paid cashhappygratefullovesundaysummersan franciscos

Jun 26

Aaaaaand we’re back. Sort of.

I’m still easing back into the swing of things after my parents’ visit. Which, with all the extra helping hands around here, felt like a vacation for me. And I’m still not completely ready to accept the fact that my vacation is over. Thus, I’ve spent most of today slowly playing catch-up.

Gasp! I haven’t even made a meal plan yet. And with all the leftovers, freezer meals and odds and ends I’ve got kicking around in my kitch right now, I kinda think I might skip it this week. Yup, I’m fairly certain this week’s gonna be a write-off. I’m hanging on to my vacation for dear life!

(But don’t worry friends, I have some groovy stuff in store for next week’s meal plan. Stay tuned!)

In other (unrelated) news, check out my lovely new plate display! My mom recently gifted these butterfly plates to me and I thought they were so pretty, I just couldn’t bear the thought of eating off them. I had my dad hang them in the corner of our dining room last week and I absolutely LOVE how they look up on the wall. My little plate display came out so much better than I expected. What a perfect addition to our dining room!

One wall down, only about 45 left to decorate! (Yeah, we’ve got a lot of wall space around here.)
Posted at 8:47 PM Tagged: artdecorhomeplatesfurniturekitchendiningbutterflylove

Jun 3

Apron unplugged

So I sorta disappeared over these last two days. It was, as I like to refer to it, “a spontaneous unplugging”. It wasn’t planned or anything, I’ve just subconsciously kept all online activities to a minimum for the past 48 hours. I was feeling so good after the first day of unplugging, I just kept rolling with it. It was a lovely little internet vacation and I’m ready to get back in the saddle today.

And what I’ve lacked in inter webs lately, I made up for in groovy weekend fun. Here’s what I’ve been up to, lo these past 2 days:

  • The street we live on is having a sidewalk fair all weekend. Yesterday we walked for blocks and blocks in both directions, enjoying the activities. So much fun stuff to see and do!
  • We bought a cabinet for the living room! At the aforementioned sidewalk fair. We found it at this great antique store and snapped it up for a song (and needless to say, we paid cash). I’ll post some pics at some point in the future, but I want to surprise my mom with it when my parents come to visit us in a couple of weeks. And since she reads this blog (Hi, mom!), I’ll wait until after she sees it to put it on the blog. But hey - spoiler alert - it’s antique, hand-painted and GORGEOUS! Yeah, I’m pretty much in love with my new cabinet.
  • I sold a few things on Craigslist. That’s me, always trying to declutter and simplify. Feels so good.
  • Lots of tea drinking and book reading has been going on this weekend. I’d like to say the tea is because I’ve quit coffee completely but no, that hasn’t exactly happened. But I’ve certainly cut back. Baby steps, right? As for the books, I’m currently reading this and this.
  • We had tuna sandwiches for dinner last night. Ha! Sufficed to say, my trusty meal plan got a bit jumbled this weekend. It happens sometimes. Not often, but sometimes. But when it comes to meal planning, I truly believe that rigidity is a recipe for failure. Sometimes ya just gotta roll with it. The good news is that now I’ve got some unexpected meals in my arsenal for next week. And funnily enough, Dennis said the tuna sandwiches were one of the best dinners he’s had in awhile. (I’m not sure how to take that… Compliment or insult?)
  • I think I’m going to make some cherry jam today. I think it’s a touch early in the season for local cherries because some of those pretty babies I bought at the farmers’ market last week turned out to be a bit tart. But we don’t waste food around here, no sir! So I shall repurpose them.

That’s about it for now! Hope you’re having a delicious Sunday.

Posted at 9:32 AM Tagged: weekendsimpledeclutterfamilyfuncityneighborhoodteabooksdecorfurniturehomehappylifemeal planmimimizerepurposesan franciscowe paid cashlucky

Apr 23

Townhouse To-Do Master List

Since we moved into our new home in February, I’ve been keeping a mental list of all the stuff we need to purchase, things that need repair and improvements we want to make. This morning, I finally got inspired to go through our townhouse, room by room, and put it all down on paper. My sleep-deprived and child-addled brain appreciates the visual benefit of having a hard copy list, and simply writing it out has helped me to determine the priority of each item.

So, without further ado, I give you my Townhouse To-Do Master List (drumroll, please):

LIVING ROOM:

  • hang large Italian poster print
  • purchase furniture
    • sofa
    • 2 chairs
    • coffee table
    • desk
    • desk chair
    • 2 side tables
    • TV cabinet
    • lamp(s)

DINING ROOM:

  • fix missing window pane (exterior) and re-caulk window
  • hang butterfly plates
  • create framed art wall

OFFICE:

  • purchase rug
  • purchase cabinet/bookshelf
  • install wall shelves
  • replace under-door draft blocker thingy (anyone know what these are called?)

HENRY’S ROOM:

  • purchase bunk beds, one extra mattress and bedding*
  • fix and patch large model plane where pieces have chipped or broken off

BLUE BATHROOM:

  • find and purchase solution to store bathroom supplies
  • replace plexiglass shelves in cabinet with something sturdier

SPLIT BATHROOM:

  • purchase corner cabinet
  • make and install curtain for bathroom window
  • replace plexiglass shelves in cabinet with something sturdier

KITCHEN:

  • paint chalkboard wall
  • frame and hang “Culinary Tools” print
  • fix laundry cabinet door by installing latch
  • purchase a bread box
  • find and purchase a better solution for potato and onion storage

HALLWAY:

  • purchase runner rugs for the length of the hallway
  • make and install curtain for hallway window
  • reorganize storage closet

MAYA’S ROOM:

  • major toy declutter/downsize
  • purchase table and lazy susan and move large dollhouse into room
  • fix broken corner of antique toy piano

MASTER BEDROOM:

  • make and install curtains for closet french doors
  • purchase dresser*
  • purchase chair for corner*
  • swap out duvet cover and shams for the new one I already bought (I’m kinda waiting on this until Hen is no longer spitting up)

LIGHT WELL (This is a small bit of outdoor space we have, located in the center of the condo surrounded by exterior walls):

  • install decking tiles
  • purchase plants that like shade (rosemary, bamboo, impatiens, etc.) [If you know of any other easy-to-maintain plants that prefer shade, please email me! I’m pretty inexperienced when it comes to plants and I’d really appreciate some advice in this regard!]
  • paint pipes
  • remove bird spikes

GARAGE:

  • install door to storage locker
  • enclose nook in far wall*
  • move electrical outlet*
  • purchase freezer*

GENERAL:

  • purchase plants (a house is not a home without plants!)
  • purchase and hang art (we have tons of wall space and every room is crying out for lots and lots of art!)
  • purchase and install stainless steel light switch/outlet covers to replace the cheap plastic white ones (I’ve already bought two, only about a zillion to go!)

*denotes low-priority items

I think that’s about it! I’ll try to revisit this list every couple of months or so to report on our progress. I think it will be a long, slow road getting this place where we eventually want it to be. Good thing we’ve got the rest of our lives so we can take our time!

Posted at 10:52 AM Tagged: homefrugalsimplifydeclutterfurnituredecor

Apr 15

We bought a desk chair this weekend. It’s wicked.

Dennis had been using one of the dining room chairs in his office, but it was hurting his back because their height is slightly too high to function properly as a desk chair. When we saw this chair on sale at the antique shop a few doors down from us, we just couldn’t resist.

It’s from the 1930s and used to belong to a very high profile private detective! Okay, that second part isn’t actually true, I just want to believe it is. But it really is from the 1930s!

So much better than a some cheap crappy thing from Ikea. This baby’s been cradling ass for over 80 years!

And it looks great in the office. It’s pretty much the perfect chair.

The best part is that we got it for a song (thanks to a bit of friendly bartering) and we paid cash. Granted, our newly-established furniture/decor account is now empty once again, but this was a chair we just could not pass up.
Posted at 10:55 PM Tagged: homeofficefurniturewe paid cash