Living room update

For Christmas I involved a lot of family members to surprise Mike with a TV. Neither of us have had one in many years, and had grown used to tiny laptop screens for watching our shows and movies. I knew he really wanted one, but I have been quite hesitant. Since I have managed for so long, what's the need, right? And it also seemed like a lot of money. Well, since my sister suddenly had an extra TV, the price turned out to be quite reasonable. Being able to keep the secret from my husband was also a lot of fun.

After a nervous week of waiting, the TV finally came in the mail, and we had to rearrange our whole apartment to accomedate it. We got a new bookshelf and some new storage for the closet, and are both very happy with the results. The landscape picture on the wall is also pretty new. It shows the view from Alnes towards Ålesund and my home island Sula, and it is so lovely to have a piece of home to look at every day.

Picture from Alnes: Michaela Potterbaum. 

New shelf: Skeidar

January Cure #13 Lighten up

I thought today's task would be about lights, but I was wrong about that! Instead, the living room got a little lighter in terms of stuff, and they recommended removing 3-15 items. This room has already gotten attention during the cure because of some rearranging of furniture, but I still decided to give a long and hard look at things that might clutter it up. The following list shows what didn't make the cut:

- 1 pillow (moved to the loft)
- 18 magazines (mostly donated/thrown away, some to be stored out of sight)
- 6 candle holders (donated/put away)
- 2 sets of coasters (probably put away/stored)
- 2 decorative items (stored)
- 2 branches & 4 medium sized pinecones (Christmas/winter decor, stored)
- 1 framed picture (moved to the loft)

That's a total of 34 items! (You can spot a couple of them on the shelf above the couch.) Half of them are definitely going in the outbox. The room does not feel sparse at all, and I doubt I will miss the extras.But this little star-anise wreath got to stay, even though it was made for Christmas. I just like it too much to pack away quite yet. Now you also got a sneak peak at the living room. More pictures will come later this week.

January Cure #11 Bedroom

Another weekend project, this time around the bedroom was due for a deep-clean. The bedroom is the most organized room in our house, so this was an easy task. During the first floor task I cleaned the bedroom floor, baseboards and bed really well, so that was already done. And it is ice cold outside, so the window has to wait.

When it comes to the closet, we have it under control. We have limited space, so I try to donate using the one item in - one item out rule. It works, sometimes. I still challenged myself to get rid of one item per drawer this weekend, and was able to do that for every category but pants, which is fine.

It is sunny and snowy outside, like a real January winter should. That means it is also slightly chilly inside, but with clean sheets and the world looking crisp and white outside, I am alright. 

Sheets: Marius, Blanket: Røros Tweed, Patterned pillow: Peru, Striped pillows: Homemade

January Cure #8/9 Clear a closet

Task #8 was to work on clearing out a closet for 30 minutes, and #9 to work on your main project. We skipped a day and waited with the closet task till today since that is our main goal. My husband and I worked together for 1,5 hours on the hallway closet, including finally sorting through tools, adding new storage and getting rid of 5 bags of coats and shoes! We arent quite done yet, but a lot of progress has been made.

As a result, the hallway has been rearranged. The dresser is now a TV-stand in the living room, and this shelf/bench used to sit inside the closet. Here is what the hallway looked like before:

Not much different, but there was a shoe issue that isn't visible in the picture above. We would always leave 2-5 pairs of shoes on the floor, and it annoyed me a lot! With a shelf out in the open it might look messier than the dresser, but I am very pleased with getting the shoes off of the floor. 

And then the inside of the closet. These pictures aren't very glamorous, and since we are in the middle of the project it looks way too crammed, especially this "cleaning-area". Still, it is a lot better than it used to be. The blue and green bag to the right is our outbox, not counting the 5 bags of clothes and shoes donations from today's assignment. Emptying it will free up a lot of space. The top shelf of the closet also has potential for holding more, but we have to get back to that later. 

Even though I continue to add stuff to the outbox/trash almost everyday, I still feel like there is way too much stuff everywhere. Does that feel familiar to anyone else? Maybe I need to be even more ruthless about parting with things...

How to hang a rug on the wall

If you have a rug, blanket, or other textile you would like to hang on a wall, here is one way of making that happen. You should not nail it directly to the wall, as it might rip from the strain, so though it sounds like a simple solution, it will not last. Here is how I hung my Peruvian blanket. 

Materials: 

Your rug/blanket

A piece of wood trip the same width as your textile

Sanding paper

Velcro the same width as your textile

2 eye hooks

Glue/nails and a hammer

Needle and thread

Fishing line or other rope

Step 1: 

If you have good glue, use it to attach the hooked end of the velcro to your trim. You can also use small nails like I did. Remember to sand your wood first! 

Step 2: Attach an eye-hook to each end of the wood trim.

Step 3: Sew the other end of your velcro to the textile. This is the most time consuming task. Just be patient, and use a good, sturdy needle.

Step 4: Attach the two pieces of velcro, and hang your rug on your wall! 

Peruvian entrance

We got a couple of Peruvian gifts when we got married, since we know people who live there or have travelled to visit recently. One is this happy lama-rug below, isn´t it fun? The other is a rug/blanket that was too nice for the floor. I decided to hang it on the wall, and will have a DIY post on how to do that later this week. Both of these South American textiles fit perfectly in our entrance area, and gives it a whole new vibe. 

 

Before and After: Bedroom for two

A bedroom for two is quite different from a bedroom for one. You need at least a bigger bed, a larger closet, and one more spot where the glasses can rest at night. The only thing we had when Mike moved in was a big enough bed. Everything else was thrown together, using what I already had. 

Here is a look at the before: 

 

The bedroom was messy, lacking functional nightstands and wardrobe. We had no pictures on the walls, and the room was generally a little sad and messy. 

AFTER

Enter the new and much tidier bedroom. A DIY closet was the solution for our lack of storage for clothes. The curtains and curtain rods are from Kid Interiør. The curtains hide the same dressers we already had, but now they are out of sight! 

These pretty pictures titled "Heart Connection" are made by our friend Hanne Aarthun.

More pictures have been hung: A collection of greeting cards, flea market finds and a picture of a ferris wheel from Etsy. 

We love our new "nightstands". For a small room like ours, it is perfect to hang shelves instead of bedside tables. Since the bed has to touch the wall on two sides, there would only be room for one of those anyways. This way we can both store our glasses and books out of reach at night. The shelves Enudden are from IKEA.

All in all we made very small investments, but managed to make the bedroom a much more inviting and tidy place!

Out with the old - in with the new

Say hello to our new couch! The first piece of furniture Mike and I have bought together, and then wrestled up the stairs, causing a small fight about how to lift and move bulky items...  We found it on Finn (Norwegian Craigslist), and got a great deal for an almost unused quality couch. This is certainly an upgrade from what I have had before. The next step will be to rearrange the living room and turn the couch around, but that will be for another day. 

This pretty one is now sitting on my balcony waiting to be picked up by its new owner. Again: thank you Finn. I got it for free from Skrot Tor many years ago, so I put an ad up to give it away so we didn´t have to haul it off ourselves, and within minutes someone contacted me! The internet can be really great, don´t you think? 

Little Progress with the January Cure

In December I signed up for Apartment Therapy´s January Cure - a way of tackling mess and clutter in your house and get a good clean. Buying fresh flowers is the easiest part of the January Cure. Other than that I have cleaned and organized all my books and yarn, and deep cleaned a large portion of the kitchen. Small steps on the way... I just seem to lack motivation. Cleaning is most fun when it is over, or what do you think? Do you have any ideas for how to get going on home projects?

Happy Weekend!

I am thankful for a weekend to relax and hang out. The large picture of Jesus came from my grandmothers house. It belongs to my sister, but I get to look after it for her. 

I finally got a rug for the living room! It was a birthday present, and I am pretty excited about this wool rug. It has a beautiful color, and makes it so much more cozy in here. The rug is from Lone, a very affordable brand.

Have a wonderful weekend! 

House tour: the out-takes

As I mentioned in my last post, I would post more house tour pictures. Not all areas have great light, so the quality is unfortunately lower than I would like. 

I hope you have enjoyed this little tour of my home!

Balcony with spring flowers.

Kitchen.

Bathroom.

Loft bedroom

Craft corner in the bedroom.

House tour: the Small Cool version

The house tour continues. Here are the five photographs I chose to represent my home in Apartment Therapy´s Small Cool contest. It is hard to get good overview pictures in a small space, especially without a wide angle lens, so I will show some out-takes later of the places that didn´t make it to the top.

PS. You can still vote for me, favoriting ends May 31st.

Entrance and dining table.

Living room.

Overview from the loft bedroom.

A sneak peek of the green bathroom.

Guest bedroom and craft room. 

House tour: the Small Cool competition

My soaring ceilings are now on Apartment Therapy!

I have been an avid reader of Apartment Therapy the last years, and I love all their practical tips on living in small places, wonderful house tours and DIY projects for inspiration. It is such an honor to be featured on their website. This house tour series is happening because I entered the competition, and I will post more pictures from my entry, and a few outtakes later.

But first, see my entry here, and vote for me if you´d like!

PS. I will post the winner of the giveaway later tonight.