Efficiency Apartment Tour

It's finally here! The efficiency apartment tour that I promised oh so long ago (like almost a year!?) when I gave you all

 a peek into the apartment.

I have had this done for quite some time, but I have been so busy that I'm just now getting around to blogging about it. (Just got back from a missions trip - i'll have to post about that later.) 

So, I figured I better post this before we move out...at the end of the month! Haha 

That's right...we are moving. Moving back to the country where we belong! :)

But I will miss this little place. Our first place together. 

It got us through our college years and has been a cozy little spot of our own. 

The Foyer

The spot next to the door where we drop our keys and mail
also conveniently doubles as our bedside table!

which brings me to...

The Master Bedroom

My mom made the sign above our bed. 

It was on top of some old doors at our wedding that led to the ceremony site.

Matt got me the "Marche Fleurs" canvas for my birthday one year.
I love the colors, especially the purples in it.

Okay, in real life it's never that tidy.

The "chandelier" above our bed. 

It probably weighs a pound, and husband is still scared it's gonna fall on him! :)

We like to smell good.

This is how the bed typically looks, but if I want some more color...

...I just switch out the pillows and add a throw blanket!

The Living Room

Hehe! Well...the TV is usually in the living room right? 

So i guess this is it, cause Mr. 19" here is the only one we have.

There is also a wing chair that I some times call the living room, but it is behind the TV.
I guess it can be kind of tricky to define spaces when you have such an open floor plan like we do. ;)

The Office

Okay, so on the other side of the.....room..... there is this desk. That is not being used as a desk.

You can see its makeover HERE.

As you can see, it has turned into more of a vignette area with a slight kitchen overflow. 

The microwave sits right next to my pretty pictures and shells from our honeymoon to

Cozumel.  

The closet to the left of our desk is the pantry.

As you will see next, there is not a whole lotta kitchen cabinet space for food.

The Kitchen

This is my adorable little stove...the second one.
First one had a carbon monoxide leek and gave us scary headaches. Go check and make sure the batteries in your carbon monoxide detector are still alive...it could keep you alive! :)

And here is the rest of the charming little kitchen. 

In my dreams I paint these cabinets white, add some nice molding to the top and add some flat black hardware. Too bad it's a rental. Apparently these are the "really nice" cabinets. 

I have gotten a peek into some of the other apartments that haven't been updated, and they are very 70's, dark, eeew, so I try not to complain. 

A better look at my "just over one square foot" of counter space.

And in real life, there is a dish drying rack there, so really I just get a few inches.

Good thing we have a big table!

My above-the-counter decor. Can you tell I'm more of a texture person than a color person?

So, I'm not much of a magnet person. I think they tend to make the fridge feel really cluttered, which ends up making the kitchen seem messier/more cluttered than it already probably is.

This is my compromise:

I put the ugly, more necessary magnets, important notes, etc. on the side of the fridge and the pretty ones on the front (neatly displayed - not random and chaotic). I got the mini wine bottles at the store I used to work at, and the wedding picture magnet was a super cool Christmas gift from my friend. 

As you probably noticed in the very first picture, the bathroom is right next to the kitchen. 

Like literally, you could check on the cookies while you were going potty. 

If you needed to. 

I had to get an extra special shot of my sweet World Market tea pot. 

My sister got it for me for my 21st birthday. Matt was always so against me getting a tea pot because it would be something that always sat out and took up space. 

But he hasn't complained since it's been there.

...I think he sees how charming it is and secretly loves it. :)

The Bathroom

Just a glimpse in, because really, it's not that exciting.

The braided rug, however, is one of my most prized decor possessions. 

My grandma made that for me as a bridal shower gift! 

Handmade with love by her little, old, super-hard-working hands. 

She passed away in the fall of the same year, so it is a beautiful piece that reminds me of her every morning when I get out of the shower.

The Dining Room

Wouldn't be complete without that charming AC unit. ;)
But I do have a pretty sweet antique farmhouse table, don't I?
You can see more of the table and its makeover HERE.

The hand-carved sign above the table is another very important piece.
My grandpa has always made signs like that, and after grandma passed away he went to town making them to occupy his time. I was so happy to get one! I'm sure they are harder to make as an 83 year old. I like to think of the squirrel as grandpa. ;)

Also, I tucked some curtains in on top of the ugly vertical blinds that the apartment has.
I would probably just rip those ugly things right off the wall if it weren't for needing privacy and darkness from the parking lot lights at night.
Yea, the view is of a parking lot. :/ Complete with dumpsters, stray cats, and old ugly cars.
The other side of the building gets a view of lawn and big trees. On the bright side though, we can keep a watch on our cars. There is always a bright side.

This is the view when you walk in the door.
The chair is the second half of the living room I was talking about earlier.
I'm really glad we have a large window, since there is only one, and I am slightly obsessed with natural sunlight. If you look at the majority of the rooms on My Home Style board on Pinterest, you will see that most of the rooms are flooded with natural light. I love the sun!

I drew the efficiency to scale for one of my home decorating homework assignments.
Everything is basically pretty accurate except that the front door is drawn swinging the wrong way.
But this is proof that I really do only have like 1 square foot of counter space.


I really will miss this little place.
There were lazy days where we would be laying around and it would be just fine.
Then there were lazy days where we would be laying around and it would feel like the walls were closing in on us and we had to go out and do something.
Overall, we've loved it here though. For a young (and poor) married couple's first place, it did the trick. Soon, it will be time to do some house hunting and get our hands dirty with a fixer upper.
Maybe i'll find that farmhouse I dream of! :) I can hope right...


Thanks for taking the tour.
I probably could have captured it all in two pictures, but what fun would that be??

Don't forget to follow along - there are lots of big life changes coming!
I may have a real house to decorate some day soon, and you wouldn't wanna miss that. :)
Who knows what crazy things I'll do!?


Blessings,
Olivia

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