Trail of Inspiration

Daniel and I bought our current apartment almost 4 years ago, transforming it from a very sorry state into a place of our own. Before having kids, I would pick pieces of lint off the floor and sweep our kitchen every night. Tiny scratches on our freshly painted walls made me freak out and I almost had a nervous breakdown after seeing a water ring on our wooden bathroom shelf. I even let my cousin convince me to buy a white couch. My friend Kristen intervened at the last minute saying this was a terrible idea. I'm prone to spilling, and she knew I wanted kids.

I'm thankful I listened. Times have certainly changed. The chocolate couch I went with has seen smashed blueberries, spit-ups and all sorts of other stuff. In most rooms there are legos, train tracks, cars, trucks, diggers, back hoe loaders—I could go on and on, but I'll spare you—scattered everywhere. EVERY FREAKIN WHERE. An exersaucer—an eyesore if there ever was one—in our kitchen, a jumperoo that we move around from door to door, and an army of winter coats smothering beautiful antique hooks that partially block access to our bathroom.

As much as I love this apartment and all of the memories we've made in it, I'm very happy that we've decided to move in a few months. I don't think Daniel and I have another gut renovation in us, at least not now. I'm already counting on not finding a kitchen I love as much as ours. More space is the biggest priority.

One thing's for sure: I'm getting the itch to redecorate. I don't have the funds for many big changes, but a girl can dream, right? Today I found Lulu de Kwiatkowski's blog Trail of Inspiration and am sure I'll refer to it a lot when we find our new place. My cousin might have convinced me to buy a white couch, but by introducing me to Lulu DK fabrics she redeemed herself. Together we picked out this one for two slipper chairs and this one for some pillows. If I had space and money to spare, I would have bought a lot more. In October, Lonny Magazine had an article about Lulu and I loved seeing her LA home. She has two little boys and it barely looks lived in, but that's the beside the point. With lots of white and pops of color everywhere, it's sophisticated and fun. I still have a few more months in very tight quarters and no need or desire to buy anything new. For now, I'll keep tripping on legos and just live very vicariously through Lulu.

First photo via Trail of Inspiration. All others by Patrick Cline via Lonny.