The Interior DIYer

#DarkRomanticLuxe

The Interior DIYer on Pinterest!

Years ago I loved Pinterest. It was one of my favourite places to go for inspiration. I’d scroll between calls when I worked receptionist jobs and I’d kill a few hours on it at home when the weather was miserable. Then around the time I got pregnant with Cora, I lost interest in a lot of things and Pinterest was one of them.

This past week I gave myself a break and treated myself to a few hours on Pinterest and it was SO NICE. I threw myself entirely at it and purged all my boards (it’s amazing the things I pinned a few years ago LOL / WTF was I thinking?). My taste has changed a lot these few years and now my entire Pinterest account reflects more of what I like …

Yes it’s darker but it’s also warmer, has more character and more secondhand / vintage ideas. Much more #DarkRomanticLuxe. And yes, I just spotted that Victorian house I pinned twice, but I’ma leave it because that house damn well deserves to be pinned twice.

So if you’d like to follow along with me on Pinterest (where I promise I’m actually active on it again), just click below! And of course let me know if you’re on it too as I’m always looking for new accounts to follow. See you there? *Awkward hand gesture*

 

Environmental Resolution

Secondhand French provincial sofa and armchair

Despite it being a Monday, I’m very excited to share photos of our new secondhand French provincial style sofa and armchair that we got our hands on last weekend through Kijiji! And I am so in love with them.

I had been searching Kijiji for vintage and vintage-style sofas for a while and every time was met with either beautiful sofas that were way outside of our budget (a months rent minimum) or the polar opposite of threadbare couches with disproportionate price tags. Then one afternoon while Cora was napping, I logged onto Kijiji to see if there was anything new (or, I should say, ‘new’) and there on the first page was a peach coloured French provincial sofa and armchair …


The seller was looking to have the set gone by the weekend, so she marked them as free. F R E E. You can imagine the sounds I made when I saw those four letters, so I sent a message, made a few phone calls later and the next day the sofa and armchair were being delivered to our apartment.

There are a few stains on the fabric and the foam cushions have seen better days (which is understandable, I mean, it’s a 30 year old set), but it’s otherwise in incredible condition. Both the sofa and armchair are very firm and comfortable and are just what I’ve been needing for my hip problems (yay, ongoing post-pregnancy issues). The wooden frame of both the sofa and armchair are incredibly sturdy and the springs in each are perfect. But I do have big plans for this set. I’m planning on having them reupholstered in a dark gray velvet and have the back of both pieces tufted. Not too unlike this beauty …

I’ll be getting a few reupholstering quotes in the coming weeks and I’m hoping the cost of reupholstering both pieces will be exorbitantly cheaper than buying a brand new sofa (which I’m not totally against, but the past few months have been very expensive so I’m trying to keep costs down. I might splurge on a new footstool).

In the mean time, I’m happy to keep a peachy sofa set in our living room. And so is Juniper, in case you were wondering.

Image four credit.

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Furniture

2018 Style Trend – Modern Victorian

Yesterday Emily Henderson shared an Instagram post that actually made me utter a very unflattering sound and comment on her photo in capital letters. She shared her thoughts on what 2018’s design trend would be and let us all in on Modern Victorian. And I was elated.

Not that I actually pay much attention to trends because if I don’t like a trend I don’t like it, regardless of how popular it is. However, the idea of a trend that will encourage people to buy secondhand? I can get behind that.

I love buying secondhand furniture where I can (and where appropriate) vs. brand new pieces because I feel like I’m saving something from the landfill. 9 times out of 10 secondhand pieces are cheaper than buying brand new and there’s also the appeal that you’re buying something that not many other people may have. I buy secondhand as often as I can. Case in point; last weekend we got a French provincial style sofa and armchair secondhand on Kijiji …

The owner of the set said that if I hadn’t taken them, both the sofa and armchair would have been brought to the landfill the next day. I’m only sharing a sneak peek of it right now but WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THE WHOLE THING! It’s gorgeous. I think so at least. Now yes, it’s not Victorian but it is oldy timey and I’ll be the first to admit that the old pieces we have are from all over the timeline and not exactly Victorian. But it’s close enough. And this Modern Victorian trend? I am more than happy to say I’m on board with it.

If you’d like to read more pieces I’ve written about going secondhand, here are a few …