Whoever said that education is the great equalizer clearly never tried to build Ikea furniture. Take it from me – when your only tools are a hardcover copy of Condoleezza Rice’s memoir and a Nalgene bottle, the fact that you are halfway done with a degree from Hopkins means diddly squat. For those of us who are moderately illiterate, Ikea furniture also comes with an illustrated assembly manual with step by step pictures, which makes perfect sense if you’re five years old. (Bitter? Only slightly.)
Maybe I should explain.
Hopkins provides on-campus housing for the first two years, and afterwards they release us juniors and seniors into the great unknown – also known as apartment hunting in Baltimore. I decided to room with my friend and Alpha Phi sister Joy, and after looking at a host of different houses and apartments around Charles Village (At one low – very low – point, we even briefly considered moving into the empty house in between two fraternity houses. Needless to say we reconsidered), we settled on an apartment in University One. It came furnished, sans beds – hence the bitter rant above – and I’ve pretty much devoted the majority of my time DIY-ing and decorating to my heart’s content since my internship ended. (Sidenote: Martha Stewart is my spirit animal).
With a few elements from my dorm in Homewood last year thrown into the mix, here’s a grand tour of our new apartment/my future internship application for Martha Stewart Living:
Bedroom
In case we ever forget our initials…
Makeup and jewelry on display
Left: I made Joy a framed monogram for her birthday last year, and we decided to put them above our beds in the bedroom! The walls in the bedroom and living room were painted a nice warm yellow, which complements the black, white, deep purple, and turquoise accents. Joy and I have pretty similar tastes, so coordinating decor wasn’t a problem at all. Unfortunately, we both had to build our beds from Ikea – and by “we” I mean that Joy built her own bed (…and then re-built after it broke when I sat on it. WHAT BIKINI BOD) and I gave up circa step 4 out of 10 in the instructions and had to ask the nice maintenance guy in our building to help me.
Right: The room came with two dressers, so we’ve displayed our makeup and jewelry on the biggest dresser. I bought a bunch of gold and glass catch-all trays from Goodwill when I went home, and use them to organize my rings, bracelets, perfume, etc.
Bathroom
Storage bins and shelf organizers save a lot of space when we’re getting ready in the morning
DIY chevron shower curtain and painting
Left: I brought the shower curtain that I made last summer to use in our new bathroom. The color palette is pretty much the same, as well – gold, burnt orange, dark grey, and deep purple. The painting hanging above the towel rack is my latest addition to the bathroom. I experimented with oil and acrylic paint to create a variety of different textures and colors on the canvas.
Right: The previous occupant of the apartment also left this bathroom organizer, which is where we keep our toiletries and other bathroom necessities. Fun fact: I’ve had those white storage bins since freshman year in Wolman!
Entryway
So much DIY!
Clockwise on the wall: Alessandra Ambrosio on the cover of Vogue Japan; a rendition of Picasso’s “Jester on Horseback” that I made in high school; DIY framed chevron print; a deer head silhouette that I made by collaging magazine cutouts; Alpha Phi letters from my big, JHU_Tess; “People will stare. Make it worth their while.” quote by Harry Winston; two postcards from Mario Testino’s “In Your Face” exhibit in Boston; DIY ampersand; Jack Daniels art find at Goodwill; Salvador Dalí print from the Art Institute of Chicago.
On the console table, from left to right: “What matters to you defines your mattering” quote by John Green; (yet another) ombre chevron “A” that I painted – it was supposed to stand for Alpha Phi but I got really lazy and stopped after the “A.” Now I just tell people it stands for my grades…just kidding; fashion magazine spread in a wooden and gold frame from Goodwill; catch-all tray for keys and wallets (in case one of us loses either); vanilla candle; gold vase and white peonies; white mug from Taiwan with pens and pencils so Joy and I can leave each other notes. The table itself is from Target – and yes, I did actually build it from start to finish.
Living Room
Those couches are unbelievably comfy!
That Ikea bookshelf is my pride and joy
Left: The apartment came with the two white couches, and Joy and I bought the coffee table used. An (over)abundance of throw pillows and blankets make our couches a prime napping and reading spot. On the table, I brought various candles and knick knacks that I’ve either made or hoarded over time. My favorite piece is the gigantic rock – seriously. Someone left it in the apartment, and instead of throwing it out, I wanted to make an accent piece out of it.
Right: In case you haven’t caught on yet, I really effing hate Ikea furniture. However, the bookshelf was an absolute must because (and I know that this may come as a shock to you) I have a lot of books as an English major – some for class, and some from past semesters or from home that I just couldn’t part with. To add more pattern to the living room, I wallpapered the inside of the bookshelf with coral wrapping paper.
Kitchen
L-shaped kitchen
A little cheeky humor for the kitchen
Left: May I point your attention to the most important thing in this picture – the dishwasher! (The second most important thing is the house elf we keep in the cupboard underneath the sink who does our dishes for us. Kidding) Joy and I each brought silverware and plates/bowls/cooking utensils to share, and we divided shelves in the fridge and freezer so we each have an equal amount of space for groceries.
Right: More DIY art to hang in the kitchen. I’m not lactose intolerant, but Joy is (or so she claims to be after we ate an entire pint of Ben and Jerry’s in one sitting…I think it’s less of a lactose intolerance problem and more of a portion control problem), so I thought something sassy on the wall would make our mornings a little brighter.
Hallway
And they can’t say nothin’
I don’t think we have enough shoes
Left: Yes, that’s a linen closet, and no we’re not sorry. Because Joy and I share both a bedroom and a hormone called estrogen, we decided that we needed a better place to organize our avalanche of shoes. In the hallway, there’s a shoe closet, and two huge hall closets – one for each of us to store coats and winter clothes.
Right: No explanation necessary. It needed to happen.
