Something old, something new

My recent bedroom makeover was inspired by this lovely red bracelet that I received as a Christmas present.

It has an ethnic-elegant look to it, and the red seemed a colourful and warm antidote to the icky January greyness.

All I did was change the duvet cover, add in some curtains and some throws, but the final look is more exotic.

I've had this Navajo-inspired blanket since my early 20s, and haven't used it for years - in fact it was in my donate pile until I pulled it out.

It looks great over the brick red duvet cover I put on the bed as part of the makeover (I have several duvet covers on hand to change things up every once in a while).


I added some multi-coloured striped silky pillows....











Threw up some purple drapes that I relocated from the living room ....


















Added more purple ....




















And voila!

You see the kitties approve!

Tomorrow: my anniversary giveaway!

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One Year Anniversary: decor then & now

My blog turns a year tomorrow, and I'd like to thank all you lovely readers for reading along, commenting or emailing me privately, or linking back to me - you make my day when I do!

Here's a pic of my living room Jan 18 last year. It's wide and open, and now that I look at it it does look cluttered, with all the stuff on the wall.

This is my NEW living room, the result of an agonizingly creative day-long apartment re-do after the holidays.

True, I essentially chopped the room in half by positioning the two love seats facing eachother, but I'm really liking the cozy vibe of the smaller space I created.

I also pared down some of the accessories to keep the look more streamlined.

I think style constantly evolves, and I'd like to think my design and decorating sense has refined itself this past year. It's been fun fun fun to play with my space!

Thanks for reading. Have a fab day!

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Retro hutch redo

Part of my apartment re-do entailed jazzing up my teak hutch, which I love but quite frankly has never suited my style. I tend to like more curvy lines and though they tell you to mix styles, I'm not sure this piece mixes well with my other furniture.

My strategy: don't fight the modern lines.


In other words I decorated the hutch with retro modern objects, then added a dash of glam. Grouping similar items together (like the retro coloured glass pieces and stacks of bright-hued decorating books) can create a real impact, especially when they pop against the black of the velvet scarf (thrifted) that I'm using here as a runner.

Add some spray-painted lamps with classy black and silver shades - placed in a symmetrical arrangement for maximum glam appeal - and toss in a thrifted gold mirror, and the look is retro modern chic with a touch of elegance.


Some of my fave pieces here: the flat green Venetian dish on top of the books, given to me by my best friend after she went to Venice; the green and gold decanter that she also gave me, which used to belong to her parents; the black sculpture thrifted for a few bucks; the retro orange blown glass vase with a 'made in Canada' sticker still on it, thrifted for $10.

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Architectural Digest score

We interrupt regularly scheduled programming re: the apartment re-do to bring you this important thrift announcement:

Grunge Queen scored some more inspirational mags yesterday!

There must have been decades worth of Architectural Digest magazine at my local thrift shop.


I could hardly contain myself. I picked up this collector's edition containing pics of Greta Garbo's New York digs. Another had pics of Rita Hayworth's abdode, and Jimmy Stewart's too.

Goldmine.

I took home only five at .49 cents each (they were .99 cents each but the guy gave me a deal).

I also picked up a few from the late 1970s. The stack appeared to start there and go to present day.



Guess what I'm buying on my way home from work every night this week?

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Elle Decor inspired makeover: dining table area

Ok, so we left off yesterday at my little library vignette, the first part of my full-on apartment makeover inspired by an ELLE DECOR magazine my sis gave me over the holidays.

I'm so glad I relocated the bookcase to a smaller wall, and this fab blue chair from the corner of my room. With the chair in front of the bookcase, the bookcase becomes less of a focal point (as it should be), and the chair just stands out in all its blue velvet splendor - and it especially pops against the reversible carpet, whose pattern is reversed on the other side (great 'cos I can flip it any ole time I need a change).

Directly in front of the blue chair in the dining room is my dining room table, as you see here. Yup, I finally relocated the dining room table to the dining room! Remember how proud of myself I was for relocating my love seat to the dining room? (see post here http://grunge-queen.blogspot.com/2009/03/boho-sitting-room-in-dining-room.html). Well, I decided to put it back for reasons of practicality AND glamour.

See, once I extended the table by flipping up the leaf, and once I added a black silky tablecloth and positioned two matching lamps on either side (any good recipe for glamour entails a pair of lamps in symmetry, in my opinion), the look was so impossibly chic - especially with my new painting that I'm still paying off overhead - that I couldn't stand it!

The more practical part of me said this: eating is a good thing, and a vital task I sometimes forget, so if I can create a lovely nook with a comfy chair where I can savour my cereal in the morning instead of choking it down while standing over the kitchen sink, perhaps that may make the task of fueling and energizing my body more ... hallowed?


And since my desk is taken up with my computer and a few lamps, I figured this long table could also function as a work space, where I go over clippings and books and bills and work on other creative projects that entail pen and paper (I'm a tactile gal, if you haven't guessed, so I actually hand write notes to myself and others). This gilt mirror, picked up at a junk store for $3.99, was quickly transformed into an inspiration board with some of my fave clippings, photos and cards from over the years. I can look over at it while I'm working and it'll hopefully fire my creative juices.

And natch, when I have guests over, the whole thing can transform into a proper dining room table. I've positioned my two wrought iron (and silver spray-painted chairs) on either end of the table for easy access ... and more symmetry.

More to come!

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New Year's apartment makeover

Happy New Year! Today's post will be extra long as I missed yesterday ....

I've started the new year off on a high decorating note by completely redoing my apartment.

Pictured here: the work in progress.

It all began with a copy of Elle Decor that my sis gave me as I was boarding the train back to T.O. after the holidays.

Elle Decor is my absolute FAVE decorating mag - it's eclectic yet elegant and that's exactly my decorating philosophy.

The mag inspired me so much that all I could do on the train ride home was brainstorm what I would do to my apartment to make it more elegant looking.

All I had was a general idea: less cluttered and junky looking; more elegant, but functional too.

It took 10 hours for me to do the re-org. Boy did I get a workout.

The key to any re-org is clearing away all the knic-knacs and bric-a-brac from furniture and dumping it in piles in a room or area that you're not going to re-do. That way you can work with a clean slate. In my case it was the desk area, the hallway and the kitchen.

I started by moving the cheap IKEA bookshelf from one corner of the apartment to a small wall.

I had to take out all the books and drag the bookshelf across the room - don't do this on your own, please, as you could end up under a heavy bookshelf!

Problem: I didn't have enough bookshelf for all my books as I wanted to turn one small bookshelf into something else (more on that later), and I had a lot of ugly paperbacks that don't really display well.



My original solution: turn my linen closet into a bookshelf and take the door off. The idea is wonderful, but it is problematic as I don't have a place to put all my linens.

So for now, the linen closet is a combo linen closet/bookshelf.

Once I can figure out where to put my linens I'd like to make the entire thing a bookshelf and just take the door off. I think it would look really funky.





Here's a makeover preview, of the bookshelf relocated to a smaller wall. I moved the blue velvet chair from the bedroom - it's such a showpiece and wasn't getting much attention there - and put it in front of the books to create a cozy reading nook.

The tiny retro glam lamp on the side table was $4.99 and found during a recent Goodwill dig; it is part of a set so I can pair the two together when I'm feeling symmetrical.

By the way, this is in my dining room area. I have so much more to show you, and I'm thrilled with my new glam look! Stay tuned this week!!

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New room

Here are some pretty decorative details from my bedroom makeover - which morphed out of a fall closet cleanup over the weekend.

My uber pricey lampshade from Anthropologie looks even more boho girly with some of my thrift store pearls and retro crystal-like baubles laced across the top.

The lamp base, by the way, was picked up at Value Village my first year in Toronto. Call me lazy but the pricetag - $5.99 - is still on it! It's one of my fave lamps.


Showing my bedroom may be a wee bit personal - the Victorian in me is cringing - but he the decor mags do it don't they?

I ended up moving a different pic over the bed as my makeshift headboard didn't provide a lot of contrast.

You may be able to tell that I'm in pared down mode. It feels good to declutter and get rid of stuff that's piled up and clogged my life.

I think, especially with the juvenile folk-like painting, that the look is sort of peasant-y.

The blanket at the bottom of the bed I bought at an end of the line retail store - it was $20 and I've seen the exact same one for $60+ in other stores. Dag is now kneading it to death.

On the wall: a vintage wool Holt Renfrew blazer I've had since high school.

The brass bed: bought with small portion of my scholarship money while doing graduate work in Ottawa - for a mere $125.

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Great garbage find

I was wondering what I would post on the blog today as I was walking home yesterday afternoon, when 'lo and behold, I saw this funky lampshade on the curb.

It was attached to a base that looked like a robot - the industrial look was carried a wee bit too far - but I couldn't walk away without the shade ... isn't it just fab?

As you can see it's made of mesh rings and has little sprongy things hanging from the bottom - truly a grungy glam lampshade that's perfect for the Grunge Queen!


See how neat it looks lit up and how it casts teeny honeycombs on the wall?

I put it on a modern lamp base that I found in my closet - if you check out my numerous lamp posts you'll see I play around with shades and bases - and no doubt I'll play with it some more before I find the perfect arrangement for the moment.

For now I've put it in the kitchen along with a small Persian-y rug so the look is bohemian industrial for now.




This is only the beginning - think I feel a kitchen makeover coming on!

A tip on garbage picking: you have to have no shame, and looking purposeful and somewhat in-your-own world can make you look like some eccentric designer type who's going to get your big break by digging "x" out of the trash.

I picked this in full view of a family sitting on their porch. They watched me; I watched them; then I watched the lamp; then I decided, what the heck - it's too fabulous! - so I took the plunge and started rooting!

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Celebrate style with roses & reorgs

Men just keep giving me beautiful roses in my fave colour, this peachy orange hue.

This was a pleasant surprise indeed, sent long-distance from a kind man I do editing work for, on the completion of a project.

After my stressful and technically challenged week, they made my day.

And they just happen to look fab in the corner I re-jigged as a result of my angst-ridden decorating identity crises (yes that's an Antrolpologie lampshade, doesn't it look great?).

I've learned the past few weeks, the hard way I guess, that tweaking and de-cluttering is good for the soul (thanks to Sonya from Dime Store Thrift on her comment to this effect), but stressing about whether or not your design style is "good enough" is just so self-defeating.

So, this slightly pared down but still wholly me a la slightly junky-clunky Grunge Queen is where, happily, I'm resting.

For the moment, that is.

And speaking of tech challenges can anyone tell me why the photos in my Flickr badge aren't showing but the badge is? Or can you see them and I can't?

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My new dinner table

Thirty dollars.

When I was at my friendly neighborhood thrift shop, Stretch Thrift, and saw the price tag on this uber heavy solid wood dining table with slightly worn veneer on top, I was flabbergasted to say the least.

Why so cheap? A bit of wear and tear - charming in my opinion - but otherwise in fab condition.

Who cares, really? The purchase of the table coincides with my streamlining re-do. It confirms that Kelly's got her groove back, not to mention her thrifting Karma.

I can leave it as is, in its grungy worn state, or spruce it up when I'm feeling ambitious in the future.

I love the legs and the curves at the bottom.

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Decorating identity questioned

I junk; therefore I am ... a good decorator?

There's nothing like seeing someone else's beautifully decorated apartment. It can cause tremendous joy, seeing art and Persian rugs and books so artfully arranged - but it can also inspire neuroses.

A few weeks ago I visited the apartment of a pal in the building, and let me just say it threw into question my very grunger's existence:

One look at my pad after and I could see what I never saw before: the clutter, the papers, the mis-matched furniture, the junky look.

It wasn't a good feeling.

Since then I've been cleaning out the papers and rearranging and editing furniture, objects and art in an effort to streamline my space.

Some furniture has been tossed. Other bric-a-brac has been shoved in the closet and may make its way to a sale of some sort, or even a thrift shop.

I'm not sure if my new look is going to work out - I think when we question and compare ourselves in negative ways that creativity can be stifled. And after all, once a junker, always a junker, no?


Still I like what I did above with the big white (new) lampshade found at the Salvation Army Thrift Store for $7.99. It had a funny base that wouldn't allow me to attach it to the lamp the correct way, so I flipped it over and voila: I have a funky Art Deco-inspired look with an upside-down lampshade!

Maybe the Grunge Queen has a tad of spunk left in her.

Stay tuned. The overhaul - and identity crises - is still in progress.

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Explore your decorating alter ego

I would normally never buy a pillow such as this - it's a bit frou-frouish for me.

I found it at the Salvation Army Thrift Store for $1.99.








Ditto for this one (handmade pillow, $2.99 at the Salvation Army Thrift Store).

And this one below, $2.99 at the same store, is a bit washed-out beachy for me.


But as I discovered as I progress with my balcony makeover, having a somewhat discrete space in your living area like a balcony can be a decorating get-out-of-jail-free card, allowing you to explore your decorating alter-ego ... in this case a Shabby Chic look I would NEVER have explored in my indoor living space.

And on a practical side, since they're used and thrift I don't care so much about their getting mucked up further by the elements ....

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Patio project, part 1

I'm a closet Shabby Chic-er, I discovered after a $22 dig at Goodwill yesterday, on my way home from doing a shopping column.

If you're a regular visitor to this blog you'll know the look in my pad is slightly funky - not very country or feminine.

But when I saw these faded blue pillows, $2.99 each, I was inspired to do something with my icky looking balcony and give it a Shabby Chic redo!

Shabby Chic was popularized by Rachel Ashwell http://www.shabbychic.com/ who has built an empire on white slip-covered furniture and contemporary country-esque decor. It's characterized also by pale faded blues and pinks and greens.

I threw the pillows on the chair I bought at the Sally Ann for $10.

I had the tablecloth already - I got the faded pink look by accidentally washing it with a red towel (very grunge queen of me) - and I bought two chunky green wine glasses during my Goodwill dig for $1.99 each - I asked for a better price as I could likely find them at the dollar store for a buck, but no go.

I had a glass of wine to celebrate the beginning of my patio project. I still have more to show you from my $22 patio project redo shop at Goodwill and will be posting more as the look evolves ....

More to come!

P.S. One day later: I'm re-posting the story of how I got the chair you see here for Frugalchick - it was found almost a year ago for $10 during a Sally Ann auction that was truly fun - the Salvation Army has even posted the article on its website! Just click on the link below:

How grunge queen got her $10 rattan chair at the Sally Ann

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Room redo great for entertaining

I'm like a proud mommy with this one: I know I've already shown you this thrift store and garage sale corner arrangement - you know, the dining room area I lugged the green loveseat into after I lugged another loveseat in and out after I took the dining table out?

I love the spring-like pops of colour here in the thrift store painting and lampshade coupled with the green velvet sofa and silky cushions - it just makes me happy to look at.

But I realized the night of my dinner party (see post below) that this tableau is functional for another reason beyond the unobtrusive TV in the corner thing.

As I prepared salad I invited my date to sit on the loveseat across from the kitchen doorway - that way he wasn't sitting around the corner where I couldn't see him, but rather in full view while I puttered in the kitchen.

Just goes to show, sometimes a room redo can make more sense once you settle into it. Now I have a place for my guests to sit while I play hostess - I'm so excited because it means I can join in on conversations and not feel like I'm ignoring the people I've invited into my home!

And no, the TV will not be on.

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Dining room switcheroo

So if I moved what was in the dining room back into the living room (see post below), natch I had to move the living room into where the former dining room turned living room is - was?

Yes, a $5 rug and $3.99 mirror (did I mention the mirror was 30 percent off?) inspired me to redo my digs on the warmest Saturday we've had so far this Spring but no matter: here's what I came up with for the dining room....

Where the other room utilized the contrast between the orange and the inky blue and had a def glam-Baroque look, this room is my colour room, a more casual space with a modern-contemporary look.


It's not as glam but it's more lived in.

What I love:

For a gal who loves her colour, I'm surprised I'm so taken with my white lamp bases, picked up at the same thrift store (Stretch Thrift, my local thrift shop) for $3.99 on different occasions - gee $3.99 is my magic thrift number these days!












I plop whatever lamp shade I feel like on them and play a little at lamp hardware switcheroo too ....

For some reason the lamps remind me of one of my fave Woody Allen flics, Interiors - funnily enough a film that also features beautiful interior spaces ....












I'm also totally digging that I've relocated my T.V. to a corner of the room rather than having it as the focal point in the "other" living room space.

It has a little nooky feel here, and I'm so pleased I was able to finally come up with an attractive tableau to put on top of the robin's egg blue 1950s table I've had for years!

The black T.V., Elle Decor mags and black sculpture picked up at Value Village contrast nicely with the green and add to the retro colourful look of the room.

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New mirror, new room

An area rug for $5, then a gilt mirror picked up for $3.99 on the way home from work Friday - it was all just too much for the grunge queen.

Yup, I had to do another makeover this weekend. The carpet and the mirror - they were just too special. I had to go for a glam-y Baroque-y look.

What do you think? Don't you just looove the mirror? $3.99!

It's super heavy. I think it merited being a focal point above my couch, so I pared down a lot of the art on my walls and ended up with this look.

Here's a wider shot.

I thought the orange rug really needed the blue to balance it, and the lamps placed about the same height balanced the couch and the paintings on either side of it.


Here's a night shot - love the lighting.

I'm not normally this symmetrical, but I find the order and balance comforting.

I also never thought I'd end up accenting in orange, a colour I've never worn or decorated with. The pillows and rug just add that dash of brightness to the room. Even the new work or art that you see in the corner - which I will show you more of soon - has orange in it.


Guess it's never too late for a grungy decor gal to change her colours ....

By the way don't you love the way mirrors reflect other parts of the room, like the black and white photos seen here?

They literally add new dimensions to rooms.

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