Tour of my New Apartment (Home Decor Series Part 1)
Hi, friend!
Well, to say that it’s been a while may be the understatement of my blogging career.
Since the last time I posted a blog post, I…
Convinced my brother to move across the country and be my roommate
Moved into a new apartment
Started a new job…
…and then picked up a side hustle
Went through a breakup
Brought home a dalmatian (keep up with Colette’s adventures here)
Celebrated 3 years of sobriety
Started ANOTHER new job
Turned 28
Was diagnosed with ADHD – life makes sooo much more sense now
Spent a couple of weeks traveling
Started dating someone…
…who got me into camping (trust me, I’m just as surprised as you are)
Aaaaaand last but not least…moved AGAIN
Welcomed my best friend into my life. Meet, Colette.
Finally got to visit family in California after two years away.
Spent the summer exploring Michigan with these two.
Needless to say, your girl has been BUSY, and while there is a lot to unpack there, what I really want to focus on is that last part.
I moved again – for the TENTH time in the 10 years that I’ve lived in Michigan.
Listen, it’s not that I enjoy moving or the things that go along with it (carrying impossibly heavy pieces of furniture up stairs, playing extremely expensive Tetris in the back of a moving truck, and wondering WHY THE HELL I have so much damn stuff??). Rather, life has just had a funny way of throwing its fair share of curve balls and opportunities my way which meant I wasn’t able to really put down roots for anytime longer than a year.
But that all changed in March when I moved into my Literal. Dream. Apartment.
The first day that we got the keys to our new apartment.
I had been living in this building for nearly a year when I went through my breakup and had to have my landlord stop by to change the locks. Just as he was finishing up he said: “You know, if you want a fresh start, we are just about done renovating the unit on the other side of this one. The tenant we had lined up fell through, so if you’re interested, I’ll give you first dibs.”
I had just accepted a new job AND gone through a breakup – the last thing that I needed was to throw a move into the mix. But at my core I am nothing if not nosy, and I was really curious to see this new unit.
“I’ll stop by and take a look at it and let you know.”
I popped into the new unit a few days later with low expectations. I really loved the apartment I was currently in, and like I said, I already had enough on my plate without having to worry about a move – even if it was just from one side of the building to the other.
But as soon as I stepped into the apartment, I was ready to sign the lease. Maybe it was the high ceilings or the bay windows or the spacious kitchen island or the original fireplace from 1893, but after just a quick walkthrough of the space, I was planning out decor for each room and texting my landlord: “I’ll take it.”
My brother and I moved into the new unit on March 1st, and I had BIG plans for how I was going to decorate the space. But life quickly got in the way and before I knew it, six+ months had passed and I hadn’t pulled the trigger on ANY of my decor projects. It’s not that the apartment is totally empty, but it just feels…unlived in (which is totally not grammatically correct, but bear with me).
There is no art or pictures on the walls and no personal touches sitting out on shelves. The extra space is a blessing, but also makes my small collection of furniture look out of place, like little islands floating in a vast sea of dark wood flooring. All in all, it doesn’t feel cozy and welcoming – it kind of feels like a staged home. Not exactly the vibe I was going for when I was first captivated by the potential of this apartment.
But while I was frustrated with how my apartment didn’t really feel like mine, taking a few extra months to really live in this space helped me better understand it, figure out what works and what doesn’t, and really identify what my decor priorities will be in this space.
In past apartments, I have rushed into decorating every inch of the space before taking time to really settle into it. The result? A lot of impulse purchases that didn’t really reflect my style, the functionality of the space, or – worst of all – my budget.
So even though slowing down the decorating process has felt frustrating at times, it is ultimately going to streamline the whole interior decorating process. Rather than simply rushing to HomeGoods to fill my home with pieces that are “on trend” and available, I now have a very clear vision for exactly how I want to decorate my space so that it aligns with my personal style, works to improve the functionality of the space, and most importantly, fits within my budget.
Plus, I can now share the entire home decor process with you! I would definitely consider that a win.
So, let’s get started!
The History of the Deaconess
A little background: this house was built in 1893 by the Methodist Episcopal Church and served as a school where girls trained to become missionaries and deaconesses (hence its Heritage Hill moniker, “the Deaconess”).
My landlord was gracious enough to let me borrow some of the original blue prints of the home, as well as some newspaper articles and other documents he has found regarding the building.
By 1970, the home had changed ownership and was called “Esther Hall,” a home for out of town young women who were attending Grand Rapids Community College (a few months ago I met one of the women that lived here during that time! She said she used to sneak boys into her room through the fire escape. What a baddie.)
Eventually, the home changed ownership again, this time being bought by a mental health services provider local to Grand Rapids. The home then served as a halfway house offering a safe place for people navigating recovery and sobriety until it was abandoned.
When my landlords bought the home in 2018, the 23-bedroom dormitory-style building had been sitting empty for years and was in rough shape. They spent a year getting renovation plans and permits approved by the city and then another two years restoring the Deaconess to her former glory until, in spring 2021, they had four units completed. I moved into the building in April of 2021, and then moved into my current unit upon its completed renovation in March of 2022!
The Deaconess is now 129 years old and I’m so honored to be part of its legacy in Grand Rapids. Knowing this home’s history makes me want to honor this space by filling it with beautiful, intentional design and years of happy memories.
The Home Tour
If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably already seen my informal home tour, but I’m going to break it down into more detail here and give you some sneak peeks into the projects that I have planned!
When you first enter the apartment, you are greeted with a long hallway that is – in a word – stark. Besides an entryway bench and two doors (leading to the half bath and my brother’s room), there is nothing between you and the washer and dryer.
This is the first space I am going to tackle in this home decor series and I am SO excited to show you what I have planned!
Moving now to the left of the hallway and you enter our kitchen and dining area.
I love this kitchen layout and the large windows that bring so much light into the space. We spend so much time in this space, but it also feels the most empty and bare in my opinion. Out of all the rooms in the house, it is this one that I think will pose the greatest challenge. My ideas for this kitchen and dining area aren’t quite fleshed out yet, so it’s likely that I’m going to tackle this project last.
Fun fact: this apartment was designed to be ADA compliant so we have an elevator! It’s not currently functional, so for the time being it’s where we hide our trashcans.
Our kitchen opens up to our living room. This space has so many incredible details that really made me fall in love with this apartment. There is a recessed area built into the wall that my landlord is planning to add shelves and convert into a built-in bookshelf, the ornate original fireplace from 1893 that is no longer functional but is absolutely stunning, and of course the bay windows that I like to sit in front of while I drink my morning coffee.
I absolutely love the bones of this space, but I don’t feel like my current decor is doing it justice. From the bare walls to the funky furniture layout, I just know that I can improve both the design and functionality of this room.
Shop my living room pieces here.
On the other side of the hallway is my kitchen pantry and the door to my office. These are both original to the building and I love their timeless, beautiful details. My office door is the first door I’ve seen that is pointed at the top and still bears the memorial plaque honoring a Mrs. WM L. Kidd of Ionia, MI.
(I’ve tried to find information about this Mrs. Kidd a few times now without any luck. The closest I’ve gotten is this reposted newspaper article from September 10, 1891 in the Ionia Sentinel-Standard which says, “Wm. L. Kidd is sick today and the express delivery is in other hands.” If you find any additional information about Mrs or Mr. Kidd, let me know! I am so curious to know their story and how they were involved with the building of this house.)
My office is where I spend the majority of my time. It’s where I do my work everyday, where I do my hair and makeup, where I do my bridal clients’ makeup trials, and where Colette sleeps in her crate.
Since this room fills so many different roles, I need the space to feel functional and multi-purpose, but right now it kind of feels like a hodge-podge of furniture and hobbies: my desk takes up one wall while my vanity, makeup storage, and dog crate are shoved against the other wall. A ring light hides behind a curtain in the corner, and there are two large canvases sitting on the floor, dreaming of the days that they proudly hung on a wall and boasted a color scheme that suited my style (RIP the days of the all pink apartment).
Out of all of the plans that I have for this home decor series, I am most excited for the transformation in this space. But, it will also probably be the most time-consuming, difficult, and expensive of all of the projects to complete (I’m talking power tools, custom-builds, a marble slab…the whole nine yards). Bring. It. On.
As we move down the hallway and turn the corner, we come to this kind of funky…foyer (or maybe vestibule?) outside of the main bathroom and my bedroom. This space is easy to disregard as it doesn’t see too much foot traffic, and it wasn’t in my original plans to decorate this area beyond maybe a few pieces of art.
But as I settled into this apartment, I realized that our bathroom was seriously lacking in storage space. There is no shelving, no cabinet under the sink, and nowhere to put a cart or stool without looking really out of place. And trust me, when you live with your little brother, it becomes really annoying when you have to run all the way across the apartment to grab a towel after a shower when you forget to grab one.
The solution? Transform this otherwise empty space outside of the bathroom into a functional and beautiful bathroom storage solution, complete with some art prints that will hopefully hide that eyesore of an electrical box.
I recently moved the bench from the entryway to this space outside of the bathroom so Colette can have a cozy spot to lay while she waits for me to get out of the shower. So stinkin’ sweet.
Finally, at the end of the hallway we come to my bedroom. To me, this feels like the most “complete” room of the house, although there is still quite a lot that I want to do. I am pretty happy with the way that I have styled my drawer set (which I scored on Facebook Marketplace, believe it or not), but I definitely want to swap out the DIY art with something that is wider and fills the space better – maybe a vintage mirror? Back to FB Marketplace I go.
I am 90% happy with my bed styling. The gray pillows are back from when I had a white bed frame and, while I generally like them, it feels like too much gray against the gray bed frame.
And I DESPERATELY need new nightstands. I’ve had these since 2015 and they were originally like $25 from Walmart. Somehow these rickety, scuffed up nightstands have managed to stick with me through SIX moves across Michigan.
The problem is that I am extremely picky when it comes to nightstands. I want something aesthetically pleasing, but functional. I want them to have a drawer for storage, but not be bulky. I want a matching set that doesn’t feel too matchy-matchy. And I want them to be big enough to hold a lamp, a book, my phone, a glass of water, and some knick-knacks without being TOO big.
So yeah. I’m well aware that I am the problem here. But I am DETERMINED to find the perfect nightstands, and I hereby declare that THE DAYS OF THE 2015 PARTICLE BOARD NIGHTSTANDS ARE NUMBERED!
Shop my bedroom pieces here.
So, which room are you most excited to see transformed?? Tell me in the comments! And make sure to follow me over on Instagram because that’s where I will be sharing a lot of behind-the-scenes home decor updates and asking for YOUR feedback on my stories!
A sneak peek into what’s coming next to the blog: sharing my home decor inspo, taking you through my process for planning out and budgeting for each space, and sharing my tried-and-true money-saving hacks for decorating on a budget!