Compromise, + ohmigod apartment

I figured out how to use polyvore.com for interior design purposes.  The results aren't quite as crisp as photoshop, but it took half the time:

Boyfriend Room - by shadowofaseraph on Polyvore.com

My boyfriend, Wulfy, is a manly manly man who vetoes a lot of my favorite things as "too girly" to live with.  This room he thinks is still girly, but livable.  I think if it got much more manly, it would be a cave furnished with antlers and animal pelts.

But at least we both like the couch, and especially the Andy Warhol print.  He likes the green chair, I have a thing for wicker.  I wanted a zebra stripe rug, he didn't.  I wanted a paper lantern, he picked the style.  I picked those tables without him though, because I love them oh so dearly.  That stripey wood is so pretty to me right now.

And in bigger, better news:  I may have found an apartment!  No more dorm for me!  I couldn't stay on campus next semester anyway, and I wanted to stay in town over summer because this place comes alive in warm weather, it's a great place.  So an older relative who lives in town offered to let me live in the apartment in her basement if I help fix it up.  My family are all packrats, so cleaning out her basement is no small task, but it will definitely be nice to have a place even marginally my own.  She might even fix up the bathroom down there, and will likely fix dinner for the two of us on a regular basis.  Oh joy oh joy!

Red, Gray, Turquoise

Hey, another mood board!  I find making these things fun to unwind with when I have enough time to do them.

This time, I looked mostly at color--red and gray (my favorite combo), with turquoise (another favorite) thrown in for variety.  And some beige slipped in too, oddly enough.

The couch, desk, and desk chair are IKEA; the side table (which I love), the coffee table, the rug, and the slipper chair are Target.  The art is from art.com.  The throw pillow and paper lamp are World Maret, and the table lamp is Pier1.  You can really tell which stores I favor from this blog, no?

In other news, More Ways to Waste Time just featured two posts on steampunk aesthetic, an example which I featured without naming it as such in my last moodboard.  I've always found it an interesting style, intriguing if not exactly livable to me right now.  I have always liked the Victorian library look though, so we'll see where that takes me once I have the means to buy the heavy furniture it needs--though I do already have an Oakley display case, which I adore and have no idea how to use.  It's good for keeping dvds in right now though, because it locks.

Meanwhile, design*sponge recently sneak-peeked a beautiful home that also reminded me of the Curry moodboard, with "world" influences and beautiful heavy furniture (that bed is -beautiful-) tossed together without looking pretentious or stuffy, something I'm not sure I could do in real life.

Mood Board: Curry

 I just finished reading S.M. Stirling's The Peshawar Lancers.  It has its problems, but it was entertaining, and damn, does that man love his food and his interior design. I approve.

I haven't managed to go out for Indian cuisine yet, but I did throw together this curry-tastic moodboard.  I tried to keep the color palette warm, but I want the whole set of those throw pillows.  I provided a low daybed couch for those who don't want to sit on the floor, even though I forgot to put in a rug (darn).  The gods Ganesha (the statue) and Krishna (in the painting) are mentioned frequently in the book, the bead curtains are similar to ones described in Elias's house, Princess Sita is given a fine illustrated copy of the Kama Sutra, and the globe is inspired by the gemstone map of airship routes.  And they drink a lot of tea.

As to where I found all these lovely products:

throw pillows and daybed: world market

bead curtain, morrocan lamp: shopwildthings.com

clock, coffee table, bookshelf: pier 1

banana fiber floor cushion: ikea

orange sari curtains: www.indianselections.com

Ganesha statue: buddhadecor.com

Krishna print: allposters.com

leatherbound Kama Sutra: amazon.com

gemstone globe: onlyglobes.com

antique silver tea service: ebay.com

And I have to say, this is about my favorite mood board yet.  Why did I not notice the magic wand tool before now?  The richness and brightness of a British India inspired room also appeals to me right now, as I eagerly await the end of gray winter, and the flexibility of floor-based seating would be nice for a small space.