Here is the first look in the eighth edition of Making it Yours. I like to imagine a story arc for each step in the series…
Tag: Making it Yours (MiY)
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Making it Yours 8: Leather Chesterfield
I’ve been working on a new edition of Making it Yours (MiY). I haven’t had one up since August, so for those of you that aren’t familiar with the series, let me explain the concept.A home doesn’t come together overnight. You may start out with hand-me-down furniture, and slowly incorporate pieces you love as you’re able to. Or maybe you find an amazing vintage dining set that is perfectly you, and so you incorporate it into several different looks that speak to your changing taste over time. That’s how my home has evolved, and likely yours as well.
The MiY series follows one piece of furniture through several different designs. In the past, I’ve shown one item through five stages. Moving forward, I’ll only be showing three looks instead. I think it’s more realistic, and the shorter series length will allow me to do them more often and with a greater variety of items.
This eighth edition features a very expensive leather chesterfield. Before you react with a visceral “OMG, it’s $6000,” keep in mind that this series is meant to be taken as a jumping off point, with concepts that you can use in your own home. My friend, Jules, has a similar sofa, and I assure you that she did not spend anywhere near that amount when she bought it off of Craigslist. Perhaps you don’t like leather at all, and in that case you should feel free to imagine these looks with a tufted fabric sofa. Either way, I hope you enjoy the series! It will start with a very masculine look…
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MiY 7e: Girl’s Room
We’ve come to the end of this edition of Making it Yours! MiY is all about finding pieces you love, and working with them through one’s life. It’s about sustainability, but also about not following whims and trends, and staying true to the things you love.
This time around, we’ve been following the window daybed. It was first seen in a little boy’s bedroom, and it served as his bed through his teen years. It transitioned with him to adulthood as a couch in his first apartment, and again later as he matured. Now he has a little girl, and the daybed is a sweet, sentimental place for her to sleep.
He also brought his old doll house and vintage kid’s chair out for her. Other than those, and the Curious George bedding, this is a pretty sophisticated room for a little girl that will grow with her for a long time! A simple dresser, floor lamp, and neutral paint are livened up by the fun rug. The big knitted pouf is good for extra seating that can be moved around the room, and kids love them. The frame decals are a cute, graphic way to add wall art, and the mobile would have come from the little girl’s nursery over to her big girl room.
And so ends this edition of MiY, having come full circle from a little boy’s room to a little girl’s! You can see all of the previous Making it Yours editions right here.
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MiY 7d: Our Guy Grows Up
Making it Yours (MiY) is all about following a piece of furniture through several different stages of life, and showing how to reuse and repurpose it. In this edition, we’re following the window daybed, first seen here in a young boy’s bedroom. He still had it as his bed in his teenage bedroom (he’s a short enough guy), but when he moved out it became his couch. He still had a lot of maturing to do, so now we’re checking in on him many years later.
The daybed still functions well as a sofa here, but the other elements surrounding it have become more sophisticated as our fellow’s taste has evolved. A worn looking rug, industrial lighting, and cool vintage-style chair play off of the mod nesting tables and vintage record player (both kept from the previous look). Oil jars bring a nice texture in, and the wall color picks up on their green/gray/blue shade. A Katagami print adds graphic punch to the walls, and the daybed has been softened with a few faux suede pillows and an octopus pillow.
The daybed has held together well, and we still have one more look to go before ending this edition of Making it Yours. Our fictional guy has come so far, and I start to feel attached to my characters as I design their spaces. I have a couple of ideas for the end, but I’m waiting to see where he’ll end up exactly!
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MiY 7c: Single Guy’s Living Room
Our little boy is all grown up! We’ve been following the window daybed in this edition of Making it Yours (MiY) as it grows with him, and so far we’ve seen it in his childhood bedroom and again as he was a teenager. Now he’s on his own, and the daybed has found its way to the living room as the couch in his apartment.
Our guys still loves to play guitar. He’s pretty into his music, so he picked up a vintage record player and is now annoyingly into vinyl (he just brings it up waaay too often at parties). He has brought his black armchair with him from his teenage bedroom, and he likes to relax by playing rad games like Portal (hence the framed poster). The living room is a little sparse, but he did bring in some cool nesting tables and a floor lamp with a wooden shade, and he likes that there’s room to keep his bike by the front door. There’s no rug, but the apartment has wood floors, and he painted the walls gray/blue.
What’s next for our single guy? Want him to settle down or keep living the bachelor life?
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MiY 7b: Teenage Boy’s Room
In this edition of Making it Yours, we’re following the Window Daybed as it shows up throughout a young boy’s life. The bed got its start in his childhood bedroom, and now we see it as he enters his teenage years.
The boy is now 14 (ah, it seems last week he was just a little boy!). He and his dad repainted the walls, but they kept the daybed, painted dresser, nightstand, striped rug, lamp, and guitar poster. Now road signs replace the alphabet, and groovy bedding replaces cute monsters. The phrenology head is awesome (I gave one to Brandon last year), and yes, there is now an actual guitar in the mix. I have a soft spot for Danelectro because that was the make of my first guitar too (a Dano U2). The black swivel chair makes a good spot to sit and practice those pesky barre chords.
Next up, we’ll see the daybed in the living room of his first apartment.
* Edit (08.02.11, 8:45pm)
A couple of comments suggested adding a desk and some storage, and I thought that was a good idea. Consider this bookshelf, desk, and chair part of the room as well.
I also had a little fun dirtying up the place. Literally and figuratively. Can you spot the new addition to the room? (more…)