Making it Yours (MiY)

MiY 5b: Moving in Together

Big changes are happening with James, our fictional orange-loving research biologist. His girlfriend Eugenia has moved in with him! She’s so happy to be with a guy that has such good taste (and such orange furniture) because her previous boyfriend was “too busy revising his manuscript and thought her bourgeois affinity for decorating was capitalist and silly!”

I may or may not be basing this on my actual friend Eugenia who wants to live vicariously here.

OK, we know James had some pretty good furniture to start with. The mid-century rocker is staying since we’re basing each room around it in this edition of Making it Yours. We’re also keeping the sofa, orange pillow, pouf, lamp, and table. The molecule set is staying too, and we’re adding a vintage-style apple tree biology poster.* Eugenia and James painted the walls green, added some new curtains and a pillow, and put down a soft new rug to make the place feel like home for the two of them.

James and Eugenia will be moving the rocker into their bedroom soon, so when we check in on them again we’ll see how they’ve incorporated it.

* Did you know that apples don’t come true from seed? Apples are pretty interesting; read The Botany of Desire if you’re curious.

Sources & Paint ColorsNeed design help? Let's work together.

You Might Also Like...

  • Eugenia
    July 7, 2010 at 2:17 pm

    My life has never been so wonderful! I’m like this guy.

  • Ludmila {creamylife.com}
    July 7, 2010 at 2:22 pm

    Oh not so many changes as I expected, keeping the chic style of the look. That print is the perfect touch Eugenia could give to this living room.

  • Miri
    July 7, 2010 at 2:23 pm

    Thank you for this series. It’s my new favorite thing. :)

  • Bonnie
    July 7, 2010 at 2:40 pm

    Is James a Clemson grad? If he is, I’ll bet he has an orange Volvo in the driveway!!

    Best,
    Bonnie

  • The Office Stylist
    July 7, 2010 at 2:45 pm

    I love that you posted about this because my BF LOVES orange and I always worry that when we move in together that decorating will be a big pain. See, I LOVE purple and can’t really stand orange so we will see how it goes!

  • Josie
    July 7, 2010 at 2:56 pm

    Is the mid century rocker at all comfortable or are you basing this choice merely on aesthetics?

  • Jules
    July 7, 2010 at 3:56 pm

    A couple of things.

    1. I’m certain I went to college with this entire cast of characters, including the Marxist ex-boyfriend. Especially the Marxist ex-boyfriend.

    2. I did know that about apples. True story: My husband and I watched this documentary on the history of apples. It was interesting. A week or so later, we arrived late to our son’s first baptism class (just parents and godparents). We walked in during the introduction, and everyone was sharing some small piece of trivia per the deacon’s instructions. The last person to speak was saying something about meeting some famous baseball player. As we sat down, the deacon looked at us and asked us to share our “trivia.” My husband takes his seat, clears his throat, and says, “The earliest apples originated in what was formally known as Persia.”

    Crickets.

    My BIL looked like he wanted to crawl under his metal folding chair. My SIL would have joined him, had she not been laughing hysterically.

  • Momnivore
    July 7, 2010 at 10:41 pm

    @ The Office Stylist…

    Orange and Purple are complementary colors… so that’s a match made on the color wheel…

    I miss having lamps and coffeetables and endtables. They are now trying to pull the art from the walls. My toddler boys have eviscerated all style from my house.

    Sigh.

  • Pencils
    July 7, 2010 at 10:51 pm

    You can get those botanical posters for cheaper from the German publisher–they’re 49 Euros, and I think that even with shipping from Germany they’re cheaper. (I know someone who bought one and she said it was cheaper.) The site is in German but the person I know managed without knowing any German. Also, they have a much larger selection–everyone needs a diagram of rye ergot! (Poison with interesting historical background.)
    http://www.hagemann.de/osc_shop/catalog/

  • allison
    July 8, 2010 at 7:28 am

    i just love what eugenia’s done with the place. great characters, too.

  • Kelly S.
    July 8, 2010 at 1:14 pm

    I don’t know, Eugenia. With this tight of a color palette, this latest boyfriend might be a bit of control freak, too. (The orange/sage/gray combo…hmm. Need another color in here to loosen it up?) But I do love that table..and from Target!

  • michelle @ blissful musings
    July 8, 2010 at 1:19 pm

    Love the pieces they have so far!

  • Kim at Yellow Brick Home
    July 8, 2010 at 4:53 pm

    Love the storyline. Just. Love.

  • Decor Arts Now
    July 9, 2010 at 2:13 pm

    Loved this mood board–I thought one of your very best, so I included it in my “favs”, today, July 9 with a link back to you. Here is a link to check it out. If you click on the headline, you can view the post in full screen mode.
    http://decorartsnow.com/

    Happy weekend.
    Lynn for Decor Arts Now

  • millieN
    July 10, 2010 at 3:52 am

    Oh lovely…I like it how you’ve incorporated these two personalities, and how Eugenia did not want to change James much,she just blends in with her style… That’s love,if you ask me :)

    I love these series of Making It Yours,it’s so smart idea. It’s also great practice in decorating,right?

  • Making it Lovely | Transforming the so-so. » Blog Archive » MiY 5c: The Bedroom
    July 13, 2010 at 1:16 pm

    […] and Eugenia, our fictional couple, have been moving the furniture around. We’ve already seen their mid-century rocker in two […]

  • Kate
    July 14, 2010 at 11:41 am

    Those knit poufs look great, and they’re pretty afforadable!

  • Making it Lovely | Transforming the so-so. » Blog Archive » MiY 5d: Reading Nook
    July 19, 2010 at 12:04 pm

    […] and Eugenia, our fictional couple with exceptionally good taste in furniture, have just moved to Chicago! They have a long but wide […]