apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

awww! Nice! I have the same cork lamp!!

I definitely have to keep paint in mind when I am house hunting and see all these hideous colored brick fireplaces everywhere.

Very cool to see a fellow houseblogger on here. :-) Good job Morgan.

Her blog is completely entertaining... It's one of my everyday coffee cyber-stops.

The picture of that living room seems so, blah. I mean, they're nice individual pieces of furniture, but I don't know how to explain it, they seem so common in that space.They seem so... un-special. As if someone looked up iconic mid century that everyone else told them was "hot and amazing" and they went and bought them. Tulip base side table, check, Herman Miller chair with ottoman, check, olive green mid-century modern sofa, check, etc.

The desk area on the other hand is way cute!

Oh JoseA--there's so many places like that featured here. It's kind of amazing--maybe all these houses are staged by the same prop rental place.

But, then "halfway between Riverside and Palm Springs". What can you do?

OMG - I feel so awesome being on ATLA. Thank you AT and especially Laure for the shout out.

Dude - JoseA, I totally agree! I've been collecting for the last few years and the living room is VERY much a work in progress. One of the windows still has "Happy Birthday Jesus" written in marker on it...

Its hard when your broke - everything I own is a knock off from CL, or thrift stores and I always try to pay under $100. As I decorate I want to mix it up - but since I buy thrifty you just never know what your going to get...which is all the fun.

Thats sort of what the blog is about - trying to find deals, renovate and decorate without much cash (or really knowing how to anything like a pro would).

Thanks guys! Feel free to stop by anytime.

I love The Brick House and check the blog every couple of months to see what's going on. I'm relieved she's re-selling the thrift store finds. Somehow, I thought they were some crazy collection that would just grow and grow. The stuff she finds is cool but keeping ALL of it might be crazy.

looks great! your blog sounds right up my alley, i'm off to check it out.

I think this is very impressive. I have a suggestion for pulling together the living room: Add a rug for some softness -- oh, wait, I see you have a fluffy white rug, that's good -- and unite all the disparate colors of the furniture by painting the walls a color.

I would suggest going to the paint store and getting a pale version of the green on the sofa. (Find the same color on the Benjamin Moore palette, then pick out the second or third one down on the strip of six. Or have them mix it.) You would have to paint the fireplace white, though.

You might also get a flat sisal type area rug that's about 8x10 (so it includes the conversational grouping) and put the fluffy white rug on top of it where you already have it.

I like it... I think you just need to live in the living room a bit, let it pick up a bit of you. You can find little details with character along the way.

Is that all needlepoint on the officy wall there? Love the peacock.

I can hardly stand the snotty comments from people like JoseA on this blog. It's a work in progress and I think that Morgan has done an amazing job so far.

The needlepoint collection is beautiful and full of personality. Morgan, I think your place is lovely and I find your blog very entertaining. Your home is only going to look better and better as you work on it. :)

Agreed, traceymariel. So over the snark! I'm always curious to know what their houses look like, if they're so quick to judge :)
I think this house looks really great for a work in progress-- Morgan has made a lot of smart choices that any of us could index for future reference and use.

Not to quibble, but needlework and needlepoint are different species. Not all her pieces are needlepoint. My own pet peeve--like people who call posters and reproductions "prints".

Morgan's got great taste and the world's best thrifting luck. My response to Jose is more about the string of very similiar photos of rooms than about her own space.

It all gives me the feeling of great happiness!!..and light!...You are enjoyable!

ack this is how i want my house to look. so jealous :)

I love the living room. I'd recommend a larger rug, one that will go under the front legs of the sofa and the yellow chair. I'm sure you're on the lookout for a great piece of art for above the fireplace, and some window treatments. That's all the room really needs. But I think you've done a great job with the furniture and accessories you have so far. And the colors are wonderful together - I particularly like the combo of the gray fireplace (stunning in itself) with the yellow chair, and the additional purple accent with the pillow behind. I'm looking forward to reading your blog. Nice work!

let me begin by saying how i am in love with that wooden table on the side of the sofa. and i am also very jealous of your gorgeous needle point collection. you go girl! way to collect and inject!

I didn't mean to sound snooty, its just like i said in my previous post, the pieces in the living room seem to have no though. It looks like no ones home as much as it looks like anybody's home. It has no personality. The pieces are nice and impressive, but they're what you always see. I agree with everyone else that its a nice start, and once it starts getting filled with one original piece of art, or a photograph, or something that makes it someone's, it will be a fantastic room.

I think this has been done so wonderfully in the work area, with the art work on the wall, and the green desk chair. Its just beautiful. It has personality, and charm, it it looks like a great place to hang out.

Good job so far Moragan!

Morgan, for those of us planning to decorate with vintage/garage sale/flea market/craigslist like you have done, is the secret to buy more than you think you can use, stir and shake, then sell what you don't need? Or just buy the perfect items you know will work?

I buy whatever catches my fancy and is at a really really cheap price - you just never know what fabulous thing you can do with it or if you'll find it again. For the pricey things I REALLY have to know its going to fit and be "perfect" (you know, big things - like a couch or something).

I always have a running tab in my head of what type of things I need or want - right now it includes a bed frame, nightstands, wall unit and book shelves. But sometimes, you stumble on something and you LOVE it but then you have no place for it...thats when I would sell something else to make room...

Depending on your city craigslist is usually a great way to sell extra things you find. Price it fairly, and someone else will love it too!

Luckily I have a garage. I can store things and then bring them in to decorate with when I want to switch things around or I find some other fabulous thing to pair items with. I've never been able to "design" a room and buy all the right things for it. I totally "stir and shake, and then sell" with vintage - that is such a cute saying I'm going to steal it.

Moepong, what color and kind of paint did you use for the fireplace? Is there a different color for the grout, or is it light refelection? I give you 10 out of 10!