after

And here’s an in progress shot to show you the drastic difference! The Colorhouse gray paint makes the walls look so much cleaner, brighter!

The mini gallery wall is still a work in progress. I love love love the mirror, also a World Market find, and the wall clock and mini gray frame are cheapos from Ikea. The framed Chicago print was one of my first post-college purchases from good ole’ Art.com. The buffalo check throw is from Schoolhouse and the Union Jack pillow was one I picked up in New Orleans a couple of years ago.

So this weekend was crazy productive. I had absolutely nothing planned which felt gloooorious. After being out of town for ten days and with the upcoming holidays and weddings, I knew free weekends would be limited and I wanted to tackle my mountain-high to do list.



A few things I accomplished:

– cleaned entire apartment

– reorganized my front hall closet

– grocery shopped (finally)

– shipped a bunch of packages that had been needing to go out (i avoid the post office like the plague)

– organized dressing room area

– finally got around to hanging art, mirrors, shelves, clock, etc.

– took bridesmaid dresses to the tailor

– took dogs to the groomer

– posted items I’m selling on Craigslist

– and… finally, the big one. I painted the kitchen. FINALLY.



The plan has always been to paint it super light grey, which I got permission to do from my landlord. But because the walls, floor, backsplash, and even my rug are kind of… off-white (not in a good way), any white was just making them look dirty and grimy. I delved into my stockpile of paint and realized I had almost a full can leftover from when I painted my last bedroom black.



Found a little black cabinet inspiration here. And just went got to it!

I can’t stop looking at it. Much like the bathroom in my old place, this is quickly going from my least favorite to most favorite area of the apartment!

a few here…

a few there…

still need to fill in the gaps…

because the first sneak peek photos of my new apartment didn’t do it justice…

here’s the full before home tour.

Upon walking through the front door, you’re greeted by this little entryway. Bedroom is straight ahead, living room is on the left. There’s a closet door to the right that you cannot see.

 360° view

isn’t she lovely? hah needs some tlc. i emailed the landlord and have full confirmation to move forward with painting the cabinets white. some pretty marble shelves above the stove for spice storage and this will come together in no time.

as seen from the front entryway – bed will be on that wall straight ahead. corridor doorway seen on the left.

looking back at the entryway. closet door on the left.

looking through the lil carrie bradshaw closet/corridor to the bathroom.

bedroom/bathroom corridor with built-in storage and vanity. or as i like to call it, my dressing room.

the bathroom – love the tile.

and the floorplan to help make sense of it all! (not to scale)

the pups and i are all settled in in large part thanks to redi-box, i was 95% unpacked and set up within 24 hours of arriving sunday night. you rent plastic moving boxes, they drop them off at one house, then pick them up a week later at your new location. redi-box is only in chicago and the surrounding suburbs, but most major cities have similar companies.

i cannot tell you how happy i am already. this apartment is beyond perfect for me. it’s charming, cozy, and all my own. i cannot wait to decorate this lil nugget. and the neighborhood… i feel like i’m in fairytaleland. beautiful brownstones, armitage ave shopping, lincoln park restaurants, two el lines, and parks all in walking distance, and trees galore! i feel so… home.



i’ll have plenty of photos documenting the move and the settling in phase, showing how i decided on furniture arrangement and what not. but you can catch a lot of sneak peeks if you follow my instagram: @alainakaz!