My Condo–Just Call me Joanna Gaines

I am not going to pretend to be an expert in design by any means, but I’m totally on a kick.  I was recently down an out with the flu, so I spent plenty of time binge watching Fixer Upper.  It’s funny–I had read The Magnolia Story  a few months ago, but had never watched the show.  Side note, that book is soooo cute and soooo sweet, and I can’t recommend it enough.  It, once again, made me jealous of every southern girl the world over–how are they ALL inherently cool?  Joanna Gaines’ style is amazing, and their marriage is so sweet.  This book tells the story of how they met, where they design ideas come from, and what their plans are from here.  They also talk a lot about the Magnolia Market, how Chip is extremely impulsive (and Joanna extremely safe), and it’s fun to see it all play out on the show.

Anyway, now that I’ve watched the show, and am practically Joanna, I thought I’d show you a little bit about my living space in my condo-ette.  Living in DC, real estate and property tax are extremely expensive, so the fact that I was able to buy this little bargain property (which, I should note, is in price equal to a four-bedroom colonial in a nice neighborhood in Cleveland.. ugh) is nothing short of a miracle.

One thing home buyers don’t tell you is that you most likely will feel very, very broke when you buy your first place.  One moment you have all this money in your bank account, and the next, it’s all gone.  Sooo, doing renovations isn’t always on the docket right away, nor is buying new furniture, hiring a contractor,  etc.  So, when I first moved in, I solicited the help of some good friends, bought lots of varieties of craft beer and Little Caesar’s Hot N Ready Pizza (told you I was broke), and hosted a painting party.  I cannot even begin to express how much their help meant to me, because this wall color HAD to go.  

**Cringe**  It looks like a baby nursery, right?  Like, not in a good way? So, alas, we painted it Fashion Grey by Behr, and here’s how it looks now.

 

I bought my couch new (similar HERE) after several months of living here.  I’m a bit of a germaphobe, so the idea of buying a used couch really grossed me out.

Because I’m a copycat, I decided it was high time to make my place look at least a little bit like Christina’s.  So, one steamy day last summer, I took all of my pictures off the wall, went outside, and spray painted them with this:

 

Fun little kick, right?  Here was my Before and After picture I posted on Instagram. (note: that plant was $8 from Ikea and committed suicide shortly after this picture was taken.  I told you I don’t have a green thumb).

Spray painting was a quickly, cheap, simple update if you don’t mind destroying your clothes and getting slightly high from the fumes.

My pillow shams are from H&M Home, which is one of my favorite places to shop for little home accessories and holiday decorations.  Their in-store sales are the BEST.  I’m pretty sure I paid $2 or $3 for each of these shams.  Crazy!  They’re not available anymore, but if you pop in the H&M Home store, I’m sure you can find something similar.

Finally, my chairs (not shown) are old from Target, but if I was shopping for some now, I would totally get these.. And they’re on sale!  So pretty, right?  (link embedded)

Now I’ve been thinking about how I can do some more renovations, this time with the help of a contractor.  I’m sure more fun things are coming my way..  Stay tuned!