lucilleduquette:

i’ve written a lot (mostly complaining) about my move to the attic floor of an old house in ditmas park, brooklyn. i had several requests to post some photos of the apartment, and i finally feel that the living room, at least, can be posted without too much embarrassment. i still have a lot to do, but since i’m not very talented with decorating, i thought i would show what i’ve got, and ask for suggestions. so, here’s the view from the hallway- it is an odd space with two levels.

here’s the top level, for now. i had initially planned to make the lower level for seating/watching tv, and fill the upper level with a large dining table. then i realized the lower level would be too cramped with a sofa + tv stand, so for now, this is the arrangement i’m trying out. 

the sofa is a new acquisition. the night before i moved, i realized my much-loved room & board sofa wouldn’t fit through the narrow doorways of the house, so it had to go. the boyfriend and i took a trip to the bronx to visit the ABC home & carpet warehouse store (true story: mimi and i once saw alexander wang shopping there with his parents). we didn’t have much time, so we hurried through the store, and found 3 affordable sofas we liked. my 1st choice was a beautiful tufted leather sofa, but turns out, it was too tight a fit through our doorways, so we ended up with this calvin klein one, which was the boyfriend’s 1st choice. i liked that the upper cushions are a different fabric from the rest. anyway, i highly recommend the ABC warehouse if you find yourself in a furniture emergency!

my end tables came from craigslist, the pillow and fur rug from ikea, and the rest from various antique stores in ohio. i loved the marble horse bookends because my grandma has a very similar set. and the face vase was another lucky find, during a time when i was doing research on visual illusions.

here’s the lower level of the living room, which is mostly empty, except for a few too-small pieces of furniture. eventually i plan to put the little white table in the backyard, but until i can find a proper dining table, it’ll stay here. the wooden coffee table was made by my boyfriend’s father. right now it is hiding our internet router, and storing magazines. 

so clearly, i still have a lot to accomplish. the main things i need are a place to sit and eat, a place to put my feet up while sitting on the couch (i think my dad is going to make me 2 x-bench ottomans for this!), and additional seating. if you have any suggestions for pieces of furniture to look out for, ways to arrange the room, ways to accessorize, etc. etc. i would really appreciate it!

and in case anyone is wondering, here are some details—

sofa = calvin klein; rug, pillow, and white boxes = ikea, wall color = restoration hardware sycamore, framed infinite jest poster that needs to be hung = sam potts (this poster is one of my favorite things in my whole apartment), coffee table = custom made, everything else = vintage or antique