A Livable Apartment

It's been a few months since we moved into our tiny apartment in California. Partway through November, we finally achieved livableness! Most of our artwork from Pittsburgh has been stowed away in our hallway closet which is filled to the brim with longterm storage boxes and camping gear. We also have a small external storage locker which is a life saver for exciting things like our cooler and camp chairs.

We stocked the living area of the apartment full of Ikea products for storage and aesthetics. 600 square feet can't exactly handle anything bulky and we can't exactly handle anything pricey. A few pieces came from craigslist: the Ikea Kivik sofa ($100!), the Ikea Jokkmokk dining table, and the Crate & Barrel cabinet on the bathroom counter. Craigslist can be a good source for vintage pieces, but it can also be a steal for newer items folks no longer use.


I got my first twangs of homesickness looking at these photos as it all just looks so crammed and cluttered compared to our Pittsburgh apartment. I guess that's what happens when you lose a third of your square footage!


A Tjusig shoe bench for the entryway, with a Tjusig coat rack hidden behind the door. I have two large baskets from HomeGoods stores that we use throughout the apartment to hold odds and ends. In the bathroom are the custom curtains, some vintage amber hobnail tumblers from eBay, and a craigslist Crate & Barrel cabinet to hold a Costco-sized supply of toothpaste.

THAT IS NOT A BOX RIGHT THERE. nope. nope. nope.


So much counterspace and mirror, and nowhere to put a towel ring. Except maybe an insta-mount towel ring on the mirror itself. It works, no screws needed. Vintage mirrors hung at odd heights in the hallway.


My favorite print by Michelle Armas (I am in love with her work) takes center stage here in the living room. The Kivik couch is actually three separate one-piece sectionals and an ottoman (that we use to form a chaise). This allows us to easily rearrange our largest furniture piece according to our needs in this small living room. The Ikea coffee table on casters is no longer made, but the Strind is close. It was a craigslist find years ago in Pittsburgh, and one of the few pieces of furniture we bothered to bring with us. We should buy 50 more of those pintuck accent pillows.

Z's scratching post is serious business. Anything to prevent the doofus from scratching up the furniture. This is the same one from Pittsburgh, and it works pretty well as its height allows her to fully stretch as she scratches. Although, it's pretty obvious there's no good location to place a giant scratching post.


We hung a Mosslanda picture ledge to cut down on some of the clutter that a wall of artwork might bring to this room. We've stuffed an office and living area here, so we're trying not to stuff it much further. The "office" is two Lillasen desks separated by a large Alex drawer.


A wider shot of our Ikea hacked Lappland TV unit. We filled the shelves with books and Branas baskets from the old craft pantry (craigslisted). They held up surprisingly well as moving boxes.


A dishwasher. The best thing ever. I threw a dish drying mat on top, since we no longer need a full drying rack. It's good for the soggy odds and ends that need to be air dried.


I bought two $3 majesty palms from the Ikea as-is section our first day in town, and saved them from a certain death. Root-bound and unhappy, I rather aggressively broke up their root balls and replanted. So far, so good! A bit of greenery really helps put together a room.

From this angle, you can see how we store our snack tables, the little corner of airtight grain containers, and my nearly fully stainless steel electric kettle. It's so nice to not have to worry about whether I left the stove on! Fears of burning down the building are gone.


The craigslist Jokkmokk table in all its glory! I wanted a small wooden table that could fit in the space and matched the approximate color of the faux-wood floors. There's so much clutter (everywhere), I just didn't want the table to stand out. The Eames chairs are from the past two Pittsburgh apartments. They disassemble which cuts down on moving space.


We went with the 4x4 Kallax shelves instead of the 5x5, so they'd be short enough for us to reach all our red Kitchen Aid appliances. The system works well! On the walls are a classic Pittsburgh print and a pegboard. Once you go pegboard, you never go back. And then there's the All Clad Emerilware cookware (another post), plus a carbon steel wok, and we've also added some rectangular measuring spoons to have on hand.


A peak at the tiny bedroom that provides real meaning to the word BEDroom...We have a Brimnes storage headboard with two Janso clamp lights, and no nightstands! No room. I'm a little upset that I hadn't anticipated upgrading bed-sizes when making the triangle quilt a couple years ago. The top was initially 2 columns too wide for a queen bed, so I removed them. Now I'm kicking myself. I love my quilt too much to not use it, but it looks stupid being not wide enough. Not sure what to do. I still have some of the triangles, so I guess I could remove the binding off one side, add a bit of width, make some more binding, and then patch it in? Then that side will always be wonky. I don't know. It makes me sad.


Here you see our shallow Pax closets with Bergsbo doors to match the headboard. I tossed some old ClosetMaid cubeicals on top, and called it a day. Nazar boncuk above the door and copper-string LED twinkle lights, as always. I'll figure out what to do with the clothes drying rack and ironing board later. We spend so little time in here, it matters little.