Shabby Chic

How do you feel about shabby chic dear readers? I'm in the middle of trying to decorate my new apartment in Ottawa and it is a daunting task. I did pick up a beautiful antique table and I am going to make it over with a bit of creamy white paint and sand paper to make it shabby chic and to match with some cream chairs. My living room and dining room are largely beige and whites, so I think I might throw in some pops of colour with black, Tiffany blue, and dusty rose. This weekend I'm planning a visit to Homesense to try to pick up some knick-knacks and paintings to add some interest to this beige landscape. My bedroom on the other hand is pretty well complete, lots of white furniture, contrasting pillows in a vintage black and white paisley print, and a DIY coffee table benche covered in a striped black material.

For the apartment makeover I'm going to take a cue from the movie You've Got Mail and try to spruce up the apartment ala Meg Ryan, owner of the Shop Around the Corner. This winter I'm going to begin work on a quilt and sew it by hand! It's going to be a daunting task but I think it will be the perfect one to occupy me while I'm out of school. I also really need to pick up some flowers to dry to put in the new vase my boyfriend's mom bought me for Christmas. One thing I really love about the apartment she has created below is the use of lamps. They are everywhere, including the kitchen! They're so country and familiar and shabby all at once. I'm also so jealous of all the bookcases. Books are my favourite things in the world, besides clothes of course. As Kathleen Kelly said, in You’ve Got Mail, "When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does." I think she was very wise.