New Apartment

Because we are moving in August I decided that it would be a great time to redecorate! I am so excited because when Ryan and I first got married I was in a "black" stage and wanted all black decor. That is not what I want now. I also bought a bunch of stuff that isn't my style at all, I guess I just wasn't sure how I wanted my place to look. Well, now I do and I want to pursue a career in interior design so this is good practice for me. 

THE PLAN

Starting now I am taking $15 out of every pay check and saving it in a special decorating envelope. I want to redo my living room, bathroom and bedroom. Here is my budget. 

Living Room: $100

Bedroom: $50

Bathroom: $50

I created a mood board for the living room so I can get it out of my head and so I can start sleeping again and so I don't forget what I want everything to look like. Below is what I am going for. I want to use navy, grey, white and a little yellow for the living room. Right now I have orange (don't ask) and lots of black so my goal is to save money by painting and recovering items I already have. Here is the mood board.

I already have the couch which is sort of an item I regret getting because it is not my style at all. But since I don't have the budget, the couch stays. My goal is to spend the least amount of money for a high end look. I am going to get two Ikea side tables ($7.99 a piece!) and set them side by side to create a coffee table. The biggest dilemma I am having right now is what I should do about the rug. The rug on the left is from Ikea for only $19.99 and it is a decent size or I could get a more expensive rug with the exact color and pattern that I want. So my question is, does the Ikea rug look good with my stuff? Opinions please! 

I am so excited about this project and actually creating a home! Kristen this means we are going on a shopping spree when I visit in July! 

Update

It's official, we got the apartment! We are going in on Thursday to sign the lease. I am so excited to live in this place and get out of this bad situation with our current landlords. Yay!!

Apartment

We found an apartment! This is actually the first and only place we have looked at but I love it. It is not ours yet because the Realtor is still trying to get a hold of the people who are living there now. When we went over it looked like they just up and left the place, the mail was overflowing out of the box and it was kind of a mess. So hopefully when they finally turn up they will be leaving so we can have it. 

This apartment is the very top level of this house, 2 bedroom and 1 bathroom. The entrance is the door to the right and the apartment is up some stairs. It has a loft like feel and all the ceilings are valeted which I love because it gives the space character and it has a dishwasher and washer and dryer! Two things that I haven't had for 2+ years. It is also only a couple blocks away from UW so we can walk to school! This place is on the other side of town from where we are now so we will be moving wards for the third time since living in Laramie. I will be sad about that because I have really grown to love our ward and our primary class so it will  be hard leaving. This will be our third move since being in Laramie and our seventh in 2 1/2 years of marriage. I am so ready to stop moving and get settled. We will be living here for the next year in a half (If we get it!!) and I would love to call this place home. Cross your fingers!