Home Necessities
Being in my home consistently due to the COVID-19 mandates has made me rethink my every piece of furniture in my home while also helping me understand what pieces I truly adore. I recently took a few months to re-do my dining room. I saved up and finally found the perfect dining table that I bought a matching bench to go alongside. From there we were chair-less for about an additional month and a half until I found the perfect set that I felt would match the space plus still within our budget. Aside from those items I also planned on putting up some art pieces and having a pretty vase standing in the corner where a fake fiddle leaf plant once stood. Overall I guess what I’m trying to get at is that these things take time and understanding. Before going into quarantine I had some pieces in my home I wasn’t a huge fan of but as time has gone on I’ve really honed in on my home decor style and realized what kind of home necessities are the most important.
I compiled a few items within the various categories below that I feel have really shaped having a chic, affordable and simplistic design elements in my home. Definitely tips I would have appreciated when we first moved in!
Kitchen Items
The kitchen has definitely been overly used in the past few weeks and there are a few items I’ve realized have made a difference in that. From items to cook with to serving ware to dish towels, there are a lot of pieces to a kitchen that really make a difference when it comes to aesthetics and ease of use. My biggest hooray item I received (my mom bought it for me lol) was my Nespresso machine that came with a milk frother. Due to quarantine I’m definitely not as able to go out and grab a latte from my favorite coffee spot. While I’m fully supportive of my local spots and still try to find ways to support it was getting harder and harder to feel right leaving my home for something as small as a coffee. I was talking to my mom about this Nespresso machine and how a lot of people recommended it and she ended up getting it for me! I also had to make sure I had some chic cups for my at home lattes so I purchased the Duralex cups shown below but in the clear color. I accidentally bought them too small and then not big enough but I’m just sticking with them. The smaller cups are perfect for straight up espresso and the second size up makes a great small latte or cappuccino. I also can now have iced lattes at home and man does it feel good. Also you can recycle the pods which definitely held me back from purchasing originally but I gotta say it’s a lot easier than a regular espresso machine and the taste is definitely there. SO GOOD.
Living/Dining Room
I have realized there are a lot of things you can do to make your living/dining areas POP. While furniture is obviously a big one, I haven’t been able to upgrade every single piece of furniture I have. A great way for me to start bringing in a new look or feel to a space is just adjusting some of the smaller more affordable changes you can make. Lighting, vases, and artwork are big ones that I never really focused on until now. These can really make or break a room and help bring a new style into your space. We finally were able to put up our Formakami lighting fixture (see below) in our dining room and man does it look GOOD. Our home colors have leaned on natural wood, white, black and creams so i knew having this beautiful pendant over our dining table would really pull all the elements together. Our dining room is one of the most complete rooms in the house now! Our living room has a lot of great elements but after purchasing our blue velvet couch my taste started to change when it came to color tones. I’ve always preferred neutrals but after time has progressed and I’ve been more intersted in home decor I’ve realized to always stick to your gut. By purchasing neutral pieces you can add pops of color with accent pieces (which are a lot easier to change in and out as your taste changes). I am debating getting our couch a slip cover however since I love the couch shape itself just getting less of a fan of the color.
Furniture Wish List
Ok so the above items I’d classify as more easily attainable everyday use kind of items. But let’s now get into the wishlist area. There are a few rooms I’m still working on in the house (let’s be real, when are we not working on rooms) and I have some items that are sitting in carts just waiting, just itching to be purchased. That being said a lot of these items will require delivery and some assembly from the companies I’m purchasing from so they probably aren’t the greatest things to purchase during a time like this (social distancing). That being said, I’m also being more meticulous about making a purchase. Waiting for site wide sales for places like West Elm and CB2 are essential. Three of the pieces I want are from CB2 for example but I’m going to hold out until another 20% off site wide sale before I make the plunge. Another thing I’ve learned is to create mood boards (kind of like what I’m doing here) with the pieces you are wanting and see how they all mesh together. I also look up rooms on Pinterest with similar floor colors to see if the furniture I’m looking at would match up.