This post has been such a long time coming, but I am happy to finally share some of the updates I have made to our apartment throughout the year. For all of us, this year has been filled with so much change, extreme highs and lows and A LOT of time spent at home. At the height of lockdown I thought a lot more about what home means to me and I found myself feeling like our apartment was no longer a reflection of where we were in our lives. I had actually been feeling like that for a while. It can be odd when so much of your living space becomes intertwined with your job. It almost started to feel like a portfolio and I would often be so busy with work, projects I intended to do for myself (and not for the blog) would fall to the wayside.

I have to preface that I feel so incredibly lucky to have collaborated with home companies and brands I love over the years, but because I do our living space kind of became a hodgepodge of pieces and didn’t feel as collected. I LOVE our apartment so much, but I definitely felt like I was in a bit of a personal design rut and wasn’t taking my time when it comes to purchases – which never leads to the best design.

As any of you who rent know, there are limits. We are so fortunate our landlords pretty much let us do whatever we want as far as paint, changing out light fixtures, etc. but it is never going to look exactly how you want it because at the end of the day you aren’t investing what you would if it were your forever home. I always try and toe the line with this and know one day we will have a home of our own where I can play a lot more. However this year pushed me to not wait. I wanted to expand more with color, pattern, varying textures and nuanced layers. I will always crave light and bright spaces, but I don’t like the idea of having one aesthetic you have to stick to. I wanted to blend – English country meets California, but most importantly it is all about comfort. This year has pushed all of us in so many ways. It has made me eternally grateful for a cozy place to live and I am so happy to call his little space home.

{Little Details}

My great grandfather owned an art gallery in New York City in the 30’s, so my dad inherited some incredible etchings and various artwork that I now have (on loan as he likes to remind me, ha!) The landscape on the top shelf of the bookcase and the Rabbi etching above the couch both came from him. I love having pieces around that look beautiful, but feel incredibly special and tell a story.

Other details I have been big on as of late are incorporating more color and pattern with pillows. I love a layering of stripes in various sizes and color paired with soft block prints. Summer House in Mill Valley is one of my favorite local shops for fun pillows. That is where both the chocolate brown stripe and pink stripe came from. The others are from Filling Spaces, Walter G and a vintage fabric I found on Etsy.

You will also see my affinity for fun lamp shades which I get at Cruel Mountain. I love how something as simple as a scalloped lamp shade can transform the look of a basic floor lamp! Other details are a lot of vintage pieces I have collected over the years such as the stone bust, French mirrors like this, bowls, trays and baskets that all make this apartment feel like our home.

a mix of collected art and pieces by Hugo Guinness & Jennifer Ament

{Other Notes Of Mention}

Living Room Walls: Benjamin Moore color match of Farrow & Ball Cromarty No. 285 at 50% for a lighter look. I always do Eggshell Finish on walls.

Entry Walls: Benjamin Moore Color match of Farrow & Ball Ball Green No. 75

All Trim, Ceilings and Built In’s: Benjamin Moore Super White

I try and link most things on My Apartment shop page, but since a lot of pieces are from local shops, antiques or no longer available not everything is on there. Such as my favorite tall basket from Hudson Grace and my beloved pine console from Wisteria. I still can’t believe they went out of business. I have yet to find something that looks exactly the same although I love this!

Photos by Torrey Fox