Ballard Apartment and Other Musings
For the last three weeks, we have been unpacking in our new apartment. Some of you asked if we had moved to Los Angeles. Well, we gave it serious consideration. In May, we spent a few weeks living in Los Feliz, touring Venice Beach, and hiking in the Angeles National Forest. It was pretty magical. The food was amazing (and healthy!), the Angelenos were chic AF and so friendly, and the scene was straight out of my dreams. More to come on Los Angeles, but long story short, we decided to stay in Seattle. Why, you ask, when all I have done is complain about the gloomy weather and the Seattle Freeze? Well, there are several very rational reasons, but really, Seattle is special and we think we can make it home.
We recently took a float plane tour over the city, and for the first time, I really understood where I was. Seattle is nestled between the Cascades on the east and the Olympics on the west, and at the end of an inlet from the Pacific Ocean called the Puget Sound (confession: I did not know what a "sound" was until I just looked it up.) It was stunning. And green. And massive. I never really understood the scale until we were up there circling the city. I get why outdoors enthusiasts want to be here.
If we were going to stay in Seattle, I wanted to embrace the landscape. So we moved to Ballard, which is an old Norwegian fishing town, much like those on the East Coast. It's a little out of the way, but it has a small-town feel, it's very bikable, and it's close to the beach where we watch the sun set over the mountains. And our apartment is pretty adorable. It's on the upper floor of a craftsman that's been split into two rental units. With 650 square feet and two bedrooms, it's small, but livable. We already feel like we have a little more privacy so we don't drive each other crazy. It's been a challenge trying to squeeze everything in, but we got a storage unit for the things we rarely use, and we were creative with the space. Below is how we managed to squeeze our lives into this apartment.
BEDROOM
My favorite thing in the apartment is my clothes rack (in the top photo). We were short on closet space and dedicated one to outdoor gear and one to Josh's clothes, so I had to hang my clothes in our bedroom. It really forced me to think about what I actually wear every day and edit my wardrobe down to a capsule collection. I've always wanted a capsule collection. When I turned thirty, I tossed all of the bright colors, thinking primary colors and pastels were too cute for my grownup self. Now I dress like I work at an art gallery, so I hid all of my oxford shirts and suits under my bed for when I have to be a real person again. Getting ready in the morning feels like shopping at a boutique.
The bedroom also has a little nook that fits the bed perfectly. I find myself stacking the pillows in the corner so I can read while I look out the window. And you can't see it in the photo, but I lined up my shoes at the edge underneath the bed so I can see and get to them easily.
DINING ROOM
I love displaying all of our dishes and treasures on the bookcase. We were short on kitchen cabinets so we bought several IKEA Billy Bookcases to stretch across the wall like a built-in. They're great because they have a little cutout at the back for the baseboard trim so that they are flush against the wall and very stable. We repurposed Josh's Room and Board Parsons Desk as our dining table and used a mirror to make it feel brighter and more open.
LOUNGE
The living room / guest room was actually supposed to be the bedroom, but we wanted to spread out. So we turned it into what we're calling the lounge, which is at the back of the apartment and works as both. The glass french doors, when open, create the feeling of a retreat, and with window film on the doors, guests will have privacy. The corner from where I am taking a photo of the couch is where the guest bed is (and I'm sitting on the couch to take a photo of the bed). We used a full-sized bed and lots of Euro pillows to replicate the look of the beautiful setup at Parachute Home's Portland store, so that it can be seating too. Come visit us and you can have this room all to yourself!
