Nesting

”Like everyone else, I had become a slave to the IKEA nesting instinct.” (– Fight Club, 1999)

Haha, nesting indeed. Well, the quote continues quite in another way than I personally think (“If I saw something clever like a coffee table in the shape of a yin and yang, I had to have it.”), because I hate shopping and having stuff I don’t feel I need, and my style is definitely quite minimalistic.

Actually, precisely the seek for minimalism was what drove me to Ikea, quite paradoxically. As I noted earlier, I like the way this flat is furnished, it’s a very well-balanced whole. However, my landlady’s style is much more decorative than mine, and very, very blue for my taste. By blue I mean the colour (not sadness), and I had a very intensive blue phase as a teen, so I’m quite over and done with that colour, probably for the rest of my life. However, the walls are and remain blue in the living/bedroom, so I thought I’d pimp up – or should I say downgrade – the textiles. As a bonus, my landlady’s replaced textiles will definitely stay intact during my stay!

Obviously I didn’t want to spend fortunes on a flat where I’m staying for half a year, so the changes would need to be quite few and budget-friendly. It was actually quite hard to try and find something that would feel “me”, but at the same time work with what’s already in the flat and play along with the existing style. All in all I think I did quite well and am quite pleased, especially considering how little I actually did: I cut down the blue replacing it with green and red, and packed away some cloths and carpets. While I normally don’t fancy those colour combinations, nor would have chosen that cushion/cloth pattern if I were furnishing a flat from scratch, I find the result being quite in harmony with the prevailing style, and yet with a touch of myself. I feel at home :) Behold:

The hallway, entrance is to the right, next to that curtain.
The curtain was a very bright blue one, that one has birds and trees. Welcome to the jungle!
I always first see that picture as the Fair Trade mark, wtf?

Hallway, pt 2. The walls are the same colour as in the previous picture, it just looks more olive-like in this picture.

Living/bed/nerding room.

Living/bedroom. The sofa was the biggest change, it had a blue-grey cover and red and orange cushions.

Living/bedroom.

View from the sofa.

Kitchen. Note the grinders and herbs! And space!

View from the balcony!

♥

Ps. Happy 20102010!