I just did a big clean-up- pulled out the fridge and scrubbed behind it, laundered our pillows and duvet and mattress coverings and aired everything out. Now feels as good a time as any for an updated apartment tour. After all that cleaning, I didn't feel like steaming the sheets or vacuuming before taking these photos, so you get an idea of our apartment in its natural state.
To-do list for next year:
Get proper frames for our prints
Find a big, cat friendly tree for the kitchen (we saw a nice crabapple in the Marais, I wish it wasn't toxic)
Figure out where to hang Daniela Cappacioli's wire sculptures; alternately, knit some jellyfish to hang around the apartment
Household additions this year (some, not all, of the links below are affiliate links, so if you click on them, I receive a commission):
- Four handmade Valeria Polsinelli sake cups
- This Cuisinart compact fryer- my husband's treat for himself. I haven't used it yet but I love his homemade fries
- A Bosch Power Silence vacuum cleaner. My husband replaced ours while I was away. I'm not sure why. Probably mostly because he wanted a German vacuum cleaner.
- Redecker Eddington bottle brush
- Wooden soap dish
- Cat carrier from my mom
- Gluten-free cutting board. I keep it hidden under the sink so people don't contaminate it like the last one- gluten contamination is the reason we can't rent our place out anymore.
- Polyester and cardboard cat tree *sigh*. Kar and Toffel were too big for the old one and they love sleeping in the banana leaf cubbies. When the polyester wears out, I'll replace the plush with linen coverings.
- Two teacups and mortar and pestle, a gift from Joe and Ashley
Sources
Nkuku wire shelves (in the kitchen)
Ikea couch, dining room set, and kitchen towels (used as napkins)
Flour sack towels
Arne Jacobsen for Georg Jensen cutlery
Weck jars
Habitat bath sheets, bed and coffee table
Kartell Componibili
Eames rocker
Zwilling Henckels knives and bamboo cutting board
H&M linen sheets
Happypet cat tree
Bamboo pet feeder
Paolo Galetto and me&him&you prints, vintage map of Thailand, personal photos, sketch by a Montreuillois artist (not pictured) on walls
I only listed items I get questions about. If you're wondering about the source for anything else just ask!
hello ariana! your apartment is so clean and calm. might i offer a suggestion as to the plant? you could put a palm or bamboo plant instead of a crabapple. bamboo is easy to grow as well, only needs pruning so it doesn't spread.
ReplyDeletei am very curious what is in the boxes and bags in your closet :P
Hi Marie! Thank you so much! My husband and I would love a bamboo but the palm tree is a really great idea. I think an areca palm is exactly what the place needs. In the orange bag is a skirt my friend gave me but it doesn't fit :( The orange boxes hold my husband's ties and pocket squares. In the other bags and boxes are my knitting, financial documents, photos, and the black box on the second shelf holds lingerie, clean t-shirts, socks, etc.
DeleteI love how honest and accessible your blog is. It's nice to see pictures that are "real" and unstyled for once.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm glad you appreciate my laziness :)
DeleteYour home is lovely ! The space and the air, .... something to aspire to.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures with your cats posing - too cute !
Our landlord's cat visits us everyday and we love him to bits. We were thinking of making him a bed so that he will stay in our home longer. He loves cardboard boxes. And we have some old pillows that have gotten flat on us. Thats our weekend project.
Thanks Archana, but your home is absolutely beautiful! Oh yeah, give a cat a box and some clean laundry and he's good. When my husband lays his clothes out to wear the cats immediately climb on it and drift into sleep. My cats in Cleveland loved baskets of laundry best.... and empty cardboard boxes, of course.
DeleteI hope you don't mind the question, how did you decide to organize your home? As in why do you put some items in certain closets or group certain items together. We are moving to a new home soon and I can find many strategies for organizing but not on setting up a household or what goes where. Yours is amazingly organized and you seem to put such thought into the purchases and storage of items!
ReplyDeleteHi Alaina, I don't mind at all! I tried to put things where I use them. For instance, the dish cloths are above the sink because that's where I reach for them, just on instinct. The cloth napkins though are in the "linen closet" so they don't get cat hair on them :) and the alcohol is in there as well so that the cats don't knock the bottles over. Shoes and coats go by the door, where we take them off. As for the clothes closet, when we decided how to divide the space, it was based on who had the most clothes. My husband gets one side and we stick our suitcases there because that's where we pack them. And then I get two shelves because I don't need much space. I hope this is what you were looking for? I read most people stick things wherever they have space but that it makes life simpler to put items where you use them.
DeleteI love looking at your closet pics...I just passed on another big goodie bag of clothes to two of my lovely teenager friends and they were thrilled (I take this to mean that I should NOT wear those items). I also put away my "summer" clothes. Yet, my closet is stuffed AND I feel like I'm missing things. Silly brain. Trained to always want more, but I always feel better when things are neat and uncluttered.
ReplyDeleteI love your kitty city!
You are definitely very neat and uncluttered, just from what I've seen! That's funny how the brain works. We've been conditioned to not feel satisfied, me included. They were so territorial about our previous cat house- there was only one little place for them to sleep and they fought over who got a turn to sleep in there. Now, they both have space! I hope your kitties are doing well :)
DeleteI am pretending in my head my apartment looks just like yours (at least as clean). Ah wishful thinking. I do have a lovely sofa though ;-)
ReplyDeletePatricia
I'm sure your apartment is beautiful!
DeleteI'm so impressed! My German friend told me all non-owner (and non long termers) always end up on the ground floor or the top floor, and like her, it seems you're on the top floor. But you make it look amazing. I love the new bathroom and kitchen.
ReplyDeleteYou really are a great ad for minimallism! Oh and I love the cat baskets - do you ever think pets bring clutetr?
Ah that makes a lot of sense what she says! My husband always needs to live on the top floor :) He loves it. We are removed from what little noise is made in our neighborhood and get a great view! And thank you so much. I think pets can bring clutter if the owners buy them a lot of toys and clothing and accessories. But really cats don't need much. My cats have hated every toy and prefer to play with socks, feet, pieces of cardboard... the list goes on. Apart from food, water, and litter, they really just need love and attention! We have their passports, medical records, a little nailclipper and brush for them, a carrier and leashes, but it doesn't seem cluttered. It all fits into one shelf in the closet and can be transported easily. They wouldn't even need a cat tree, but it prevents them from scratching our couch so it seemed a worthwhile investment :)
DeleteThank you, the light was so important to us! I don't know what we would do without the brightness.
ReplyDeleteOn your recommendation, when husband and I recently went and bought our first grown up mattress (i.e. chucking the budget version I bought when I first moved out of home and which was giving me the most horrible back aches), I went and invested in a set of 100% linen bed sheets. Oh my goodness. They are incredible. I have never slept so well and my skin has nary shed a single flake of eczema'd skin. I cannot believe how comfortable the fibre is and how little perspiration I seem to generate (that or it's the wicking abilities of the linen). At any rate, thank you for your guidance because I can never go back to cotton now!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy you like them! From your pics I had no idea you had eczema, btw, your skin looks beautiful. Linen is so good for temperature regulating and it resists dust mites and it does wick moisture... I could go on and on about the benefits. Do you have a recommendation for a linen sheets brand? Some people told me they are leery of buying H&M even secondhand, and not everyone can order Baltic linens...
DeleteLinen sheets. It's a good question. Unfortunately I can only recommend from Australian shores since I seem to get better deals postage wise. Sheridan brand is surprisingly good; we have a factory outlet in Tas so they are even more discounted. I also went online and bought a complete set from Lolli Linen, again Australian, but they come in a lovely linen bag which you could use for anything afterwards (or to store the sheet set).
DeleteMost of my eczema thankfully is on my legs and abdomen now (although I did suffer the facial stuff for a number of years in my late teens, and the eyes still flare up sometimes). Products containing decent amounts of glycolic acid have really helped the crepey skin and excessive flaking though. My skincare is the complete opposite to yours and very chemical driven :D
Oh and I forgot to mention price. Lolli Linen is the cheapest sets I've found in Australia ($319); of course buying at the factory outlet meant it was the cheapest of the lot ($149), but I only bought a fitted sheet - the store only had separates. Sadly 100% linen is not cheap even though it's a simple and straight forward material; the big generic fast brands charge you a tenth of the price for mixed fibres and synthetics. Urgh
DeleteThank you for the recommendation! A few people asked me for brand names but I'm only familiar with my linen sheets, and some Lithuanian or US-made options. Well, that's definitely a good use for chemicals. It's not reasonable to suffer and I'm glad you've found a routine that helps!
Delete<3 <3 <3
ReplyDeleteBisous!!
DeleteI love your apartment! It's so light, airy and organized. Certainly something to aspire to!
ReplyDeleteAw thank you so much Cassie!
DeleteBeautiful! Have you ever been a stuff person? I am not sure this questions makes complete sense. :o)
ReplyDeleteThank you Tonette! I grew up in a house full of stuff so I guess this is my rebellion phase; I was always trying to get rid of stuff in our home which got me into trouble with my family a few times when I donated or threw out their possessions :P Now I'm trying to be balanced, like I never get rid of my husband's things, although he is really good about noticing when he's not using something anymore and finding it a new home.
DeleteI agree with all the comments - your place is lovely and inspiring. I aspire to have my place looking like that, but I have a toddler who seems to create chaos wherever he goes. :-(
ReplyDeleteBy the way, have you read "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying" by Marie Kondo? I just did, and found it to be really effective and quite beautiful.
Thank you so much Jane! I haven't read it yet. I want to! I'm sure your place is even more lovely because of your toddler :)
DeleteNow you can have a Proper tea! Haha I hope our gifts were useful for you so far. I will be revisiting that store in a couple months after we see what our apartment has already
ReplyDelete