our apartment

Hunting for a New Lighting Fixture

The dining room is one of the spaces I've neglected in our home and is in need of a little attention.  It's a small little space that is open to the living room.  Since moving in, all we've done is bring in the clear chairs we had from our previous home, a white tulip table, and white curtains. The owners of the home (we're renters) left their chandelier and we've left it up because, well, it's functional. It's not really our style though and I've been itching to change it out.

I've been keeping an eye out for light fixtures that I like (and aren't ridiculously expensive). Below is a round-up of what I've found so far.  Some of them aren't right for the space but thought they were worth sharing here, for any of you out there who may also be on the hunt for the right light fixture.

1- Five Arm Chandelier, 2- Marmont Pendant, 3- Brass Pendant, 4- Modern Pendant Light, 5- Brass and Glass Globe Pendant

#1 is beautiful but it's probably a bit too fancy for our home. #2 has a fun vibe to it, though I'm not sure if it would emit sufficient light. #3 is a strong contender - I love it's simple elegance. #4 is clean, simple and my husband's favorite. There's also this one, which is similar and I like.  #5 is really cool and I love that it's handmade by a fellow small business owner.  It's also the most budget friendly. Given the current chairs we have though, bringing this in would probably be too many clear elements in the space. Perhaps if I got new chairs... (haha I wish! ...not in the budget right now)

If you happen to come across a light fixture you think I'd like and is reasonably priced, feel free to send it my way. I'm open to options.

Living Room Progress

I'm back from my Santa Barbara mini getaway with my husband (see photos of the trip here). We've both been working a lot so it was definitely a fun, relaxing, much needed break.

As promised, I wanted to share with you all my living room progress.  Since the last update here's what I've done:

+Separated the two tables we were using as a coffee table and designated them as side tables

+Moved the chair ottoman to the middle of the room and added a tray so we could use it as a coffee table

+Added pillows to the sofa. I went with two blue velvet, two aga reverse black*, and a petite zig zag french blue lumbar*.

+ Hung the beautiful paintings I had commissioned from Parima Studio

+Purchased a media console. We went with this one from Ikea which was inexpensive (a necessity since this is a short term home) and just the right size. We've customized it by painting the back in a similar color blue as the velvet pillows. We bought doors for it, however not sure if we'll use them or not.  Still deciding... Might just add two bottom drawers to hide the X-Box controls and gadgets and keep the rest as open storage.

+Added an accent table with a scalloped top next to the chair.  It's black and I like how it looks but I'm kinda tempted to paint it another color.  Undecided still.

+Bought three square frames to hang on the wall in a vertical column to the left of the paintings. They're silver but I plan on spray painting them gold to match the mirror above the fireplace.

Overall, here's what the room is currently looking like:

What's up next:

+paint the three frames and hang them

+ add drawers to the media console and style the shelves

+ get another side table lamp

+buy and install cover for tv cords & wires

+find a stylish storage basket or bin for Little Foot's toys

Hopefully these last few things don't take me too long! Stay tuned for more updates!

*I don't have these pillows available in the shop website yet. If you're interested, email shop@ariannabelle.com for a quote.