Here is a quick tour of my new apartment, including notes on my pretty lofty dreams of improvement. (Please try to ignore all of the piles of junk. I took these photos on move-in day.)

I haven’t really figured out how to use this room yet. It’ll be some sort of creative/craft space, but currently it’s the room for everything without a determined home. I know I’ll be ripping down the wallpaper trim around the top of the walls, and I’ll be replacing the drapery hardware with some simple Ikea hardware I already own. This room may be either green, blue, or red someday.

My bedroom is so empty that there is an echo. Seriously. I’m happy that I have a specific room just for sleeping again, though. It’s peaceful. I’d like to paint this room a very light golden-yellow, but it’s not a priority by any means.

I love my new living room! It gets so much sunlight in the afternoon. I’m looking forward to getting a couch in the space some day soon (hopefully), but I’d like to paint this room beforehand. This room will be a greyish-blue to match some fabric I have (truth: it’s a dress I’m going to re-purpose as art). I’m also planning to remove the carpet, with the hope that decent hardwood flooring is underneath it.

I don’t quite know what to do with my entry, yet. It might be a light green someday. The built-in glass hutch is one of my favorite things about the apartment.

The kitchen is very large, which is great. It needs some work, but it is priority project #2. I’m planning to rip down the ugly wallpaper (it’s almost so ugly it’s fun, but not quite all the way there) and paint the walls a sort of marigold orange/yellow—something to match that oven and help it blend in a little. I think the tiled back-splash should come out because it grosses me out. It would nice to re-tile, but paint might be enough.

Karyn pointed out that this wallpaper was hung with great care—the seams all match up. I can appreciate that, and I’m planning to get some sort of vegetables in art form as an homage.

This is a 3-season porch on the northeast side of the apartment. It gets really nice light in the morning, but I haven’t had a chance to enjoy it properly as it has become the box repository. (I plan to get rid of the boxes on Monday.) I don’t know what to do with this room yet, but I would like to get a string of lights for possible evening enjoyment later this summer. It would also be nice to get rid of the carpet.

The bathroom is priority project #1—I’m actually planning to work on taking down the wallpaper this weekend. It’s truly awful and wasn’t hung with as much care as the veggies in the kitchen were. I plan to paint it a very light cool blue (a hue that will match the living room). I would also like to paint the cabinetry and trim a bright white. I’ll take pictures of my progress and report back, of course.

Did someone once think this was sexy? Yuck!

Overall, this is a great apartment—so much sunlight and space. I’m happy to be back in Northeast Minneapolis and I’m happy to have fun projects (and big dreams) ahead of me!