Contemplation: Homebody

Today, 5^th October 2013, I celebrate exactly eleven years of living in my (rented) flat here in sunny Surrey. I know that at 35 years old I should really be a homeowner but hey, wasn’t Carrie Bradshaw still living in a rent-controlled apartment well into her mid-to-late-thirties (an apartment that was admittedly an empire)? 

{via HBO.com}

Let’s gloss over that.

In the last eleven years QB Heights has undergone all manner of metamorphoses. It started off as a disjointed hangover from my poor first-flat/student days (denim-clad futon, straggly Argos shelving units).

By virtue of a new bathroom and kitchen, several coats of paint, new floors and countless trips to IKEA, I now have a flat that is just me, now. It’s modern but quirky, with accents and personal touches to avoid the place looking too much like an IKEA showroom. [DISCLAIMER: I have not been sponsored by IKEA for this post. I just like their wares. Possibly too much...]

It’s a one-bedroom flat five minutes’ walk from the town centre and station, which suits me nicely given I don’t drive. It’s seen me at my happiest, my most depressed. It’s seen season after season, event after event. The occasional party. (The bathroom alone has seen about four different hair colours and fifty hairstyles on me...!)

The bedroom is currently in a state of flux, the kitchen is fairly self-explanatory, and the bathroom is lovely enough – great shower head. Nuff said. I’ll feature the bedroom at a different time. I’m awaiting delivery of a print press drawer for the bedroom wall (bought from a market in Brighton, repaired by my father and decorated by my mother) – I'll share after that!

To set the scene, here’s a brief pictorial history of QB Heights:

{Halloween, October 2002}

{Sleepover, October 2004. Shambolic Argos unit in view! Please do check out my foxy George from Rainbow slippers.}

In 2006 an inheritance meant I could afford to splash out on some slightly less student-y furniture – notably a LACK coffee table and the first batch of BILLYs!:

{February 2006, a new look – and a blurry photographer}

And so the flat continued to evolve, adding a HEMNES bureau and a TULSTA arm/bucket chair..:

{November 2009}

Last year, after a failed attempt to get a charity to remove that mammoth of a green cord sofabed on the left, above, Ma and Pa systematically destroyed it and disposed of it. It felt good to let it go – making room for more furniture, such as my beloved POÄNG armchair and footstool, later the furry sheepskin rug, and this gorgeous flooring! 

Eleven years I was all about decorating with a Moulin Rouge aesthetic... These days I’m drawn to that cosy yet cool Scandinavian aesthetic, and the flooring definitely helps here!

{August 2012}

And now...

I favour a unified set of frames (IKEA’s RIBBA range does me nicely). This particular aesthetic fetish came from Miranda Priestly’s office in The Devil Wears Prada:

{Screengrab from The Devil Wears Prada DVD}

I like cute, geeky details, red accents, nicely-mounted photos, camel iconography, Playmobil characters – and fairy lights. You can never have too many fairy lights in a flat no matter what your age.

The living room is moderately complete although I do have a pile of boxes full of crafting gubbins next to the BILLY unit that I want to replace with this cabinet: 

The HELMER. Cuteness on wheels.

I do eventually want my own house. I’d like a garden with room for a tree swing, a summer house and a washing-line. As for the house itself I’d like a balcony. A claw-foot bath in a bathroom with its own window. A staircase. Built-in shelves for the books. A garret.

At the moment I can’t afford such a luxury but I can lust after my dream home through the medium of Pinterest! Here are just a few of my home-based boards:

Al Fresco
Dream Home Thoughts
Skandinavisk Stil {Scandinavian Style}