I would just like to briefly express my love for this store by showing you some (2 pics to be exact) cool finds. WM can be expensive and I’m sure you can find equally “unique” things elsewhere, but it’s nice to go there for inspiration. 🙂
Also, I miss Creative Writing.
When I was in middle school, I would always sit down with my sister in the afternoon and watch If Walls Could Talk on HGTV which unfortunately does not exist anymore.  It was a show where they featured finding old treasures in historical houses. I mention this because most of the houses they showed were of Victorian architecture. I was really intrigued by it because, having lived in another country previously, I had never seen the style. Ever since, I’ve grown to love the Victorian style because of its history and the architectural details. It’s so timeless and classic that the it will never go out of style. A lot of Victorian homes here in San Jose or San Francisco withstand time and some are modernized by the current ways of designing and decorating.
I briefly described what the Victorian style is on a previous post:
The Victorian style of the 19th century and early 20th century is also still popular to this day. In the United Kingdom, Victorian houses are defined as those built during the reign of Queen Anne. Victorian Style houses in England were usually built with bricks. The Victorian style is also characterized by the use of wallpaper, furniture from different eras, and separated rooms as opposed to an open-style house. Here in the Bay Area, many historical homes are designed based on the Victorian style. You can definitely spot one just by walking around downtown San Jose!
In addition, this style involves a lot of woodwork like moldings on the ceilings and walls, detailed staircases, carved arches, etc. The furniture from that era were also ornate and were mostly made of oak, mahogany, teak, walnut, or rosewood. Excessive use of patterns like with wallpapers and fabrics also characterizes the Victorian style. Here are some pictures that represent the style:
The History Park here in San Jose also displays some houses that are of Victorian architecture. A couple friends and I went there last Christmas and we enjoyed going back in time, seeing how it was like a century ago. It really felt like I went back in time because the “street signs” were designed like how they were years and years ago and all the houses were old. They even had a gas station from 1922. The park was empty though when we went but I think they hold some events there sometimes. We also weren’t able to go in the houses; I’m not sure if they ever allow it. Here are the pictures we took when we went:
Sorry for the glare, but we could only see the interior of this house from outside! Notice the Victorian features, the molding, the furniture, the details on the flooring.
This following picture is the old gas station I mentioned earlier!
And here it was back in 1922!
And lastly, since we all go to SJSU which is in downtown, here’s a picture of South First Street in 1960!
If you’re interested in more historical pictures of San Jose and the History Park, you can visit their Facebook page and their website. Consider visiting their sites or the park one day! It’s really cool seeing how people lived in that era. 🙂
This entry doesn’t directly pertain to interior design, but I thought it would be fun to post home-related gift ideas as Christmas is in roughly two weeks. Although I love personalized, homemade gifts, sometimes we just don’t have the time to do that especially with school ending just a few days before Christmas. Or maybe  you’re one of those people who do everything in the last minute and you have no idea what to give someone, then I hope the following items might help spark some ideas.
VOYAGES OVER EDINBURGH // $18.00 – $54.00
THE BROSHIP OF THE RING // $15.60 – $52.00
LET’S ALL GO AND HAVE BREAKFAST // $16.00 – $40.00
SCOOBY DOO MUG // $10.00 // Urban Outfitters
BEATLES: ABBEY ROAD MUG // $9.99 // Target
VILMIE RUND THROW // $14.99 // IKEA
ROYAL VELVET COTTON CABLE KNIT THROW //$40.00 // JCPenney
ELEPHANT BANK // $18.00 // Urban Outfitters
LEO THE OWL BANK // $12.00 // Urban Outfitters
Does that name ring a bell? If it does, it’s probably because you’ve perused   the home section at Target and saw the name Thomas O’Brien stamped on many home décor products. I found out about O’Brien as I was looking through a slideshow on ELLE Décor and stumbled upon an image of his work and thought “that name really, really sounds familiar.” I did more research on (or better known as Googling) “Thomas O’Brien” and there popped the first link to the Target website displaying his products. I did further research as I was thrilled to have heard of him before, and it did not take long for me to fall in love with his designs.
Thomas O’Brien, who was born in 1961, is a New York- based interior designer who founded the design firm Aero Studios back in 1992. He studied painting and photography and received his BFA from The Cooper Union. Others have known him as a designer who reinvented modernism by mixing it with classical styles. His designs are truly a mix between traditional and modern as he always mixes eclectic pieces with classic antiques using neutral and muted palettes against airy backdrops. His designs are timeless, inviting and comfortable yet still very luxurious. When designing, he likes to incorporate unique, personal finds that tell a person’s story which act as powerful, design pieces as well.
The Thomas O’Brien brand offers home furnishings ranging from lighting, textiles, carpets, bedding, and bath collections. Back in 2010, he published his first book, American Modern. His work has also been featured in various publications such as Elle DĂ©cor, The New York Times, Architectural Digest, House Beautiful.
Sources:
We used to have a subscription to the magazine House Beautiful about three to four years ago and I would see more of the traditional and contemporary designs more often. The Scandinavian style, however, has made a comeback in the more recent years and has become popular again especially in Europe since I always see this style on the British/European beauty and lifestyle blogs I follow.  The furniture & home decor company, IKEA, has become more recognized as well.
The Scandinavian style flourished in the 1950s in Denmark, Norway, Sweden (the Scandinavian countries), and Finland, and is characterized by minimalism and function. The idea is to design only with the daily essentials and not a lot of unnecessary decor. Another concept of this design is that beautiful, everyday things should not only be accessible to those who can afford them, but for others as well.  The availability of low-cost materials like form-pressed wood, steel, plastics, etc. also influenced this design movement.
Furthermore, people used this approach because it would usually be dark and gloomy in these European countries and this design allowed for an airier feel in their homes, creating illusions of more space and brightness with the use of neutral (mostly white) colors.  The furniture is simple and streamlined, some with curved edges. Tables and chairs usually have skinny legs. The fabrics and accessories used are minimal as well, often made with natural materials. If you’re not getting the gist of this style yet, feel free to visit the IKEA website. (Seriously). But here are some more (a-ma-zing) images that represent this style:
This one’s got a bit more color! 🙂
Sources:
I’m sure at least one of you lives in a dorm or an apartment during the school year and you’re probably stuck with white walls and plain features. I don’t know how much you enjoy getting creative with your space, but I’d like for my dorm or apartment to feel like home as much as possible, even though I’d only be living there for a few months. You might think, “Eh, that’s too much work.” But if you’re like me who likes to have the perfect setting to read a book or draw or do your homework, then sprucing up your dorm room could be really fun. Having a nice, organized, cohesive space can uplift your mood and maybe even help with studying. Besides, there are endless ways on how you can design your room without breaking the bank (or your walls). Here are some ideas:
1. Frames are your best friend.
This concept is rather simple and self-explanatory. Basically, go crazy with the frames on your walls! They will instantly look like you’ve spent a lot of time on designing your room, when it’s really pretty easy.  Plus, you can find them anywhere from IKEA to TJ Maxx, maybe even a dollar store. You can mix up the positions of the frames or the frames themselves. There are also templates available online if you’re not sure how to arrange them. Another tip is to use scrapbook paper to put in the frames instead of personal or printed pictures. Here are some pictures for inspiration:
2. Instagram Your Wall! Say what?
Instagram pictures have been slightly taking over not only on networking sites, but even on people’s walls, as weird as that sounds. If you’ve never heard of Instagram before, it’s a smart phone app where you can share pictures and play around with filters to make them look more interesting. Anyway, there’s a website called Printstagram where you can have them print out your own pictures and even your “liked” pictures. They end up looking like Polaroid pictures for which the film could be rather pricey. They also make them into posters, stickers, mini books, etc. I’ve been seeing a lot of it on Pinterest and other blogs and I think it’s a cool and easy way to instantly personalize your space.
3. Fabricate Your Walls
This one’s another easy way you can embellish your space. The simple steps are: purchase any fabric of your choice (maybe even use an old curtain or bed sheet), purchase different sizes of canvases, and staple the fabric to the canvas! It’s really super easy, but it looks unique especially if you’ve snatched a piece of fabric with an awesome print!
4. Baking with Sharpie
Ok, this last idea here probably wouldn’t even make that much of a difference to your dorms, but I just have to share it. What you can do is to buy ceramic cups, mugs, vases, or plates, draw or write anything on them with a Sharpie, and bake them in the oven for thirty minutes at 350. You can design cups with different colored Sharpies, maybe draw on a chevron print or polka dots, then use them to store your school supplies. Since you can customize them, they can also make for great presents.
The last tip I can give is to basically organize and play around with your accessories. This post actually ties in to my very first one about white walls where I suggested switching around your pillows, your bedding or your curtains to easily add some color to your space. You can wind string lights around your window or bed frame for some whimsy or get a big, colorful rug. They also don’t have to be expensive because there are a lot of cheap choices you can find at various stores. For the sake of time and the length of this post, I’ve only suggested a few ways to spice up your spaces, but there are hundreds of easy, surefire ways to spruce up your dorm or apartment!
Is it too late to talk about Halloween or autumn-related stuff? Halloween did already pass, but considering the weather is still quite autumnal here in California, I’d like to share with you some do-it-yourself projects for sprucing up your spaces in fall.
My family and I have never been the kind to decorate during Halloween or autumn, although my mom busts out her homemade wreath during Christmas. I grew up in the Philippines where Halloween wasn’t a big thing. Kids never really went trick or treating, unless there’s a party or you’re in a nicer neighborhood. When we moved here back in 2004, I went trick or treating for the first time and I was pretty excited to see all the decorated houses we saw. Since then, I’ve always thought it’s quite fun to get all festive and decorate as the seasons change. Plus, I just really love autumn with the changing leaves, the cooler weather, the crisp air, Thanksgiving and pumpkin pie. So, if you’re someone who really gets into the spirit of Halloween or fall, keep reading for these DIY ideas. Take note that I’ve never tried these before, but I thought they were fun and easy enough to do someday!
1. Metallic Pumpkins: This one is pretty easy, but probably very time-consuming. You basically get boxes and boxes of thumbtacks and then stick them into the pumpkins. Yep, that’s it. I thought these looked really cool because they’re eye-catching with the metallic gold thumbtacks. It’s also inexpensive as you can probably find thumbtacks at the dollar store.
2. Chevron Pumpkins: For this project, you can get creative with the patterns or drawings since you can basically paint on whatever you like. You can also choose the colors that complement the rest of your space. I love this chevron pattern because it’s different and modern, also quite chicer than just orange pumpkins lying around. The captions on the pictures state the simple directions.
First, tape the pumpkin with a zigzag pattern.
You can use a brush or spray paint to paint the pumpkin. Once it dries, peel off the tape.
Here’s the finished pumpkin!
3. Branch Candles:Â I think candles are very much appropriate for this season. The dim lighting and the different autumn candle scents you can get contribute to that warm and cozy ambiance that I get into during fall. For this project, you can purchase inexpensive glass containers or vases, maybe even from the dollar store where I saw some once or thrift shops. You can use fallen twigs and branches and craft glue to attach them to the glass containers.
4. Felt Acorns:Â These are adorable! Like the blogger has mentioned, you can try making these if you have oak trees in your yard or if you just know where the heck to get acorns. You do have to pick them up and then clean them so this project isn’t the easiest to do. I’ve put the instructions in the captions again. It’s much easier to follow through that way. (:
After cleaning the acorns, snap off the acorn caps.
Then, with felted wool or any fabric really, cut a circle and some scraps for the stuffing that goes in that circle.
Put some hot glue onto the inside of the cap. Fill in that circle with the stuffing and gather it up to make a little ball. Attach it to the glued cap.
Here’s what the finished project should look like! I think they’re adorable! You can make a garland with them or put it in a decorative jar or even scatter some around your coffee table. (:
There you have it! Like I mentioned, you can try out these ideas if you love doing DIYs or getting festive during fall or Halloween. Also, If you have kids or siblings or cousins, with supervision (as the thumbtacks and the hot glue can be dangerous), you can involve them in doing these fun projects.
Have a good one!
I’m sure many of you have heard of The Sims which is a game where you can create a Sim/person and control his or her life. (Doesn’t that sound fun already)? You can choose how they look like, their clothes, their houses, relationship status, personalities, family members, etc. You basically run everything in a town. Let me tell you, I freaking love The Sims. I’ve been playing it probably before I was even a teenager. Unfortunately, I kind of had to stop playing it, maybe two years ago, because my desktop computer just couldn’t handle it anymore and it would always crash. Anyway, I just love how this game allows you to create a Sim with whatever lifestyle you want it to have. You can choose for your Sim to be a hardworking, middleclass citizen or a spoiled, wealthy bachelor. They even come out with expansion packs like Seasons where the seasons change and Pets where you can have pets like dogs, cats, and even horses. It’s pretty awesome and if you haven’t played it before, you should definitely try it one day!
You might be wondering, what the heck does this game have to do with interior design? Well, the one thing I really, really love about the game is the ability to build and decorate a home. In the first game, The Sims which launched around 2000, the building and decorating options were limited to mismatched, dated furniture and slightly tacky wallpaper. But for the more recently launched games, The Sims 2 and 3, decorating homes became much more fun and complex. Just like your characters’ lifestyles, you can design a house any way you like: modern, traditional, gothic, an apartment, a loft, a craftsman, whatever. For someone who loves interior design, this game could be like the epitome of all games and so much more. (I know, I’m kind of exaggerating).
Anyway, here is a video from Chrillsims3 on YouTube. He uploads videos of how he creates amazing and impeccable houses with The Sims 3. If you really want to get the gist of how complex building a house can be, you can watch the whole video. If you just want to see the overview of the finished project, then fast forward to about 4:58 into the video!
Here is another example from The Curtis Paradis Show, another YouTuber. Like the previous video, you can fast forward to 10:13 to see the screenshots of the “condominium” he designed.
Aren’t they flipping amazing?! The night I found out about these YouTubers, I could not resist watching their other videos that I literally delayed doing my homework. Yeah, don’t follow my footsteps. Anyway, I hope you all found that interesting. Check out their YouTube channels for more if you’d like and if you have a chance, try out The Sims as well!
Welcome Home 