Happy Friday everyone. Here is to the start of a pretty awesome few weeks. I love July 4th holiday and all that comes with it. A little less work and a lot more fun in the sun. Having said that, I've been trying to prepare my little condo for guests over the holiday weekend and as I do I've been taking photos to see whats missing. I guess its like my second eye, showing me whats missing. Here are a few pics from around my abode...

I'm loving my living room. I've always wanted a black sofa, and now I have one. It's IKEA Kivik sofa series in black. It's comfortable & so modern looking. It also makes for the perfect guest bed when pillows are off, just like a twin bed. Which is so needed as guests are always crashing here. I also love my vintage art pieces that I painted over, they are so personal and just make me smile. oh, and of course. my favorite tall brass lamp.

Clearly I'm ready to get some drapes up. I love all the natural light coming in so I'm thinking of some breezy white curtains to finish off the look. Also, my favorite door from my Doors of New York series print is up and I love it.

I'm so in love with my new brass triple globe floor lamp. It really puts a finishing touch on the space. I always say lighting is like the jewelry of the room and this light is really outstanding!

Right now, I'm happiest because I love my new little plant, fiddle leaf fig tree. I found this white with black trim bamboo plant holder and it was so chic I had to have it and get a little greenery into my domain. It completely brightens up this place. Hoping I can just keep her alive.

I love my tv area. It's all so black and glossy. TV is not anything special obviously but everything around is so good, it doesn't bother me. However, I do loathe wires. Why do they have to exist? or why can't I just be a photoshop genius and know how to get rid of them?

HAPPY FEET! Thanks for touring my living room with me. Enjoy the weekend y'all!

all images by ashlina.

Happy Monday everyone. It's finally a regular full week again and I'm feeling ready to make some serious moves. Remember when I posted my latest obsession with Ikea hacks. Well, after much research I sent out to Ikea to do one for myself. My new entryway was pretty boring, I found the large black & gold mirror and I knew I wanted to create a vignette around it. So, I thought console table for sure. I took this Ikea Kallax piece (formerly the expedit series), and decided to just use a few pieces of it and create a console table.

The other tables that I have seen hacks of like the malm but I wanted a totally simple piece, no drawers and I needed it very wide to fit the wall. I also needed something with enough space to throw mail, keys, bags, etc. Above you can it in all of its 'ikea white' glory but I wanted to give it some texture and some sweet luxury swagger. So, I checked out the temporary wallpaper collection at Target, and I went with a light gray weave one.

It was pretty easy to just peel and stick right on and then trim off the edges. There are a few bubbles and rough edges but for the most part the pattern camouflages those blemishes. Since my walls are stark white and I have a lot of gold and black, I really felt that this textured gray really added some dimension to the entryway, without competing too much with what was already going on.

Pardon the mess on my countertop but I wanted you guys to get the full photo so you could see I played around with lamp options. I love my crystal lamps with white shade, I felt that would be soft and light. I also love my golden greek style lamps with black leather shades and they would add a richness to the whole look. Thanks to all the awesome Instagram feedback, I went for the gold.

Now my entryway looks more fresh and finished and I just need the style the bottom. I love my gold oyster shell and Ill probably throw some books down there too. I'm feeling so accomplished now this morning. Off to attack the rest of my day!

images by ashlina