The Mindy Project - Make it Your Own

The other day I posted about The Mindy Project and my obsession with her apartment. Several days later, I still can't stop thinking about it so I decided to post a inspiration board for how you can add Mindy-esque design to our abode.

If you remember from my last post, Mindy has beautiful grey walls and white picture frame molding all throughout her apartment. It's an elegant and sophisticated choice that I absolutely love and gives architecture to the space. On it's own, the molding and color might seem like a traditional choice but with a neutral background she can play with prints and colors to make her apartment feel youthful...

Geesh, I'm talking about her apartment like she designed it herself. lol. I almost wish she was a real person so I could drop by her apartment to hang out once in awhile...you know, because she's a cool person...not because of her stunning décor or anything...

//1. Mindy has a lot of graphic art throughout her apartment. With her gray and traditional walls, the splash of color from these graphic prints makes her apartment feel youthful and hip. (Coco & Hearts, Away we go, Inaluxe)  

 

// 2. This lamp adds an architectural element to any room. And with a white lamp shade it looks modern and industrial.

 

// 3. I love how she repeated the color turquoise throughout her apartment in big splashes of color like this console and the chandelier in her dining area. I always love when consoles or buffets like this are used to house tv equipment instead of a made for your television TV stand. This is an easy area to add color to your home through a DIY project. Just grab some paint and an old craiglist find console and you'll have instant chic in your home.

 

// 4. Mindy has accents of orange all around her apartment. This coral/orange chevron pillow from etsy is both affordable and cute. 

 

// 5. I loved the look of a carved dresser. I can't remember where I found the one pictured but I like this one from Home Decorators as well. It adds another layer of texture and visual interest to the room without adding another bright color.

 

// 6. I searched around for the perfect shad of orange and this fabric was the closest I could find. I'm still on the hunt for the perfect shade that's in her apartment! (Here's another option)

 

// 7. Dwell Studio sells some great fabric that you can get through several different fabric companies. Upholstering a chair in this modern cheerful fabric updates the look of an old chair completely.

 

// 8. People all over the world lust after Murano glass chandeliers. They're highly coveted and have a price tag to match. If you can make the splurge, I say go for it. But if not try this chandelier from Z-galleries or even spray paint a thrift find a bold turquoise.



A lot of Crushing...

I have the biggest most giant crush on this little nook area from Loony. Anyone have an idea where that desk is from? I'm absolutely head over heels for it. Usually I can pinpoint what I love about every picture of interiors that I look at, but this one...I love it all. Everything! From the desk to the French bistro chair to the round wooden pencil holder to the painted out trim and black walls...I mean, I'd even take the computer. lol.

An Invisible Thread

Just as I told you all I would, I buried myself in a book this weekend again. That is, in-between watching episodes of Say Yes to the Dress and Four Weddings... :) Despite what you saw in my own little Book Nook the other day, my taste in books usually follows the same fashion as my taste in TV shows. Yes, I'm admitting it, I still peruse through the teen fiction section. I can't help it! There's so many good books written for teens! Just look at the trend of movies these days. Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, the up and coming Mortal Instrument Movie, and...Twilight (yes I loved the books, and yes I realize they are terribly written and movies were even worse, but they still had a big following, so hey, why not add them to the list?)

But there's times when I reflect on books I read like, ahem, the last embarrassing one I mentioned..., and I realize maybe I need to delve into the adult world of literature a little more often. There's so many good books out there that I might never read, so maybe I need to get out of my comfort zone and enjoy something a little more...sophisticated?

This weekend I read An Invisible Thread. I saw New York Times Bestseller and decided that means it has to be good, right? That's pretty much how I go about finding adult books to read. If it's on some "list" it's added to my basket. Probably not the best way to go about picking out books but I can't help it that I'm more drawn to anything with a complicated romance than an adult self discovery novel. This weekend reminded me to get out of my comfort zone a little more often because this book really made me think when I finished.

Has anyone every seen It's a Wonderful Life? This book reminded me a lot of it. It's one of my favorite Christmas movies and I've always been fascinated by the concept in the movie. What would the world be like if we were never born? We don't realize the impact we have on those around us. Not just our family and friends, but the people who we by chance come in contact with everyday. Maybe it's as little as a smile you gave someone or a compliment to stranger on the metro. An insignificant moment in the span of time that could have changed someone's life. And like that movie, An Invisible Thread reminded me how one seemingly insignificant decision at the time, can turn into all the significance in the world. The main character watched as a quick, unplanned decision changed her entire life and that of a young boy whom she passed on the street.

Inspirational. That's the one word I'd used to describe An Invisible Thread. A relatively quick read, but worth the time it takes to read. The dogs are telling me it's time for attention and food so I better post this quickly. But I hope you all had as much of an inspiring weekend as I did. :)

 



Book Nook

This weekend is another weekend I've decided to disappear into my books. I think there's nothing that I love more, possession wise, than my books. Every allowance I received until the age of 16 went towards building my own library as a kid. There were only two things I dreamt about for my future home someday - an entire room dedicated to my library, and a piano. Perhaps both would be in the same room, I didn't care. But I loved the idea of being surrounded by my books.



 

Where we live right now there's not a lot of space for my beloved books (let alone space for anything else.) We have a single bookshelf pushed in the corner of our bedroom that was completely filled the day we moved in. Now I have books in the trunk of my car and in piles on my floor, which definitely makes vacuuming and walking a little more difficult.

 

With most of my books lacking a real home, I decided to make my own little library area on my dresser for my favorite books. I face towards it every time I'm in bed and there's something really comforting and inspiring about seeing my favorites lined up next to each other each and every morning. Actually a few of those books are my fiancées favorites too. And, disclaimer... there may be two books that are in there purely because they look pretty... Oops? But hey, visual inspiration is important too!

 

I think I've talked about this before but when we move downstairs in a few months, we're changing the dining room into a library. I'm going to have glorious book shelves. No more books in my trunk! I've got enough junk in the trunk as it is, if you know what I mean. But literally, in my trunk. It's my second home back there...

So of course I've been scouring Pinterest for design inspiration for my soon to be favorite room. What would I do without Pinterest? Googling "library" doesn't exactly give you the best design ideas. Believe me, I tried. Now check out these goodies I've found. Pretty stunning right? I think I'd be happy with any one of them. Not picky at all, right? :)





The Mindy Project

I was out with friends the other night and one of them started talking about The Mindy Project. If you haven't seen it yet you definitely should hop on board. It's hilarious. And there may or may not be a part of me that wants to track down the apartment they film out and carefully document every aspect of it. I guess pictures will have to suffice for now!

I have images from two separate episodes filmed in Mindy's abode. So if you actually watch the show you might notice a bit of an inconsistency, but I wanted to make sure I got as many pictures as possible!

How awesome is the color of her front door? I love that there's two "landing" areas when you come into her apartment. The small gold and glass table the right of the door and the bigger console to the left.

 

I love that they put a Katana in her apartment. If you watch the show at all you know that Mindy is completely bizarre individual and I doubt that she even knows what it is. Heck, I had to ask my fiancée what the actual name was of the sword. lol.

 

I know that a lot of designers I follow, namely Nate Berkus, are super opposed to accent walls. But I love that the area by the staircase is painted a similar shade to the door. I love that it adds a punch of color to the space. And how about that lamp? So cool and a stunning architectural element. And the staircase, oh the staircase! I love that each step has books on it. Not sure how functional that is, but hey, it sure looks pretty!

 

I love all the vignettes around this apartment. A bar cart or area for alcohol is always appreciated when you throw a party. And I love the Asian influence this vignette adds to the space.

 

 

I also really love the idea of creating a reading corner with built in bookshelves. It takes up only a small part of the room but still makes a cozy area to curl up with a book.

 

There's so many colors in this apartment but I like how grounding the wall color is with the white molding. The molding makes the space look so elegant and would look quite traditional on its own, but with the contrast of bright colors (like that awesome blue chandelier), the space is revived to look light, bright, and young.

 

 

 

Check out those chairs covered in Dwell Studio fabric. The bright happy color of the fabric paired with the neutral blue rug looks stunning.

 

 

 

 

Does anyone know where this dresser is form behind her head? I love the texture and depth of it!

 

 

 

 

 

I think it would drive me nuts having that much stuff on the counter but at the same time I really kind of appreciate it. There's seems to be some sort of organization to it all and an air of carefreeness with the glass cabinets.

 

 

And what apartment tour would be complete without a view of the closet? The wall sconces and other lighting in her closet makes it look like a real room (which it is)!

 

 

Hope you guys enjoy this little tour of Mindy's apartment. If you don't watch the show I hope this inspired you to watch it at least for the interior design. Lol. :)

The Fan Plan

This past weekend we went back home to get some wedding planning done while Brennan had a free day or two. I pulled the trigger and got my wedding dress! Yay!! So darn excited. :) I think it's going to be perfect for our wedding. Do you know how hard it is to find a dress that doesn't have a princess skirt in the South? I mean seriously, I can't be the only person who doesn't want tulle in their dress? So big spoiler, there's no tulle in my dress! Lol.

 

So in lieu of our weekend of wedding decisions, I've been checking out bhldn.com for wedding inspiration. If I could, I'd buy everything in that store. But the prices for some of their items seems a little ridiculous. And call it the DIYer in me, but I have this notion in my head that I can make everything...

I saw these crinkle fans that would be great for an outdoor wedding, which is coincidentally... what I am having. Granted, my wedding is in November, but it's also the south...so sadly it could be a steamy day. The ones on the bhldn website are $20 for 10. It doesn't seem astronomically expensive but if you have 150 guests, that's $300. And I don't know about you but I'd much rather spend that $300 on something else.

 

Supplies

-paper

-scissors

-some sort of string ( I used bakers twine)

-sewing needle

-popsicle sticks

-small hole puncher (optional)

 

I'm apologizing in advance for my backdrop. As soon as I found the fan on bhldn, I grabbed the supplies that were closest to me, and that included Brennan's Gross Anatomy book. That's what happens when you need a sold surface while doing crafts in bed... But probably not the best background for these pictures... Also, ignore my kiddy scissors... Once again, not a well thought out project...

 

 

The first step of course is to fold your piece of paper like a fan. I think most of us mastered that skill in Kindergarten, so we should all be pretty set there. :)

 Hotdog and Hamburger style both work! lol.

 

 

Cut off any excess paper (with your normal sized scissors...)

 

 

Depending on how big or small you want your fan to be (the one by bhldn is 4", which is probably a good size to go with), you may be able to cut your paper fan in half (pictures below). I made mine about 7 inches but I definitely recommend a smaller size.

 

 

 

Once you've cut your paper to the desired size and your piece of paper is all folded up, you're going to want to cut the top so it's rounded, like in the image below. I also cut out two triangular shapes a third of the way down. This step is completely customizable and up to you depending on how you want your fan to look once it's unfolded. This is also the step you want to make sure you're using sharp and non kiddie sized scissors for. Otherwise it can be difficult to cut through so many layers of paper.

 

 

Since I made my fan folds smaller and longer (7") than the bhldn version, I had to attach a couple different piece of paper together using double sided tape to make sure my fan would open up into a circle. The double sided tape is completely unnoticeable, but glue might also be a good option.

 

 

This is the point where I had to do a little revising of my fan plan. At this point, my semblance of a fan was flopping around and no use at all. I needed to add some sort of stability to the bottom of the fan. By punching a hole in the bottom of each fold and stringing some bakers twine through, it gathers everything together and creates a solid base so you can actually move the fan back in forth without it caving in.

 

I used some sort of jewelry making/bead thing-a-ma-jig to stab holes into each part of my fold. A hole punch would probably be a better choice but like I said, I didn't think this project out too much...lol. No runs to the store for me!

 

I used a needle and bakers twine to string together the fan and I tied off both ends with a knot. I think the twine that you use would be a really great place to add your wedding colors or just use white to blend in with the fan. My wedding colors are not red and white but once again the bakers twine was easy and accessible :)

 

 

 

Next I glued a popsicle stick to each end. You've got to have something to hold on to! I actually ended overlapping two popsicle sticks on each side because I didn't have any in my craft pile long enough for what I wanted. Once again...if you cut your fans 4" it's a lot easier to find popsicle stick the size your need. (Sorry, I feel like that's my mantra for this entire tutorial...)

 

The absolute very last thing I did was punch a hole in the bottom of each of the popsicle sticks and thread some bakers twin through. I knotted each side so I could tie the sticks together to hold the fan open.

 

I asked my fiancée to model the final product for me and this is what he gave me...

It's a pretty attractive pose, don't you think? Leg on the table and all. We're a sexy duo. Lol.

 

 

It's a pretty easy tutorial and a lot more cost effective than buying them from bhldn. I think I'm going to remake them in the 4" size and update the tutorial for you guys just so you can see the smaller size.

 

Right now it's still up in the air whether I'll be using these in my wedding. I'm hoping the weather will cooperate and it will be a beautiful 75 degrees day. :) Fingers perpetually crossed and knocking on wood constantly for the next 10 months!