Aunt Becky ala Ikea

Much as I hate to admit it- I have turned into Aunt Becky- taking over the "Penthouse" I struggled with what to do with my loft space. I really wanted a TV free space as I love reading- I love books and magazines and my kindle is never far from my grasp. plus I wanted a place to play with my nephew that was cheerful and sunny and  with the best view in the house, this seemed like the perfect space.
I was so excited for my sofa to come- a wonderfully cozy sofa that might as well be a bed...except when it was delivered it wouldn't fit through the front door! so needless to say there was no way it was going to get up to the top floor if it couldn't make it through the front door. Epic failure for a girl who believes in measure twice, cut once.

So I had to re-group in a major way and thank goodness for fairy god-mothers and mothers! My wonderful fairy-god-mother/aunt was downsizing, well actually upsizing but with lower ceiling so she bestowed a painting on me from her fabulous collection that I have long coveted and so I finally had a new starting point! And with a hand-me down sofa from mom and a trip to Ikea it finally came together.

a row of climbing moonflowers creates (or will create until it is warm enough to put on my balcony) a bit of a privacy screen to the open loft area.

Did I mention I love books? I sacrificed a few to create floating shelves to help set the tone of the room and using the books as pops of color- as if the electric blue isn't enough color!

With such intense wall color I limited it to two walls and used crisp clean white on the rest- yes white, not builder beige. and kept things as white as I could- fashioning a slipcover out of ikea bedding to cover up the lovely pattern that was on the sofa.

the painting that started it all- the blue was pulled from the painting- and I love it- my aunt had it against red and it looked amazing but I wanted something cheery and fresh so blue it was!

I always need a few pretty things- some sparkles to catch the light

One of my most exciting purchases in a long time... these litte LED reading lights from Ikea- and you know I am a huge lighting snob!- these suckers are bright! and they are so tiny and non-descript that they are perfect for anywhere- I serioulsy can't believe I am endorsing lighting from ikea but they are amazingly bright and great color!

Second favorite ikea purchase..the Ludvig shelf- the front flips up to hide all the computer gear and the wires feed up through the bottom and there is a hole on the top too- for the lamp and phone to plug in. Yes another I love ikea moment- seriously hate computer components so this shelf is nothing short of sheer genius!

But the best accessory of all I could never buy at Ikea...

clearly my book choice was stellar! nothing puts him to sleep faster than The Giving Tree!