I sat quietly in my new condo thinking about how stupid I was. It was late 2017. I had just moved into a modern condo in Reston Town Center. I really liked the place. It is a two bedroom condo with a view of the town center. The problem was I did not have enough furniture for my new place. I sat in the empty living room on an outdoor chair with a red cooler serving as the coffee table wondering how long it would take me to convert it into a place I could call home.
Three reasons I did not own much furniture
The fact that I did not own much furniture was not shocking. There were three reasons.
- The divorce – your mother ended up with most of our family belongings after the divorce. I walked away with the furniture that was in the basement and my office and not much more. I was never mad about giving away the rest. I did not like most of it – not my style. Plus your mother and you boys needed it much more than I did.
- The breakup – when I moved in with my old girlfriend a few years later I gave away most of the furniture I owned. Simply put – there was no room for it. My first mistake was combining households with her. My second error in judgment was getting rid of my furniture. I did not know that I would need it less than a year later when I moved out.
- My personal philosophy – after the divorce I decided that I would never own a lot of stuff again. I was inspired by Tim Ferriss’ interview with Marie Kondo. She is the hugely popular queen of less is better. I have tried to stay true to this philosophy without becoming a hermit or weird hippy.
“Keep only those things that speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest. By doing this, you can reset your life and embark on a new lifestyle.”
Marie Kondō, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
I owned three items that brought me joy
Although the condo was
- Mid-century media cabinet. I own a large screen television and an old stereo system. Both fit nicely in the mid-century media cabinet that I purchased from West Elm.
- Mid-century bookcase. I used to own a lot of books. I decided to greatly reduce my collection after the divorce. I love books, but they take up a lot of room and are heavy as hell to move. This bookcase is small and fits well in my bedroom.
- Mid-century bar cart. This piece of furniture is the first item I ever bought from West Elm. GQ magazine recommended this bar cart for bachelors. I can see why – it is awesome. In my last condo, it was my nightstand. Nowadays, I use it for mementos and my humidor.
West Elm mid-century furniture is my taste
In case you did not notice I like mid-century furniture. It has a clean, modern, and warm look. I prefer the West End brand, but their furniture can be expensive. I only buy from them when the items I want are on sale. This approach also allowed me to stagger purchases across multiple months rather than buy everything at once. I prefer to avoid financial debt whenever possible.
Started the process by taking the first step
By early 2018 I had not done much with the condo. Work was busy. I set a goal of making the new condo my home by the end of the year. I planned to buy new furniture as resources became available. No desire to go into debt for new furniture. None the less I wanted to get the ball rolling. I decided to buy a couch and coffee table on two discount furniture websites: wayfair.com and hayneedle.com. I was pleased with both purchases. I finally could put the outdoor chairs and cooler on the patio where they belonged.
I purchase West Elm furniture items at discount prices only
I noticed the quality of the couch and table did not match my West Elm furniture. Neither was cheap, but I could tell they were inferior quality. Owning less high-quality items made better sense to me than buying more cheap furniture. Therefore, my intent moving forward was to purchase more West Elm mid-century furniture. But, it had to be on sale, preferably with free shipping. As a result, I bought my living room chair when it was heavily discounted. This might sound weird – I did not get the ottoman because it was expensive. I still don’t own one.
The dining room was my next step
I bought dining room furniture and a rug with my tax return. West Elm discontinued one of their dining room sets so I was able to buy a table and chairs at a huge discount. The color was not a great match (darker wood) with my other furniture. I did not care given the price. I bought a bold patterned rug. I saw
The third step was my master bedroom
I knew my bedroom needed a complete overhaul. The bed was cheap, the mattress old, the walls empty, and none of the furniture matched. I waited until I received my annual bonus last summer before taking the third step. It was a big one. It was well worth the wait. I am really pleased with the new look. It feels like a haven and reflects several of my loves.
New furniture, mattress, mirror, and bolder color
I purchased several West Elm mid-century items on sale from the web site to include a new bed, nightstand, dresser, and mirror. I also bought a new mattress. Nowadays there are several online companies to choose from. I went with Nectar – great price and quality. Lastly, I changed the color scheme for my bedroom. It used to be gray – one of my favorite colors. It seemed rather boring and plain. Blue with a little texture looks much better.
I prefer personalized photos to art
I purchased several personalized photos from a company called Canvas on the Cheap. They convert your photos to larger canvas quality pictures for decorating. There are several companies that perform this service – Canvas on the Cheap is the one I use. I like their quality and speedy delivery. They offer great discount prices. I would never pay their advertised prices. To date, I have purchased about a dozen canvas prints from them. I love all of them. When people visit, they usually comment on how great the photos look. Of course, it helps that my girlfriend takes the best pictures when we are traveling.
Automated picture frames are awesome
Another item I bought for decorating my condo is an automated picture frame. Actually, I own two – one for my bedroom, the other one is in my living room. I bought the most popular model on Amazon. They are much easier to deal with than normal picture frames. Nothing to hang on the wall. You simply load your photos onto the device and then the frame scrolls through the pictures one at a time. The frame in my living room has close to 500 pictures from my many trips to Europe. Sometimes at night, I will watch the pictures scroll for a few minutes before going to bed. Fond memories of past adventures.
European capital city prints decorate my walls
Another item I purchased for decorations is prints of European capital cities that I visited. I own two so far – one of Paris, one of Amsterdam. I visited these capitals the past two summers. Both are wonderful. I bought these prints from a company called Jace.design. It is a small company whose products continue to mature. Nowadays they offer several options and layouts. I really like the one from Amsterdam. It shows the unique design of this important European Capital city.
Not everything I bought worked out
I have to confess that I ended up not liking the Jace Design print of Paris that I bought. It was not the company’s fault – it was mine. The price and quality were both fine. Jace provides an online tool that allows the user to create a personalized version of the print. For example, you can move the map around, change the orientation, and color scheme. In my case, I went a little crazy with the zoom function and focused too much on the historical center of the city. Paris offers much more than that small area. They shipped what I created. When I hung it on the wall I could tell right away the mistake. It costs me about $50, so I kept the print. It now hangs in my home office. A reminder that it is okay to experiment and make mistakes.
Don’t be afraid of reflecting yourself at home
One principal that helped guide my decorating decisions was that I want my home to reflect me, not someone else. With that thought in mind I added beer decorations. Nothing sleazy like a sexist beer advertising poster. Instead I created collages with my beer coaster collection. These coasters reflect several of my adventures across Europe. I also added a poster of European breweries. Riley and I saw this poster when we were eating at a restaurant in DC years ago. It is one of my favorite decorations in my condo.
Nowadays I enjoy spending time in my home
It took a full year. My new condo is finally home. I really enjoy spending time there. No longer does it feel like an empty shell. Every room is fully furnished, and most the walls are decorated. I still have some room for more, but I am trying not to get carried away. If you are in the Reston area and want to drink a beer with a nice view of the Town Center, let me know. Prost.