Last fall, our house sustained water damage in multiple places due to contractors' negligence. As a result, we went through the lengthy process of dealing with insurance, repairs, and living like guests in our own home. In the midst of all this, I suddenly had the AHA! moment of all aha moments. Since our closet was already cleared out and waiting to be painted, we just need to remove the existing wire shelves then we'd have a blank slate for a closet makeover. If there was a time for such a project, this.was.it.

In our household, DH gives me free rein on design decisions, but says he has veto power, lol. I was fully prepared to present my case, but surprisingly he didn't think a closet makeover was a harebrained idea at all. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.


I was pretty much set on the IKEA Pax wardrobe system for a few reasons: 1) Best value for a semi-custom look (we spent $1,000 whereas a complete custom closet will have cost us $3,000+), 2) Rave reviews from a friend about her Pax closet, 3) Had everything on my wishlist (doorless, deep enough wardrobes to cover hanging clothes, jewelry pull-out tray).

Ultimately the final decision came down to whether I could customize the Pax to fit our wants in the limited physical space. Our closet is long and narrow, measuring at 160" x 61.5" (about 13' x 5'). Using the PAX Planner (one of their many 3D planning tools), all I had to do was input the closet dimensions then start dragging in options. Quite a lot of time was spent on this step -- all fun though because I seriously enjoyed every second (perhaps IT was the wrong career path?)


I was this close to pulling the trigger on the top closet design... until I realized I forgot to take into account the attic opening in the ceiling! The opening was off-center, so there was no way to keep the symmetry with 4 large wardrobes. I cried a little inside as I went back to the drawing board. I played around with more configurations before deciding on the bottom closet design that was basically a rearrangement of the first without compromising too much on interior organization space.

IKEA makes it easy to purchase the finished closet online via a one-click button. Shipping is a flat fee of $40 (best.deal.ever). There is also an option during checkout where you can pay an additional fee for people to come and assemble the closet (I believe a few hundred dollars).

We spent a good part of a long weekend building our 6 wardrobes and their interior compartments. It definitely helps to have more than one set of tools (especially hammers). I'm a weakling so could only build the smallest wardrobe frame myself before needing DH's help to move it upright and into place. The first wardrobe frame took the longest to build; each of the rest took less than half the time. We actually bought a couple extra rods and interior shelves because I wasn't 100% sold on the configurations until I saw them in-person.

The finished closet in its empty glory (personally I think the closet looked the best in this state):

Pinterest's home decor section is one that I browse daily. Sometimes I don't even know why I bother pinning images to my own board because turning decor inspiration into reality is daunting, especially for someone as lazy as myself. If only transformations were a mouse click away! Yep, first world problems.

When DH and I moved into our current home over a year ago, we pretty much transferred over our existing furniture and added a couple new essentials (couch, TV). Then we just sat back and enjoyed our bare-walled and spartan living space. It wasn't until recently that I started to "decorate," a term that I use loosely. I started with one side of the living room since it's where I spend a lot of my time at.
[Photo above] I still joke that our home looked its best on moving day when it was completely empty. Gleaming wood floors, sparkling countertops, and clean white blinds are all just a distant memory now.

Looking through my Pinterest board, I see similarities between what I find aesthetically pleasing in home decor and in fashion. I gravitate towards light colors (a lot of white), clean lines, and nothing too cluttered or fussy. My approach to decorating is pretty simple: buy and decorate with practicality and maintenance in mind while staying away from overtly feminine designs that DH would wince at.

My reading corner may just be my favorite spot in the house. A comfortable chair and cozy blanket were musts. A rug would certainly pull the space together and make for prettier photos, but it'd just be another thing to clean (plus we'd have to buy a vacuum, lol). I do think the walls could use a piece of art/photo, but I'll save that for when I find the right shot.
Target lamp / CB2 chair / Room Essentials stripe throw / West Elm pillow insert with DIY cover thanks to SIL (fabric from G Street Fabrics) / Coaster Contemporary side table

Across from my reading corner is where I've set up my workstation. My earlier spiel about my decorating approach went right out the window when it came to my desk area. I normally don't like displaying random accessories for the sake of staging because dust gathers so quickly, but most were gifts and hold sentimental value.
Crate & Barrel desk / IKEA chair / The Container Store trash can / Coaster Contemporary side table serving double duty!

Up next on the home improvement to-do list is hanging up photos and artwork. Some I'd like to place on wall shelves, so I'll have to step up my persuasion game and convince DH that they won't just topple over one day and leave a gaping hole in the wall. At the rate we're making progress, it might be another year before I have something to update ;)

Raise your hand if you're like me and hate doing taxes. I'm such a goody-two shoes when it comes to doing everything else early... except this. Tax season is the worst. I always wait until the last possible minute. My excuse? I end up paying the government every. single. year. Not chump change either, so no extra shopping cash for me. Time to get married? Buy a house? Have kids? Take a pay cut? All of the above?! But now I can happily say... this year's are finally DONE. I can now enjoy an entire year full of tax-free thoughts. Yay!

PS - I added a FAQs section above. What else do you want to know? Ask away and I'll try to answer.

I'm always late to designer collaboration parties. Well, no more! I bought this Zac Posen for Target Brocade Tie Dress in floral print, size 1 from Elle's blog sale (check it out if you haven't yet) because I fell in l-o-v-e. I know I was supposed to stop buying useless dresses this year, but if I was to make an exception, this dress is it. And I will be making up occasions to wear this dress, whether boyfriend likes it or not :)

What drew my eye was the print. It is absolutely gorgeous. It's made of a pretty brocade material that I can see being worn all year round. Because I couldn't wait to show off this dress, do excuse my navy blazer with black tights/shoes pairing -- I had to make do with what I had in my closet. Though would this be the perfect excuse to go shopping for a black blazer? I digress.

The fit did worry me, but after asking for measurements, I was pretty sure I'll be ok. The bust area wasn't a problem for me; in fact there's plenty of room. What ended up being an issue is my ribcage. That area was kind of tight! Now I find myself touching my ribs periodically -- to do what, I have no idea because I can't make them magically shrink. I think I'll be able to live (and breathe) alright for a few hours in this dress. Anything more then we might have problems.

I did have a wtf moment when putting on the dress. I couldn't zip up the back by myself, so I twisted the dress around until I could reach the zipper. Then, not realizing there is a small zipper in the chest area, I forced my arms through the straps. I was ready to take pictures until I looked down and saw that the top half of the bow had flopped over. Eep! Luckily, it'll be an easy fix with some thread and a needle. Even a newbie like me should be able to "sew"... right? I ended up sticking a piece of tape on to keep the bow up for these photos. All in all, I happy with the dress. Thank you Elle!

Next up on my list? Perhaps getting my hands on something from Lanvin hearts H&M... and not just in my dreams.

*Zac Posen for Target stock image courtesy of College Fashion