Beach Gypsies: Southern College Girl + Ecletic/Rustic/DIY Style = A COOL Little Apartment

Well Hello there!

Are you ready for a new year?

I was thinking about the MANY loose ends I had,

which made me think about drafts I had written but never posted here.

(I just hate when I do that)

Anyway, most of them were pretty silly but since I get a

book of my blog posts every year,

there were a few that I wanted to be included in the book.

This first one is about how we turned my daughter's tiny loft apartment

into a cool little sanctuary

for her to live in, study, and hang out with friends.

I might ramble a bit at first but then we'll move on to mostly pictures,

so hang in there:)

Yes, my baby left for college in August.

(We won't talk about how difficult that was for moi;)

She is just 18 but transferred to the University of Alabama as a junior.

The school has grown so much that

freshmen are required to live on campus in the beautiful dorms but

pretty much everyone else gets some sort of apartment.

This actually worked well for her because as a Biology/Pre-Med major,

she has a pretty intense course load and wanted her own space

to study whenever she needed to.

After a bit of searching,

we found a small one bedroom/one bath loft style apartment.

It is in an older building downtown that was renovated into apartments...

"luxury" apartments. Hmmm...well they are nice but I would say

more rustic than luxurious.

However, the security, location and the type of tenant is definitely a cut above

your normal college student apt building,

for which my husband and I are grateful! ;)

I really have to set this place up.

As I said, these are brand new apartments in an older building

so they tried to make them new

and upgraded but leave many rustic touches from the old place.

And they did. lol

She has a very nice kitchen and bath with upscale appliances

and a nice big snack bar.

The floors are concrete. Yes, I said concrete.

Like the stuff you would find UNDER

wood floors, but it is no problem as she had some cool rugs picked out.

Her ceilings are super high which makes it feel bigger and it has exposed

beams and stuff like in all loft apartments, which she and her friends think is cool:)

Now, the main wall in the apartment is VERY rough and old looking.

It has lots of "character!" Seriously though, it is kinda cool because it used to be the wall

to the old Bama Theater from the 1800's

and as it was a historical building they had to leave it alone.

One good thing...we didn't have to worry about putting holes in the wall

when we hung ALL her stuff! They were already there! ;)

STYLE:

Let's talk about style.

We took the size of the apartment into consideration,

and the look of it, plus the location and the fact that there are cold months

in the winter. We also wanted/needed to use some stuff we already had and

mix it with a few new pieces.

She is a chip off the ol block and likes a variety of styles...

she's a little bit boho and likes a casual surf style mixed

with rustic charm and some western touches.

Toss in some southern, country charm and it's a cozy little apartment:)

Easy, huh? let's see.....

After a disastrous screw up by the moving company who didn't deliver her stuff

till AFTER we went home.

The landlord let them in a week later and they pretty much dumped everything and left.

Let the unpacking begin!!!

YIKES! Where did all this crap come from???

And to think the week we were there waiting for her things to be delivered,

we went shopping for MORE stuff.

But then again, it was hard to resist the cool shops and vintage thrift boutiques

right outside her door in downtown Tuscaloosa!

Anyway, where do I start.

Okay, there were a few things that were our guidelines in decorating her apartment.

1. Make good use of some of her favorite things from home

and from trips we've taken.

2. Do as much DIY as possible.

3. EVERYTHING had to be cozy, comfy, welcoming and meaningful.

Let's start with the DIY which is mainly in the living room..........

Like many people we are rustic decor fans and obsessed with

pallets and crates and all the things they can be used for.

As you can see, we stained a TON of crates!

Here are some of the projects.......

an amazing TV stand!

Remember I said one of our rules was to use her favorite things?

In the above photo, notice these things:

canvas pics of her dogs (diy), her vintage metal Ford sign (she likes ford trucks:),

cowboy hats,Roll Tide banner (diy), family photos, books,

Big Al the elephant embellished with jewels (diy........and Alabama mascot!)

Snack and Soap dispenser crates.............

Crates for all her cowboy boots!!!

And with the remaining crates we made a little book shelf.

(The bookshelf is not filled but you get the idea!)
Favorite and/or New things in the above photo:
"Wander" sign with wood letters from Urban Outfitters,
Alabama "A" made from metal scrap pieces found at a local shop
and a map of the U.S on wood planks from World Market.
We painted little wooden hearts gold and glued them to all the places she had been.
So that's kind of a DIY, right? :)

Next, she REALLY wanted a pallet coffee table on casters that she made HERSELF!
(To go with the sofa we donated from home:)

We scrounged around, found a pallet and got to work sanding, staining

and attaching casters with a little help from her dad.

Not bad, right? I'd take one in a heartbeat! :)
It was very easy to do if you're interested.
This photo: a lucky horseshoe from our Texas road trip, metal Amazing Grace cross and all sitting on top of her pride and joy........a cowhide rug. She wanted lots of rugs and layered them around her apartment.

Also, notice the crate end table and as I said, our old sofa from home:) Also her favorite metal Beach sign from a flea market and a canvas with a horseshoe that has Nashville printed on it. (Another favorite place:)

finishing up with the living room, here are some of the other little touches she has on the wall.........

Her sweet friend that she bought at a local vintage shop:)

(Notice the twinkle lights, which are now strung ALL OVER the apartment!)

A chalkboard she hand lettered with one of her favorite verses and has a place up high on her wall so she sees it every time she walks in the door............

and a few other items............

Next up, the coziest rustic/girly bedroom ever!

We got a room size white rug for a steal to go with the girly, white ruffled bedding.

The headboard is to die for, if I say so myself!

It is a barn door headboard made by our new friend John who

lives in Auburn Alabama. He made it, delivered it, set it up and helped us hang a few other

things in the apartment. Check him out on etsy...........

Dixon and Dad. He's a great guy who makes beautiful wood pieces!!!

We found the CRIMSON chair at a store in Tuscaloosa called The attic and the lamp shade was embellished by us:)

My DIY piece in the bedroom is the bedside stand, which I hand stamped myself.

Everything has a meaning on it, from her favorite verses, to her favorite country singers,

RTR for roll tide roll, USA and more........

This is the view my sunshine has from her bed and another pic of the bedside stand, as well as her beloved guitar and an enlarged pic of our favorite horse from Texas!

Every good college student needs a study area so here is hers.........

notice the old wall from the Bama Theatre?

Almost done! LOL

what would we do without mason jars?
Here are some we painted to use as a vanity set.............

Lastly, the Kitchen...........
Just your typical kitchen with cool throw rugs, four cow print snack bar chairs and
fun stuff from home and travels........