A mini house tour

Hello girls and boys! It's Amanda from Here's Lookin' at Me, Kid. I'm delighted to be subbing for the other Amanda while she is away traveling the globe, as I desperately wish I was... Though, admittedly, I can be quite the home body at times. When I've been away for a while, it's so refreshing to come home to the little place we've made our own. My husband, Phil, and I live in a 1920s one bedroom apartment in Canton, Ohio. I'd love to give you a little tour of our place!

Phil and I have been married for three years- two of which I spent finishing a four-year interior design program at a local university. Before we moved into this apartment last Summer, we existed in a rather sit-com worthy situation... carrying out our days in the suburbs under the roof of my 26 year-old brother. (Check out photos here.) As much as I love my brother, Phil and I were desperate to get out and find a place we could call our own, with no arguing about storage space, design issues, or whose turn it is to do the dishes.

So here we are, Phil working as a school teacher, while I run a vintage shop and photography business from home. Luckily, I get to spend a lot of my days scouring thrift stores and charity shops here in northeast Ohio, which means I find lots of wonderful things for our home as well. Most of what you see here is thrifted, or found on Craigslist, Etsy, or eBay.

One of the key points in our search for a new apartment was to be sure I had an area for crafting, and another area for my shop inventory. Working from home can be pretty stressful when your work overflows into all areas of life. Fortunately, we found a 1,300 square foot apartment with a huge great room, the ceiling of which beautifully sculpts out separate living areas. It's nice to have everything open and airy, but sometimes I wish I could just close the door to my office. At least now I have a reason to keep it neat and tidy. :)

It's been my dream for quite a while to have my own home that I can fill with colorful and pretty little things that make me happy. It's so nice to come home and feel completely content here. It didn't take much money, just a bit of time and a lot of love.

You can see before and after photos of my kitchen at Apartment Therapy.

Amanda
Here's Lookin' at Me, Kid