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Welcome to My Crib

Recently I moved into a new apartment in Toronto. I had been living in the west end of the city with a roommate, and I finally made the big step to get a place on my own. Living on my own has been something I’ve wanted for awhile, but when you live in an expensive city like Toronto, it’s not something that happens overnight.

Anyway, I was so excited to get the keys to my new apartment because I was finally going to get to decorate my own place the way I wanted too. As a traveller, this meant that I could display all the maps, travel pictures and souvenirs in my apartment I wanted and no one could complain about it.

I wanted to go with a bohemian/travel look with splashes of colour. So as soon as I found out my application got approved for the new place, I started hunting for the perfect pieces to add to my place. I’m sort of OCD when it comes to this stuff, so you can imagine this required a lot of trips to home decor stores, but finally my place is exactly how I wanted it to be. Here’s a sneak peek…

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My apartment is a bachelor apartment, which means my bedroom and living room are essentially one big room. But really, this is all the room I need. As you can see I tried to divide the room a bit by hanging a colourful tapestry above my bed that I got from Urban Outfitters. The bed spread with the fringe is also from Urban Outfitters and ties in the grey of the back wall. I also tried to tie the colours of the tapestry into other elements of my apartment, using orange, yellow and pinks as my main colour scheme.

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Weirdly my throw pillows took forever to collect (apparently it’s hard to find colourful throw pillows). I decided to mix and match all my throw pillows on my bed and my couch. The pink embroidered one above is one I bought in Mexico on my travels that I love. The blanket was bought at Home Sense but was one of their “Made In” brands that are inspired and imported from different exotic places. I love it and it’s circular which is kind of unique!

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I know this is a lot about throw pillows but I had to include this one as it was Home Sense’s “Made in India” brand and I absolutely love the detail and colour. Plus, it didn’t cost a fortune. I love cheap home decor stores, especially that means when I want to change up my decor, I won’t feel bad replacing it. And yes, that’s a map blanket behind the pillows.

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Above my couch is my scratch map which I got as a gift awhile ago but didn’t have a place to hang it before. Basically you can scratch off the places that you’ve been, and to me, it’s a constant reminder of all the places I still have left to see. Beside the map, I scattered a few of my favourite travel photos. A shot of my sister and I in Laos and one of two cute kids at a home stay in Nepal, and to the other side is a funky hanging lamp I got from Home Sense.

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My living room table is one of my favourites and is from Ikea. I love it because it’s a nesting table so I can take the two tables apart or stack them on top of each other like I’ve done. My friend suggested the glass top as it can help make a small space seem bigger. I utilized the clear top by adding some travel magazines and a nice coffee table book underneath. The rug underneath also ties in with my colour scheme and is from Urban Outfitters.

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One of my favourite spots in my apartment, and the photo doesn’t do it justice. This is my travel wall which has a collection of art I’ve collected on my travels, travel photos, souvenirs and inspiration. I have art from Cambodia, Amsterdam, Africa (this was a gift from a friend), Nepal, and Mexico, and the letter “L” was made in India but I found it once again, at Home Sense.

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I also have a little shelf on this wall for a few things I can’t hang, like my funky painted skull from Mexico, my mask from Venice, buddha from Thailand and clogs from Holland.

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On the one side of my travel wall there’s a little tiny nook (and linen closet) that I hung four vintage photos. One of my grandfather, my mom and dad as teenagers, and my other grandparents. I love the white frames against my grey walls as it makes it look classic, and balances out all the colour on my travel wall.

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My kitchen (not entirely photographed here) was one of the best elements of this apartment because my last place didn’t really have much of a separate kitchen and I hardly ate at a table. Now I have a windowsill I can put plants on (currently obsessed with cactuses) and my table with a colourful Mexican table cloth. I found the marquee “eat” sign at Michaels and the other photo is actually the most expensive piece of art I own. This was handed down from my mom and is a painting of Kensington Market in Toronto.

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My bathroom has a fun flamingo shower curtain that I couldn’t resist buying from JYSK, and my carved flamingo I picked up while in the Dominican Republic. I also have a colourful painting on my wall that’s from Mexico. Can you tell I like pink?

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The wall closest to the door also has my collection of bathroom signs. It all started with the “mens room” sign at the bottom that my friend gave me that she had stolen from a bar, and expanded to the banos and ladies signs from Mexico and the toilet sign from Wales. I must admit, it is kind of odd to be on the lookout for bathroom signs when I travel!

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Lastly, my patio. I don’t have a great view as I don’t face a main street, but what I lack in a view I get in silence, which is rare when you live downtown Toronto. My apartment is so quiet, you’d never know I live in a city, or a building with over 200 apartments. I have room for my patio chairs, some plants and my electric barbecue. What more does a gal need?

Anyways, that’s my apartment! Obviously I couldn’t photograph every inch of it, but hopefully you got an idea of what my life looks like all the days of the year that I’m not traveling. For me, I love having a home and a home base to come home to from my travels and this place couldn’t be a better place for that.

What does your place or room look like? What inspires your style? Share below!

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