Wednesday, February 17

Welcome to Casa Alberdi, I will be your tour guide today...


After numerous requests to see what the "digs" in Hawaii look like, I finally pulled my act together and moved the lawn furniture, plastic storage shelves, and foam mattresses out of sight so that we could snap a few pictures.

 Just kidding...
sort of.

Anyway, this is our spacious living/home-school/office/storage unit/library/playroom.


Same room, different view.  These sliding glass doors are the sole reason we rented this place.  I mean, look at them.  Look how much light pours through them.  This is a very important feature for a light freak like me. 

 Who needs bedrooms with light like this?


Now we will rotate 90 degrees and view the kitchen.
The heart of the home...
The height of culinary advancement...

Riiiiiiiight.

Let's be real.
This is the place where peanut butter and jelly sandwiches get slapped together and called a meal. 
 

My desk.
All mine.
Mine, mine, mine.
(From 4 to 5 a.m. and from 11 to 12 p.m.)

Stuff I love.
Can you stand it? Are these striped pencils not the sassiest thing you've ever seen? 
Isadora in Bellevue.
 Get you some.


More stuff I love.
A chair, actually.  Can you really love a chair?  Well, if you can, I do.  Not because it is super comfortable or anything, just because it makes a great backdrop for other cute stuff.  Like my favorite quilt.  That I made myself.  Okay, okay, the ONLY quilt I have ever made.  And probably ever will.  Oh yeah, and my favorite pillow.
That I bought myself. 
 Really.  
All by myself. 
 My mama would be proud.


My sweet friend Sariah called the other day to tell me she was moving to a much smaller house (like me!) and she wondered where she was going to put everything (like me!) and would she go completely insane with too many people in too small of a space (like me!)?

Okay, maybe she doesn't want to be just like me.
But here's what I've learned:

It's all about hidden storage.

And going vertical,
 which I'll explain later.

Allow me to introduce you to my coffee table.
Er, tables.
I bought these ottomans from the Country Living line at KMart. Who would have guessed?
 Linen. Tufted. Nailhead trim. Dreamy.
And the best part is that they have hinged with storage capacity.

I should be their spokesperson.

Seriously.


(This is the going vertical part.)

Garage? 
Who needs a garage?
  Not when you are married to a man who can wield a saw and a drill and a couple of two by fours like nobody's business.
 Screw those puppies together, slap on a little white paint and...voila! 
A storage unit in your living room.

.....
Are you jealous?
Don't you wish you had one in your living room too?
.....
 (Oh yeah, and that's Senecca's adorable bike that she repainted herself--it used to be pepto-bismol pink--that she never rides. We live at the top of a steep hill. Need I say more?)

 But it sure is cute.

And that's all that matters.


 This will surprise you I know, but there are absolutely no closets in this condo other than one in each bedroom for clothing, so I have enlisted the help of a basket (the one on the left) as my linen closet. I guess the builder assumed that a bunch of minimalists who never showered or changed their bedding would be living here. 

I have learned to adapt by having very few towels (1 per person), and no extra bedding.  I do wash our bedding regularly, I swear, but then I just put it right back on.
*** 
On that note, here's a bit of trivia to brighten your day and make me sound like Cliff Claven...Did you know that in Hawaii, they are not called lice, but ukus? (pronounced ookoos) Funny, huh? It somehow really describes what they are. And no, we don't have them.
***


What's that you say?

You say I've worn you out?

You're ready to go now?

Was it something I said?

Dang.

Just when I was getting my groove on.

10 comments:

Cassondra said...

BEAUTIFUL!! You are amazing! I will always be inspired by and in awe of you! Thanks for sharing! I already have ideas to better declutter our place! I can't wait to see the bedrooms... ;)

Just Us said...

I love Casa Alberdi. It is beautiful. Now will you come over and make Casa Rideout beautiful too? We don't have any storage space either. Thanks for the ideas. Any more, send them my way. I am feeling a little squished.

Idaho Sutters said...

I love your posts Michelle. You need to write mine. Your place looks beautiful. You should be advertisement for "Simple Abundance" or something.

Amy Lindstrom ~ Your Life Uncommon said...

LOVE IT! Is it funny that you actually made me want to move to a closet-less little place in Maui...I swear I could do with ANYTHING if looking out my windows meant lots of BRIGHT GREEN! It made my heart happy, then immediately sad because I like in Idaho, then happy again because I am headed to Cali! HAHAHA!

Miss you!

Melissa said...

As I am going through a sense of "nesting" without being preggers, I am experiencing an overwhelming sense of "get-rid-of-stuff-itis! With so many people looking at me like I am a freak to only have two sets of sheets (mind you they are extremely high thread count!) I was so happy to see someone else enjoying life with less! I was just getting ready to blog about it too! So glad to be in touch with you again!

Cale & Company said...

Another space touched by the incredibly talented hands of Michelle Alberdi. You are the most talented woman I know. I think you could give Martha a serious run for her money. Plus your nice. Can't wait to see you in July. I am surfing the web right now to find good deals! many loves to you all! xoxo Beckie

Suzy said...

I think i've told you this already-that you need to get paid for this kinda stuff. You have a creative mind and eye for visual beauty. Love how it all goes together! I've seen your place in person-and it's got your name all over it!! That's a great thing! Glad you shared the fun decoratin!!

Kay said...

We loved being the reason that you "had to" go to the beach more than usual recently. Thanks for lettin us crowd you even more & dirty your dishes, towels, etc, etc, We had so much fun! Dad's shared the whale video & amazed many.

Tana said...

Sooo was that a hint that you want me to bring my own towels...and sleeping bag when I come. OK. If you insist.

Thank you! for finally giving us a tour of your space. It is beautiful. You have such a gift!!! The "Midas touch" Only the "Michelle touch" is even better because instead of gold every thing turns to glitter and vintage yumminess. DIVINE!

Kay said...

Yup, I'm proud! I'll say no more.