Aire continues her home tour with Sophia. Here's the second part of her interview. Let's take a closer look at her apartment. How did she come up with her ideas? What challenges did she encounter?
Where do you look for your ideas and inspiration?
Pinterest is the best source of inspiration I can recommend. It gives me a lot of ideas. I like the clean, Scandinavian style. I find that you shouldn't put too much stuff in a small space . The more cluttered the space is, the more oppressive it will feel.
Instagram is less focused on decoration. There's less stuff.
YouTube videos about home tours can give you a lot of ideas . I use these three platforms to get inspiration for decorating our space.
What space do you find most difficult to organize?
I'm having trouble organizing my kitchen. We have very little space available in this area. This is the biggest challenge in this apartment. There was little storage. We added the folding table, a first shelf to put the microwave, and another one to use as a side table. I stored everything else in the bookcase. The pots and pans and cooking utensils are stored in the kitchen. The dishes are stored next to the table for eating. This limits the amount of movement. I also took an IKEA cabinet to store the cutlery and added more drawers. Standard kitchen cabinets didn't fit in our space. We repurposed a cabinet, and the result is perfect!
How do you adapt your inspirations to your apartment?
We need to identify the constraints. Ours is my partner's hobby. He loves playing video games. For my part, I like to stay in front of the TV. Thanks to the separation created by the library, we each have our own corner. We would have walked all over each other if everything was in the same room. For noise, we each wear our headphones. That's our daily life. Especially during confinement. To avoid being on top of each other, we each have our own activity.
Is there a space in your home that you still dislike?
The bathroom is the only room I haven't decorated. We want to change the tiles and flooring. It's an old building and the VMC doesn't work very well. Humidity builds up quickly in the room. The bathroom floor isn't great. I 'd like to transform it with adhesives. I haven't dared to start major transformations because we are tenants and don't have the landlord's agreement to carry out this type of idea.
What are the most difficult items for you to store?
These are my clothes, I have too many! It bothers me to store them in the kitchen. I was afraid my clothes would get smelly. I didn't know where to put them. But the closet closes properly. I just make sure it's properly closed when I cook.
Papers are always a problem ! I store them at the bookcase. It's the multifunctional piece of furniture. We bought document holders. We can store important documents in them. The result is clean and orderly. I really like it.
My partner keeps his shoes in a basket at the very bottom of the bookcase. I keep my shoes in my closet. I have plenty of space. I keep boxes to store shoes according to the seasons. The ones I don't wear are in the boxes.
How to choose between keeping and throwing away?
I prefer to sell my things on Le Bon Coin or Vinted. I only throw things away when something is broken . I also give clothes I no longer wear to my little sister. It makes her happy!
I keep some things at my parents' house. When I was in Lille, I had a mirror to store my jewelry. Now it's at my parents' house; I don't have the space anymore. I'll go get it when we have more space, because it's really useful.
In your opinion, what is the impact of tidying up?
Tidying up is important, it saves us time. I don't spend hours looking for my things . I can't afford to be disorganized in a small apartment anymore . So I changed my habits. Everything has its place.
I have a lot of cosmetic products: creams and perfumes. I had to limit myself.
I said to myself: "Well, I have to stop, I have to finish what I have before buying." We are caught up in this overconsumption effect. I wanted to consume better . I gave away things that I no longer use. I keep everything that seems necessary to me. In the end, it's not so bad. It did me a favor. I realize that we keep far too many things that have no use.
What is the most important thing for you when it comes to decorating?
It's about feeling good at home! I wanted to create something very clean and understated with soft colors. The important thing is to adapt the apartment to the style you like. I like the Scandinavian style and cocooning. They allow me to create a safe bubble.
What advice would you give to someone who has limited resources to tidy their apartment?
Shelves are the perfect solution. They don't cost much. We've added a lot of them in the bathroom and kitchen. I also like pegboards . They have lots of little holes that allow us to hang practical accessories. We can quickly create a memo wall or a storage wall for the kitchen. We can also add green plants. It's really practical for students and small spaces.
What is one thing to avoid when it comes to storage?
You have to be able to define the essentials to avoid piling things up in corners. We have many baskets that are very well organized inside.
I recommend giving everything a place. You shouldn't just store an item anywhere. Every object should have a place in the house and a reason for being there.
Interview by Imane Charkaoui.
Formatted by Coralie Mottu
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