Fall is the best time for craigslist-ing in my humble opinion. Lots of people seem to be moving at the start of the school year or are redecorating for the coming holiday season. in fact about this time last year I scored a tufted blue velvet couch on craigslist [FOR FREE!]. I know right?! Right place, right time. Basically, I saw the listing and canceled my plans for the afternoon so I could go pick it up. Luckily, I managed to get it into my truck just fine:

I never got good pictures of it in our old apartment but basically my blue beauty looks like this:

And I LOOOOVE her.

Back in college, my crew and I had a favorite study spot in the library we dubbed the "Blue Couch Room." It was quiet, and wonderful, and filled with blue velvet couches, and conveniently spaced outlets. And a constantly rotating schedule of friends meant we pretty much always had a monopoly on the place. I used to joke that if I ever had enough money to make a sizable alumni donation, instead of naming a building after me, I would request they simply make the name official. This may be where my blue couch obsession began...

Now that Caleb and I are finally getting ready to move into another apartment [woohoo!], I'm beginning to think about how I want to decorate this time around. As a self proclaimed style mutt, my tastes have changed since I first started blogging. I look back on those old photos and feel like the room seems "juvenile" (does this happen to anyone else out there?) As you can see from our first apartment living room tour, I love bold and bright and pops of color.

But Blue Beauty makes me want to elevate this look to her level. I've researched other blue couch rooms and found an incredible line up for my inspiration. Here Annabode expertly sets the stage for the saturated blue with some warm woods and serene greenery:

Emily Henderson's pairing of a velvet couch with a neutral-but-still-a-statement rug and some leather chairs makes me want to do a jig - and makes me realize that I want a rug that won't compete with the couch like the trellis rug from my first apartment would.

And here her pop-of-color(s) gallery wall of unique art makes for a worthy back drop:

I've also been gathering ideas over here on StyleMutt Home. I've been eyeing the casual seating a vintage cot lends to a room ever since Chelsea brought home this WWII army cot. And then when she ingeniously converted it into a coffee table [which is on sale until Nov 1st btw!] I thought, "What a versatile piece for a small apartment!"

In our old apartment, I was constantly battling a throw pillow identity crisis. The selection was all over the place: modern, boho, rustic, graphic, contemporary - a true style mutt conundrum. But after recently sharing Veronica's #stylemuttspaces reader design, I finally realized what kind of pillows make my heart pitter-patter: Kilim.

Yes, I need some textiles in my life - stat.

So with this working formula for our new apartment living room, here's what it's shaping up to look like in my head:

Blue couch + warm wood + greenery + neutral statement rug +
leather + pops of color artwork + versatile seating + textiles =

Can you see it coming together like it is in my head? I incorporated some of my original artwork and even our rustic bench/ coffee table to help me visualize. I'm really feeling like it's the more mature version of our original apartment. I'll keep you all updated on our next apartment's progress as I acquire all the pieces I still need to complete this look [slowly and patiently as our finances allows].