Ellen & Rob's Excellent Adventure Part 1

I met Ellen on our first day of school at Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. I had just transferred in as a sophomore and she was starting her college experience as a freshman. We were both assigned to Dr. Gutin’s Public Speaking 101 class. I was already seated in class when she walked in wearing bright yellow rain boots and talking a mile a minute in her North Jersey girl accent about how tragic it was that Steve Irwin had just died. “His poor wife and childrannnnn, oh my gawdddd!” I was equal parts annoyed and intrigued.

I remember that like it was yesterday.

Here we are, eight years later and she’s been my person ever since.

We’ve seen each other through some terrible haircuts, bad fashion picks (for me it was always the shoes) and some terrible choices in boyfriends.

That’s why when I met Rob I knew Ellen had found something tremendously special.

So when they decided to take the plunge and move in together, I was so ready, willing and excited to lend them a helping hand to turn their place into a home.

Since the whole process was pretty lengthy, I’m breaking it up into 3 parts and starting with the bedroom.

Here’s a shot of the room pre move-in. Pretty dismal, run of the mill apartment.

Rob had what Ellen described as a “just go with it, a really great big wooden bed frame” but the rest was up to me. With bigger plans on the horizon, they didn’t want to spend too much furniture so I was able to hoodwink some pieces for pennies. I started with a matching set of nightstands… 

and a tallboy from Sears circa 1960 ($20 for the lot…)

I was even able to find an old ad that shows them, ha!

and these gaudy gold and white lamps from the Habitat for Humanity ($15 dollars each)

and as a housewarming gift, I threw in the Lavender dresser I shared a few weeks ago:

I updated the tallboy and nightstands by doing a base coat of Annie Sloan’s Old Ochre, and then dry brushed with Pure white. I wanted a hint of the crisp cocoa to pop through to tie in with the bed. The lamps got a coat of Rustoleum’s Rubbed Bronze and new white shades. It’s now a simple, relaxing retreat awaiting personalization. Check out the pictures below:
Check back soon for parts 2 & 3 of Ellen & Rob’s Excellent Adventure where I show you the dining and living rooms!

-LV xoxo