The Abstract Life: Home

Last Minute Halloween Decor for Your Home with Yankee Candle

October 23, 2018

Phantom of the Opera Halloween Centerpiece

October 09, 2017

Japantown Home Office

August 24, 2017

** Before I start, I just want to say that I am SO aware how bad these pictures are. With the shadows and blown out whites this is a photographer's nightmare. However, I had been waiting to take these office pictures for 1.5wks before I moved and it was so dark and rainy the entire time that the space was too hard to shoot with natural light. Finally I waited until the last day when I had to start packing up and this was the best I could get. So I am telling myself, "Better this than nothing!" :) **

When I lived in the heart of Downtown San Jose's Japantown I worked from home. It was very important to me to have a comfortable, beautiful, and functional workspace. Since I live in California-extra space for a home office isn't exactly a given. I needed to dedicate some part of my 700sqft apartment to working. The dining room made the most sense-as I wanted to keep my work and bedroom separate and the living room already felt cramped.

I originally bought this West Elm glass dining table to double as a desk when I wasn't hosting. However, I found that it was too big of a surface and allowed me to spread out too much while never feeling organized. Also, it took up a lot of space as soon as you walked in and I when I did actually host most people sat at the counter anyways.

I started looking for a shelving system to help me stay organized but hadn't come across anything that was just right or within my budget. So when my friend, Jessica Doll, offered to gift me these shelves/desk combo from CB2 I was thrilled!

I didn't like a lot of clutter (because that can build up fast in an office) so I kept my papers to minimum and stored them and excess office supplies in a box on the shelves within reach. I liked the minimalism of an all white office while using decor as a means of adding color; I could change out what I liked and rearrange things to fit the seasons or my tastes.

Before and After! What do you think?

My favorite parts of this transformation were how much less room it took up, it provided me with the opportunity to display some of my favorite things and become more organized, and it allowed for more light in the dark space.

Get the Look:

Home Office by theabstractlife

Bring It Home: From Street Style to Home Style - Part III

July 14, 2017

Bring It Home: From Street Style to Home Style - Part II

July 07, 2017

Bring It Home: From Street Style to Home Style - Part I

June 30, 2017

Holiday Table Styling

December 14, 2016

This post is for the hostess withOUT the mostess, the procrastinator (hello me), or the low key.

If you're having people over for Christmas or hosting a holiday dinner this year...have no fear! Rather than sweating the fancy schmancy details like floral arrangements (do you even own a vase???), napkin rings, or (heaven forbid) name cards, just use these easy tips for styling a simple, yet bold holiday tablescape. Your guests will be all, "This is amazing! How ever did you get Martha Stewart to do this?!" And you'll do your little happy dance in your head knowing you just styled the mess out of those cheap dishes you got in college! YOU - 1; MARTHA - 0! Take that overachievers!!!

Simple Holiday Table Styling Tips:

Centerpiece: This sets the scene, so even though this is easy breezy hosting it still shouldn't be skipped.

Option #1 - Produce: Pass on the floral arrangements and make a bold statement with bowls/platters/dishes of fresh fruits or vegetables (no creative skills required to fill a bowl with produce, unlike artfully arranging bouquets!). You may already have them on hand for cooking around the holidays and-unlike flowers-you can eat them afterwards! I use pomegranates as the giving of pomegranates, persimmons, or citrus is a Christmas tradition in Mediterranean culture, like my family's.

How - Color Palette: The closer you can stick to a color palette the bolder your styling will look. Learn more about picking a palette from this color wheel tutorial.

Analogous: For our holiday tablescape we used harmonious analogous and almost monochromatic color palette ranging from rich pomegranate reds to deep eggplant purples with merlot grapes, plums, avocado, and figs in between.
Complimentary/Contrasting: The most popular example of contrasting colors is Christmas' red and green (think red and green apples). This sort of palette is vibrant and dramatic.
Neutrals: Think soft colors from nature with shelled brown nuts, cotton white, and muted green artichokes.

How - Uniform: You don't need your grandmother's fine china to achieve this table decoration. Find uniformity with your centerpiece dishes (that doesn't mean that they need to be a part of a set or match). Ours are all from different sets but tie together with the white. You could also experiment with dishes that are different colors but the same size, or different colors and sizes but the same pattern/style. One example: different colored bowls/platters/plates of depression glass.

Option #2 - Candles: Never underestimate the drama of a candlelit dinner.

How - Types / Sizes: You can simply have 2-3 tapered candlesticks standing tall in the center in holders or a candelabra. Or group together several pillar candles of varying heights on a plate. Or go smaller in scale and use wine glasses or small glass containers to house votives or tealights.
How - Color: White is always the most classic candle wax color and ensures that if you have different kinds of candles they all go together, as opposed to discrepancies of hues with colored wax for candles from different brands or stores. If you do want to use colorful candles and have different colors group them together on a plate and tie a ribbon around them or create balance with each candle having the same uniform holder.

Option #3 - Nature: Greenery, leaves, feathers, pinecones, twigs/braches...the list goes on and on for what is available this time of year. Bonus: it is often free!

How - Balance + Display: Don't let nature take over your table. You can put pinecones or leaves in a clear vase or bowl. Branches or greenery can go in a tall vase or be laid down the center of the table with pinecones or leaves singularly spread throughout. Find balance and keep it minimal. It's meant to be easy!

Place Settings: This can be as casual or dressed up as you like.

Work With What You Have: If your only option is paper plates then fold the napkins fancy to elevate the look. Don't have enough matching dishware or a set for everyone? Mix and match the plates and bowls to make it fun and eclectic like here. Staying monochromatic with whites kept the tablescape looking pulled together-even though no two place settings were the same. Placemats or traditional chargers were forgotten to save space both physically and visually. As there were only three of the antique wire chargers the eclectic, mismatched theme continued. A large tart tin was found to make an even number and they were placed at different settings around the table.
How - Decor: Again, as casual or elegant as you need it to be. Open seating usually works best for my hostess style so I don't like using place cards. Rather, putting something like a piece of fruit (as seen here) on top of their plate or folded napkin is is super fast and simple, yet bold, way to decorate the setting. These also make for great conversation pieces at a dinner party. To top it all, you can send your guests home with their setting decor as a sweet and fun party favor!