204 Park Home Tour: Dining Room/Office
I'm really excited for today's post to give you guys a peek into the "204 Park HQ", aka my home! A few people have asked for the meaning behind the blog name 204 Park, so here's a bit of background..
Kali and Sarah and I started this blog together after knowing each other for over 7 years. We met taking the residential interiors course at the U of A. When we would work on design projects together we would always joke that a particular group of condos in Edmonton with the name Park in the title would make for a perfect design office. A few years later, I ended up moving into those condos and about a year later, the three of us decided to start this blog.
The naming process was not an easy one. We wanted a title that wouldn't limit us to just fashion, or just decor- we wanted 204 Park to be a lifestyle blog and also have the opportunity to act as the name for a business if we decided to start offering interior design or other services together.
After some back and forth we started playing around with different ideas involving the word "Park". Not only did it make sense as we had always joked about having an office there but the name had a New York kinda vibe that we loved, with a personal connection behind it.
Seeing as my condo unit is #204, we finally came up with the name 204 Park in September of 2013, brainstorming blog ideas through the month of October and finally publishing our first blog post in November 2013!
So there's a bit of a background on 204 Park!
Now, I'd like to show you where I live and where some of our blog shoots go down in a series of home tour posts. My home is by no means my "dream home", but within our limited space and budget (given that it's a rental), I love our little condo and can't wait to share it with you!
Today I'll start off by showing you the dining/office nook which by now you might be a little bit familiar with. You might recognize this area from a few of our past photos such as our GTL Tablescape, DIY Party Poppers, Holiday Makeup with Jen, Ladies Brunch, Lantern DIY and our recent Holiday/Backdrop DIY shoots.
Living in a one bedroom condo means that space is at a premium so this multifunctional space gets a lot of use. We eat most of our meals at our kitchen island but will entertain at our little dining table, or it often acts as an extension of our desk for DIY projects or working from home.
Our gallery wall is a collection of images from James' and my first year together. Fun Fact: James is from the UK, and we actually met in Vegas(!) and spent over a year dating long distance before he moved out to Edmonton so we could be together. We spent some time over that first year together travelling back and forth, spending time in London, Paris, New York and a few other stops along the way. With the exception of a few places, we tried to pick up artwork from our travels together, or find pieces that represented that time, and many of those are seen in this wall.
Photos from our love lock in Paris, a print with a heart in Edmonton and one in Southampton, photography from new york and sketches from paris are just a few of my favorite pieces on this wall.
The main piece of artwork above our "desk" is a piece I actually worked on myself. Funnily enough it's still not 100% done and it drives me a little crazy knowing it's not complete but we don't have a great setup for a large painting project like this so most likely, it will stay slightly undone until we move to a larger place when there's a very good chance I'll end up completely painting over it and starting something new.
Since we don't have a large desk space, I have to keep the desktop accessories somewhat minimal which for me can be a bit of a challenge. You might remember these DIY magazine holders which provide storage for office supplies. I adore this gold wishbone print from Lemon Fresh Designs and used that as the first piece to anchor my girly corner with my Ban.Do dish, blinged out paperweight and other girly accessories.
As an added bonus, Lemon Fresh Designs is offering 20% off everything in her shop for the next two weeks for readers using the code 204PARK! So go ahead and snag yourself one of these sweet wishbone prints, or maybe something else will catch your eye- there's so many cute goodies in that shop, I've got my eye on a few more pieces for myself!
A cute little acrylic chihuahua tray from Ink Spot Workshop is a nod to my little Herman, or as I affectionately call him, Hermie Boo Boo and is a perfect place for our keys, or other little items that need a place to be tucked away. I also love my Hello mousepad from Christine Marie B and my little girly match boxes from Annechovie to light up my mini gold pineapple candle. It's the little details that I find really tie a space together and finish it off.
This chair (which you might recognize from here) was a Homesense find and I love my ElemenO dalmation cushion paired with it.
Lastly, this Ikea filing cabinet is perfect for craft storage for all of my DIY supplies. While it's not a big nook, we've managed to set things up so that it functions just perfectly for us and while James might not love all of the pink for now, it's a great set up and I'm enjoying being able to display all of my girly goodies for as long as I can!
In addition to sharing these photos with you, I've also got a giveaway! Ink Spot Workshop, the shop who supplied this sweet little acrylic tray, is giving away a $50 shop credit. Just enter below for your chance to win, we'll announce the winner on friday. Good luck and stay tuned to the blog in the upcoming weeks when I'll share the rest of my home tour on the blog!
PS, I tried to list some of the sources but if you see something pictured and want to know where it's from, just comment below and I'll answer! XO
*Contest open to Canada/US