Hello and happy Friday! I'm so pleased that you've visited me here because I owe you a huge apology. You see, I've been blogging like a mad woman over at Haus Maus today and then PING! (brain light bulb goes on) I realized how I've been neglecting YOU over here on decor8. I'm so sorry! I must confess that today has been just super because the furniture for my lonely, sad little hallway arrived and I am super pleased with it. I also have new dining room chairs and a table, all delivered this week as well. My kitchen is in (at least most of it) and installed, and my large vintage kitchen cabinet will arrive on Sunday. It's wonderful that our apartment here in Germany is 'on-schedule' according to the project I laid out before I flew over. I wanted to have all of the furniture ordered and in place by the end of September and so far, so good. I love when the stars and planets line up for once! It's such a load of stress off of my back to have our place nearly furnished. We leave the third week of December to return back to the states for the winter but we'll now have October, November, and most of December to decorate and entertain, enjoy Oktoberfest and all of the outdoor markets, you know LIVE in our space without constantly having to shop for things to fill it with. I'm so extremely happy with how it's coming along. Here is our hallway, it started off with old wallpaper, a bad vintage chandelier, and brown tile floors. Then the floors were installed and the walls repaired and painted (we didn't do this part, only specified to contractors what we wanted). This is how it looked 6 weeks ago...

And here is where it stands today. Not finished but getting there... Yay!

And I'm so, so pleased. Our apartment only has a hallway, bath, kitchen, living room/dining room, and one bedroom -- it's 60 square meters so not at all large, but who needs a big apartment in the city anyway? We love our place and though we will eventually buy a 3 bedroom apartment (or house) here, a 1 bedroom is perfectly fine for a family of two. Plus we are only here 3-5 months at a time, how much space is really required?

Here is a list of resources from the hallway in case you are interested...

Bench - Esplanade, Hannover (sorry no website) Cushions (Purple) - Esplanade, Hannover (sorry no website) Pillow - Orike Muth Pendant - IKEA Mirror and Coat Rack - Car Moebel Tin boxes - Local imports shop in Hannover, Germany Bear photo on mirror - "Sylvia" by Wren & Chickadee Painting on top shelf - Mati Rose (Mati McDonough) via Nahcotta Gallery, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Straw Tote - Red Chair Antiques, Peterborough, New Hampshire Plant/Pot - IKEA Notebook on bench: Bubbo-tubbo.

Now I'm thinking of adding some paint or wallpaper to the walls and perhaps putting a few photos or prints on the left wall... And I may be replacing the pendant with something more decorative (I have this one in mind, or perhaps a lantern), we'll see... But considering that this room was empty a few hours ago, I'm pleased with the flash decorating job I've done here today, ha ha! See what you can accomplish in a short period of time? Just scare the neighbors by drilling holes into the walls, blasting Hed Kandi, and sliding furniture around and viola! You can also have an insta-hallway like mine.

One little feature I love that I didn't plan: I like that I can make the hallway look more in tune with the seasons by simply removing the bench cushions and adding plants, etc. in the warmer months. It's a really simple change. Laying all of the cushions across the bench in the Fall/Winter warms up the space and also makes the bench look less summer-y.

I can't wait now to finish the hallway and move onto the kitchen! It's fun starting from scratch in a new place... Do you have any home projects that you'd like to tackle this weekend? Tonight is date night (with Tee) and it's nearly 6pm here so I'm signing off for the weekend... But I'll meet you make here on Monday. See you soon!

(images from holly becker for decor8)