Hey friends, it’s been a while since I last updated you with our downsizing journey. If you missed it, no worries, you can catch up here.
We are going on a year probably by the time this is published, and I have to say, it’s been less challenging than expected, and we are loving it and living with zero regrets. Did it come with a lifestyle change, sure, but we knew that going into it and embraced what was to come. One of the reasons we chose to downsize and move into the city was to reduce stress and begin our journey of planning how to live differently and with less. We still don’t own a car and I’m proud to say it’s been a year now and while it can be challenging sometimes, it’s less than you’d think. And not only are we reducing our carbon footprint, but to be honest, I don’t miss the expenses that come with owning a vehicle. Now, it just takes a little more planning and intentionality around travel.
Back story — When searching for apartments, I was very particular about the location as well as the overall structure. I didn’t want to leave our house (here’s the living room and kitchen) to move into a new construction box of an apartment. I was looking for something with character, square footage, and proximity to the places and things we frequent along with greenspace for Remi (our dog) and all of that had to fit within budget. We first looked in the North Loop district of downtown Minneapolis, but the main challenges were parking and greenspace. What we did find was an old commercial building being reconfigured as apartments about two miles away. Fun fact that I didn’t realize at first, this building was where my parents first met and worked together while they adopted me. The building was originally built in 1956 by Northwestern Bell (also where my grandmother worked). I guess it was sort of kismet that we ended up living here.
Our unit is a 2BR/2BA – just under 1800 sqft. And with full transparency, it’s $3600/month + all utilities to give you an idea of the rental market rate in Minneapolis, MN. Personally, I love living on one level and having an elevator within steps out of our front door makes it easier on my husband too (he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1999). This is the floorplan provided to us (some of it has changed a little and so some of the measurements are also not entirely accurate). For instance, our entryway measures almost 10 feet wide by 14 feet long and our laundry room/mudroom is large enough that I had two IKEA PAX units installed in there to organize storage and we installed a small second refrigerator in there as well (I feel a blog post coming on revealing this space). I am currently working on approval to install a utility sink in our laundry room.
While we are a stone’s throw outside of downtown Minneapolis, we are right next door to parks/trails and lakes, which seemed like the perfect balance for us. Having greenspace was so important to us for Remi (our dog) and my husband loves to take walks with her in the woods. There are even two lovely community gardens that surround us, one has fruit and vegetables and the other is full of flowers and a cute little free book library. The thing I was drawn to the most in our unit (not all units are the same and there are only 50 units in the building) was the large commercial windows, concrete floors, and high ceilings (also exposed down to their raw concrete form) which gave a very loft-like aesthetic. If we had moved up one floor (top floor) we would have downtown skyline views but we would also have lost all of the character of this building because that floor was added onto this building to make room for the community rooftop patio in 2023. I love that our dining room/kitchen feels like we’re in a light box, especially at night. Sometimes at night, I’ll light and sprinkle tealight candles all over for the most gorgeous glow. I do plan to hang a pendant light (Akari 75) in here but obtaining approval has been a timely and costly road to go down, so while I save, it will have to wait.
Dining Table | Dining Chairs | Clam Chair | Pedestal
It’s no surprise that there are no pop-y colors here, that’s just me. I’m a very earth-toned gal and living in the city, I really wanted our home to be a place of peace. A sanctuary from all of the bustle of city life outside but also embracing the cityscape in our home. A little intro about me, I love to thrift and my home is filled with lots and lots of thrifted treasures, I love to forage in the nearby woods, and I love a good second-hand find.
My first lesson living in this new place was scaling furnishings to fit, so our first purchase was a large dining table (our old one looked tiny and out of place here) that would also need to pull double duty as a worktop since we don’t have an island in our kitchen and countertop space is pretty minimal. A smaller kitchen wasn’t a dealbreaker for us because living as an open-nester (that’s what we refer to ourselves as, since we still technically have one kid at home) we don’t cook a lot or prepare large meals. It was another way for us to learn to live with less. I don’t think I’ve ever been a true fan of those massive kitchens you see primarily in new builds. I honestly love a smaller, more intentional kitchen. They feel more like home. One of my favorite spots in the kitchen/dining room is the cozy chair in the corner where the windows meet. It’s perfect to have a cup of coffee and people watch, I especially love curling up there on a rainy day.
Dining Table | Dining Chairs | Clam Chair | Pedestal
Additionally, when looking for an apartment, I hoped to find finishes that would be easy enough to live with as a renter since we likely wouldn’t be able to make a lot of changes to the space and I was surprised to find this one with beautiful tile installed throughout the unit, full sized appliances, and quartz countertops. Let me tell you, I weeded through TONS of apartments online while searching for our next landing spot because I knew leaving a house and homeownership to move to an apartment, living as a renter would be a big change.
Lampshade w/Bow | Sideboard and Chair | Ceramic Pedestal Vase | Pillow
The next big purchase we made was this vintage Henning Kjaernulf sideboard that I didn’t know I was looking for. Hehe. Actually, I was looking for a bar cabinet (we entertain friends a lot in our home and I love to bartend) but I couldn’t find one that I felt was interesting enough in detail or that I had envisioned in my mind and quality made without conjuring up something custom built. What I did know is that I wanted to block this odd door that I wish they had the foresight to place on the outside wall, as it only houses the central air/furnace for our unit, and we only need to access it to occasionally change the filters.
If you remember our previous home, these cabinets were a couple of my cherished pieces because one, I love them but two, they hold alllll of my many dishes, pottery and serveware behind glass doors so that I can always see them and enjoy the contents when I walk by but also, make storage accessible because apartment kitchens (or at least mine) don’t have a ton of extra storage and our cabinets run just the one wall. It’s a great piece that pulls double duty as storage and also display. It’s also one of the things most visitors stop to look at.
So here’s something I learned, while I love the concrete floors and they’re very easy to keep clean, I’ve also learned that I have had to embrace the imperfections that come with old concrete such as chips, stains, they show water drops (and I have a very drippy dog), etc. also, if you drop anything on them like a slippery glass while washing dishes forget about it! And I bet you’re all wondering how they feel on our feet. TBH, the first three days were BRUTAL! Then our feet acclimated and now we’re used to them but we also are a household that wears house shoes aka shoes that are only worn inside and never outside – I am a strict no shoes in the house person. Additionally, I know you’ll ask if they’re heated. Nope. I wish they were because yeah, on cold Minnesota winter days they ARE cold. On the flip side, I love the concrete columns and the markings and writings that are on them from years past, along with the old electrical boxes that were once installed in them but now are empty shells and have become odd little nooks and crannies. It translates very wabi sabi to me.
I love the open concept in our unit because it’s nice to always feel connected, especially when we’re entertaining. However, I wanted to define dedicated spaces within our open concept floor plan, especially since I chose not to lay large area rugs because the concrete and the reflections that cast onto them at different times of the day are just too beautiful to cover. It’s like they’re always alive. I wanted to create a sort of “pit” or conversation pit. I achieved this by going with an L-shaped sectional and then adding a console table on the one side to sort of gain the feel.
Pit Sectional | Clam Chair | Console Table | Linen Hanging Pendants
If I had to name my style, I wouldn’t be able to put a stamp on it, but I would describe it as organically eclectic, refined maximalist (ha, if that’s even a thing), Afrocentric, Japandi, and very Virgo. Everything has a place, even if it looks out of place, it was purposefully meant to be there. Also, the earth tones, mixed with hits of blue and green, I mean, that has Virgo written all over it.
Listen, I love to collect things and I don’t shy away from displaying all of my treasures. I just gravitate towards a really tight color palette throughout my home to keep things from looking too busy for my eye. I like to look at shapes and how they interact with one another, and I like to mix materials to create texture.
Bench | Ceramic Pedestal Dish | TV Samsung Frame 75”
This bench came in a color I wasn’t expecting, the one pictured online was a more warm oak finish but I’ve learned to embrace this one, and unintentionally it coordinates the dining room table and inside of my curio cabinets. C’est la vie!
So if I had a say so in floor plan design, I wouldn’t have put the primary bedroom off of the living room. Because noise. My husband loves to stay up late at night watching movies and he’s hard of hearing so he has the volume cranked up to 1000.
Storage Bed | Chandelier | Long Lumbar Pillow
Our bedroom was the first room to pull back together after the move and the easiest. I actually installed the art that used to hang in our previous home’s living room in our bedroom to play up these really high ceilings. Another thing we did in here was swap out the chandelier for an alternative that has ample lighting when we need to turn on the big light but also fit more of my aesthetic. By “we” I mean I hired out someone to swap out and install the new lighting. I love how it feels like bubbles floating above and the delicate tension against the rough concrete ceiling is a nice contrast.
In other news, I’m all for these large windows in our bedroom but my husband, not so much. If he had it his way, they’d have black out curtains closed up 100% of the time. To compromise, I am researching installing window tint on these windows. Admittedly, I was inspired by my son who recently tinted his car windows and I noticed that you can see out just fine but looking in provides more privacy. More to come there, but I’d love to hear your thoughts if anyone has tried this before.
Don’t look too closely at our coverlet, there are holes all over it. LOL. Life with a dog who gets bedtime zoomies and doesn’t realize she’s 80 pounds. These vintage wall sconces will forever be a favorite of mine. I purchased them from a local shop and one of the owners sourced them while visiting Morocco one year. They can be hardwired, but as a renter, we weren’t able to do that here.
This little chest was a Facebook Marketplace find I scored for $40 (on the inside it’s signed with love, Dad).
I purposely left out sharing a glimpse of our bathroom because it’s a 2025 project of mine to up the ante in there and share the reveal later. Stay tuned. If I’m ambitious enough, I’ll also share my son’s bathroom which doubles as the main bathroom for our unit.
Speaking of, here’s a tiny glimpse of my son’s bedroom (the largest of the two bedrooms).
He’s 25, so finding ways to make him feel comfortable with a space of his own to retreat to but also one that feels individually him has been bittersweet.
If I were to sum up his style, it is very Japandi. In fact, he would love to live in Japan one day. If I turned the camera around and showed you the opposite side of his room, you would all understand the 25-year-old in him. Basically, it consists of a gaming computer (he built himself, this is the 3rd he’s built), 3 computer monitors installed on an arm attached to his desktop, a mic (which I hear him screaming into at all hours) and a large 55” TV installed above them all. He clearly needs to pay the electrical bill.
Outside of his room, is our very large hallway, which I am working hard to visualize how to utilize the square footage best and possibly break it down into a reading or listening nook as our audio and record player is housed nearby. I once tried it out as an office nook but found I hated it. I was working in a walkway area, and because of the long hallway, the natural light wasn’t great and it was just uninspiring. Another fun fact, there are 19 windows in our unit and since we are a corner unit, we have light coming in from the east and north.
If our son were to move out, I would convert his bedroom into a lounge, library, office, guest room. I would even turn his closet into a type of speakeasy – I’ve been scoping it out and it’s large enough for a small bar and high top table for two. Ha. Clearly, I’ve had many hours invested thinking of its future possibilities.
BEFORE & PROCESS
AFTER
Pendant Lights | Chair | Floor Vase
I’m not a big DIY-er. I’m certainly not known for my DIY skills or DIY portfolio, but I did install these IKEA BOAXEL shelves in our entryway. Again, scale played a large part as previously, the sideboard looked puny on its own and the lighting that came with our unit was not great for an entryway.
All art is original and vintage, and my favorite is the mother and child painting painted by a family friend in the 60s and handed down to us.
In the entryway, we learned it was imperative that we change the lighting because the original lighting was just too dim, even with the dimmer dialed up all the way. That is another thing I was pleasantly surprised to learn that all of our switches are on dimmers. I’m not one for turning on the big light in the room, but in our case, and being this is our entryway with no windows for natural light, it was a necessity. We gained approval from our property manager to change them out, and the maintenance guy (John) has been the best. He came out and swapped them out for us as well as the light in our bedroom. I originally wanted a large wall of bookshelves I had found online but the cost was out of budget as they would’ve run over $3,500, and in addition, I didn’t want to part with this sideboard (with nowhere else to currently move it to as an option). So I found a way to give me the feel of the wall of bookshelves but still incorporating what we already had in the space for a fraction of the price. I purchased one BOAXEL shelving unit measuring 23 ⅜’ x 79” and one 73 ¾’ x 39 ⅝’ unit to create this look. I feel like it gives our large entryway drama, tells a story of who lives here immediately, and also is functional in that it acts as a space to drop keys, mail, and eventually will stash shoes in the cabinet once I clear out the clutter that’s currently inside it. I actually just came up with that last idea as I was writing this out. On the left side of the shelving unit I’d like to source a large full length mirror, you know, to outfit check ourselves before we head out the door. But it has to be a super cool mirror. I’m still on the hunt. Finding ways to incorporate our own style but remain rental friendly has been a fun challenge.
The other corner of our entry has a coat rack I found at the thrift store, it’s a secondhand IKEA EKRAR I picked up for $5. It works great, but I’m still trying to figure that little side out a bit. It’s lacking personalization.
Unpopular opinion, while we can paint these walls, I like the creamy white that came with the apartment and will keep the walls light for a gallery-like feel. So yeah, I’m still team white-ish walls. At least for out here. I actually did consider limewashing them all, but we would have to restore the walls when moving out and that’s just more than I was willing to take on.
Entering into springtime someday soon, our patio is the next to be revealed. I will say, designing a small space patio is tricky, but here are a few teasers as to what’s to come, so please check back for this one to see how we maximized the space. I plan to bring plants into our home but I’m taking things slow. I admit I love throwing those doors open on a good day and I love the transition between outdoors and indoors.
Two Oasis Sectionals (one left arm and one right arm) | Planters (Onyx Gloss)
Until then, Me and Remi sign off and see ya next time!
Thank you for reading,
Lea
*Reveal Photos by Rebekah Poppen
