5/15

At Home With Toshiko Shek

At Home With..., Home Decor
By A Beautiful Mess

 At Home with Toshiko Shek We are so excited to welcome back Toshiko Shek to the blog to share her beautiful apartment with us!

Toshiko ShekObsessed with this closet!"Finding/buying a home in the San Francisco Bay Area is nearly impossible! So until I have millions of dollars, a cute apartment will do! I live in San Mateo, about 10 minutes south of the San Francisco Airport. I love the city, but actual SF is too crowded and busy for my taste. So the peninsula is perfect! I lucked out with this place because the apartment complex was initially built as a condo, meaning SPACIOUS! Even the hallways are super wide and roomy! My place is a 2 bedroom 1 bath unit and about 1100 sq ft. We are using the master bedroom as a closet/office while we sleep in the smaller bedroom. As a stylist and fashion blogger, I have so many shoes and clothes (it's like my library!), but sadly I STILL don't have enough space in this massive room, which also has a walk-in closet and a regular closet.

Decor details"I love is this vintage calla lily lamp in my closet/office. Calla lily is my favorite kind of flower ,but since I have two cats, I can't have any kind of lilies at my home (lilies are highly toxic to cats). When I found this lamp, I knew it was meant to be!

Bright living roomLove this living room"I've been living here for about a year now with my fiancé and two cats! It literally took me about 10 months to finish decorating the entire space. I can decorate and redecorate it over and over if I want to (and I often do), but for now I am pleased with how everything turned out! Overall, I think the insane amount of natural light I get in this place makes everything better!

White wicker chair"My old apartment (which was also featured on ABM here!) was a bit more vintage-y and a little quirkier, but my taste has changed since then. Nowadays I am drawn to neutral tones and find myself lusting after sleeker styles and more modern designs. For a really long time, I was dreaming and hunting for a vintage peacock wicker chair. I looked everywhere, from eBay to Etsy, from garage sales to flea markets…all I could find were ones that cost $300+! Then when I finally stopped looking, I came across an ad for one on Craigslist asking for only $25! Needless to say, I drove over to get it within the hour! It was in excellent condition too! No need to paint or do anything to it! I was sooo stoked! Lastly, I love the mini gallery wall of my entryway, particularly a black and white photo of my fiancé and me kissing in front of the Eiffel Tower.

EntrywayHoneycomb shelvesKichenToshiko"I love every corner of my apartment, but if I must choose one space as my favorite, it would be the balcony! When we first moved in and saw how enormous my balcony was (it's the length of the living room and one of the bedrooms), I knew right away that I wanted to turn it into a garden! Over the past year, we made countless trips to Home Depot (to the point where my fiancé started to loathe that place), we (mostly just me) went on an emotional roller coaster of "yay, my plant looks awesome" and "oh no! please don't die", and now here I am with my dream garden! I just love sitting out there enjoying a cup of tea and taking in all the fresh air! Oh and I get the most gorgeous sunset view every evening!"

Amazing balcony!Plant shelfThank you so much for sharing your space with us! You can find more of Toshiko on her blog and on Instagram. xo.

Credits// Author and Photography: Toshiko Shek

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