August 21st, 2014

Apartment Decor Haul

Apartment Decor Haul - Sara du Jour

Since I showed you guys around my apartment (living room tour | bedroom tour), there have been a few new additions. I thought I’d let you in on some of the beautiful goodies for the home I’ve collected over the past few months. My apartment has a lot of white with gold accents, so you’ll probably notice that theme come through in these decor items as well.

Let’s start with throw pillows. I didn’t think twice about pillows until I had a home to decorate, and now I’m obsessed with them. I keep spotting beautiful ones that I want to bring home, and have to remind myself that I have no more places to put them. They’re the perfect combination of beautiful and cozy, and it would be all too easy for me to become a throw pillow hoarder.

Apartment Decor Haul - Sara du Jour

But then I saw these two beauties at Indigo, and added them to my cart immediately. They were made for me! When I saw the cost, I closed the tab and continued about my business. The next day I did the same. And the next day. I even told my friends over dinner one day how much I wanted them. That’s love, you know. When you bring up something/someone in conversation completely unprompted, simply because you can’t get them off your mind.

By a stroke of luck, one weekend the store had a 20% off sale, and that was just the excuse I needed.

Apartment Decor Haul - Sara du Jour

If you’re as in love with these Caitlin Wilson gold foil throw pillows as I am, you can find the cream and gold dot pillow here, and the cream and gold scalloped pillow here. They measure 20 x 20” each.

I think they match really nicely with my gold quote throw pillows, too.

Apartment Decor Haul - Sara du Jour

Apartment Decor Haul - Sara du Jour

The second home decor item I found were these gorgeous gold bookends. I looked everywhere for bookends that were “me”. These, from Etsy, couldn’t be more perfect.

Apartment Decor Haul - Sara du Jour

Apartment Decor Haul - Sara du Jour

If you’d like a set of these laser-cut gold curly brace bookends, I’ve linked where I got mine. The Etsy store I bought them from (DesignAtelierArticle) have a wide selection of other charming bookend designs which you might want to check out, too.

Apartment Decor Haul - Sara du Jour

I scooped up this Voluspa Saijo Persimmon candle at the same time as the throw pillows, for many of the same reasons. It was a pricey item that I kept going in to smell, gaze at longingly, and then put back on the shelf.

This candle is the most delicious-smelling thing I’ve ever encountered, and I’m including pizza in that statement. If this scent came in body wash, shampoo, or perfume, I’d slather myself in it.

Apartment Decor Haul - Sara du Jour

Japanese saijo persimmon, considered to be the finest gourmet variety, is layered with juicy peach and red currant

Apartment Decor Haul - Sara du Jour

Bonus points for stunning packaging, too. I’m tempted to keep the box as a decor item, because it’s so elegant.

Apartment Decor Haul - Sara du Jour

I just want to permanently stick my nose in this candle. The box promises it will burn for one hundred hours, which is one hundred more hours than I plan to burn it for, because I want it to last forever.

I keep it on my bedside table, and even unlit, the perfume pleasantly wafts through the air without being overpowering. Perhaps I’ll light it one day for a very special occasion.

Apartment Decor Haul - Sara du Jour

Last but not least, I bought this ornate gold framed chalkboard, from someone much cleverer and craftier than I on Etsy. You see, it started its life as an IKEA mirror, with the mirror bit taken out and replaced by a cut out chalkboard, and the frame painted gold.

I was looking for a statement piece of wall decor for the dining area of my living room – I wanted something bold on the wall behind the head of the dining table. When I stumbled across this online, I knew it was perfect. The chalkboard is fun and allows me to change it frequently with whatever I want. When my mum came over for her birthday, I had a big birthday message written on it. For dinner parties, I can write out my menu. And for other times, I can have my favourite quote of the moment there to inspire me.

(If you look reeeeeally closely, you might be able to spot the piece of chalk I keep nestled in the bottom of the frame.)

Apartment Decor Haul - Sara du Jour

The full version of this quote, by Neil Degrasse Tyson (conflicting reports on Google also claim Jerry Waxman), is one which I find very beautiful, and an elegant intersection of science and spirituality.

“There is a fundamental reason why we look at the sky with wonder and longing—for the same reason that we stand, hour after hour, gazing at the distant swell of the open ocean. There is something like an ancient wisdom, encoded and tucked away in our DNA, that knows its point of origin as surely as a salmon knows its creek. Intellectually, we may not want to return there, but the genes know, and long for their origins—their home in the salty depths. But if the seas are our immediate source, the penultimate source is certainly the heavens… The spectacular truth is—and this is something that your DNA has known all along—the very atoms of your body—the iron, calcium, phosphorus, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and on and on—were initially forged in long-dead stars. This is why, when you stand outside under a moonless, country sky, you feel some ineffable tugging at your innards. We are star stuff. Keep looking up.”

Bought anything fun for your home or your room lately? Tell me about it in the comments! xx

– Sara

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2 comments

  • Heart

    Hey Sara! It’s wonderful to know how you’ve flourished successfully in life. I’ve been following you since tumblr (3yrs ago – i think.) and I just recently opened it again and ended up here – all smiles! You are lovely as ever. keep inspiring!

    • saradujour

      You are so, so sweet – thank you. I’m honoured that you’ve stuck with me for so long, thanks for reading my little blog! x