the devilishly pleasurable lair

Hello! Am getting more and more organised, but have been busy in the throes of finding work and what to study next-- confronted with the sole obstacle of status of international student that impedes me from the course of my choice. But not to dwell on such depressing things, I have been slightly happier lately. . and on an even happier topic closer to my heart, lo and behold I present to you The Devilishly Pleasurable Lair for now, photographed along various stages of evolution. I once read somewhere that The Mandatory House Tour that all house owners show you proudly is something that most people pretend to be politely interested in but actually detest with a vengeance; and I thought to myself that's one of my favourite things about going to others' houses. Perhaps I'm a nosey parker or just infinitely curious, but anyhows there are some clothes and shoes and the like featured here which might be of interest to fellow Fashionaholics. Otherwise, just take me as an exhibitionist. Some furnishings are temporary, desks have not arrived yet, and other nitty-gritty stuff to sort out, whilst we are trying to reconfigure the look to be more Bourdoir.  Yesh, I'm loving the way things are taking shape. . .

To me, the bedroom is a Sanctuary. For relaxation, chilling and rolling about in bed. Sometimes for a spot of meditation. This cosy little flat is split-level which means the bedroom is in the attic. Bumping my head non-stop notwithstanding, I love split-level arrangements since most of the homes I've lived in have an upstairs-downstairs configuration. The bed's on a raised platform, whilst I purchased an extremely comfortable king-sized memory foam mattress which I absolutely cannot tear myself away from. And of course, satin sheets, to which D happily quipped "Ooh this is like a five-star hotel". Still, I'm finding the slipperiness of satin a little tricky now because the pillows keep sliding off-- note to self to get proper cotton Egyptian cotton sheets with 3409249024 thread count (as though that is possible) whilst keeping a satin duvet. Also love how the fuchsia casts a glow on the ceiling in the daytime. You can see the stars from that slanted window at night. . and then I remembered a very long time ago, I wished to have a transparent ceiling so I could watch the stars. You know how wishes can always come true. . 

 The bathroom-- where you start and end the day. Apart from getting in and out of bed. Am absolutely delighted to have a bathtub again, and am taking loads of measures to ensure that my hair doesn't clog up the drain. The great thing about this flat is that there are loads of storage spaces already installed for organisation, including the wall-mounted shower organiser which cleverly hides the fact that I have so many products. Well actually during the last night in college, I had whittled down to a few essentials having packed everything else up, and thought to myself, "Minimalism seems quite pleasant. I should really do that." And then D went shopping and came back with two new shower gels, there went my Minimalism Plans down the bathroom plug hole. I am also extremely happy to get fluffy Egyptian cotton bath sheets, telling myself I have to stop using tatty towels because I am living in a proper place already.  Also love the damask shower curtains, a Fenn Wright Mason hand towel used as a floor mat (so pretty and it's large enough!) and an anally-organised makeup drawer.

This is how the wardrobe looks like. As I cannot afford a place large enough for a walk-in wardrobe yet, I'm rather satisfied with this arrangement. There are obvious differences between the side for D and my side (and of course he graciously lent me the 'interior corners' of his side for my dresses). At the same time you have to understand how much space one item of his takes up, being XXL. There are times when I was doing his laundry and folding his clothes and getting a bit stunned at the sheer size of his stuff, whilst there are times when he takes my jeans out of the machine and pretends to put it over himself asking me, "So what IS this, do you know how tiny this is?". If we talk about symmetry, then our sizes are equidistant from the center, I'm XXS, at the opposite end of the spectrum. And looking even closer at my side, you can see there are two rows of clothes, made possible only by the Dublet Clothes Rail from A Place For Everything. I'd recommend it if you need to maximise space-- it's very sturdy, and is perfect for hanging a row of clothes such as short jackets, short skirts and casual tops. I have a bad habit of always wanting to see what I have and this solves my problems, albeit in a squashed squeezy fashion. The white fabric hanger with 28 different hoops is used to hang belts and stuff like ribbons and related attachments from dresses or cardigans that you somehow misplace all the time. I also bought three wire frame systems (one of which is used in the bathroom) in different combinations for storing different stuff. They are easily configured in terms of height, castors, solid top, drawer type, etcetera for storing your various items. Even though D insists they look like elephants hanging around, I hang on to my stand that they are extremely useful for organising your things. For instance, they are used to organise my bags according to sizes, as well as laundre.

At the bottom of the wardrobe, I have a collection of shoe boxes, which I spray painted white and black, for storing things such as socks, tights, knickers, thin scarves, etcetera. The storage cupboard at the side of the room houses stuff like packing boxes (so expensive to purchase!), knits, cardigans, bedlinen, and I've yet to find a solution for my large scarves for now.

More wardrobe shots; the bottom-right one is the coats rack under the stand. Got an uber-steady one this time, having learnt my lesson, because when I was in Cambridge I was a cheapo and bought a £10 one which collapsed the moment I hung a trench coat on it. 

 And now, Trinkets & Baubles! I have to admit I was extremely inspired by Vintage Vixen and Veshoevius when I delighted myself with a visual feast on their organised and lovingly-presented jewelry collection. I hung a wire hanger on one of my wire frames used for storing my handbags, and draped many necklaces there. Otherwise, I simply let the frame 'wear' the necklace. Now I can finally see what I have! I also bought a few velvet jewelry displays off Ebay to hang some of my more ostenatious necklace, or to organise my rings on. Clip-on earrings and stud ones are kept in a heart-shaped biscuit tin that was used to store my 21st birthday 'cookie' that The Best Friend used to celebrate on the cruise-- marrying aesthetic functionality with sentimental nostalgia. The plastic tray is a £1 stationary organiser (the first thing I bought in Cambridge) co-opted for jewelry purposes. For my large rings, brooches, essential oils and assorted chains. These all sit on top of my chest of drawers which has been turned into a dresser of sorts.

Silver and gold rings. Some of which were repurposed and refashioned by myself. These are resin ring displays.

• Top row: my uppermost drawer. I took out the 'drawers' from a cardboard IKEA 'chest of drawers', flipped the 'chest', and voila. . now I have eight compartments to store things like flower accessories, hairbands, fabric hats, silk ribbons and lace, and bangles of all shapes and sizes, including my gorgeous square bangles which my father mistook for some new-fangled nonsensical coaster that I might have bought. All things lace such as lace dresses, tops, slips, etcetera are rolled into the damask stationery holder, squashed next to boxes of bow ties and a row of shiny tights.

• Middle row: Earrings! And some necklaces. Before I left Sing, my good friend Vee gave me this two-sided earring holder, which was a complete lifesaver, because I could then transport my earrings in peace without fearing they'd get wrecked, and be able to view all forty-eight compartments. When D first saw this, he joked, "Now I have to wonder if you are scary and obsessive". Well he knew right from the start I have loads of stuff, before going on to tell me about all the musical gadgets with flashing lights and knobs that he has. And at least we both have a shared love of Macs, to which he'll always tell me, "If anyone is watching us they'd think we're both bloody Mac addicts. Which we are."

• Bottom row (right): A wire holder in the shape of a bustier for holding some of my larger earrings, as well as a spray-painted white corkboard with other necklaces, harnesses, etcetera, some of which are stored in transparent bags, all pinned to the board. (Left) Storage next to my bed. Slanted ceilings means loads of floor space but less 'maneuverable space'. Satin bags of stuff, a vintage-looking trunk, pretty boxes, a leopard-printed vanity, and a wicker basket storing massage oils and hand creams keep my possessions organised next to a lazy, easy-reading chicklit novel to tuck into before my consciousness evaporates into Sandman's Turf.

 Two huge ostenatious necklaces 'superimposed' onto one another, one of which I refashioned from a broken bracelet and miscellaneous spare parts during a Wire Party (i.e. crafting with our junk and wires) Vee and I held; Energy stones; Cinnamon Toast and Opium candles; and a vibrant bird in a cage trinket. I love Accessorize sales, where you get all sorts of colourful stuff that nobody really buys-- things like painted Oriental fans and feather masks and insane impractical trinkets-- that I snap up for about £1-£3 and use somehow, somewhat, somewhere. Sometimes I tie that bird cage trinket to a clutch with a satin ribbon. . I dare say the effect is gorgeous!

Books and shoes. My two great loves. The shoes have been meticulously organised according to some kind of logic, and the Practical And Below Three-Inch Heels Boots have been banished to hide in a recess below the stair. Really regret that there is insufficient space for all my books so much so they are squeezing in a DVD case, although I kind of like the idea of squeezing a Sophie Kinsella next to a Jose Arguelles and some book on Criminological Theories-- love the eclecticism. D and I found The Encyclopedia of Occultism in an old bookstore in Cambridge with all sorts of arcane and ancient numbers; nevertheless I returned there on my second last day to pick up this book-- it was first-edition and published in 1920, and like he says, "In case we get possessed by some obscure 13th-Century demon" as though we are characters in Charmed. He also proudly produced two sets of Fu Dogs from his bag when he came back from Cyprus, telling me they were for guarding the books. I was a bit stunned and disoriented at first, because I would never buy Fu Dog items as coming from my culture, these are seen as guardians of temples . . and nothing we'd really think of. It's refreshing looking at things from another perspective, though. Nevertheless, they now sit on my shelf. The white-and-black theme was in part inspired by my boots (seen lying on the rug next to the iPad), because I think if people can dress based on some item of sorts, why not dress a home with inspiration originating from a pair of gorgeous boots? I also love the painting, lugged back from the Cambridge marketplace, whilst being subject to loads of odd stares-- because the store owner said, "No bags! People will ask you where you bought it from and you have to tell them to come here!". Except no one asked me where I got it from, and. . well, I got my painting anyway.

Thank you for your continued presence, and have a glorious week ahead!

P.S. Another concurrent post here, where the outfits, tag, and award are! :)