Last week, I promised a full rundown of the items in my apartment, so, without further ado, I present to you - my inventory! If you’d like some accompanying visuals, I have an updated apartment tour here.
*Quick note, none of this is sponsored, and I’m not making any money off of these links. If I don’t note that it was gifted, it means I purchased the piece myself.
**Another note, many of the links are specific to Germany, so if you’re not based here, just try Googling the name, and it should pop up in your country’s version.
Furniture:
Bed - I have the 180x200 (king size). It’s been a dream. I love that it has drawers so it can double as a dresser.
Nightstand - A friend gave this to me, and it’s actually supposed to be a coffee table. My nightstand is the smaller of the two pieces. I used the larger piece as my coffee table before I upgraded to my current all-glass situation.
Sofa - I have this in the color “Gunnared Beige.” The chaise part can be configured to either the left or right side. It’s super comfy and the covers are machine-washable, which is a huge plus.
Dining table - My beloved kitchen table, I’m shocked at how much the price has gone up. I purchased it in August 2020 for under 200 Euros. I did a little research, and it looks like this is why. Fun fact, this was the very first piece I knew I wanted to purchase, and I essentially designed the rest of my apartment around it.
Rattan/Cesca knockoff chairs - I always dreamed of having these chairs at the cheapest price I could find them for. They’re shockingly high quality, and I’m very happy with them.
Green chairs - These were gifted, and I absolutely adore them. Unfortunately, the color I have no longer seems to be available, but the other options all look lovely.
Scandinavian-style chairs - These have also gone up significantly in price (I’m pretty sure I paid around 70 Euros for the set of four) and they aren’t the absolute highest quality, but they’re cute and get the job done. I have them in the color “Creme-Beige.” I only use two of them now that I have more chairs.
Coffee table - I knew I wanted a proper glass table. I’ve seen some made of plexi on TikTok that just looked totally cheap to me. This looks amazing both on video and in person, and I highly recommend it.
Art & Decor:
Living and dining room posters - The million dollar question, “where did you get your gun poster?” I purchased all four of my living and dining room posters from artistsposters.com, a gallery based in Cologne. They have a great selection on their site, ranging in price from very affordable to anything but. All of mine are original exhibition posters and do not seem to have other copies available, except for the eye poster by Georg Dokoupil, which is a print available over at Curated Copenhagen. They have a great online selection, and I love browsing their Instagram for inspiration. I think the best way to buy art is to just go for anything that really catches your eye. If you have neutral furniture, anything you choose will pretty much automatically look good.
THE blue blanket - The classic Linnéa Andersson x Arket blanket. It’s a gorgeous blanket, although it isn’t exactly the most unique anymore, as it truly feels like everyone owns it by now. The other colors are just as beautiful - I particularly like the red. Both the blue and red are currently sold out, but they frequently restock, so keep checking back.
Aperol Spritz poster - Mine was a birthday gift from Etsy and doesn’t have ingredients listed, but this is extremely similar.
Bed poster - This is a concert poster from a Swell Season show in Oregon in 2009. I got it in 2017 from Sonnenzimmer, which no longer appears to sell it directly. I have always loved the imagery of the made and unmade beds hanging over my own bed.
Larger bedroom rug - Another gifted piece from Made, just a very nice rug. I noticed it has a one star review, which I think may have been a defective piece. I’m really happy with the quality of mine.
Smaller bedroom rug - I don’t have this displayed at the moment, but you can find it in this Instagram. I think it’s beautiful, and I just need to find the right place for it.
Dining and living room rugs - In what I know will be a great disappointment for many, my parents gave these to me! They are hand-knotted rugs from Turkey over 20 years ago. The good news is, if you ever go to Turkey (which I highly recommend), you can easily find similar and relatively inexpensive versions. Otherwise, I recommend scouring Etsy or secondhand shops. The Turkish “kilim” style of rug is also lovely.
East - My favorite cookbook. Such fun, creative, and easy recipes to make. This is a cult classic amongst my friends in Berlin. We all absolutely worship at the temple of Meera Sodha.
Flavour - I have the British edition, which is funny because for the American edition, they changed the spelling to “flavor” and also changed the cover. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone vibes. Both are pretty, but I really prefer the British cover of the onion. As for the actual content of this cookbook, these definitely aren’t the easiest or fastest recipes to make, but they are quite cool.
Blue Bowl - I get asked about this bowl quite a bit, and it turns out I’ve accidentally been lying to everyone about it! My mom gave it to me, and I thought it was a hand-painted bowl from Turkey, but when I texted her to confirm, she replied that it’s from “San Francisco, that famous Italian eatery at the Pier.” I have never been to California, so I don’t quite know what she means, but I’m sure many of you do!
Hanging lamps - I couldn’t find the exact 3-piece lamp that hangs over my kitchen table, but I know it’s from BoConcept. My landlord let me keep it when I moved in, and I think it’s absolutely beautiful.
Bow lamp - I have the matte black which no longer seems to be available. It was a gifted piece and at the time, it was the only color available. It’s grown on me quite a bit now, but I probably would have originally preferred the black nickle or the chrome.
Gold plant stand - Another gifted piece that I just adore.
Decorative bed pillow - I bought this throw pillow from West Elm almost five years ago, as a 25th birthday present to myself. They no longer carry the exact one, but you can find a good selection here.
Wall mirror - I (and my many selfies) would be nothing without the Hovet.
Table-runner - Mine is from IKEA and made out of rattan/wicker, but I couldn’t find it on the site. I’m not seeing a ton that look similar, but I would keep checking back for a potential restock.
Miscellaneous:
Bedding - You can never go wrong with some plain white bedding. I have this in the 240x220 size.
Pillows - This is the single most comfortable pillow on earth. It used to be called the Jordrök, and I was devastated thinking it had been discontinued, but this Reddit thread clued me in that it has simply been renamed. Long live the Lundtrav!
Garment rack - My most recent purchase, out of extreme necessity! I still need to style it properly (and will shoot a TikTok of this process), but I am extremely happy with it.
Knife block - I got this from TK Maxx (the European name for TJ Maxx, lol) and sadly enough, the largest knife handle broke off this morning, so I’ll be replacing it with one of my IKEA knives for the time being.
Spoon rest - An adorable piece I got on extreme clearance at the Anthropologie in the King of Prussia Mall. This one is very cute.
Yogurt bowls - My blue bowls are actually from TK Maxx, but these look similar.
Bathroom hamper - Rarely shown on my social media, nonetheless a cute and practical laundry hamper!
If I’m being perfectly honest, it was, at times, a little disheartening putting this list together. I guess I hadn’t realized the full extent the toll of inflation has taken, but almost all of my furniture has gone up dramatically in price, particularly the wooden pieces. When I moved into this apartment in August 2020, it made sense for me to buy the bulk of my initial furniture from IKEA so I could take advantage of the delivery option. I’ve been lucky enough to be gifted a few larger pieces since then. If I had to furnish my apartment from scratch, I don’t think I’d feel so comfortable paying at these price points.
If you have access to a car and aren’t married to the idea of having a specific item in your home, I think it’s much more fun to shop secondhand. Facebook Marketplace or eBay Kleinanzeigen (depending on your country) also have a lot of gems that I really recommend taking advantage of.
The best piece of advice I can give is not to rush on anything you buy for your home, to really take your time and only purchase things you truly love. I had folding chairs for the first four months I lived here because I couldn’t quite find chairs I liked. It took me almost eight months to decide on and hang up my art. I didn’t have rugs for a full year. It was all worth it, because I never bought a single piece I didn’t like!
If you noticed anything missing off the list, please let me know. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next week!
Hey! Why about your standing desk/computer stand? It’s so much nicer than most of the ones I see