I spent two months following our move to our new apartment searching for some type of decorative solution for the wall behind our dining room table all to no avail. Right away we nixed hanging a large piece of art. We just couldn’t find anything we loved enough to commit to making such a focal point of our living space. Doing a gallery wall crossed my mind too, but those are just sooo much work and if I’m being completely honest, I’m kinda over that home decor trend.
So with art out the window… what options were left? Framed photography. You’d think with all the pictures we take on trips that I’d be dying to print out our favorites. Maybe it’s because I share photos of myself so often here and on Instagram, but I have absolutely no desire to hang large images of myself on the walls our home. Nick shares my sentiments, which isn’t surprising considering he prefers staying behind the lens.
Discovering Hexagon Shelves
Talk about a road block. It wasn’t until I fell down a crazy black hole of wall decor ideas on Pinterest that I finally discovered hexagon aka Hexagon shelves! The unique shape and easy ability to personalize and display decor is what immediately drew me to these shelves. Right away I knew these would be the perfect solution and a great way to display tchotkes, small ceramics and live plants.
Shopping for Shelves
I purchased two sets of three 14″ inch Hexagon shelves from Northern Creek Wood on Etsy. These shelves are lightweight and come in a variety of sizes and colors. The shop owner was incredibly helpful too! I sent him a photo of our dining room and he got back to me right away with his thoughts on what color wash would match our table best.
Hanging and Decorating Hexagon Shelves
It was actually really easy though! Since the shelves were already so lightweight and not going to holding anything heavy, we were able to hang our shelves directly into the drywall using basic screws.
Since five of the six shelves would be nested together, we went one by one. After marking the spot where the top of the shelf would hang, Nick drilled a single screw into the wall leaving about 1/4″ inch out of the wall for the shelf to hang on. It was really that easy!
Obviously if you’re ordering larger shelves or plan on displaying items of substantial weight, you may want to look into a more heavy duty options when handing these to your wall. I’d suggest checking with wherever you buy your shelves for advice!
Personalizing the Shelves
I decided to decorate ours with personal mementos (mostly purchased on international trips) and small plants. Nick and I both LOVE how it all turned out! The shelves are a really unique focal point in our main living space, but I love how they don’t overpower or detract from everything else going on in the room. The color of the wood perfectly Compliments our dining room furniture too! Also really love having a little bit of greenery in our main living space now. 🙂
Moving to Jersey City
If you’ve been wondering why things have been a little quieter on my blog it’s because last week we packed up our apartment and said goodbye to Manhattan. I know! The end of an era! For 7 long years we lived as New Yorkers and although we loved our time in the city Nick and both felt ready for a change of pace and scenery. So as of last Tuesday we officially became residents of Jersey City, New Jersey!
Transition to Jersey City
I don’t think this move comes as a surprise to many of you. I mentioned in my What I’m Looking Forward To In 2019 post that this year would likely be our last in New York. There were a number of reasons why I wanted to move and now that we’ve actually done it, I could not be happier and more confident in our decision.
Documenting the Move
Over on Instagram I took you guys along with us as we packed up our old place with the amazing help of Roadway Moving and made the hop across the Hudson River to Jersey City. This was the first time we’ve ever used hired movers and we were so impressed with the Roadway team!
Settling In Hexagon Wall Decor
The guys took apart our furniture, packed up everything for us (including clothing!) and then moved it all to our new place. They then re-assembled all our furniture and placed each box in the appropriate room where it would be unpacked! It was a long day and it really didn’t hit me until the morning of our move that we were actually doing it.
Emotions of the Move
At first I felt a little sentimental about leaving our previous apartment. Watching the movers take apart our furniture and begin carrying our belongings down to the truck definitely pulled on my heartstrings a bit. We loved that place so much, but we simply outgrew it and were over the fast-paced New York lifestyle.
New Beginnings for Hexagon Wall Decor
Any nerves I had about saying goodbye to our New York apartment completely washed away the moment I stepped inside our new place in Jersey City. It wasn’t like I hadn’t already seen it in person, but just walking in the front door and seeing all our things being brought inside just made it all feel so much more real.
Introducing Our New Home
Say hello to our new home! We signed the lease for a new 2-bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment back in December after spending about two months researching and touring buildings in both Hoboken and Jersey City. Our apartment must-have checklist was long. If we were going to undertake such a big move across state lines that would require Nick to commute, it had to be for the right place.
Criteria for the New Apartment
We really loved that our last apartment was in a full service building with an elevator, package room and 24 hour doorman. Knowing we wanted all of that again helped narrow down the options a lot during our search. One of the things that made us so excited about Jersey City is that it’s become a mecca for a new residential development. It’s home to a plethora of brand new buildings full of modern amenities and added square footage that you simply just can’t find in Manhattan.
Final Touches
Other must-haves for us were a large functional 2 bed/2 bath layout, affordable parking garage (rates in our last building were $450+ per month,) modern appliances (aka an a/c unit with more than just an on & off switch,) an in-unit washer and dryer (in NYC you’re lucky if your building has a community laundry room,) lots of natural light, close proximity to a PATH train stop (this is what Nick rides to work) and a separate kitchen that could fit two people at the same time. Needless to say we had our work cut out for us.