At Home With Toshiko Shek

We are happy to welcome Toshiko Shek to the blog today to share a bit of her Santa Cruz home with us! “I currently live in a small, rented apartment in Santa Cruz, California. Santa Cruz is a small beach town about an hour and a half south of San Francisco. Think of it as the Malibu of LA but not as upscale and way more hippie. I live just 10 minutes walking distance from the Pacific Coast which is quite amazing. Since my apartment is a rental, I can’t paint the walls or make any drastic changes so I have to be creative with what I do to make my home as personal as I can. I like my home decor just like my clothes, chic and modern with a vintage flair.” “I upcycled most of my furniture. Everything is either thrifted or bought off of craigslist. It’s the best way to go! I love my coffee table, we bought it off craigslist for 10 bucks! We sanded it and painted it a nice cream color. It is the perfect size and I love the three glass panels which give it a modern look. I also absolutely love my antique Victorian dresser and nightstand. I found this matching set for less than a hundred dollars and it was in great shape too! Definitely felt like I hit the jackpot! Last but not least, the unicorn lamp! The lamp base is a revamped vintage piece and the shade is new. I love how big it is and the gold accent is simply amazing. Its mint color doesn’t exactly go with my overall color theme but I still love it.”“I have lived here for 4 years with my fiancé and two cats. I change up the decor once in awhile to freshen up the space. I used to have a mint color theme going on but I recently changed it to this black, cream/off white, and mustard combo. I also love changing up the feel of the bedroom according to the season. During the summer it was light and airy but about two months ago I got a new bedding and added a bunch of decorative pillows in rich autumnal colors to make it more cozy for fall and winter!” “We actually moved into a 2-bedroom from a 1-bedroom in this same apartment complex a couple of years ago so I can use one of the bedrooms as a closet. What you see (in the photo of the closet-room) isn’t even all of my stuff. I have tons of shoes under the bed and boxes of clothes in my fiancé’s closet. Also, there are actually more than 20 hats on the wall, they are just stacked together! Let’s just say, as a stylist, my closet is my library. I admit, it is a bit out of control and I still don’t have enough space!

The rest of the apartment though, I try to keep it easy and spacious. We spend most of our time in the sun-filled living room. This is actually where I do all my photo editing and blogging for my personal style blog, on the couch while cuddling with my cats of course! Oh, and I love buying fresh flowers from the farmers market to freshen up my apartment.”Thank you so much for sharing your home with us, Toshiko! You can find more of Toshiko over on her blog It’s Not Her, It’s Me and on Instagram! xo.