Desert Dwelling

South of the Boarder: I think my roommate and I have agreed that we’re kind of going for a Southwest-rustic-chic vibe. There wasn’t much we could do about the all the beige paint since we’re renting and we have this super tall vaulted ceiling, so we just went with it and wanted to incorporate bold colors and interesting wood textures to offset that.

Simple Living: I wish I could say we got our furniture from some super trendy local furniture store, but we aren’t quite in that tax bracket. I’m pretty sure my couches are the cheapest ones from Value City, and our coffee table and TV cabinet are from Wayfair.com—who I would 100-percent recommend for their customer service alone!

Favorite Find: My favorite piece is definitely the TV stand. We waited about a month and a half for it to come and it was completely worth the wait. The color is insanely beautiful. Honorable mention goes to the gilded deer bust.

Shared Space: A lot of the art came from my roommate Elisabeth. She got the masks from Costa Rica, the Orthodox Christian art from her church, and has some of her own original, gorgeous paintings hanging. Some little decor pieces I’ve gotten from World Market, Sweet Elizabeth Jane in Ellicott City, and antique stores.

Head Games: We have a few skulls: The deer is most prominent, but we also have a goat. Elisabeth’s brother’s girlfriend is a hunter and was generous enough to donate some of the skulls she’s . . . acquired. We like to put a Rudolph nose on the deer skull around Christmas time. Really gets us in the spirit.

Instagram Inspiration: Plants give the space such a natural feel and the ledge in front of the fireplace is a perfect place to showcase them. I recently discovered Justina Blakeney’s Instagram and her aesthetic is a dream come true, and going to be a huge inspiration in how our room evolves. I want to live in her world.

Relaxation Station: I love hosting in this room. I frequently go overboard when I have people over and cook six days worth of food for, like, three people, but it’s super fun for me to cook for my friends and have everyone relax in our space. My roommate reads and writes a lot, and we all like to cuddle with Gretchen, Elisabeth’s super cute border collie, in here.

For cooking tips and recipes, visit Parker’s website The Anti Al Dente.