This year has brought about a lot of changes in my life:
getting a new job, moving on from stressful and negative situations, making
more time for myself and my family, and being able to move into an apartment by
myself.
I try to stop every once in a while throughout my hectic day
to reflect and acknowledge how immensely blessed I have been. I am extremely
fortunate to be able to afford a place that I consider to be perfect and
transform it into a home. And with this
reflection comes great pride and desire to make my living space beautiful for
myself.
I’d never made much effort in decorating before, aside from
hanging up unique show posters and antique knick-knacks, so I was admittedly a
bit overwhelmed when I began looking for things to place in my new home.
In searching for the perfect place for you, I suggest
seeking out a realtor. I stumbled upon
H2 Realty in my seemingly infinite search of apartments, and met the most
helpful chick, Linley Real. She showed
me my awesome place that I immediately fell in love with.
It’s also beneficial to make a list of features or amenities
that you want within your price-range.
For instance, after dealing with constantly broken (a.k.a.
never-bothered-to-repair’d) washers/dryers in my old apartment’s “laundry room”
(using the term loosely), I decided that my next apartment had to have a washer
and dryer, or at least a washer/dryer connection. I’d literally live in a cardboard box if it
had a washer and dryer that actually worked.
Another tip from me to you is: invest. I had some graduation money saved up and used
it to buy a new 2-piece bedroom suite, mattress, couch, and armchair (the
comforter (Anthropologie) and pillows were a birthday gift from my parents). I was actually rockin’ a twin bed along with
some hand-me-down DIY’d furniture for the longest, and it was time for a
change. I was comfortable with spending
the money because I know I’d use these items for a long time, no matter where I
moved to next.
In creating my apartment’s overall look, I found that it was
pretty beneficial to live in a one-bedroom. To me, small spaces make cozy homes
and it doesn’t feel bizarre to use the same color scheme throughout the space.
Curtains and tie-backs from Urban Outfitters
I picked my favorite colors first: dark dark purple,
turquoise, and grey (with white and black accents). From there, I began seeking out pieces that
would work with my colors, with a combination of kitschy trinkets to prevent
the “matchy-ness” from becoming monotonous.
From there, it became easy. I
tried to keep practicality in mind to prevent myself from filling up the space
too much.
My bookshelf turned into somewhat of a catchall for my
books, random thrift store finds, and small sentimental things I’ve accumulated
over the years. It is a family heirloom,
constructed by my late great-grandfather who was actually blind, so his
furniture is really special to us. I
painted it black along with my two antique telephone end tables, and my mom’s
old kitchen table/chairs, to pull the room together.
My mom picked up a lot of stuff, including my shower curtain, from a small overstock store in Gadsden called Dirt Cheap. They have some really great deals, even if the name is pretty silly.
I decorate on a budget.
Half of my stuff is from thrift stores, or found in my maw-maw’s
basement, and the other half is from cheaper places like Hobby Lobby, Bed Bath
& Beyond, Pier 1, Target, World Market, or Urban Outfitters. I’d say my best finds were the rug (easy to
clean and ties the room together) from UO, lanterns from World Market, (which
were surprisingly cheap and easy to hang, and the floral lampshade from
Wal-Mart.
My next project is to recover my kitchen chairs. The mauve velveteen seats are an amazing
color, but they attract cat hair like nobody’s business, and I think they’d
stand out so much better with grey and white polka dotted fabric.
Fresh flowers in a new apartment makes it THAT much better. These are from my lovely friends on the night of my housewarming dinner :)
No comments:
Post a Comment