Moving from a fully furnished home filled with family members you love to a creepy old apartment may be intimidating. I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to be a professional interior designer to accomplish a Pinterest worthy apartment. Take it one step at a time and most importantly, have fun with it. Remember this is your own space and you have the complete freedom to express yourself, take advantage of it!
1. Pick a Color Scheme
Before moving into my studio, I wanted to make sure I had a color scheme that would work throughout the entire place, even if its only about 300 square feet. Pick a color you love. Pick something that calms you and inspires you. Sure, you might love hot pink right now, but will you really love staring at it for the next two semesters? Probably not. Having a color scheme provides a certain maturity level to your place, and you’ll feel like its your own little home. Remember, it doesn’t have to “match”, it just has to “go.”
1. Hang it up!
In most college apartments, you are not allowed to paint your stark white jail cell walls. Hanging up pictures and art on your wall will make you feel like you are constantly surrounded by things that you love. Having things on a wall creates a cozier “lived in” feel to a place.
3. Area Rugs
This tip is in my opinion the most important and effective way to make your place feel like home. What you may learn from first glance is this area of interior design is not cheap. However, it is possible to find a good deal. Places like HomeGoods are constantly full with hidden gems and you may be able to snag an area rug in under 40 bucks. Rugs create a flow to your place and you can cover up those ugly carpets that your landlord won’t replace with a design that you love.
4. Throw Pillows
Throw pillows may seem pointless, but they make the biggest difference in your place. In my opinion, you can never have too many. Having accent throw pillows will tie together your whole design and color scheme, and will create a cozy homey feel to what used to be a fraternity house.
5. Candles
Every home has a scent, so pick yours. Having candles not only makes your place smell great, it also makes it look great. Even buying the same scent your mom uses in your living room back at home will give you that automatic home feel.
6. Decorate for the Seasons
Nothing screams home quite like some corny holiday decorations. Now that you have your own place, carry these traditions over. There is something so exciting about putting up a tiny fake Christmas tree, or carving pumpkins and displaying them on your front porch. Creating these memories at your apartment will really make it feel like your home.
