Tips for Decorating Your Apartment

By Brooke Tideman on July 24, 2016

As we get closer to the beginning of the school year many of us are searching for things to help us start decorating our apartments. It seems pretty easy at first; you think “Oh, I only need a couple things like maybe a couple pillows and some candles,” but boy are you wrong. If you want your apartment to feel like a real home for you and you would prefer it not to look like a prison cell, you will definitely need more than a couple pillows and candles. The other problem we face is knowing when and where to buy stuff for decorating our apartments – do we start early or wait until we get up to campus?

Choose a color scheme

This might seem like an obvious tip, but it is something that we all forget every now and then when we go shopping for our apartments. When decorating your apartment, you and your roommates need to choose a color scheme for the common area. Make sure it is a color that you all can get behind, because the apartment is home for all of you and it would be unfair to have decorations that only some of you like.

www.pinterest.com

Get something to hang on the wall

You need to hang something on the wall of your apartment common area; whether it is a painting, poster, or a wall tapestry you need to hang something. If you have a giant space above your couch with nothing there it does not matter how many throw pillows you have or how brightly they are colored, your apartment will look and feel empty. Definitely look here  for wall tapestries!

www.polyvore.com

Throw blankets for the common area

Your apartment will get cold. And when you are with your friends on the couch in the living room watching some movies or hanging out gossiping, one of you is going to want a blanket. Which is why you have to go out and buy a cute throw blanket or two that will stay in the living room. The great thing about throw blankets is that they do not have to match the color scheme if you do not want them to. So go buy a Florida State throw blanket or a Disney one.

www.tealandlime.com

Decorative accents

Those little random things you see in stores that seem kind of odd but also really cute are called decorative accents. They are great for decorating your apartment because they are small, usually kind of cheap, and you can even make some yourself. If you drink wine, you could get this and then use your empty wine bottles as pretty vases for flowers. Go get a tea light holder, a picture frame, or even a little sign. Just get something small and pretty so your tables look like they are full.

www.pinterest.com

Stores to go to and ones to avoid

Before going to any stores you should look online to see which stores near you have the best prices for items that you want, and then go there. Always have a plan of what you want to have when you are going to go shopping, that way you are not overwhelmed by options at the store. Some of the best stores to go to when shopping on a budget are Walmart, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Home Goods. You will find just about anything there that would normally cost you an arm and a leg if you went to real stores. Another great place to go is Bed Bath and Beyond, they have a huge variety and normally have lots of sales. Do your best to avoid stores like Pier 1 Imports, Pottery Barn, and any other pricey stores because you really do not want to spend the money there only to realize that the cheaper stores have the same or similar things for half the price.

Buy stuff before you get up to school

When you are getting decorations for your apartment, you definitely need to purchase them before you go to school. Sure, it adds some more stuff to your car and takes up space but at least you can get the stuff you want. If you wait until you get up to school, there will be pretty much nothing you actually like in stock and you will either go without for a couple of weeks or get stuff you hate. Remember all of the freshmen are coming up and going last minute shopping for stuff for their dorms, so they will probably be the ones getting the good stuff.

Remember, your apartment is your new home so when you are out buying stuff to decorate make sure it is what you actually like. You do not want to spend a ton of money only to be annoyed with what you bought in a couple of months. Good luck apartment decorating!

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