7 Ways to Create a Great First Impression of Your Apartment

By Christine Ascher on October 12, 2017

This article is brought to you by CORT Furniture Rental. We take the hassle out of furnishing your new place so you can do more important things like read this article. Learn more about why furniture rental is the best way to get a great looking apartment.

If you like entertaining your friends in your apartment, it’s worth your while to spend some time ensuring that your apartment is a fun place to hang out. This starts with a little cleaning and decoration, to make sure that when your guests first walk in, they’ll want to stay.

It can be difficult to make your standard college-issue apartment stand out and to transform it from a bland, utilitarian space into somewhere people will actually want to spend time, but with a little bit of attention you can make it happen.

The next time you want to have guests over, keep these tips in mind to ensure that your space is looking its best and creating a great first impression.

Image via https://www.pexels.com

1. Keep it clean

The first step to ensuring that your apartment will impress your guests is by eliminating clutter so that they’re walking into a clean, well-organized space. This may seem like an obvious step, but when you’ve been living in your apartment for a while, items can tend to pile up gradually without your even realizing it.

To avoid clutter in the first place, invest in some inexpensive storage solutions. For instance, rather than leaving your shoes lying in front of the door, purchase an over-the-door storage system that you can hide away in a closet. That way, your entryway will be ready for guests at all times.

2. Include organization for your guests

In addition to ensuring that your own clutter is hidden away, you should also include some storage places for guests to hide away their shoes, coats, bags, and anything else that might clog the entryway into your apartment.

If you have the space, try using a small table with shelves for storing shoes; you can even make this into a décor piece as well by decorating with pictures, plants, or other smaller items. Save room in your own closet for coats and purses as well — you won’t want all of your decluttering to go to waste because you don’t have a spot for your friends’ stuff.

3. Use plants

Purchasing some plants or flowers for your apartment will make it brighter and will give your apartment a more homey feel for guests who are visiting. If you’re busy or forgetful and don’t want to worry about the upkeep involved with plants, try low-maintenance plants like succulents. You can even spring for some nice, fake flowers — you’ll still get the look and color of real flowers, without having to worry about keeping them alive or the cost of replacing them when they die.

4. Set up extra lighting

The biggest flaw that can make your apartment feel less welcoming is if you have poor lighting. A dark space is rarely appealing; fortunately, this is a relatively easy fix. In addition to investing in more lamps, whether smaller, tabletop ones, or bigger floor lamps, you can also add some personality to your apartment by hanging up some string lights.

To create a really nice first impression, string some up in your entryway and plug them in when your friends come over. In addition to making the space brighter, you’ll also create a better atmosphere that will draw your guests in.

5. Use mirrors

Mirrors are a great, easy way to decorate your entryway and to brighten it up a bit. If your entryway or the first room that your guests will come to is a bit lacking in light, then a mirror will help even more to reflect the existing light and lighten up the space. Even if you don’t want to hang it up, just setting a mirror on a table in your entryway will have a great effect on the space. In addition to making it seem lighter, it will also make the space seem bigger — which is especially convenient if you’re living in a small college apartment.

6. Decorate the walls

To make your space seem more interesting, and to give your guests something to look at when they first walk in, use some decorative accents to cover empty walls. For a more inexpensive option, consider hanging up a tapestry; this will add a lot of color to your apartment, and make it seem warmer and brighter.

You can also use posters as an inexpensive way to add some interest. Using warm colors will make your space feel more comfortable and relaxing, and will make guests feel more welcome as they come in.

7. Make a picture collage

A nice way to personalize and liven up your apartment is to create a wall collage with your own personal pictures. This will draw your guests’ eyes and will allow you to show off some of your favorite photos. To make it even more interesting, you can mix and match the picture frames that you use, and create a random pattern on the wall.

If you don’t want to invest in frames, you can create your own using decorative tape as a border; in addition to being less expensive, this also allows you to add personality and color to your apartment.

Looking for an easy way to furnish your off-campus apartment? Renting furniture from CORT saves you time and money. See how easy it is to get great looking furniture without breaking the bank.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format