How To Make a Temporary Apartment a Home

Ever since moving away to college almost four years ago I have lived in different apartments. Freshman year I lived in on-campus apartments for first-years, sophomore year I lived in a townhouse off-campus with three other girls, and then junior year I moved into a studio apartment that I am still living in now. Being someone who's mood is very much affected by their surroundings (as discussed in last weeks post), I struggled a bit when I first moved away from home because I found it very difficult to create a space that felt like my own when I wasn't going to live there for very long.

Making an apartment, especially a college apartment, feel homey and like its your own is difficult because 1. chances are you won't be there for a very long period of time and investing in the place can feel like a waste and 2. because it is a rental it can be nearly impossible to make more permanent changes to suit your particular style. However, I've found that making an apartment feel more like a home is possible (even if you're on a budget like me), it just takes a bit of time and experimenting with less traditional decor options.

Focus on Bedding ~ I've found that if you're going to spend money on decorating and filling your apartment the best place to do it is on bedding. Considering the fact that you spend about a third of your time in bed, it should be a place where you feel the most comfortable and the most cozy. Especially since I live in a studio apartment, my bed is the biggest piece of furniture in my living space and I am constantly looking at it so I like it to look nice and cozy. I also like to throw blankets over my couch because its not a piece of furniture that I particularly love (my apartment was partially furnished when I moved in) and it does make the piece a lot more cozy and is more personalized to my taste. You don't have to spend a ton of money on bedding but I think a subtly printed duvet cover and nice sheets can make a world of a difference in the overall look of a small apartment.

Add Greenery ~ I talked about this in my last blog post, but I'm going to bring it up yet again, I think one of the nicest ways to spruce up an apartment is by adding greenery, whether it be in the form of houseplants or flowers. This is a relatively cheap way of adding some more color into a small living space, and for me at least, having greenery in my apartment instantly makes me feel better. As clichéd as it is I think succulents are always a good place to start because they look adorable and are relatively easy to take care of, and thats saying something for me because I have the least green thumb there is.

Decorate with Everyday Objects ~ Because my apartment is such a temporary living space I have not felt the need to buy decor for the sake of buying decor. Rather than buying loads of throw pillows and artwork for my walls, I like to decorate my apartment with more everyday objects. One of my favorite parts of my apartment is my little bookshelf, which I have organized all of my books by color. Not only does this part of my apartment serve a practical purpose, but because all of the books are color coordinated it acts as a kind of decor because it is so visually pleasing. I also like to scatter things like my cameras onto surfaces in my apartment because they are representative of my hobbies and I love how the look. In terms of filling up space on the wall, posters and prints are pretty much my go-to for "artwork". I have a glossier poster hanging up, which came with one of my orders (all glossier orders come with a different poster by the way) as well as a print that I randomly bought at Urban Outfitters a few years ago and a poster from a band that my friend got me for a birthday present. I think decorating with more everyday objects is not only a cost-effective way to decorate an apartment, but because they are such personal objects they really show your own hobbies and interests.

Lighting Is Everything ~ When I moved into the apartment that I live in now, the thing I hated about the space was the lighting. There is one overhead fan light in my apartment and not only is the fixture itself pretty awful-looking and outdated, but the light itself is just not pleasing at all and makes the whole apartment look a bit drab. One way I remedied this was getting a floor lamp from Ikea to add a bit of brightness, but also to act as a furniture-like fixture for the apartment. I also added fairy lights around my bed to create a kind of faux-headboard and the light that these string lights adds makes a load of a difference in terms of the way my apartment looks and feels. Lighting is a really cheap way to spruce up and make an apartment seem a lot more cozy and inviting.