Whenever you move into a new place, it’s important to make your new living space your own, where you feel safe, happy and comfortable. Whether it’s moving into a new apartment near school, or a new space in general, you can use these tips and tricks for styling your new space to feel like home – your home! Here are three ideas for making that home feel more like yours:
- Find your personal style (and mesh it with your roomies!).
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When starting the furnishing and decorating process, it is really important to try and define your style with one, or at most two, specific styles that you can denote as encompassing your aesthetic and personality. Expressing yourself through the styling, color scheme and furnishings of your new apartment is essential to making this new space feel like you! It is often helpful to take an interior design/style quiz (good ones can usually be found on Pinterest or Buzzfeed), and then compare it with your roommates to see what style meshes well with all of you – at least for the common areas! Your own individual bedroom is a different story, but it is important that the common living spaces are reflective of all your roomies as a whole, so as to display all of your unique and amazing stylings to coalesce into one beautiful space full of light.
- Don’t underestimate simplicity.
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Trust me on this, your living space (not to mention your wallets!) will thank you for emphasizing simple over excess in your interior design and furnishing. Having statement pieces, such as a sleek couch, a piece of art/photograph or a glimmering coffee side-table will make your space feel bigger, cleaner and more livable as opposed to having various and excessive pieces laid out around the house. It may feel overwhelming at first, as there can be so many pieces to choose from that all look so gorgeous, but simple and clean is always best. Start by picking out the absolute essentials (couch, dining table/chairs, tv stand and storage) and then go from there! Don’t go for anything that will make the room feel overcrowded or messy; when in doubt, less is more.
- Use lighting and storage to your advantage.
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Whether it be the extra light needed for studying, working or just hanging out with your roomies, lighting around the apartment is often something that is overlooked. Pay attention to your space and see where you can take advantage of natural light. Use this to plan how you are going to layout your rooms in order to take full advantage of light wherever you can! If your space does not have a ton of natural light to begin with, investing in stable floor lamps as well as tons of string lights to place about the house can be a game-changer. Also, string lights just have a way of making the space feel a little extra special! When it comes to storage, it is important to make something out of nothing. What I mean is, try and utilize what you already have to make storage easier as well as more accessible. If you have extra space under your bed, use it! It can be easy to make storage compartments around the house, as well as in your personal space. From using Mason jars to using that extra wall space for shelving – this can all make a huge difference in making your space a little more organized!
This is just a starter-pack on the tips you’ll need for making the space your own. Take these into account when you go in and start decorating and designing your new place. Most importantly, make the space reflective of you and your loved ones sharing the space with you. A place that reflects the personality and style of those who live there is truly what makes a space feel more like a home.