Now that you’ve narrowed down where you’re going to live, decorating your apartment can be a bit overwhelming. Follow these HC tips and you’re humble abode will be affordably decorated yet swanky in no time.
Painting:
1. Paint only one wall; it’s all you really need. Having that accent wall in any room of the apartment will automatically bring a burst of energy, and be a good starting point for the rest of your decorating.
2. If you are not allowed to paint, use fabric. My roommate bought fabric from Walmart and glued it on to our wall. It may sound weird, but it looks really nice. It’s only on the bottom-half of the wall, which leaves plenty of room on the top-half for other wall decorations like shelves and picutres.
3. A chalkboard wall not only looks cute, but it can help keep you organized. Right above a friend’s desk she sprayed chalkboard paint, bought at Walmart, which she wrote on with different colored pieces of chalk, giving the room a cute, but organized look. Have friends write you sweet messages to keep you going throughout the week, or keep your to-do list.
Wall Decals:
1. Another simple way to add some flavor to your room is to add wall decals. Target’s are reasonably priced, most ranging from $10 to $30.
2. These can help add substance to your walls that aren’t painted, without overdoing it.
Bathrooms:
1. You have two routes you can go with in the bathroom, either make it completely different, or follow the color scheme of your room.
2. If you’re going a completely different route, go crazy and mix it up.
3. If you want to match it to your room here’s some help:
a. Make sure your shower curtain has similar colors to your room.
b. My shower curtain has four colors in it, so I mixed and matched the accessories in my bathroom.
c. My toothbrush holder and garbage can are the same color (courtesy of the awesome and affordable sets from Target).
d. My rug and towels are a different color, but a color that complements my shower curtain.
Miscellaneous:
1. One of my friends has an entire wall of pictures. The only thing she had to buy was the Sticky Tack to hold them up. It actually gives her room a really cool mosaic look, especially because a lot of them are places that she has traveled to.
2. Another friend has a sort of clothespin look in her room. She has a string, held up by two of those sticky hooks, and uses the clothes pins to hold her pictures. It gives her room a homey, earthy feel.
3. If you’re looking to make your apartment a little more unique, (a.k.a. not wanting to see your decorations in all your other friends’ apartments) take some time to go to different shops. Stores like T.J. Maxx and Ross always have hidden gems; we purchased our curtains, box shelves, candles and side tables there. You must work hard to find the good stuff, but it’s worth it. Plus it’s cheap!