Allowed A Pet Add A Retro Bedding Idea
Fur parents rejoice! For there are some great options out there to inject some fun into your apartment.This cat condo from Wayfair combines the functions of a bedside cabinet and a cat condo which makes it a perfect place for your beloved fluffy ones to snuggle up next to you in the bedroom or sofa.
It also has a drawer that opens with two knobs for handy storage. You can enjoy watching your cat while it nestles in its very own TV cat house. Style with pet-friendly houseplants for a chic, green space for your mutt or moggy.
Organize Items By Use
Be realistic when determining how you want to use the living room, then gather similar things together and place them in specific zones. For instance, all movies, music and games should go near the entertainment center. Place magazines and books in a rack or storage box near your reading chair. You might also want to consider getting furniture that can double as storage. A lot of coffee tables are also boxes. You can put items that arent used as often, like blankets and board games, in something like this.
Get Helpful Apartment Living Tips
At Triple Crown Corporation, we understand apartment living better than anyone. With rental communities throughout South Central Pennsylvania, we know what makes rental living comfortable. From how to decorate an apartment to solving roommate conflict or touring a rental home, weve got plenty of advice to offer.
Be sure to check out our blog for more helpful apartment living tips that cover everything from moving to enjoying the area you now live in. Youll have a space that transforms into your perfect home in no time.
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How To Decorate Small Spaces
Avoiding curtains or using light shades really helps to maximize lighting, making the room feel bigger.
Choosing larger rugs really helps to make a room feel bigger. Unlike smaller rugs, this large size rug doesnt visually break up the floor. Large rugs also help to make the space feel warmer and cozy.
Choosing stackable stools that you can just leave in the corner of the room, give you plenty of seating options for when you have friends around.
Go vertical: use your walls for storage as much as you can. Go for high wall cabinets for your kitchen and utilize extra tall units as much as you can.
Choose lighting that can be attached to the walls or hung from the ceiling to save room on floor space.
Turn window sills into usable space. Here they have been used throughout the apartment to hold table lamps, without the need for extra furniture on the floor.
Mirrors create the illusion of more room and they are great in small hallway to give you the sensation of more light.
A little trick to make your room feel as big as possible is to hang your curtains as high as you can. This will make the room feel taller, giving you the sensation of a bigger room.
Smart furniture always helps with decorating small spaces. Make sure you have plenty of under bed storage. Dont leave all the space below your bed unutilized!
All the photos in this article are courtesy of Fantastic Frank
This is a perfect small living space, dont you think?
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Pick One Investment Piece
You can DIY your furniture and go the cheap route, but still pick one investment piece that will stay with you for years to come. Think about what’s most important to your needs and lifestyle, like an incredibly comfortable couch or beautiful dining table big enough for friends.
Make it a goal to add an investment piece every year, or whatever your budget permits, to outfit your entire apartment.
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Roomstyler 3d Room Planner
Trying to stretch as much of my budget as possible, I first tried a few free services for modeling my soon-to-be home. Some light Googling led me to Roomstyler, a 3D rendering tool for mocking up rooms and furnishing them with select furniture pieces from a catalog. This seemed like a good start for envisioning how we could lay out some of the items that would make the move with us.
Before moving in, I took photos of the unit and measured all the walls and windows. The tool lets you click and drag walls around to fit any irregularly shaped rooms, or specify wall length and height. You may not find exact matches for your home materials but you can get pretty close. There were no options for steel floors that I could find, for example, but dark grey brick replicated the feel.
Choosing the wall colors and floor felt surprisingly zen until I got to the furniture layout portion. While you can choose any color under the sun to virtually paint your room, the furniture selection tool is super clunky to use. A search for sectionals offered up hundreds of results, but filtering by color suddenly slimmed the results down to one or two options, even though there were clearly pieces that fit what I wanted when I didnt clarify color choice.
It felt like re-creating a West Elm showroom by memory using only stuff from Walmart
Use if you:
Love to play The Sims.
Dont use if you:
Actually want to style your real-life home and implement the design.
Be Creative With Rugs
Rugs are a really useful element for decorating an apartment, not only giving you a bit more control over the flooring situation , but also a tool for defining your layout.
‘It’s easy to design a layout for a large, open floor plan by arranging distinct groupings of furniture and uniting them with floor coverings, such as area rugs,’ explains architect and designer Kimberly Peck. In general, it pays to be generous when it comes to sizing of rugs, especially when using as part of your room’s layout. A large area rug will help to group a seating area, for example, while one that only sits underneath the coffee table will make your set-up look like separate islands floating in the space.
How about this idea for decorating an apartment using rugs? Kimberly used the owner’s rug collection to provide a floor covering that softens the concrete aesthetic of this apartment, while also filling the space with pattern and color. The design even includes kitchen rugs.
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Make Your Space Efficient
When you are living in an apartment that has been generously labelled as a ‘studio’, there are only so many mirrors you can hang to ‘bounce light around’ or multi-functional furniture you can buy to ‘maximize space’.
The key thing is just to be realistic about how much you can actually fit into your apartment and make everything you do choose really space-efficient. For example, do you really need a kitchen table? Or will a breakfast bar or a handy kitchen island with more kitchen storage be a better use of space?
Tackle The Challenges Of Lighting An Apartment
Apartments throw up some site-specific obstacles when it comes to designing the lighting scheme. These issues largely relate to overhead lighting too.
First up, not all apartments will have the provision to include lighting in the ceiling, and it’s very common to find apartments in New York, especially, without it. However, it’s not a complete loss. Overhead lighting isn’t always the coziest, especially as a living room lighting idea, and if your space has a decent amount of natural light during the day, you’re likely not to miss it.
This does, however, put the onus on floor and table lamps, and your space can quickly become cluttered if you require a freestanding lamp to illuminate every dark corner. Creating additional lighting, whether for ambient or task lighting, can be integrated into areas of your homes with the likes of recessed LED strips. Think shelving, kitchen cabinet lighting ideas, or whether there are interesting architectural features.
In some apartment layouts, you’ll also find that some rooms are set back from the windows, potentially not having any at all, robbing spaces of your home of natural light. These are often bedrooms and bathrooms, where sunlight provides that useful task lighting you need to get yourself out of the house looking your best.
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What Do Interior Designers Do
Interior designers do much more than pick complementary paint colors and choose matching furniture although those tasks are important parts of the job. Unlike decorators, interior designers usually have an associate of science degree or certificate of achievement in interior design from an accredited program. Theyre trained in drafting, lighting and computer aided design , and are experts in room-specific design and residential space planning. Interior designers use these skills to plan and design safe, highly functional and beautiful interior spaces, from kitchens and bathrooms to family rooms and bedrooms. They determine space requirements, work within building codes and inspection regulations, and meet accessibility standards. An interior designers day-to-day job includes creative and technical tasks, both of which often require great communication skills:
- Creating model rooms and visuals using design software.
- Researching different textiles, materials, finishes, lighting and furniture.
- Hiring suppliers, vendors, and contractors.
- Estimating costs and making bids on potential jobs.
Where To Shop For Your New Apartment
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Include The Biggest Dining Table Possible
A dining table doesn’t always make the cut when it comes to furnishing a small apartment, yet architect and designer Michael K Chen of MKCA sees it as an integral part of the design of one. ‘I’m always on the lookout for how to incorporate the largest possible table in a living space, and then to look for ways to position it or shape it in such a way that it encourages the widest set of uses,’ explains Michael.
‘A table is great for dining of course, but also for reading, for work, for projects, for games. If placed and selected well, they become the nerve center for a home for everything that is not sleeping or watching television.’
The size of table you can include will depend on the space you have to play with, but there are a few dining table ideas to help mitigate the floorplan-guzzling effects of a supersize design. Using banquette, or built-in, seating on one side, for example, means that the table can be closer to the wall, while using a rounded or oval shape table might reduce the overall surface space, but it softens the edges and makes the table easier to walk around, promoting a better flow to your space.
Utilize Functional Decor To Split Up Your Space
Whether you live in a small apartment or need more division, functional decor can help split up your space. Opt for decorative room dividers or curtains and hang to create a little office space in your bedroom.
An eating area can stand out with a small bistro table and artwork to designate your dining spot.
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Learn To Dress Large Windows
Getting window dressings right for apartments isn’t easy, especially as many apartments are designed with large volumes of glazing to frame a view, or are in converted buildings which have lofty ceilings and oversized windows. But whether it’s to block out light in a bedroom, or just to create general privacy for your space, we’ve seen enough Rear Window-style movies taking place in apartments to know that blind and curtain ideas are something that need to be addressed.
‘For taller ceilings and expansive views that you don’t want to obstruct, use simple ripple fold drapes, or roller shades, to match the color on the walls or mullions,’ says Ahmad AbouZanat, an interior designer who specializes in apartment design for his New York-based studio PROJECT AZ. ‘This is the least intrusive, but by choosing a textured fabric you can still give it some volume and visual interest.’
Translucent drapes might be sufficient for a living space, allowing light in during the day but retaining privacy at night, while it’s wise not to forego blackout window treatments when it comes to bedroom curtain ideas.
Of course, not every apartment has huge windows, and in these instances, you can have a bit more fun with your window treatments. ‘If the views arent key, thats a great opportunity to have the window treatments be the background of other finishes and design elements in the space,’ says Ahmad. ‘Curtains with patterned fabrics, two layers of fabric, or valence details are the way to go.’
Physically Decorate And Divvy Up Your Apartments Space
A divider can be a great way to decorate your themed space and give you even more of a feel that youve got more space than you do. These are a great cure for the layout of a studio apartment, which feels like one big room.
Heres a creative alternative to the usual wooden dividers: head to your local crafts or sewing store, and ask them about large, folding table pads, used to protect tables from needles and to provide a work surface. You can throw a large sheet, blanket, or other cloth over them to create a different look, and nobody knows whats under there. Not only might this save you money, but the foam type of material inside makes a great sound absorber, which is important in a small apartment. You never know when youll have trouble quieting noisy apartment neighbors, too.
Stay tuned! In our next blog, Decorating Your Apartment Part 2, well give you some tips on how to add color to your apartment while keeping the apartment management happy.
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Living Room Shopping List:
Shop These Products Now: SofaBookcaseThrow Pillow
The sofa is the star of the living room, so invest carefully. Its wise to choose the largest one you can fit in the space. Dont fret if youre dealing with a small living room there are plenty of small apartment sofas that are just as stylish and comfortable as larger ones. If your budget is limited, go secondhand shopping for your sofa. Older or vintage sofas are well-made, and you can always throw a slipcover on one to freshen it up.
Coffee table
The next piece to consider should serve double-duty: the coffee table. Dont feel limited by the word table, either an ottoman is a great substitute. If space allows, select a narrow, rectangular ottoman that works as a bench or table. You can add a tray on top to set drinks on. In addition, many ottomans come with inner storage for blankets and magazines.
Wall art
You probably have a large white wall behind your sofa space to deal with. If youre renting, painting or wallpapering may not be possible. However, strategically placing a collection of objects or framed photos, gallery-style, may be all you need. Alternatively, hang a rug or tapestry on the wall to add some color and texture to your living room.
TV cabinet
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Maximize A Small Apartment Kitchen
Apartments are notorious for having minuscule kitchens. Take advantage of every inch of kitchen storage by maximizing vertical space. If your setup includes open shelves, place several stacks of dishes on each shelf, arranging like items together. Use the upper shelves for lesser-used items you don’t need to access as often.
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Transform A Bedroom Space With A Wallpaper Design
If you want to create a beautiful and relaxing space to rest your head, it’s time to turn to a wallpaper design. Unlike soft furnishings, side cabinets and wardrobes, this printed paper takes up no space at all.
This beautifully decorative Japanese Garden motif from Mindthegap is an idyllic apartment decorating idea for a city space. The zen, floral design is the perfect juxtaposition for a place based within a busy concrete jungle.
But, to avoid this busy pattern making you feel claustrophobic, assign its use to one or two walls only. Any more, and you’ll feel trapped in what’ll feel like a messy maze!
You can always add more flowers and Bonsai trees as you see fit. This is the perfect space for morning meditation and quiet thought.
The 10 Commandments Of Decorating Your Rental
1. Thou Shalt Decorate First things first- you should actually decorate your rental, even if its in small, temporary ways. Sure, you may not be here for long, but ignoring the things you dislike about your home and avoiding putting your mark on it is a sure-fire way to feel miserable when you walk in the door. No excuses- even rentals deserve love.
2. Thou Shalt Invest in Versatile Pieces The thing about renting is that you might be doing it for a while, and you often dont know where youll be living next. Choosing versatile furniture pieces, rather than items which fit perfectly in your current space but might give you trouble down the line, is smart. Modular sofas that can be left- or right-handed, folding chairs, gateleg tables, and side or coffee tables that double as storage are all great ideas.
3. Thou Shalt Upgrade Lighting Why is the lighting always the worst feature in any rental? Luckily, swapping out a shade or two isnt hard, and it can make a big change to your space. If you cant upgrade fixtures due to budget or technical issues , try to avoid using the overhead lights where possible. Focus on growing your collection of stylish floor and table lamps instead.
4. Thou Shalt Upgrade Hardware, Too Upgrading cabinet pulls in the kitchen or bathroom is a super-easy way of getting away from builder basic and adding your own personal style. Simply stash the old ones somewhere safe and switch out when you move on.
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