One day, in the (hopefully) not-so-distant future, we'll all be proud owners of beautiful homes. But until then, we'll have to settle with residing in a wide variety of apartments of different shapes and less-than-ideal sizes. As a college student, apartment hunting back in winter was an unfamiliar and daunting task. It would be nice if everyone could afford the ~luxurious~ yet ridiculously priced apartment complexes that were close to campus, and I couldn't, so I ended up having little to no options left (that fit my "criteria") for housing. Luckily, I found a decently priced single bedroom apartment that was walking distance to campus.. but unfortunately, it lacked decor—severely (and a few essentials, but no big deal..). So, the past few months, I've been gathering some ideas and tricks to turn my shed of an apartment into something that is more aesthetically pleasing, and I thought I'd post them for you and whoever that is in the same boat. I want to divide this into a few parts as I plan on documenting my progress as well as adding more tips in the future.
1. Get rid of those ugly kitchen counters!
The absolute first thing I noticed when I walked in my apartment for the first time during a tour was how hideous the kitchen counters were. They were worse than typical laminate kitchen counters—they were red and old. I immediately wanted to tear the red laminate off the counters and do it all over myself, but that was just unrealistic.After weeks of researching, THERE WAS A SOLUTION: Self-adhesive stickers made for surfaces! They're not as bad as they sound.
photo from Amazon.com
These stickers are made to cover laminate counters (or any other hard surface really) and come in various patterns and shades, like granite and marble. They're super cheap on Amazon and have good reviews. The one I decided to purchase (out of my love for white and grey marble!) is from Designfolie, a German brand (found here). I haven't had the chance to apply it to my counters yet but the photos in the reviews section look promising, so I have high hopes for these.
2. Use mirrors to "open up" your tiny space.
Old and/or ~cheap~ apartments are usually small, and the best way to open up tiny spaces is to add one or two full length mirrors on empty walls that lack lustre. Mirrors come in all shapes and sizes, so you could easily and drastically change the vibe of your rooms with a single mirror!
photo from IKEA.com
The one I'm currently eyeing is this huge gold mirror from IKEA. The gold frame adds a rustic yet classy vibe, and although I'm a sucker for all things monochrome, it would seriously add an amazing !pop! of color and softness in the midst of my black and white decor.
3. WALL ART.
Minimalist wall art, whether or not they're placed within frames, are ubiquitous in social media these days—for a damn good reason. Covering up your dull walls with ~art~ could make your space feel more welcoming and well-decorated. It's an easy way to give your apartment a make over without getting huge wall decals (expensive and difficult) or painting your walls a whole new color. Here are some inspirational photos that I've been going off of:
You can find this print on Etsy, here.
4. Minimize clutter.
This sounds like such an obvious thing to do, but to some, it's the most challenging. It's not just cleaning up after yourself, but it's putting away things that you do not need, out of sight. Once the bare minimum is out in the open, your space will look.. well, a lot spacier! Get furniture with decent storage, possibly even a whole entire dresser for not just your clothes, but other knick knacks as well.As a developing makeup hoarder, I recently rediscovered acrylic makeup organizers:
(1) Compact organizers by byAlegory (found here)
(2) Lipstick organizers by USAcrylic® (found here)
(3) Mini Sorter (could be used to organize makeup palettes) by Kantek (found here)
5. Focus on the details.
Consider the details that create vignette in your space! Because the huge furniture pieces have such a great impact on how your space looks overall, it's important to focus on the small details of those pieces. Something as simple as switching out the knobs on your old dresser or your cabinets could make a major impact despite the minimal effort.This is something to think about when purchasing new furniture as well!
Don't forget the tiny details though.
A great feed to browse when you're in need of inspiration is @acupofchic's instagram account.
Hopefully this has helped you in some way, and stay tuned for personal updates of progress on my apartment using these tips!
xx Myu
instagram: @myumew
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