Great Ideas to Make Your Apartment Feel Like Home

Great Ideas to Make Your Apartment Feel Like Home

I remember when I got my first apartment. I had just had my daughter and decided it would be a great time for me to move out of my parent’s house. It took a few months but after daily research and shopping around I was able to find the perfect two bedroom apartment to call my own.

The only problem was, I wasn’t sure how to decorate it and make it feel more like “home”. There were the various restrictions that were in my lease agreement, and then the fact that there is limited space within an apartment. For months, my apartment was as blank as a piece of copy paper. Then I got creative and found great ways to add a bit of design to the place to make it feel welcoming.

Here are a few suggestions you might try:

1. Space Saving Furniture

One of the biggest issues I had with designing my apartment was finding the space to put all of my ideas. My two bedroom apartment had a living room, eat in kitchen, bathroom, and of course the two bedrooms. While the rooms were livable for me and my daughter, they were a bit on the small side. Therefore, trying to figure out how to fit tables, chairs, bedroom furniture and the like into the mix was a complete nightmare. So I took a deep breath and did a bit of research. That’s where I found out about space saving furniture. Some of the things I invested in included:

• Futons – futons are great additions for apartments. They come in an array of different sizes, patterns, and colors. Having a futon in the living room area took up less space than investing in a furniture set. I was able to find one that matched my living room décor, and what was even better, I now had an instant guest room should someone stop by.
• Storage beds – for my master room, since it was pretty small in size I decided against a dresser and instead chose a storage bed. These beds have the dresser built into them which saves you a whole lot of space around the room. In doing this, I was able to fit a nice rocking chair in the room. Whatever clothes couldn’t fit in the storage bed, I was able to hang them up.
• Adjustable tables – another great find when it came to sprucing up my place was an adjustable table. These types of space saving tables come in varying colors and sizes. I was able to find a small round table that seated two when the flaps were adjusted down and four when you lifted the flaps up. By investing in folding chairs instead of typical kitchen or dining room chairs, I was able to create a nice eating area in my kitchen.

2. Wall Decals

A lot of rental leases don’t allow the tenants to paint their walls. Usually you have to keep the walls the typical white or beige that they are. I’m someone who loves color. So looking at the white walls all day long was really depressing. I was able to find a way around that by investing in stylish wall decals. There are so many benefits to investing in these decals. They can be customized to whatever you’d like, easy to apply, they remove easily without damaging paint, and they are easy to clean. Whether you’re looking for floral patterns or Disney characters for your child’s room you’ll find that there are decals that can do the trick.

3. Hanging Pictures

Another surefire way to break your lease would be to have holes all throughout your apartment unit. Landlords do not want you to damage their walls and as such may require you not to hang up anything that requires a drill, hammer, or nails. In order to really make your house feel like a home, you need pictures all around. Especially since I had a little one, I knew I’d be taking and hanging pictures all the time.

The good news is that there are plenty of alternatives out there that allow you to hang your pictures without breaking your lease. I chose to use adhesive strips. These went on the wall easily and allow you to stick your picture frames on top. The adhesive is durable enough that you don’t have to worry about your frames falling down in when you least expect it. They also come off easily without damaging the pain on the walls.

Protect Your New Belongings

Once I got the hang of creating a beautiful apartment, I realized that I needed to protect my valuables. While we were in a gated community with security on hand, I needed to protect myself in the event that my personal property was damaged. For that reason, my landlord suggested that I get renters insurance. This form of insurance is great for protecting your assets in the event of a natural disaster, theft, or some other circumstance (like your upstairs neighbor’s plumbing leaking onto your clothes and causing mold). Renters insurance is very affordable and gives homeowners the added protection they need.

Now that my apartment feels more like home and I’m covered with extra financial protection I can sit back and enjoy the space a lot more. Since I’ve been able to find great products on the market, I’ve even gotten into changing up the apartment’s décor on the regular basis. What was once an inconvenience (small space and too many rules) I was able to turn into a positive.

Hopefully, the advice above will give you some great ideas on how to make your apartment into a home you enjoy coming back to each day.