My Apartment Decor

+ Apartment Decorating Tips

This summer has been a whirlwind y'all! And how is it already August?? I started the summer off by moving into my first apartment and jumping right into a summer internship. Now that my apartment is fully furnished and decorated, I am giving y'all 2 blog posts filled with apartment reveal pictures, apartment decorating tips, and shopping advice. I am sharing my experience with learning where to shop for furniture and decor, what to splurge on, and what to DIY.

First let me start with 2 pieces of advice:

1. College apartments are temporary. You want it to look cute and comfortable so that you are happy to live there, but don't make it so perfect and expensively furnished that you're afraid to live in it. You are going to spill, things are going to break, it is OK! Life happens.

2. Contrary to popular beliefs, you don't always have to spend a lot of money for good quality items. Amazing items are found at Home Goods, TJ Maxx, and other stores that are great quality for so much less. Sometimes, items from these stores end up being less expensive than used furniture!

Ok, now to the fun stuff! Imagine me virtually opening my front door and inviting you in... Welcome to my apartment bedroom!

Bedding, Rug, & Wall Decor

When choosing a color scheme, I always pick out my bedding and pillows first. My white bed spread and pillows were very affordable and are all from Home Goods! I got my navy blue bed skirt from Amazon. I think that bed skirts are a great finishing touch, and also hide any storage bins you keep under your bed.

My bedroom is carpeted, but I think that rugs help add texture to a room and bring your color scheme together. I got this rug from Amazon after searching "Navy Blue and White Rug". Rugs can get expensive, so I recommend browsing Amazon and Wayfair before looking elsewhere, because you can adjust your price point before browsing their websites.

When it comes to wall art, I think that a lot of the abstract art that is for sale is fun to replicate and DIY. I spent $10 to make 6 pieces of art, rather than spending $30+ on each of them! I bought blank canvases, a paint brush, and three shades of blue paint from my local craft store, looked up inspiration on Pinterest, and had a painting night. Don't worry if they don't turn out perfect, the colors will still tie the room together and they are supposed to be abstract anyways!

Night Stand and Lamp

I got this beautiful nightstand because of the gold accents. It has one giant drawer, giving me one more spot for storage. I got the frames for my pictures from Home Goods and printed pictures from CVS for less than $1.00! I stole this lamp from my parent's home, but I recommend shopping for lighting at Home Goods. They have a huge variety of styles, and if you don't see one you love, check back a few times, because they get new items often. I also linked some other light fixtures above since Home Goods doesn't have a website.

Floor Length Mirror and House Plants

I always love having a floor length mirror in my bedroom. How else am I supposed to know if my outfit looks put together?! This mirror was $80 from Home Goods, a great price for a mirror this size.

I got a few round baskets at Home Goods for $15 each and they made for great "pots" for house plants. Home Depot has a section of house plants and you can ask them for advice on which ones are nearly impossible to kill. I do not have a green thumb and I have kept all my plants alive so far! I have also heard that Home Depot has a deal where you can return a house plant within the first year if it dies.

Wall Decor DIY

I have seen hundreds of these wall decor pieces on Etsy and Pinterest, but there is no need to buy one! They are so much less expensive to make yourself. My grandma made mine for me by tying long strands of yarn to a fake tree branch and tying knots throughout the yarn to add some detail and texture. We hung it with a small hook on each end of the branch.

Desk/Office Space

I was adamant on keeping a gold and white color scheme for my desk space since the rest of my room has a lot of blue. Speaking of blue, this blue desk chair was super easy to assemble and the upholstery on it makes it look way more expensive than it really was. Since it has no arms, I can pull it as close to the desk as possible to keep me sitting up straight while I'm working at my desk.

Back to the desk... this desk has one large drawer, so not much storage, but I bought it because of the legs and the gold design. The desk was tricky to assemble, but worth it!

Desk/Office Storage

Since my desk doesn't have much storage, I took my white rolling storage cart from my dorm and spray painted it metallic gold! This holds all of my school books, notebooks, and clutter that doesn't fit in my desk.

Lighting & Desk Accessories

Table top accessories are great to find at Home Goods or TJ Maxx. These stores tend to have better prices than Target or Amazon. However, Target has a great array of desk lamps in their dorm section during summer. That's where I got this one from and it's still going strong three years later!

To sum it all up...

Set a budget and try to stick to it. There is a middle ground between being cheap and splurging. Be savvy with where you shop and do research on what a good price is for the item you're looking for.

If you have a Home Goods near you, shop there before looking other places. They have pretty much everything you'd need for a bedroom aside from your mattress and bed frame.

Wayfair delivers, so it is a great option if your future apartment is in a different city than where you live currently.

Don't be afraid to DIY!

I hope you enjoyed seeing my bedroom and got a little bit of inspiration for your own home, apartment, dorm, etc. If you have any decor tips of your own or have questions about an item, comment below!

Thanks for reading,