You're at the point in your life where you make alright money and living at home is not going to cut it anymore. You love your parents and your siblings but it makes you feel like your back in high school. College was fun and all having 2-4 roommates. You can't complain because you had some of your best memories with those people but you'll never forget the days when you just wanted peace and quiet.
Jump to reality, you have a job that brings in a steady income and you say to yourself I'm going to get an apartment and live alone!!! Immediately you start to dream about how your apartment is going to look. Pinterest has truly become your best friend and your imagination goes wild. There is so much inspiration, it's actually an overload and then you finally get the keys to your apartment and all you want to do is run to Ikea and Hobby Lobby and make all your dreams come true.
This is where I'm going to have to stop you and give you some tips and tricks on how to decorate your first apartment. I have lived in my apartment for 7 months now and I'm still not done with decorating. I have learned a lot within that 7 months and hopefully I can save you some time and money.
1 | Pinterest is your best friend and your worst enemy.
Don't get me wrong I live for Pinterest but one thing I noticed myself doing was trying to replicate the interiors that I saw. You have to understand most of the interiors that you see on Pinterest have been professionally done and a lot of those items are quite expensive. After realizing that I didn't have the means to furnish my apartment like the professionals I started to use Pinterest for inspiration. I pin something and figure out how I could achieve the same look for cheaper.
2 | Craigslist isn't that scary
Everyone tells you that you need to be careful of Craigslist and you should, people can be real shady on craigslist. Make sure you always go with a friend. But I was able to get some great pieces off of craigslist. I bought my 1950's baby blue couch off there for only $25 and it was in pretty good condition. All i has\d to do was vacuum it and spot clean it. I also bought a small dining table that came with 2 chairs for $30.
3| Stay true to yourself
When I first moved in i was so eager to decorate that I just bought things that were trending. After a while I got tired of coming home to that decor because it didn't feel like me. So I did away with some of the extra stuff and made small changes and now I'm loving my apartment. It is very crisp and clean with things that speak to my personality. I really enjoy flowers and floral scents so i made sure that I added that into my decor. I like things simplicity for the pure fact that it helps me think and keeps my mind clear and that's why I went with black and white.
4| Do not over spend.
The only reason I say this is because most likely this is not going to be your permanent home. You might be at an age where moving around the country is in your cards and with any move you'll get rid of stuff and how hurt would you be if you had to get rid of all the expensive things you bought. Make sure you look around for sales and deals. You might even want to hit up some garage or estate sales. You're sure to find some awesome finds. Be flexible with your decor your dream apartment might not come out exactly how you imagined but it can definitely still be everything you want.
