4 Steps To Decorating Your First Apartment

One of the absolute best things about getting your first place is shopping for your first place! It is such a fun and exciting time. And if you’re lucky enough for your first apartment to be bright, spacious, and well appointed (ehhmm, like Redwood apartments), you won’t have to worry about decorating to cover up flaws - like tiny windows that face brick walls. You can focus your time, energy and budget on finding items that fit your personal style and that you’ll be able to keep with you for years to come. So, how do you make the most of your first place?

1. A Budget:

Of course, when you’re getting started, the budget can be a significant obstacle. And even if it’s not, it’s a good idea to keep yourself to a pretty tight budget for your apartment purchases. It can be all too easy to go overboard, spending all of your time in furniture stores and the accessory department at Target. A real, concrete budget is a must-have for your first apartment. It will keep you from making some seriously expensive mistakes.

2. A Color Palette:

Color is all around us, and when beginning to decorate your first apartment, it should be at the top of your list of decisions. There are a few things other than “Blue has always been my favorite color” to consider when choosing a color palette for your first place. Unless you’re planning to go monochromatic, you’ll need to select more than one color and those colors will need to live with each other, so they should be complimentary. If all of this sounds like nonsense, don’t worry about complimentary, just think about creating a cozy little color family – a sister with 2 brothers. If you think of the sister as the star (which of course she’d be in a family with two brothers), you pick her first and she is your favorite. But, like any star, you give her too much room to shine and she’ll overshadow everything else in your life/apartment, so provide her with two neutral compliments (her brothers). For example, if your star is Pink, you might think of pairing her with white and grey as compliments. She still gets to shine, but she has a few grounding elements to keep her subdued.

3. Spatial Perspective:

With a defined budget and a color palette, your next step is to stop to gain some perspective. The absolute worst thing you can do when decorating your first place is to buy items that simply do not fit the space. Both pieces that are too large or too small are problematic, so let’s not fall into this trap. Pull out the tape measure, ruler and grid paper (or any scrap of paper) and get to drawing. Figure out what size furniture your room can hold and don’t forget to measure your doors – to make sure you can get said furniture into the apartment. Your grid will also help you with figuring out where you can place your furniture. Putting doorways, windows, and other stationary objects on the grid will give you placement ideas. You can also add electrical outlets to the grid, so you’ll know where you can place your lamps, television and stereo equipment. 

4. A Foundation Piece:

Oh, on to the best part, the furniture (and accessories). Since we’re going to be shopping on a budget, with a color palette in mind, and a template/spatial floor plan, finding the first foundation piece will be a snap. It might be obvious, but you should probably start with somewhere to sit/sleep. The seating/sleeping arrangement will determine where the other furniture goes. Choosing your couch and bed are a great place to start. Look for pieces that fit your personal style and try your best to go with neutral colors. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been called Rainbow Brite by more than a few people, I love color, but a big ol’ purple couch is difficult to decorate around (I know this from experience). And if/when your tastes change, getting a custom slip cover isn’t cheap.           

This list of must haves is probably less conventional than the standard “Start with a cute sofa” lists, but this will probably be more helpful than that. And, when you are making transitions from one style to the next and from one apartment to the next, you’ll be able to look back on these tips to help you continue to define your style and to build your most comfortable home. 

*Written by Lindsay S., proud writer and decorator.