This article is part of a series aimed at helping you navigate life’s opportunities and challenges.
You’ve finally decided it’s time to get a real sofa and stop eating off paper plates. Maybe you’re just starting out, with a new job and a new apartment — or maybe you’re not. Either way, like many people, you may be on a tight budget, with little left over for decorating.
To help you get started, several design professionals offered tips on how to make your place look like a grown-up lives there without spending a fortune.
I always tell people who are decorating their first apartments that it is important to spend money on the bigger-ticket items, like sofas, beds and dining tables. “You can always accessorize with inexpensive things like toss pillows, bedding and lighting to pull everything together.” Investment pieces — like that little black dress or the perfect-fitting blazer in your wardrobe — will act as a foundation you can build on.
MAKE SURE YOU CAN TAKE IT WITH YOU If this is your first place, “it is likely that you will move in the next few years. A well-made sofa or bed can go with you, but you’re not going to take the wallpaper. Likewise, it doesn’t make sense to splurge on custom curtains that won’t fit the windows in your next home.
Art, on the other hand, “will make a huge impact on your space and can be brought with you from apartment to apartment. “I advise splurging on original paintings from your favorite artists, because nothing will make a space feel more like you than personally curated art.”
UPGRADE YOUR LIGHTING It might not occur to most people to swap out existing light fixtures. Changing the lighting is much easier than you think and can make a big impact. It is also very easy to swap back out when the time comes for you to move out.”
You’ve finally decided it’s time to get a real sofa and stop eating off paper plates. Maybe you’re just starting out, with a new job and a new apartment — or maybe you’re not. Either way, like many people, you may be on a tight budget, with little left over for decorating.
To help you get started, several design professionals offered tips on how to make your place look like a grown-up lives there without spending a fortune.
I always tell people who are decorating their first apartments that it is important to spend money on the bigger-ticket items, like sofas, beds and dining tables. “You can always accessorize with inexpensive things like toss pillows, bedding and lighting to pull everything together.” Investment pieces — like that little black dress or the perfect-fitting blazer in your wardrobe — will act as a foundation you can build on.
MAKE SURE YOU CAN TAKE IT WITH YOU If this is your first place, “it is likely that you will move in the next few years. A well-made sofa or bed can go with you, but you’re not going to take the wallpaper. Likewise, it doesn’t make sense to splurge on custom curtains that won’t fit the windows in your next home.
Art, on the other hand, “will make a huge impact on your space and can be brought with you from apartment to apartment. “I advise splurging on original paintings from your favorite artists, because nothing will make a space feel more like you than personally curated art.”
UPGRADE YOUR LIGHTING It might not occur to most people to swap out existing light fixtures. Changing the lighting is much easier than you think and can make a big impact. It is also very easy to swap back out when the time comes for you to move out.”
PASS ON PRICEY ACCESSORIES Don’t blow your budget on throw pillows, blankets or towels — or anything else that you know you’ll have to replace on a regular basis. Apart from the wear-and-tear aspect, taste in home décor can sometimes change as often as our taste or trends in fashion.” And changing small things like these is an easy way to refresh to your space.
DON’T FORGET THE KITCHEN You can do a lot with everyday objects to jazz up the kitchen, who likes to pick up beautifully packaged foods like cookies . A couple of strategically placed bottles of wine, a basket of fruit or a good cutting board, will add color and warmth to any counter as well.
ABOVE ALL, RESTRAIN YOURSELF “In the excitement of moving into their first apartment, people are all too often in a rush to do everything all at once and fill the space immediately with one exhilarating shopping trip. I have always thought it much better to live with your home first and understand the space before gradually furnishing it and adding color.
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