Apartment Living

Lets face it.  Apartments have their challenges.  They are great for when you are starting out on your own, or if you are saving up for you dream house, but they have some definite drawbacks.  However, just because you live in a rented space, does not mean you have to be resigned to living in a home that doesn't reflect your style or personality.  You can still make your apartment beautiful, unique and completely you!

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Living in various apartments over the last four years has given me the opportunity to become close, personal friends will the various up and downs of apartment life.  The road hasn't always been smooth, but I have definitely learned a lot along the way.  With these experiences, I have learned many possibilities for working with the obstacles presented by apartments, and making them work for me.

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I thought it would be great to share some of what I've learned with you guys.  So I'm planning a short series of posts focusing on all my tips and tricks to make the most out of your rented home.  Sometimes all you need is a little inspiration and direction to help get you started making a space your home.  I hope these posts will help you do just that.  Also for you lucky, non-apartment-dwelling readers, most of these tips can be used in regular homes as well, not just rented spaces.

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These are a few of the topics I'm planning on covering:

Small Space Stress

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The number one problem people usually have with apartments is the general lack of space.  As a self-proclaimed hoarder, this problem causes me the most pain.  I like my stuff, and I like a lot of it.  I do try to purge every once in a while, but unfortunately I'm still left with a more stuff than can be reasonably expected to be stored in apartment supplied storage.  This has forced me to get creative.

Even for those of you who may not have a problem with "collecting", this area can be a sore spot for apartment living.  Most apartments have very little closet and cabinet space, and you can kiss good-bye any hope of those beautiful built-ins you see all over Pinterest.  To make the most of what you have, you need to go in with a plan.  I will be discussing several storage and space saver options to help cope with this issue.

Naked Walls

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I have found that one of the last things in an apartment to get any decorating love can be the walls.  This may be because many apartments don't allow tenants to paint, and people assume that is all you can do to decorate walls.  So they get left bare.  However, just because you can't paint a space, does not mean you have to have empty and colorless walls!  In this post I'll be showing many choices for fun, colorful and cheap wall decor.

Remodel Restriction

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Living in an apartment, and having a great interest in DIY has left me with the insatiable desire to gut a kitchen or knock down a wall.  Seeing all these beautiful remodels all over blogland, and not being able to try my own hand at some serious remodeling is just torture.  Living in a rental means I have to live with the outdated kitchen cabinets, the not-to-skilfully caulked bathroom and the pain in the butt sliding closet doors.  Until I buy a home and can remodel to my hearts content, I will have to make do with what I have and learn to pretty them up as best I can.  This post will cover ideas to update your home, without the use of demolition tools or loss of your security deposit.

So are you all excited to get started?  What are you hoping to learn from this mini series?  I can't wait to dive into all the ways to personalize an apartment and turn it into a real home.  After all, that is one of the reasons I started this blog, to track the progress of my broke-college-girl apartment into a place I can really call home.

If you liked this post, you should check out all my other tips for Apartment Living!