4 Ways to Make Your Apartment Feel Like a Home

How long do you plan on being in your new apartment? If your home is temporary, it certainly doesn’t have to feel that way! If sprucing up the place with your favorite colors and the comfiest pillows you can find doesn’t do the trick, try these tips!

Make It Yours

That Dali print you purchased online last year looks great above the sofa, but can you really connect with it? If you’re not an art buff who dragged all of their friends to the museum as a kid, then perhaps you need to make it a little more personal. What do you love? If you’re into music try buying a few old records at the local thrift store and painting them your favorite colors. Are you a bicycle enthusiast? An old bicycle wheel might look great as a piece of art. What do you believe in? What inspires you? Buy a chalk board and some chalk to put your words of wisdom on display.

Mix Old Belongings with New

Your new apartment is a fresh start. This is a chance to pick a new color scheme, buy some new furniture, and finally get a matching set of dishes. However, amongst all of the change it is important to mix your old favorites with the new. As you pack up your old apartment, create a box titled “A Few of My Favorite Things” and spread the love around your new space. Put your favorite old magazine in the new bathroom, a favorite board game in the closet in plain view, sit a few old (but recently dusted) knick-knacks on your new floating shelf. Just because you get a new set of matching plates, mugs, and cups you don’t have to get rid of your favorite kitty cat mug. After all, he happily greeted you for more consecutive mornings than any other companion ever has.

Old Memories Surrounding New Memories

Personalize your new place with photographs! In a new town, you might need to see some smiling familiar faces throughout your apartment. Flip through old pictures on Instagram or Facebook and choose a few of your oldest favorites of people you love or places you’ve visited. Guests love to ask the story behind an old photograph. Don’t forget to create some new memories in your current space to hang in your next apartment.

Home for the Holidays

No matter where you are or how long you plan on staying, the holidays can make you feel at home. Hang an American flag on the door for the 4th of July, carve pumpkins and sit out a skull or two for Halloween, buy some fall-themed kitchen towels for Thanksgiving, and if you do nothing else, at least put out a Christmas tree for the holidays! Bring old traditions into your new space by going all out scary for the trick-or-treaters or baking Grandma’s Famous Christmas Cookie recipe as soon as the weather turns cold.