You are Timeless, Darling

There are some pieces of furniture, accessories, artwork, etc. that will never go out of style. Their designs are usually simple and elegant, giving their appearance that timeless and classic look. Many of these are definitely investment pieces that would look gorgeous in your home for years to come. And many are definitely not within a college student's budget, but you can look for items with similar characteristics to fill that ugly apartment with now. Some fads are fun and can really liven up a space, but having a good mixture of the fun and the classic, will give your ugly apartment (and any future home!) a unique and beautiful style.

Here are some of my favorite timeless pieces:

THE Barcelona Chair

This is a big one in the Interior Design community. Its sleek and simplistic design has always been a favorite of designers. This chair will look good in pretty much any room or setting and comes in several neutral colors. 

Clawfoot Bathtub 

This beauties have been around a long time and are not going anywhere anytime soon! You can keep the tub a classic white, or paint the bottom any color to fit your personal taste and style. 

Subway Tile 

This simple tile creates the perfect back-splash for any kitchen or bathroom. It also comes in several neutral colors. 

Chesterfield Sofa 

This sofa is a true beauty and can fit in just about any room and with any style, from traditional to rustic to modern, it just works. 

Accessorize Me Please

Those ugly apartments can feel like cold, empty, white/grey boxes of despair at times, and who wants to live in that for months on end? Adding accessories around your apartment will quickly add some color and personality to your space, making it feel a little more homey and lived in and...happy.

Accessories may seem like unnecessary fluff, but they can be powerful tools in helping that ugly apartment feel like yours. They definitely don't have to be expensive either! I find little knick-knacks and decorations almost everywhere I shop. And I'm cheap. I've found things I love at Wal-mart, Target, TJ Maxx, Ross, dollar stores, and thrift stores. I personally find furniture/home furnishing specific stores a little over-priced. You can find things that are just as good and stylish at the stores you already love and probably shop at. Just keep your eyes open and browse through their home good sections from time to time, and you'll be sure to find something you love too. It's so easy to tweak some items to fit your personal taste as well. If you find an old lamp you love for cheap at a thrift store, you can modernize and customize it with a coat of paint you love and adding a new/different lampshade. You can paint pretty much anything to make it look like new again!

So add some picture frames, pillows, throw blankets, vases, flowers, books, ceramic figurines or rugs, really whatever tickles your fancy, and I guarantee your ugly apartment will look and feel much better in no time. 

IKEA Survival: 101

Nothing can quite compare to the magic of a place like, oh say, Disneyland, but IKEA comes pretty close for me. The giant, Swedish, home furnishing box stores ignite an excitement in me that is hard to beat. To me, IKEA is a magical land just waiting to be explored and discovered. I can spot that blue and yellow sign a mile away and when I do, I HAVE TO GO. It's a gnawing need that I can't stifle until I spend a good part of my day wondering through all the display rooms, making a mental list of all the pretty sofas, chairs, tables, lamps, entire kitchens, that will someday be mine! Good thing they also have a cafe to sustain and refuel their weary shoppers. You really could just live there and never leave. (My secret dream, a new display room each night!)

But, I know many find IKEA a little daunting. So, from personal experience, these are my tips for not just surviving IKEA but making it an enjoyable experience.

1. Avoid the weekends!

Unless you don't mind a crowd. This place fills up on the weekends though, and it may be a little overwhelming for the "I need my personal space" type. I'm definitely this way, and IKEA is a much more enjoyable experience when I'm not swimming my way through a crowd.

2. Make time to go and plan on spending some time there.

This isn't a quick run-in-and-grab-that-lamp-you-need kind of store. IKEA is an experience, so you should make some time to just go and enjoy the store. Walking through the showroom does take some time, but that's the main reason why I like to go. You can skip the showroom though and make your way down to the warehouse part and just pick up what you want, but even that may take a little time, just due to the size of the store.

3. Eat!

Not many other home good stores have a full size cafeteria built into their store. Sampling some of their Swedish meatballs and other unique foods they serve there is definitely part of the IKEA experience. Be sure to sample some of their lingonberry soda and pick up some of their chocolate bars too! They even have a little market where you can pick up some other Swedish delicacies to take home and enjoy later. Salmon paste anyone??

4. Know what you're looking for. 

It's dangerous for me to step foot into an IKEA unless I have a list of specific items I need or are looking for. I inevitably find some throw blanket or kitchen gadget at an awesome price that I NEED. But going with a focus will make the overall experience much better. 

IKEA's a beautiful place. Just enjoy the journey.

Picture Perfect

One of the things I love most about a home are the pictures, mirrors, and decorations that people hang on their walls. Their choice in artwork and decoration says a lot about their personality, what they value, and what they find beautiful. What's on those walls is one of the first things people notice when they enter your home, so to me, it's a pretty important part of the decorating process. I've also been in homes where there are very few pieces on the walls, or nothing at all, and it really bums me out! Why not decorate those ugly apartment walls? The pieces you choose to hang can pull an entire room together and they just create a more homey and personal space that represents your interests personal style.

Wall hangings can be tricky though in an apartment. Most apartment managers do not allow any holes to be made in the walls, so hanging a picture or painting with a good old fashioned nail may not be an option for you. For me, all of the apartments I've lived in before, have already had MANY little nail holes in the walls, so I cheat a little and just use an existing nail hole to hang my pictures, or just make a new one...what are a few more little holes and a hole riddled wall anyway? Just don't tell my apartment managers... But, if your walls are nice and smooth and covered in a fresh coat of paint, I wouldn't recommend covering it with nails and fresh holes. There are still options though for hanging pictures. One of my favorite things do with my frames, is hanging the picture with a piece of ribbon, and using a more decorative Command strip hook to hang the ribbon on. Something like this:

I think it can make a picture more interesting, and you can use varying ribbon lengths to add more variety. The Command hooks are getting more decorative too. They're coming out with more colors and styles of hooks, so it's not too hard to find one that will look good on your wall.

Adding wire to the back of a picture frame can also make the picture hanging experience much easier, and you can use a Command hook or two to hang the wire on.

You could also use the Command picture hanging strips, that are basically two Velcro pieces. You stick one strip on the frame, and one on the wall, then stick the two pieces together! 

You don't just have to stick to picture frames or mirrors either! Wall decals are also popular right now and there are so many different styles and designs now, it's easy to find one you'd love. They're generally easy to apply and remove, so you can change them up however often you want! I really love the little patterned wall decals. 

It's definitely worth the time and effort to cover up those ugly apartment walls with beautiful things you love! 

Punch of Color

One of my favorite design teams I've been following for a several years are the Novogratz. I became enchanted with the husband and wife "self-made" design team when I started watching their show "9 by Design" on Bravo. They were also raising 7 kids! All while living and designing in New York City. I immediately fell in love with the bold and bright colors and patterns they often used in their designs, and have become a part of their signature look. They had a very eclectic taste  in the furniture and accessories they collected from different flea markets and countries around the world. They were living a beautiful life in a big city with a happy family. I'm sure it wasn't all sunshine and roses, but they were my dream, everything I wanted and everything I wanted to be.

The Novogratz

I love their designs because they convey a sense of happiness and fun. They look for unique pieces that make a room or home feel one of a kind. They recently bought a "castle" in L.A. and I'm excited to see how they transform their castle into a home.

You can follow their current projects and check out previous ones on their blog.

They're also active on social media and you can follow them for more inspiration on: Pinterest, Facebook, or Twitter for more ideas for your own place!  In the mean time, enjoy these pretty pictures of some of their past projects.

In a Perfect World...

In a perfect world, I would have millions of dollars to buy my own home by the sea. I would also have millions of minutes to shop till I dropped for all the paint and pictures and pillows my little heart could desire, to fill that sea-side home with. But I'm still just a poor girl making my way through college and moving from ugly apartment to sometimes even uglier apartment.

Interior design has always been a love/interest/hobby/passion of mine. I strongly believe that the colors, layout, and materials used in a room or home can have a significant effect on it's occupants. My own personal style and tastes range from frilly florals and vibrant colors to sleek, and minimalist modern
designs.

It can be a bit difficult to improve that ugly apartment with limited time, resources, and the restrictions set by landlords but it is possible to create a stylish little space all your own. All you need is a little determination and creativity!

I'll be sharing some of my favorite designers who inspire my personal style along with some of the current and classic trends in design. As well as some tips and tricks I've learned in organizing and beautifying the many different apartments I've lived in over the years. There is hope for that ugly apartment!