Apartment Blog

I remember as a child when I asked my mother for my friend to come over, she would always state “Sure, as long as the house is cleaned up.” That exact moment would produce a frenzy of activity around the house, me racing against time to pick up everything so my mother would say yes. Ahhhh…. Those were the days. Now that I’m an adult, I don’t to have to deal with that when my friends come over. I want my apartment to already be kept up, so when a friend calls and says he/she is coming by I don’t have to worry.

Here are five foolproof ways I make sure this is accomplished for my apartment:

1. Make your bed as soon as you get up. As soon as I get out of bed, I make the bed. I feel like my room is extremely messy if the bed is. After all, the bed is usually the focal point of the bedroom; people tend to notice if that’s neat versus your vanity being kept up.

2. Unload your clean dishes from the dishwasher in the morning and make it a rule that if somebody uses a dish they are to load it into the dishwasher. If you don’t let dishes pile up, you won’t have a mess after dinner. And when the dishwasher is full, you can run it.

3. Clean up all spills immediately. That means on counter tops, on the stove, and on the floor when you are cooking. This will eliminate the hard scrubbing from food deposits sticking to the surfaces.

4. Make it a habit to take your shoes off at the front door when you come home. I have a shoe rack by the door for myself and guests to put their shoes. Doing this will keep dirt from being tracked in onto your floors or carpet, which will help them look beautiful longer! Remember, you want that security deposit back! J

5. Another thing people will notice when they come to your house is clutter. Make sure you have a spot for everything. When mail comes into the apartment, go through it immediately and throw away unnecessary items. Then, place your bills or other ‘keep’ items in their spot to go through when needed.

While I miss the good ole’ days from my youth, I certainly do not miss the frenzy of activity before a friend comes over. After all, it looks kinda bad when he/she shows up and I’m all sweaty & out of breath! J Hopefully these tips will help you whenever you are in the situation of needing a clean house on the fly.

The Economy is still struggling to gain momentum. Cable news reminds you that we are still in a recession. Friends, Family, and Co-Workers add to the water cooler talk, which can really get you down if you listen long enough.  How do you escape from all the negativity??? One way is to organize and arrange your apartment bedroom into your personal sanctuary of positivity and motivation.  There are many ways to do that, but here are few ideas to get you started:

1. Pictures/Portraits

- What is the first thing you see when you wake up? A white ceiling? The ugly alarm clock? The bathroom? Instead of waking up to bland surroundings, spruce up your apartment bedroom with pictures/paintings/portraits that motivate you. It could be a picture of your grandparents or parents who went through so much just to afford you the opportunities you have. You can also have pictures of your dream car, island, or vacation to make sure that you wake up every day with the goal of moving one step forward towards those dreams. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. So wake up every morning to a thousand words and let the pictures encourage you to take on the day with zest and zeal.

2. Quotes

- Quotes can be just as inspiring as paintings or pictures. A combination of both is probably best. Find a quote that really resonates with you and look at it every morning before going to work. This quote should help you stay focused and remind you of whom you are. The quote should be posted somewhere in plain sight for you to see every morning, either in the bedroom or on taped to the bathroom mirror.

3. CD/Alarm Clock

- What do you wake up to every morning? Chickens? Traffic noises? The dreaded default alarm setting??? Why not get an aesthetically pleasing CD/Alarm player. This way you can wake up to your favorite song or motivational speaker. The negative energy associated with the default setting is sure to induce another 5 minutes of sleep, but your favorite song or speaker will get you excited about the challenges ahead.

 In the world of apartment living, we all know how important it is to create a multifunctional space. I can’t tell you how many pieces of furniture I have purchased with the thought of ‘hey, that can double as this!’ or something to that effect. When you’re living in a one or two bedroom apartment, it’s essential to get all the practicality you can out of the space provided. So here are a few tips for those of you sharing a spare bedroom between an office and guest bedroom.

Office Space:

You will need a few key items for your office space in this room. Obviously a work station, a chair, office utensils, maybe a computer, books, etc.  Depending on whether you want your work area to be seen or not will determine what type of work station you get, either an armoire or a desk.  Be sure and have handy storage items for your pens, paper, personal mail, notes, etc. so that when guests do stay they are hidden. Having decorative storage containers will serve two functions as it is practical and eye catching!

You can also have larger office supplies stored on a bookshelf near the work station or inside the closet.

Guest Bedroom:

Think about how you would feel as a guest in your multifunctional guest bedroom. You know you will want a sleeping area that is practical for during the day and at night. So a day bed or a futon would be the best option here-sofa by day, bed by night.  Be sure to purchase one that is comfortable for your guest to sleep on. Also purchase plenty of blankets, sheets, pillows, toiletries, etc. A creative way to store those items is: a few small storage containers to slip under the day bed/futon so it is out of the way or for a more decorative option (but only if you have the space) is a nice trunk or storage ottoman. Storage cubes and chests can triple as seating, storage, and end tables. A night stand would be nice with a lamp.  And of course a few hangers inside your closet for guests to hang their garments would be appreciated.

Décor:
Now the décor for this space needs to be planned out as well. You want something you can live with everyday while using your work station but also something that is appealing to guests when they are visiting. I personally have a cool color palette (see pictures). The walls are a nice blue, the futon is a light brown and the sheet set/blanket is a cream and green pattern. The pattern isn’t too overwhelming for the space and it isn’t too girly. Color blocked trimmings (silver office supplies, hardware, and photo frames) help tie it together.
Wall-mounted accessories make the best use of the room.  Floating shelves is a good way to use height for space by storing trinkets or books on the wall. As we’ve mentioned in our ‘How to Decorate Walls Without Painting’ blog, mirrors help give the illusion of more space. Thoughtful art choices help warm the room.

And don’t forget to add a vase with fresh flowers as a nice touch. It’ll have guests wanting to visit you over and over again!

The current economic environment has made more Americans cut back on their expenses with many embracing the ‘do-it-yourself’ route; whether it is making your own coffee, trimming your own hair, etc.  More and more people are also starting to look at their living space and finding ways to improve it. So instead of buying a new coffee table, how can I revamp my current one?

The idea of ‘nesting’ is that someone would have a strong desire to prepare a home, to tie up loose ends of old projects and to organize your world. But again, going back to the state of the economy, doing so in an inexpensive manner is best!

Here are a few ‘do-it-yourself’ tips for your apartment:

• Take a basic bookshelf from bland to GRAND with a quick fix. Paint the bookcase’s back wall in a cheery, contrasting hue. This is easiest to do if the back (or at least the shelves) is removable; if it’s not, you can still do the job. Just cover the edges of the sides and shelves with masking or painter’s tape while you’re brightening up the back. You would have taken an old, boring bookshelf to something new and vibrant with just the cost of paint and a brush!
• Calendar Pages-Last year, you probably invested in a beautiful wall calendar to cheer up your work space. Hopefully you didn’t toss out your old one! You can enjoy the images a little longer by framing them as wall art. Calendars are particularly good for this because the pages are themed -like beach scenes, flowers, Monet replicas, etc.– so they look like a series of prints when hung in matching frames. You can even save on matting if the pages already come with a border! Let’s see here, you can get inexpensive wall frames from the dollar store, or sets of matching ones at Target for less than $20.
• Another nifty idea from Country Living is to add shelving to your bathroom so it can hold pretty toiletries. Remove the back of an old wine crate or wooden box. Make shelves to fit inside the box, and then add a bit of glamour by fastening a gilded frame onto the front of the unit. For an antique finish, spray-paint with Krylon Crystal Color.
• You can revitalize an old lamp shade with inexpensive rubber-stamps. Depending on what type of style you want, e.g. a fleur-de-lis pattern, you can stamp on the border of the shade and fill in the pattern with permanent marker. To make it appear more decorative, you can also outline the design with a different color pen.
• Never throw out old candles! You can find a way to save the left over wax by following this do-it-yourself craft.

We think it’s great that Americans are cutting back spending on other goods and services and in turn are reflecting on improving where they live. That’s ‘nesting’ in its truest form! Do you have other ‘do-it-yourself’ ideas to share?

As most of us renters know, while closet space is a nice amenity to have, it isn’t usually one of our top choices for narrowing down apartments. Therefore, we are usually stuck with whatever closet space we are given in the apartment we choose. And while a closet the size of Harry Potters Room under the stairs isn’t desirable, it’s manageable. So we’re here to provide you with a few tips on how to turn that hole in the wall of a closet, into a functional space for your wardrobe and accessories.

Tip 1: Do some ‘Spring cleaning’
The easiest way to get more room in your closet is to go through the items in there. Get rid of anything you don’t wear, haven’t seen or haven’t worn for more than a year.

Tip 2: Use all available space
If the closet you have only has one rod across the top, consider putting in a tension rod so that you can have double the space. Put the longer items on top (likes dresses and pants) and the shorter items on the bottom (like jackets, skirts and shirts). This is what I have done in my closet and it really opens the space!

Tip 3: Find Space Saver Ideas
The hanging shelf closet organizers can be used for various items. You can put sweaters, t-shirts, jeans or whatever in there. The space it takes to hang up the organizer will be more than doubled with the amount of garments you can put in there.

Tip 4: Use the back of the door
I think people underestimate the amount of room it’ll save them if they put a shoe rack or an over the door rack to hang accessories.  Instead of putting your shoes on shelves, free up those shelves with a shoe rack on the back of the door. If nothing else, you can always put a full length mirror on the back of the door so you can check yourself before you leave. That’ll save room somewhere else in your apartment.

Tip 5: Stash seasonal items
There are quite a few storage bins available in stores. You can get rolling bins for under your bed to hide non-season items. For example if you are in the summer months, there is no reason for you to have your bulky sweaters and jackets in your closet. They just take up space. Put them in a container under your bed and get them out when the weather calls for it.

So there it is, five tips to help you organize the closet in your apartment into something that is practical for your lifestyle. You will truly be surprised by the ‘magical’ transformation!

With limited space in an apartment, a home office may seem impossible; but, with proper planning and organization it can still be a functional work space. A big issue with having limited space for your home office is it is likely to be shared with something else, e.g., your living room to watch TV, your bedroom, etc. Therefore, you need to make sure the structure, arrangement and organization of your work space will fulfill two purposes: a practical home office without being an eye-sore!

The first thing to consider would be your desk set-up. The amount of room you can allocate to your work space determines the type of desk you’ll need. If there is enough wall space in your apartment, a regular work curio, like that pictured, will suit you. However if you have just a spare corner, a corner unit would be best.

The next thing to think about would be arrangement. With a tight space it’s important to maximize the area you have. One way to do that is to utilize all your wall space. Since your desk surface will likely be small, the best way to house your supplies, books, cd’s, etc., would be on shelves. The picture to the left is a perfect example of how ‘moving up’ on the wall will reduce the width your office takes up, while not sacrificing any necessary storage. If you are able to purchase a desk that has shelves built into it, like the picture shows, great; but if not, standard wall shelves will work just fine. If you have extra surface space after your computer, printer, keyboard and mouse, I wrecommend using plastic stackable Tupperware’s for small office items like pens, paper clips, staples, etc. Such items can be found at your local Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart-type places.

Organization also plays an important role in making your home office less of an eye-sore. For all intents and purposes, let’s assume your home office is sharing a space with something else in your apartment. If you have clutter all around your work space, then obviously it will be harder for you to utilize the area, while also making it unattractive. So the best way to eliminate clutter would be to rid the area of loose paper. One way to do this would be to go through your mail and having a system for filing bills or “need to keep” items. After using your work space make sure to keep pens, paper clips, sticky notes, and other office supplies in their designated area so its looks orderly. Just a few minutes after each time you use your desk will go a long way in making your workstation functional and attractive for your apartment.