Apartment Blog

 What a great Do it Yourself tip!! I saw it in a local publication, the Link, and thought “I must share this with all you folks!” If you find a great bargain at a yard sale or thrift store, you can totally make it your own with these few steps! All you need is paint, fabric, a staple gun, and of course, the stool! J

Step 1: Paint the stool

After removing the cushion, paint the legs and base whatever color you choose.

Step 2: Remove old seat cover

If you’re not a fan of the current pattern on the cushion, using a screwdriver, remove the staples holding the fabric in place. Then paint the wood part the same color you painted the rest of the stool. While it’s drying, use the old fabric as a pattern to cut out a new fabric. 

Step 3: Assemble new stool

Using a staple gun, fasten the edges of the fabric to the bottom of the wood piece. Then place on top of the base!

There you go! Your bargain deal is refurbished into a one of a kind piece for your home! Use as a foot stool, additional seating or whatever!

As the weather starts to drop we all tend to stay indoors more, which is why our focus now becomes the environment surrounding us. And we sure have some great ideas to cozy up your apartment for the cooler weather! Starting with the colors, textures and other accents to incorporate that will give your apartment a ‘sit down and get comfortable’ feel.

Fall Colors:
The Autumn Harvest showcases rich colors all around us. Taking inspiration from the changing of the leaves, colors such as gold, orange, red, brown, green and even a soft white prevail in home decor. Keeping your color scheme and design as natural as possible is essential, as this time of year is all about celebrating the glorious beauty nature provides for us. Most apartments for rent do not allow paint to be used; therefore, I would recommend the best way to include these colors is with accent pieces. Things such as a tall green vase with twigs blooming out for a centerpiece on the dining room table, a red and gold bowl filled with pinecones on the entertainment stand, or several framed photographs with the matte changed to reflect these colors, are perfect examples of making little inexpensive adjustments to your apartment’s decor.

Outdoorsy Textures:
When our body gets cold, we tend to put on another layer; whether it’s a sweater or a jacket or socks. And just as we do with our own body, our home needs many layers to give it a warm feeling. Layers can be placed throughout your apartment; for example blankets and throw pillows on the sofa, bed linens and even towels in the bathroom. Warm fabric touches everywhere will provide the pleasant and inviting atmosphere you want for your apartment home.

Additional Accents:
As we mentioned in a previous article, Top 5 Autumn Decorating Tips, creating a wreath is a great way to instantly greet your guests with a simple but homly touch. Use elements from the outdoors such as pinecones, twigs, acorns, leaves, etc. Other great accessories that are simple and inexpensive are candles. They provide such wonderful fragrance to your home while simultaneously creating a friendly environment.

I’m sure many of you have additional ideas or tips as to how to decorate for fall. So why don’t you let us know? It would be great to have our readers provide decorating tips that have worked for them!

 Football season is upon us, and once again we will be releasing our aggression by grunting and yelling for our favorite team during the game, and obviously firing up our manly hunger for burgers, hot dogs, wings, chips and dip. To make your opening day party a success, consider incorporating the following ideas.

Invite your Fantasy Football teammates. If you invite the people you already have a little friendly competition with, it’ll make each play in the game that much more exciting. Your friends can compare the points being added to each individual’s Fantasy Football team, which, of course, will allow for additional trash-talking to take place. I’ve seen firsthand the exhilaration and camaraderie that occurs!

My most highly recommended tip would be to make your party a pot luck spread. This will make available a variety of food for everyone, while also not being an extreme burden on the hosting individual.  At the group football parties I attend, each couple brings something different, including appetizers, beverages, snacks, sweets, etc., so there is a full range of goodies. The costs are extremely minimal to each couple as they are only paying for their items which will be complemented by what others bring.

Also, be sure to decorate your apartment accordingly. After all, what better way to get you enthusiastic about the game than by having embellishments all around? Bring out your football memorabilia and sport your team’s logo on your attire. Be ready to represent your team and show your fan devotion.

Above all make sure you and your guests have a good time. It’s a time-honored ritual between football fans so keep the environment fun, friendly and laid back. For more tips on throwing a great football party, check out our other blog ‘5 Tips to Host a Super Bowl Party in Your Apartment‘ for inspiration. And, as always, if you have any ideas you’d like to share about throwing ‘the bomb‘ football party let us know!

I found this article online and it has changed the way I drink water. Bottles, Bottles, Everywhere by Ramon Cruz has opened my eyes to what damage can be done by simply drinking from the plastic water bottle on my desk. Like every health conscientious American, I make a effort to consume eight glasses of water a day. In doing this, I tend to drink a lot out of water bottles. But the harm that I’m doing to the environment could be comparable to the harm I would be doing to my own body if I didn’t consume that water. A person needs to drink water throughout the day in order for their body to work properly; your blood has to carry oxygen to your cells and needs water to do this. Water also helps you digest food and get ride of waste in your body. But by drinking water out of plastic bottles, I am overflowing our landfills and contributing to global warming. Sure recycling would help, but “less than 20 percent of the 28 billion single-serving water bottles that Americans buy each year are recycled.”[1] Therefore, most of those water bottles are resting in landfills where it takes thousands of years for the plastic to decompose.

And what for? “More than a quarter of all bottled water is just processed tap water, including Pepsi’s Aquafina and Coca-Cola’s Dasani.1” Yet bottled water consumption is continually growing each year. So there needs to be a better plan of action to tackle this wide-spread damage! The article suggests several options. One being if you purchase bottled water make sure you recycle the container. I know this option isn’t the easiest for me because the community I live in does not collect recycling (which I plan on discussing with them in the near future). So the second suggestion is what I’m doing now. I drink tap water. I have a water filter at my home and at the office where I consume my water daily. And since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s standards for tap water are more stringent than the Food & Drug Administration’s standards for bottled water, I’m drinking water that is just as safe as, if not safer than, bottled. I also drink out of a reusable container so I won’t be throwing away numerous plastic or Styrofoam cups a week–which also harms the environment. Be sure you don’t reuse single-use water bottles; doing so can expose you to bacterial build-up and carcinogens leached from the plastic.

The ‘Green Living’ bandwagon is continually getting new members and I encourage all of you to hop aboard and do your part in helping our environment!

[1] http://green.yahoo.com/blog/climate411/91/bottles-bottles-everywhere.html