DECORATING MY SMALL APARTMENT

My apartment has become my happy place, but it didn't happen overnight! Before moving in here, my previous spaces were pretty impersonal. Even when I did stay somewhere for a few years in a row, I always felt like I was on the verge of moving on to a new place, so why would I bother to decorate? I regret that now, if I could go back and tell my past self how much joy personalizing an apartment would bring me, I would!

I get a lot of questions asking about my decorating style and how I decorated this place, and from people who like my apartment but don't know how to go about making their own feel as homey and cute. I'm not anything close to a decorator, so please don't consider this expert advice in any way, but here's how I approached making this apartment uniquely me!

1. Start Small

After signing my lease and preparing to move, I started looking at the (generic, mostly grey) furniture that I had accumulated over the years of living with roommates and realized that not only did I not love any of it, but a lot of it was too big for my new tiny space. It was also mismatched, well-loved, and didn't reflect me at all. The size issue became a great excuse to sell a lot of it off and start fresh.

Starting fresh is an overwhelming thing, though. I scrolled through Pinterest and Instagram endlessly, building board after board of inspo and coming no closer to making any decisions about what I actually wanted. I thought I'd narrowed down a colour scheme to jewel tones-- pink, navy, and emerald green. It wasn't until I bought a print of a sunset that I realized that those sunset tones of pink, yellow, coral, orange, are actually the colours that feel most comfortable and cozy to me.

So that's my first piece of advice: find something small for your unit that you love a lot. It doesn't have to be new, and it can be just about anything, as long as the colours make you happy. Use that as the colour palette for the room (or, in my case since it's so small, apartment) that you are decorating.

Nearly everything in my apartment pulls from the colours and/or the arc-like shape of that sunset. I also play with black and white alongside that with my rug and my polka dot wall, as a way of adding texture without adding competing colours into the mix. I think it makes the space quite cohesive-- giving the illusion that I actually know how to decorate!

The earlier in the process that you pick your colour palette, the easier it is to decide what to buy for your new place. Furniture, bedding, wall art, even dishes and small appliances-- all of it felt less overwhelming as soon as I limited myself to certain colours. Within the colours I picked, I was able to find so many things that I love and that reflect me, and it all works together and looks cute.

2. Don't be Afraid of Colour

I'm going to assume that if you are reading this, you like my apartment. It's not for everyone, I know a lot of people love the minimalist look with creamy cloud-like couches (and I do love that look for other people, even though it will never match up with my own personal style!), but if you're here, colour and pattern make you happy. So don't be afraid of the yellow couch or the pink ottoman or the fun wall paper!

Especially if you are working within a pre-decided colour palette, getting the fun couch will fit perfectly into the over all vision and you'll be so happy every time you see it.

3. Lighting is Everything

Small spaces and bright colours can quickly feel claustrophobic. When I moved into my apartment, it came with thick, dark green drapes. It was months before I finally replaced them with sheer ones that only cover half the windows. The difference that natural light made in making the space feel exponentially bigger was staggering!

Beyond window treatments, consider having floor lamps and table or desk lamps instead of relying on your overhead lights. I also light candles in the evenings often. It all adds up to a cozier, homier space!

4. Storage is... Also Everything

Have I mentioned that my apartment is tiny? That means storage is invaluable. I sought out pieces that were generally smaller scale in order to maximize my available floor space and keep it feeling airy in here. My desk is only 34 inches wide, and my sofa is only 75 inches wide, to give you a sense of it. I did keep my queen size bed (I couldn't resist!), but as I moved I really downsized. I'm lucky to have a couple of decent sized closets, but I also invested in under-the-bed drawers and other storage solutions in order to keep myself mostly organized.

As you set up your tiny place, think multipurpose. Make sure your desk has a drawer, look into under-the-bed options, and really think about the scale of everything you buy. It's crazy how much I've accumulated in the couple of years I've lived here-- I'm lucky that I have a locker I can use for the overflow, but a lot of it is just hidden away under my furniture!

5. Fill Your Space with What You Love

I feel like the idea of decorating is an overwhelming one. Most of the time when I was 'decorating' this place, I was approaching it as 'personalizing' it. It was the pandemic, I was in lockdown alone, I was working from home, and I wanted it to feel more like me, more reflective of my personality and my likes and my life. By thinking of it this way, I didn't feel any pressure-- the only one I was trying to please was myself. I bought a bunch of prints of fan art from my favourite shows and movies and travel destinations, I got a bunch of pictures printed (using Parabo, which does small cute square photos-- not an ad, I just love them!) and really was just guided by my colour palette + what I love. I really think if you fill your space with things you love, everyone else will love it, too.

6. Know When to Splurge

I think one of my best pieces of advice is to us to know when to splurge. Splurge on things that will make you happy, and don’t talk yourself into settling for a cheaper option if it’ll bring you measurably less joy.

The egg chair is my best example. When I saw this chair, it made my heart sing. I could picture myself curled up in it all summer reading, I loved it aesthetically and it’s super comfy, I knew I’d get a lot of use out of it. BUT I’m reluctant to spend money, so I looked at a ton of other patio furniture options, including a lot of cheaper, less comfy egg chairs. It felt irresponsible to spend more than I had on my couch on a single patio chair! But I finally looked at the difference between what felt like the responsible options and the one I actually wanted, and focused on that difference. Was saving $100 worth it if I didn’t love what I ended up with? Or would I be more likely to replace it sooner, spending even more?

I hope that helps! Be sure to check out my TikTok for video apartment tours and more content featuring my happy place, and if you're inspired by my apartment and wondering where to find a furniture or decor item, click here for a full shopping guide.