It’s been a few years since I wrote my all-time most popular post, 12 College Dorm Room Must Haves, and I just realized I never wrote an apartment edition! I’m months away from moving out of this place, and it’s been so hard to avoid buying new apartment decor, but I wanted to share about the pieces that have made my place cozy and home-y for the last two years.
I think it’s really important to give yourself some place that makes you feel at home, especially if your college is far away from your home-home. If that means plastering a wall with pictures of friends and places you love, go for it! For me, it meant keeping things super organized (because I can’t stand living in a messy room), maintaining a relaxing color scheme, and filling up any empty space with things that just look good and fit my aesthetic.
These are some of my favorite purchases and things I hope will inspire you to create a beautiful space of your own!
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1. A statement comforter or duvet
By statement, I mean it should be color or pattern that you want to build the rest of your room off of. Your bed will be one of the biggest pieces of furniture in the room, so the fabric you choose will really affect the mood of the space! I wanted a pretty neutral room with lots of plants and pops of color from smaller items, so I went with a solid gray duvet.
I sort of splurged on this T-Shirt Jersey Duvet Cover from Urban Outfitters that I’d been eyeing for months. If you’re also looking for neutrals, this white cotton duvet set has some great reviews. Target is another affordable option if you’re looking for brighter colors or patterns!
2. A wall tapestry
Filling up wall space is surprisingly hard, which is why I LOVE tapestries. They fill up so much space and can completely change your room’s mood! I bought this tropical foliage tapestry from Society6 in size small, which you can see in the picture below:
It’s the perfect size to go above a full/queen size bed! My roommates and I also bought this banana leaf tapestry for our living room in medium, which was about the width of a regular couch.
These are some other really cute prints from Society6 that I think would look great in a bedroom!
Sea Breeze (pink + blue)
Floral (pink + peach + green)
Rose Gold Burst (lots of rose gold)Pineapple Top (gold + green)
3. Accent pillows
You have to balance out that statement bedspread with something, and that’s where accent pillows come in. Since my duvet is solid gray, I looked for pillows with lots of patterns. All of mine are from Target (I think they sold out but this one’s pretty similar), and if you wait long enough for the current line to go on sale you can get them for around $15 instead of the usual $30!
You can also just buy a pillow cover in whatever color you like and grab a pillow insert separately. That way you can always change things up if your color scheme gets boring!
4. A desk with enough room to actually work
I wanted to make sure I had a designated place to be productive that wasn’t my bed, so I bought a table top, two legs, and a drawer unit from IKEA. This let me really customize my desk to my needs rather than being locked into a pre-made one!
If you don’t have an IKEA near you, this desk is pretty similar! Target also has a more affordable option.
5. Bathroom storage
I’m a bit of a skincare product hoarder, so the space under my sink wasn’t nearly enough for all my half-filled bottles. I have this plastic shelf unit from IKEA and I LOVE it. It fits perfectly between my toilet and shower and has enough room for all my products. I found this similar piece on Amazon.
My bathroom has a cabinet above my toilet, so I already had some extra storage there, but if your wall is empty there you could try an over the toilet storage option like this!
6. A cube storage unit
I hopped on the cube storage train when I moved into my dorm freshman year, and I’m still using the same pieces in my apartment. I own this tall unit and
this square one from, as always, IKEA. Amazon has some similar ones though like this!
Inside I use these fabric storage bins from Target to put clothes or snacks in. I use the top bin of my tall unit to store makeup out in the open for easy access!
7. Lots of lighting
Having a well lit room is so important!! For your eyes of course, but your mood is also affected by how much and what type of light is surrounding you. I was lucky enough to get two giant windows in my room, but that obviously doesn’t help much at night.
I bought, no exaggeration, seven packs of these mini string lights from Target and strung them around my entire room. They’re bright enough that I can work with ease into the early morning hours, which happens way more often than I’d like, but they also give off a relaxing yellow light that doesn’t hurt my eyes.
I noticed that these particular string lights seem to go out of stock pretty often, so I found these string lights on Amazon for a similar price if you end up with the same issue!
8. Pictures
Adding some personal touches like pictures to your room will really give it that homey feel. I ordered a TON of prints from Parabo Press and hung them with this metal photo clip string from Urban Outfitters (similar.
If you want to get the same look, you can use my code UKWRRN to get a $15 credit towards some prints at Parabo Press!
9. Things that make your room YOUR room
Most of the decorations in my room come from random shopping trips where I happened upon something that just screamed “me”. I love filling all the empty spaces in my room with more colorful and eye-catching things than my neutral bed and furniture, and I’ve picked up quite a few objects over the past year that made their way in!
My salt rock lamp is probably one of my favorite pieces in my entire room. I have it on my desk next to my bed right now so I can adjust the light when I’m going to sleep. I’m obsessed with pinks right now, so this was a must-have!
I purchased a bunch of prints from Society6 for my DIY pegboard wall (literally just a pegboard from Home Depot hung on some nails), and they’re an easy, cheap way to personalize your space! They’re hanging on these silver bulldog clips and stuck to the board with some Tac ‘N Stick
I also have a lot of little things from trips to Ross and Marshall’s home decor sections. There’s always something new there so you’re pretty much guaranteed to find a unique piece every time you visit!
You can even get creative with storage for things like makeup brushes or pencils. I’ve seen these white pencil cups everywhere and they’re so darn cute.
I hope this gave y’all some apartment inspiration, and here’s my apartment tour if you want to get a better look too.