Suggestions to make an apartment feel "more like home"? (vent)

DH & I live in a very small apartment. We've lived here for about 3 1/2 years. Living here has been pretty frustrating for me. The apartment was where his grandmother lived before she passed away ... we moved in here within weeks of her passing because we needed to get out of the apartment we were previously living in. It was a baaad situation.

We have so much furniture that we "inherited" but don't need / want / use. It really makes the place cluttered. I've put up with it this long because I didn't want to add to the emotional stuff going on with her passing. We have a full sized dining table with 6 chairs that we have never used (we eat at the coffee table watching tv). We have a china cabinet filled with assorted things that we "inherited." NONE of it is OUR taste.

I was that we were going to buy a house this fall, and I've been biding my time since I thought this would be temporary. But it doesn't seem to be in the cards for us right now. It looks like we will stay here and rent for another year, maybe even 2 years.

We have good storage space for "junk" (alcoves of the house) since we are on the 2nd floor of a home. But the storage space for clothes is depressing. We each have one very tiny closet, and they're pretty low so we can't add a 2nd row.

There is a small area of the living room that we probably could put up a temporary door and maybe some of those closet organizers. It doesn't have a full height ceiling, because it goes into the eaves of the roof. But I don't know where to look for closet organizers that aren't

I just feel like I don't have any inspiration to do anything, I want to decorate and make it "pretty" but I don't think we're allowed to paint. The walls are all bland "apartment off-white." Because of the darn eaves, the wall above the couch is angled, so there isn't really a place to hang any artwork. And I guess I've been hesitant to spend money on this place, since I don't want to be here for long.

All our wedding presents are still in boxes because I wanted to save them for our home ... but it seems crazy to wait until we have a home. At this rate, that might not happen until our 3rd anniversary

I KNOW its possible to make the place a lot nicer without spending a ton of money .... so I guess that's what I need to do.

It just makes me that the place doesn't feel "like a home."

Re: Suggestions to make an apartment feel "more like home"? (vent)

why can't someone else "inherit" the unwanted belongings...memories are great, but clutter is not! how about adding a large corner plant or some oversized mirrors and art? or even some tall sticks in a vase on the floor

Re: Suggestions to make an apartment feel "more like home"? (vent)

Can you take grandma's things out and spread them among the family?

Is it a rental? Can you ask the landlord for permission to paint? Maybe he/she will let you if you paint it back to neutral when you leave. Our current place lets us paint and if its light enough to be covered up by one coat of flat white, then we don't have to paint it back.

Re: Suggestions to make an apartment feel "more like home"? (vent)

Re: Suggestions to make an apartment feel "more like home"? (vent)

You must feel like you are living in someone else's home.

I think passing along (or selling, donating, etc) these inherited treasures would be the best first step. Once that happens you'll free up space for your own stuff that you want to use and add your personal touches.

Message edited 11/15/2008 7:01:21 PM.

Re: Suggestions to make an apartment feel "more like home"? (vent)

first I would clear out the furniture you don't want/need. Offer it to family members, otherwise sell or donate it

depending on the clothes situation, what about a nice armoire? this way it still looks like furniture in the room

as for color - on the decorating shows, they usually make their own art, either by painting on canvas or using fabric on canvas or in frames

pillows, candles, slipcovers, etc can all help change a room and are inexpensive fixes.

have fun!!

Re: Suggestions to make an apartment feel "more like home"? (vent)

Posted by Christine

You must feel like you are living in someone else's home.

Re: Suggestions to make an apartment feel "more like home"? (vent)

Ugh I'm sorry you are feeling this way. Def start clearing out some of her things - work with dh to keep a few significant pieces and then donate the rest after offering to the rest of the family. Sometimes when there is so much "stuff" its hard to even enjoy the significance of things.

Def talk to your landlord - especially if you offer to repaint before you leave. But sometimes if your new colors are neutral enough they will let you keep it.

As for reasonably priced stuff, def check out ikea. Dh and I got some great stuff for our apartments that we've now been able to transition to our house because the quality is good (armoire, desk, coffee table etc). They also have cool, colorful artwork, rugs, etc that I know would help make your place a "home.". Also target, marshalls, homegoods, even walmart have great home stuff for reasonable prices.

I know what you mean about not wanting to use gifts you got for your shower/wedding because dh and I felt the same way. We moved in to a new apartment after being married about 6 months and decided to pick and choose things we would use so we could start to enjoy them. We used our everyday dishes, kitchen appliances, etc but saved our fine china, towels and bathroom sets and other stuff for later. Now that we just moved into our house we still have some "new" stuff to enjoy and its been fun to go through and unpack it all again. Maybe you can do the same! Find a few things that you like and have room for and put them to good use!

Let us know how it turns out. Apartment living can be tough especially when you are restricted with what you can do - hoping with a few small changes it can feel more like home for you.

Re: Suggestions to make an apartment feel "more like home"? (vent)

I don't think you should keep furniture just becausse they are inherited. You should have furniture that you love and use and that will help make the place feel more like home.

I live in an apartment to and I love the furniture. We have blue decorative pillows and a blue leather chair ( it looks so good and brings in color). also we have a wall that is almost all windows and we used blue to bring color in.

I haven't put up any art but that's another way.

Re: Suggestions to make an apartment feel "more like home"? (vent)

If you can't paint the walls, you could look into getting some large pieces of fabric (king sized sheets, maybe) and hang them on the walls using staple guns and pulling them taut. It will bring color without painting.

Re: Suggestions to make an apartment feel "more like home"? (vent)

I am a firm believer in making your home comfy and "yours." I have always lived in apartments and I never shrink away from putting a little money into my places to make them as comfortable as possible. You should be happy where you live!

First of all, I would suggest getting rid of the table and cabinet. When I first moved in with DH he had this huge dining room table with six chairs. It was dark wood with claw feet. HE LIVED IN A 2 ROOM STUDIO!!!!!!! All the table did was collect junk mail and un-hung coats/sweaters.

Once we got rid of that (I made him...I just couldn't take it anymore...) I painted the kitchen area a bright cheery yellow, bought a small white kitchen table (from Target--which we still have) a new computer desk(also from Target) and a small cabinet for storage from JC penny. I think everything cost about 500 bucks total. It made such a huge difference.

I had sold my beautiful furniture and DH had a horrible hand me down couch from his Mom's friend. It was from the 70s or 80s. We saved up for a new couch from Jennifer Convertibles. I got it in a sand color and painted the walls a very pale aqua. It suddenly became "beachy." We didn't and still don't have enough room for a coffee table. I always joke that I can't wait to have a place big enough for a coffee table.

My favorite places to buy fun and inexpensive curtains, pillows etc. are Target and Urban Outfitters. I also like the sale section at Anthropologie.

As far as the walls are concerned, can you put up shelves? If you get some nice shelves, you can put up pictures of you & DH, friends, family etc. It really personalizes a space.

When we lived in this small 2 room studio, we had NO closets. I had an awful, cheap armoire from some budget furniture store across the street from out apt. and he had a tall armoire from IKEA. Remember that a good piece of furniture can follow you wherever you go or it can always be sold!!

Good Luck!!

Re: Suggestions to make an apartment feel "more like home"? (vent)

The Container Store is a great source of closet organizers, shelving, etc. If you measure the space, they will do a deisign for you on the computer. We fixed my closet for about $150.

Re: Suggestions to make an apartment feel "more like home"? (vent)

I agree with what the previous posters said - clear out some of the old stuff and start to integrate your things.

I also packed away a lot of our wedding gifts to save for the house, but my DH thought I was crazy - so instead I only packed away some things - one set of towels to use in the apartment, one to save for the house, same with bedding, etc.

Even if you can't paint, there is so much you can do to make it your own. You can bargain shopped at clearance centers, Bob's furniture, Home Goods and watched the sales to find some new pieces of furniture and decor. Good luck!

Re: Suggestions to make an apartment feel "more like home"? (vent)

JCPenny's has great sales right now for curtains, bedding, etc. If you live on LI, you can go to Home Goods, Walmart, Target, Kohl's or Malburn for curtains and bedding. Good prices and a pretty good selection.

Just because you live in an apartment shouldn't mean you shouldn't feel at "Home" while you are living there. Make it your own for little money. If you need color, buy cheap curtains that have bold colors in them. Find flat walls that you can hang art on. Add color by buying pretty colored pillows for the couch and bed.

HD & Lowes both have wire closet organizers. Some even come in a box and are like $70 for the whole closet set. You don't have to put up a door to make another closet, you can just put up a pretty curtain with a tension rod. No one needs to know what is behind the curtain and now you just added more color to the room and you have more space to hand clothes.

ETA: You can find all that you are looking for at Target or Target.com. Order it online and get it delivered to you.

I hope you can have a "Home" feeling soon. With the holidays right around the corner, you can really do something nice.

Oh yeah, one other idea, take out a couple of your wedding gifts and use them or display them. Don't wait until you move into a house.

Message edited 11/18/2008 10:23:14 AM.

Re: Suggestions to make an apartment feel "more like home"? (vent)

I cannot thank you all enough for all the kind words and suggestions you have posted!

I was really feeling like an evil witch for wanting to get rid of all this "inherited" furniture before I posted ... but you gals are right, there is no reason to keep it!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

And I will be checking out all those stores that were posted, I'm sure we can get some great things for a small expense to make this apartment feel like its OURS!

Re: Suggestions to make an apartment feel "more like home"? (vent)

Blik!

go to http://www.whatisblik.com

Re: Suggestions to make an apartment feel "more like home"? (vent)

Re: Suggestions to make an apartment feel "more like home"? (vent)

We moved into my grandfathers apartment and inherited a little bit of his stuff..but only the stuff I wanted. We also inherited a bunch of things from DH's family..but it's all sentimental stuff.
Can you bring it up to DH? I know it may be a touchy subject, but I think it's unfair to expect you to move into his g-mas place and keep all her stuff. You are married and have all your own stuff!
We were allowed to paint...but kept it all neutral. also did a lot of shopping at home goods. It's inexpensive and has such interesting pieces. throw pillows, lamps, candles, things like that to me aree what make the apartment. We just kept looking until we found things that reflected our personalities.

I'm sorry you're dealing with this...I wish I had better advice!