After my first week here and all the “we must catch up over dinner” dates, I’ve officially decided I cannot ignore my unpacked bags anymore. I decided to bite the bullet and unpack while I decorated, which resulted in two realizations: one, I own waaay too many clothes, and two, my apartment-decorating-budget disappeared about 2 restaurant meals into last week. So, frugal fiscal sense in hand, I braved it and managed to still make my apartment look decent on a dime. And here’s how:
Firstly, I polished all wooden furniture. The dust left from 3 months of non-inhabitance left the furniture looking 30 years older and made my allergies act up something fantastic. Same deal with the bathroom mirror: cobwebs don’t make you think ‘light’ and ‘airy’ now, do they?
Secondly, I grabbed a tin of paint and some masking tape and tacked some cute words onto the wall (stencils are also a great idea) and painted over them to create a simple but effective mural. Just remember that while my landlord is awesome, the same might not be said for yours, so make sure that’s ok before losing your security deposit.
The couch is pretty old and basically looked like someone may have died on it. Since painting it wasn’t really an option, I decided to buy large sheets of a durable fabric and a staple gun. By draping the fabric over the sofa and stapling it where necessary, I managed to make the rejuvinate the sofa, if only by 12 years (It now looks like it may have been produced during my lifetime). Don’t forget that the fabric needs to be able to give when sat on, so don’t apply it too tightly.
Another option is to hit up your local second-hand store; I managed to bag some new(er) cushions for $1.50 each and while they don’t exactly match everything in the room, they’re comfortable and work with my couch.
Please let me know if you have any more room-updating suggestions; I am still in the process of getting my life in order, so I’d love to hear what you have to say!
Nick Krym
Alfonso Adriasola
lesliewwhow
bargainbeauties
nicjsan
Brandy
