So maybe your apartment is looking a little drab since all of your money goes toward rent and Starbucks drinks, but do not fret. There are easy and super affordable ways to make your black pleather couch and industrial grey carpet look fabulous and intentional rather than like the cookie-cutter three-bed/two-bath apartment that it actually is. Rejoice in the fact that you will no longer have to be embarrassed to invite people over because with your new trendy pad, all the wine and Netflix nights can be hosted by you.
Throw pillows
For about $14 total you can purchase fluffy and fashionable pillows from Walmart or Target that will greatly enhance your living space. Don’t corner yourself into only looking for these pillows in the home goods section either. You’d be greatly surprised to see how many cute things are in the children’s bedding aisles, too. Bonus: Most of the time the items in the children’s sections are even cheaper. Get an elaborate color to distract your guests from the fact that the couch they are sitting on is probably held together by Velcro.
Quilt/tapestry
Is your couch or common room chair a little unwelcoming? Are there a few stains you wish weren’t there? Quilt to the rescue. You can pick up one of these bad boys basically anywhere for pretty cheap, and if you really want to impress guests, get a color that matches the pillows you just finished purchasing. But maybe your couch looks fine and it’s your walls that are bringing the room down. In this case, go online to Amazon or any local sketchy smoke shop and invest in a nice tapestry to pin up on the wall. They’re huge and will take up a nice chunk of your wall, so there will be no need to get any other posters or paintings. Pro tip: Tapestries make for really cool Instagram backgrounds.
Place mats
Maybe your kitchen table is made of weird, warping wood, or maybe it’s glass and shows every finger streak known to man, or maybe it’s just boring. Either way, get yourself to a dollar store and buy some place mats. They are so inexpensive and cover up all of your little messes. If your kitchen leads into your living room, try to get complimentary colored place mats to go with your living area, and soon people will really believe that you have your life together.
Candles
If you smell good, you feel good, right? The same rules apply to your apartment. Go crazy with that pumpkin spice cupcake scent or Christmas pine and make your $450/month space smell like it’s worth millions. Candles can also add a nice homey aesthetic for when you turn off the lights and let yourself and your guests immerse themselves in your totally-affordable-but-impressive ambiance.
You should now be thoroughly convinced that anybody with a little money and zero interior design skills can now make a crappy college apartment feel like a comfy home. We already have to spend most of our days within the drab and depressing walls of lecture rooms and libraries, so it’s worth it to make your apartment a pleasing place to come home to.
Photo Credit: swamprentals.com