How to Furnish a Studio with IKEA Products for Under $2,000

February 7, 2013 | By Alexandra AuthorMy First Apartment

STARTING FRESH – HOW MUCH DECORATING MY FIRST NEW YORK STUDIO APARTMENT REALLY COST! It’s no secret furniture can be one of the most costly expenses when it comes to starting fresh in your new place… But it doesn’t have to be that way! As I have already told you, I attacked IKEA head on…

Super-Budget Decorating Tips From the Pros

February 3, 2013 | By doug AuthorMy First Apartment

So you’ve found an apartment and you have the basic necessities of everyday life: things to sleep on, eat on, sit on … and so on. Everything seems to be in place. But as you look around your new abode, perhaps it feels a bit … unfinished. Spare. There’s stuff, but no personality to it.…

Ask a Designer: Interior Design 101

February 1, 2013 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

This February, we’re focusing on interior design to help you turn your new apartment into a cozy home you’ll love. Since not all of us are design wizards, we’ll be working with Chicago interior designer Kate Marengo of Arranging Order. She’s given me some great tips on decorating that I’ll be sharing throughout the month – and she’s…

Alexandra’s One Big IKEA Shopping Spree Gets Her Studio Furnished!

January 31, 2013 | By Alexandra AuthorMy First Apartment

Just when you thought the hard work had all been done – you’ve found a place, negotiated with the landlord, signed the lease and collected the keys – you open the doors to nothing more but a shell. It is then that the real task begins – furnishing your new apartment. For some, the term…

Starting to Decorate and Furnish Your First Apartment

January 21, 2013 | By Alex AuthorMy First Apartment

We’d all love to have Martha Stewart’s living room … a splash of color here, a nice piece of furniture over there … but for those of us without Ms. Stewart’s experience and budget, decorating isn’t just about choosing the right furniture – it’s a combination of financial savvy, an eye for design, and the…

Put the Finishing Touches on Your Place: Four Great Online Sites

September 27, 2012 | By Alex AuthorMy First Apartment

Now that it’s autumn, there’s a good chance you’ve found your apartment, you’ve moved in, and you just need a few finishing touches to make the apartment truly yours. Some of us have an ideal thrift shop we turn to, or a discount furnisher that we love – but a lot of us, especially if…

Katherine Picks Up Her Furniture Essentials for under $1,000

February 28, 2012 | By MFA Editors AuthorMy First Apartment

Our blogger Katherine has chronicled the ups and downs of her apartment search, and now shares how she’s furnished the basics for less than $1,000. FURNISHING YOUR FIRST APARTMENT: DREAM OR NIGHTMARE? by Katherine So I’ve recently found my first real-live apartment and my roommate and I have found ourselves in that predicament that newlyweds usually face:…

The Finishing Touches: Decorating Your Apartment Walls

November 8, 2011 | By Alex AuthorMy First Apartment

So, you’ve moved in to your first apartment, you know your way around your kitchen, you’re starting to learn the neighborhood and you have all your furniture. Life is good, except something feels a bit off. What is it? There’s hardly anything on the walls – you haven’t finished decorating, and things you do have…

Furnishing Your Apartment on $1000 or Less

July 18, 2011 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

It’s week #2 in our super cheap apartment furnishing series! Hot Dang! Well, not to ruin the surprise, but as you may imagine, the key difference between a $500 a $1000 apartment isn’t so much the kind of items included so much as the items themselves and how you allocate your resources. So, without further…

No Bare Walls – Art Hound’s Guide to Affordable Art

November 1, 2010 | By MFA Editors AuthorMy First Apartment

Our guest blogger Kate is an art consultant and blogs as Art Hound . Guide to Affordable Art As an art consultant and blogger people often confess to me just how much they secretly hate their apartment’s empty walls. They want interesting art but think it’s totally out of their reach. In these conversations, I…