Zainab Continues Decorating Her First Apartment in Austin

February 27, 2013 | By Zainab AuthorMy First Apartment

Austin is an amazing city. Having only lived in large sprawling metros before, it’s lovely to live in a place where you can walk around, where you have interesting neighborhoods, culture, and so much to do. Austin is a blue island in a red state, a college town and the capitol, with many opportunities. My…

Designer 101: Answers to Our Reader’s Design Questions!

February 13, 2013 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

As a reminder, it’s DESIGN MONTH here at My First Apartment! We’re working with Kate Marengo of Arranging Order to share tips of the trade, as well as show how interior design can, really, be quite affordable. Check out the first post of the series here. In today’s post, we’ve worked with Kate to answer our…

Giveaway: Win New Duvet Set From Crane & Canopy

February 5, 2013 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

WE HAVE A WINNER! Our randomly selected winner of a Crane and Canopy duvet of her choice is Becky who added a burst of color to her bedroom with new gorgeous, super affordable curtains from Century 21. Congratulations Becky, we’ll email you with the directions to claim your prize. Thanks to all who shared their…

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…

Decorating with Roommates

January 7, 2013 | By Sabrina AuthorMy First Apartment

Your home is a reflection of you. The color tells us about your character, the many accessories tell us about your interests, and the positioning tells us about your thoughts. Decorating with roommates can make the shared living situation more interesting with an explosion of different ideas. However, danger lurks when each roommate’s unique flare…

Reader Tips: Turn Your Apartment Into A Home

September 12, 2012 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

A couple of weeks ago, we ran a post calling for reader tips for how to make your first apartment feel like a home. We got some GEM advice. To make sure you saw all the great tips, we wanted to compile them into a fresh post – highlighting some of the key themes we saw:…

Using Curtains as a Room Divider

August 18, 2012 | By Christina AuthorMy First Apartment

Whether you want to create a private escape away from roommates, or just want to designate a living area away from your sleeping area, how to divide your space is often one of the first things you need to tackle in a new apartment. And you want to do it in a way that does not make your…

How I Made My DIY Candle and Flowers Centerpiece

June 2, 2012 | By Christina AuthorMy First Apartment

I couldn’t decide if I wanted to have flowers or candles in my centerpiece, so I made one using both! 1. Start with a plain white sculpture of any shape you like. I prefer white because it contrasts really well against the red flowers we’re going to use. Make sure there is an opening at…