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…

What a Difference a Little Paint Makes!

May 28, 2012 | By Christina AuthorMy First Apartment

My bare white walls were driving me nuts so I called up my maintenance guy to find out about the options I had for painting my apartment. Sticking with my original theme of black, white and red, I was going to paint one of my main living room walls black… Until I chickened out. I decided that…

Five Things to Do Before You Buy Your First Piece of Furniture

April 16, 2012 | By Christina AuthorMy First Apartment

Whether you are starting from scratch in a new apartment or just sprucing up the space you are currently living in, being hasty can result in purchases you end up not wanting to use. After rushing the process myself and buying an area rug that won’t work, I have learned that there are five steps that…

Katherine’s10 Essential First Apartment Items

December 11, 2011 | By MFA Editors AuthorMy First Apartment

Our guest blogger Katherine has made a list and checked it twice. No, not the list you’re thinking of; it’s her list of essentials every first apartment needs to have. TEN ESSENTIAL FIRST APARTMENT ITEMS by Katherine There are a lot of things you might want for your apartment; a modern version of a Victrola or…

2 Couples as Roommates Learn to Decorate an Apartment to Suit Everyone’s Taste.

February 15, 2011 | By MFA Editors AuthorMy First Apartment

My First Apartment is going global! Our newest guest blogger is Dedreanna, a 21 year old journalism grad from New Brunswick, Canada, moving to the city to start her career. Decorate Debate- Decorating an apartment to suit everyone’s taste. By: Dedreanna For me, one of the main things I thought about when we finally found…

More Reasons Why You Should Get Curtains

September 8, 2010 | By MFA Editors AuthorMy First Apartment

Our guest blogger Elyse is an NYU student who just recently managed to free herself from the college dormitory system. The Importance of Curtains When my roommates and I first found our apartment one of my personal favorite features was the gigantic, and I mean gigantic, windows in every room. As a film major/“photographer” and…

How To Personalize Your Pad When You Can’t Paint

August 23, 2010 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

One of the easiest ways to personalize your apt is to paint. You roll up your sleeves and, ideally, beg some friends to help. It can really light up a room, but sometimes there are reasons why painting isn’t an option. Either your landlord won’t let you, you already have too much furniture that moving…

How to Cozy Up your Apartment for the Holidays. . without going home

November 19, 2009 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

The holidays are coming! The holidays are coming! A lot of folks I know aren’t going home this year because of $$ issues so I thought I’d write a few post about how to make your apartment really embody that home away from home feeling. The first thing I notice about my parents’ house is…