A beautiful apartment is possible no matter its size!

May 13, 2009 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

Coming from college, many of you might equate a small apartment with the dingy dorm you were were forced to live in with nary a stove for X number of years. I can see where you’re coming from: your new apartment is also tiny and not by choice. But, oh, is it SO different! Sure,…

More ways to use your walls!

July 30, 2008 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

I’m really into walls these days — and all their crazy potential. So, this is a two-parter from earlier this week where I wrote about temporary walls (ie. the best invention since sliced bread). Walls. Sure, you can hang pictures on them, but there has to be more, well, to do with them. Like, you…

Spring Dumpster Diving for Free Furniture!

April 30, 2008 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

Dumpster Diving It’s a pretty great term, right? It sounds almost exotic—maybe even hipster cool these days. I mean, Mary-Kate Olsen’s even made running around like a Hobo look hot. Hear me out though — I’m not recommending that you jump headfirst into your smelly neighborhood garbage can, but welcome to the Christmas of moving…

10 Ways To Make Your Apartment Greener

November 24, 2007 | By Amanda AuthorMy First Apartment

Ed. note. This is a repeat of one of our most popular posts from last summer. ‘Green’ is a concept that not only describes safer, more environmentally-friendly products, but also a state of mind. Let’s face it… times are changing and despite common belief, one person can make a difference. Below are ten ways to…

Decorating and furnishing when you and your roommate have different styles

November 14, 2007 | By Shelby AuthorMy First Apartment

So you love sleek, modern design and your roommate adores the lacy, floral, Victorian look. Now what? If you don’t talk about your conflict before you furnish your apartment, you’ll end up with a goofy hodgepodge look that you’ll both hate. There are two basic solutions to a design conflict like this. One, you could…

My Top 10 Places to Shop for the Home

June 10, 2007 | By Amanda AuthorMy First Apartment

We all have our favorite things to shop for. Some girls like to buy shoes, while others like to buy handbags. Some guys like to buy expensive toys, while others like to buy gifts for their girlfriends. (Okay, maybe wishful thinking.) Personally, I love shopping for home products. Living in New York City with some…

The FATEFUL conclusion to the Couch Cover CATASTROPHE!

April 4, 2007 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

Don’t ya kinda feel like you’re in a 1940’s movie theater? Watching– as the young heroine battles tragedy and turmoil until finally at last, a shimmer of light descends and she discovers that the young soldier respected her all along? Well, friends, in my story, that shimmer of light was my self-respect and the young…

Need Judge Judy in the battle of the sofa slip cover

March 23, 2007 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

Readers, I’m in a dilly of a pickle with my roommates. So, instead of me advising you this week, I’m crossing my fingers that you can help me by playing Judge Judy. Here’s the sitch: My living room is set up so that there is a darling red velvet couch in the center. Behind the…

Making an Apartment into a Home

November 10, 2006 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

Think about every place you’ve ever lived; from your bunk bed at overnight camp many moons ago to your last college dorm room, there was something uniting about all your past abodes. And, even though living on your own for the first time might feel foreign, if not a bit terrifying, there are tricks to…

Crafts with Apartment #1

August 23, 2006 | By Kate AuthorMy First Apartment

I grew up on the gorgeous, if climatologically unpredictable shores of the Great Lakes. On those summer days when it was too chilly to swim, I’d occupy myself sifting through rocks. Fun, right? Right. I hauled myself back to the car at the end of the afternoon with my pockets full of rocks. Not just…