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When I got the keys to my apartment last year, I had a big sigh of relief. For the first time in my life, I had my own space. A space that I could truly make my own.

So I researched how to decorate my own space! I studied YouTube videos, blogs, and home stores for inspiration to create a space I felt home in!

I have broken it down into a few steps for you.

1. Make a Pinterest board!

This is a HUGE step! Before you purchase anything, you need to make sure you can visualize what you want. Thankfully,  there is a place for that! Here is my Pinterest board I created when I was searching for apartment interior design ideas.

This step was super easy! I just searched “apartment inspiration” on Pinterest, and found certain decor styles that I loved. Then I started saving the styles I liked to my board. Don’t skip this step if you’re not sure where to begin when picking an interior design style. 

Creating a Pinterest board helped me learn a lot about my interior design preferences. It turns out that I AM OBSESSED with boho, industrial, and mid-century modern design styles. I know that sounds confusing, how do all three of these styles fit together? We’ll get to that in a second!

(Pro tip: don’t hesitate to save ANYTHING that you love. Save it all. Once Pinterest starts recommending you a lot of the same photos, then you can stop adding to your board!)

2. Go back through your Pinterest board and delete any duplicate pins, decor styles you don’t like anymore, or designs you got carried away with.

Once you’ve narrowed down your board to only your favorite photos, you’ll start to notice a developing theme.

Again, my top three styles were boho, industrial, and mid-century modern. It wasn’t until after I filtered through my Pinterest board that I realized how I gravitate towards these types of interior design. 

Keep an eye on the number of decor categories you like. I recommend only targeting three different design types MAX. Trying to incorporate more than that gets way too confusing. Narrow it down to just one or two styles, if you can!

3. Envision how you want your apartment to look.

Now that you’ve gained some design inspiration from Pinterest, start thinking about how you want each room to look and feel. 

If you have more than one favorite interior design type, do you want to combine both styles throughout your whole apartment? Or do you want individual rooms to have their own vibe?

4. Don’t start browsing or visit any furniture stores without your Pinterest board.

Decorating an apartment can become overwhelming fast if you go into it blind. Once you finish your Pinterest board, use it for reference when shopping for furniture or other home decor. It will be way easier for you to pick out items in a store or online once you have a visual to pull inspiration from. 

5. Map out the essential items you need (focus on one room at a time).

Make a list of the essentials you need for each room in your apartment, and mark off items as you purchase them. Doing this will help you keep track of what you still need to buy.

This step will be especially helpful if you’re decorating multiple rooms in your apartment.

Let’s use the living room as an example. For me,  my living room essentials were a couch, a TV console, a coffee station console, a full body mirror, and a bookshelf. 

6. Add sections within your Pinterest board and label them for each room in your apartment (i.e. bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom, etc.). Then, organize your pins based on the decor you want in each room.

In your Pinterest board, click on the plus icon and select “Section” from the menu. Name your section after a room in your apartment. Hit “Next” and select the pins you want to add to that section. Click on the “Done” button and you’re good to go!

This will help you figure out what design aspects you want to incorporate in each room.

7. Make sure you measure the space you have.

Before you start shopping or buy anything, I highly suggest you measure your rooms first. There’s nothing more annoying than ordering the coolest mid-century modern sofa you’ve ever seen, only to have it not fit in your living room!

I also recommend writing these measurements down or adding them to the notes in your phone for when you go furniture shopping. 

8. Now go to the store with your Pinterest board, or shop online.

Finally, it’s time to shop! Make sure you have that Pinterest board and room measurements handy during shopping trips or, if you’re like me, when you order everything online!

Once you’ve completed all the steps above, you’re ready to start decorating your apartment! 

Here are a few items that I purchased from Urban Outfitters that I have in my apartment: 

• Simple Wood Mirror 
• Roni Woven Jute Rug 
• Wyatt Vanity 
• Amelia 3-Drawer Dresser
• Amelia Platform Bed 

If you want to see a full apartment tour and how before and after shots, check out my YouTube video. Happy Decorating!