Decorating and apartment

Fizban140

Just got my first apartment today and I am just looking for a little advice on how to decorate it. Mainly is there anything obvious I should avoid or should be doing. The building is about 120 years old and has all the original wood, unfortunately our room has linoleum and carpeting, so no wood floor. The wood edging is dark and the walls are white. All the windows have those cheap looking roll down covers that don't quite block all the light.

I was thinking of getting drapes for all the windows but there doesn't seem to be any way to mount them, is there any way I could work around the wood panels to mount some brackets for drapes/curtains? I know we can't damage the wood, but I didn't see anything about putting nails in the wall so that should be okay but I am going to ask first.

Basically, having never lived in an apartment are there any general tips? I know I already made a thread about other stuff, this one is more about the aesthetics.

Ryadic

I've lived in 5 apartments in the last 5 years. We like to leave after our lease is up and go elsewhere. Usually it's because I'm changing roommates, but that's beside the point.

In any case, what you can and cannot do should be explicitly outlined in your lease. If not, ask and make sure you get it in writing that it was allowed by your landlord. That way they cannot sue you for any damage this may have caused by doing something that wasn't allowed.

But I'm not sure what you're looking for other than this. I don't really decorate my apartment much. I let my fiance and roommate do that. They hung pictures and stuff on the walls. Put flowers and such around.

I guess another piece of advice is to get two female roommates.

MushroomStick

I wouldn't get too into decorating an apartment, you'll have to take it all down when you move out.

Fizban140

I didn't plan on going all out decorating it, just kind of a simple effort, like coordinating the colors in one room I guess. Maybe I am just overthinking this.

VeritasVR

Functionality aside, if I was not actively entertaining guests at my place frequently, then apartment aesthetics barely even register on the list of things I'd ever think about.

Then again, this seems to be a typical response from guys in their mid-20s.

If you know you're going to be there for at least a year or two then I might nail a picture to a wall.

Rhesus Positive

Fizban140 wrote: »

I didn't plan on going all out decorating it, just kind of a simple effort, like coordinating the colors in one room I guess. Maybe I am just overthinking this.

If you like the way it looks, put it up. Part of the benefit of having your own place is that you get to decorate it the way you want it (subject to tenancy agreements).

Murphy

If you want drapes (and believe me, as someone who likes to block the light, I feel you on that), you may have to mount the bar above or outside the wooden frame for the window. Or, as an alternative, depending on how deep the window well is, you could use a tension rod. In my last apartment, my landlord was really, really particular about that sort of thing (he had restored all of the wood in the apartment himself), so tension rods were my only option. Thankfully the windows were fairly deep set.

Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to paint or to hang anything too heavy on the walls. Considering I lived there for six years, that was a bit annoying. I used those 3M hooks that stick on the wall for most things. Not ideal, but it kept him off my back.

Honestly, you spend a fair amount of time in your apartment. Within reason (and the limits of your lease), you should do what you want to make yourself feel comfortable and happy in there.

Mr Obersmith

One of my favorite things to decorate my apartments with was album frames. If you already own some vinyls, it's a great way to display some of the nicer cover art and it's relatively inexpensive. They can be on the heavy side, so you will probably need to use nails to hang them.

Iruka

Generally, I like to think of storage first, unless you are a minimalist, you'll need places to put shit. Trying to make that puzzle aesthetically pleasing and as functional and unobtrusive as possible is a challenge. It'll also keep your place neat.

Easiest thing you can do is pick a color scheme and just keep it in mind while shopping for a particular room. Think about what you already have and then build from it.

RUNN1NGMAN

Don't worry too much about drilling into wood. You can buy a tube of color-matching wood putty and fill up the holes when you move out.

Most guys don't care one way or another, but curtains are an easy way to make your place look a little more lived in and less like some sort of East German nightmare.