When you get your first college apartment, it can often feel empty or as if it is not truly your home. Getting homesick is common as well as feeling out of place or as if you are just visiting. Whether you have multiple roommates, are living with your best friend, or have a studio or one-bedroom to yourself, you will still want it to feel like your home away from home. There is not always a need to go out and buy all new purchases for an apartment when you want it to have a home-like feeling. Knowing some simple tips to make your college apartment feel like home will make this transition period of your life a whole lot easier.
Putting up pictures in your first apartment away from home is the easiest way to have your college apartment feel like home. Having memories that make you smile in an instant will help cure that feeling of missing people back home. It is also a great way to decorate on a budget! You don’t need to go out and buy a bunch of frames for small pictures of family and friends. Using a corkboard or just taping them to the wall directly will fill the space and make your apartment feel like home!
This simple purchase may not seem like a lot, but having a cozy feeling to your apartment when you first walk in will help it not feel like you’re just visiting. Put your own aesthetic and personal touch to every room you can, so it will feel like it is really your place. When you are in the living room or your bedroom and the walls and floors are empty, it can feel like a temporary home, and although it most likely is, you don’t want it to feel that way.
Having an accent wall in your bedroom or even the living room will make this space feel more like yours instantly. Putting up quotes that you like, framed pictures, small tapestries, or even stickers of places you’ve been will make your walls feel full without being overbearing. Don’t go too wild with putting stuff on the walls or it will start to feel like it is too much, but having an accent wall with a lot of personal touches in one spot will make it feel like you belong there.
Adding plants to any space will naturally create an uplifting feeling to the room. Find some low maintenance plants to place around your bedroom and living room to make the rooms feel more inviting and open. This will allow for a more homey feeling to the room. Having low maintenance plants will also keep you from leaving for long periods of time, but still allows you to go home for weekends and holidays without your plants dying. A few plants will make the apartment feel more like you live there instead of it being a temporary home.
Some people love to be surrounded by people all the time, while others like to be alone more often. You need to figure out which you prefer for your living accommodations, either loving company or needing your own space. Having one roommate versus having four or five roommates can make a big difference in your comfortability, yet living alone can often feel scary or lonely. If you have even one roommate who has people over constantly it could feel like you have nowhere quiet to go or no time to be your own individual person. Figure out what suits your lifestyle best before signing any apartment contracts. Sometimes it will take trial and error, living with more or fewer people than you would have liked to.
If you don’t want your college apartment to feel like a temporary home, you’ll need to accessorize. Something as simple as making labels for your kitchen or having a cohesive color scheme in each room will make it feel like it’s yours. Create each room how you want to so it feels like you are meant to be there. If you have a lot of roommates and can’t have a lot of your stuff in the common areas, make sure at least one thing of yours that makes you happy is in each room. Living with only other people’s decorations can feel odd and uncomfortable, so make sure you have your own personal touch in every common area!
If you have the space in your apartment to do this, I would highly recommend it. Creating a cozy little corner is perfect for when you need some quiet time alone or just want to read a book or study on your own. Having a few accent pieces and personal things from home will make having a cozy corner perfect for your college apartment!
Even though string lights are the typical design for college-aged girls, it doesn’t mean it won’t make your apartment feel more like home. There’s something about adding certain lighting to a room that will make it feel comfortable and inviting, and string lights are the way to go! If you don’t want to add these to your walls, having a floor lamp on will create a comfortable atmosphere. Oftentimes, college apartments are going to have bad lighting installed, so bringing your own to make it feel warm inside will help it feel like home!
Oftentimes, we want to leave behind “childish” things so we can feel more like an adult, but bringing childhood memories to your college apartment might just be the way to go. It may seem silly to have something like a stuffed animal in your apartment when you’re a young adult, but having these things can really make a difference. Bringing souvenirs like snowglobes or postcards, gifts like a locket or clothing item, or just childhood toys like a stuffed animal or doll will make you instantly feel more at home in your new place.
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