Shopping for your first apartment is so fun. To be able to decorate something that is truly yours (even if you’re renting!) should give you a feeling of inspiration and purpose, of sense of determination to make everything exactly the way you want it.
I like to think of one’s apartment as a culmination of all of the things one loves. The keyword here: loves. Buy what you love so that your whole apartment is a reflection of who you are. Below is a list of some of my best decor pieces that I hope will help you make your first apartment cozier!
I remember when I moved across the country for grad school and one of the first decor pieces I wanted for my room was a wicker basket. Funnily enough a few weeks into my move, there was a fall festival going on in the neighbourhood and what did I find there? A beautiful wicker basket. Mine wasn’t too big so I didn’t put blankets in them, but it held some smaller pillows to create a cozy, finished aesthetic.
Depending on the size of your wicker basket, you can add a throw blanket, draping it just the right way to make it look perfectly ‘undone’. You can put anything in your wicker basket, really, and it will add an element of coziness to your room. The neutral wicker, too, provides a clean and natural look to your space.
These H&M wicker baskets (pictured and linked below) are reasonably priced and perfect to cozy up your space. Now that’s a most definitely worthy of the ‘best decor’ list.
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Velvety pillows? Yes please. I love these so much and have yet to add one or several to my home. However, I’ve found these round pillows from Urban Outfitters that have the patterning of a shell, which I might just have to snatch ASAP. I am in love! Bonus: they come in a variety of colours to choose from.
Add one or two of these to your living room, either on the couch or a chair, or maybe even on your bed. Coziness game strong.
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I don’t know about you but I love to show off my books. And not show them off necessarily to other people, but rather to simply put them on display, to remind myself of all the beautiful words and stories that are at my fingertips.
I have books strewn all over my house, in every nook and cranny, so a goal of mine is to get a floor-to-ceiling bookcase so that I can house my books in one area. Not only will this organize my books so that they are easy to access, but it will also streamline the aesthetic of my home. Keeping all of your books on display will allow you to feel proud of and happy with the environment that you call home, especially if you’re a bookworm like me.
I think if I could choose my favourite decor ‘piece’ off of my best decor list, it would be my books and, moreover, a bookcase. If you have a lot of books, rather than having books everywhere, house them all in a huge bookcase and let the bookcase be your best decor piece. I like to think of it as a feature wall, which will no doubt get some serious compliments.
Linked below is a photo from the blog, A Beautiful Mess, to show you what your space could look like with floor to ceiling bookshelves. The bookcase itself is the Billy bookcase from IKEA, linked on A Beautiful Mess’ webpage!
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Hands down a best decor, if you can call it that, classic are having houseplants in your space. Some love to decorate their entire space with houseplants, giving a somewhat ‘jungle’ vibe to the space. Others like having a couple of plants here and there to give the space an airy and natural atmosphere.
Houseplants are a beautiful addition to any household because they not only add a touch of nature to a place but they also help purify the air. There are several houseplants that remove certain toxins from the air, keeping your space clean and your health in check. There are guides all over the internet that will tell you which plants remove which toxins from the air, some plants even removing multiple toxins at once.
Just be aware which houseplants are toxic to pets, if you have any furbabies. You want to make sure their kept as safe and as healthy as you are in your home.
You can get plants at IKEA at a cheaper price (pictured and linked below), although I recommend going to your local flower and plant shops to see the freshest options.
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I LOVE my candles. I don’t always light my candles, feeling that the scent is enough to turn my mood rightside up, but when I do light them, it creates the coziest and softest atmosphere in my home.
A Canadian company called Milk Jar is a good conscious company to get your candles from, as they handmake their soy candles with natural wood wicks, for a clean burning experience, and donate $1 from every sale to special needs programs for youth in Calgary, Alberta. Their candles are free of paraffin wax, palm wax, and dyes, and their jars can be repurposed and reused. To learn more about these consciously made products, click the photo below!
My go-to scents are ‘bohemia’ and ‘dandy’!
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In my opinion, you can never have enough throw blankets in your home. Even on the hottest summer days, I will likely be cuddled under a blanket when I’m at home. I don’t know if it’s the weight of the blanket that is so comforting or if I’m always cold, no matter the weather, throw pillows will be a perfect accent to level up the comfiness in your apartment.
My favourite are faux fur (no real fur for me) blankets simply because they are the softest and coziest to cuddle under. Below are some currently on sale at Pottery Barn!
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Now, when I say wall accents here, I’m thinking broadly about anything that you love that you can hang on your wall. Think creatively and effortlessly, here. Some have macramé wall hangings on their wall, or guitars and ukeleles. Others have a gallery of family photos or photos of landscapes and travels. Even some have unique clocks or circular mirrors.
Especially if you’re apartment is small, using wall space for art, and even shelving, allows you to maximize the space that you have. Below I’ve linked the Femme Wall Hanging from Urban Outfitters, a beautiful and simple piece for a feminine touch.
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Oh, the pouf. I LOVE poufs and have yet to get one for my home. Soon, I keep telling myself.
There’s just something about a pouf that cozies up a space. You can get all different kinds of poufs, or floor cushions, that will accentuate your home. Below, I’ve linked a Macrame Pouf from Urban Barn to give you an idea of what it might look like in your space.
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