Make your home as cozy as you can
The minute you find your dream apartment, it immediately feels like home. As you move in and get settled, there are ways to keep the love alive and love your abode, even during those long winter days. Piles of clothes find their way to the corners, your living room may look a little too neutral or you may need to spruce up your spices to cook more dinners. You start feeling a little indifferent about your home over time, but there’s a way to bring the spark back. Here are 10 ways to love where you live, so it loves you right back.
1. Declutter your space
Often the mind mirrors the physical clutter surrounding it. If you’ve felt unfocused lately, it may be time to declutter your space. Start in your bedroom and work your way room by room to donate and sell things you don’t use anymore.
List it in your neighborhood group or take it to the nearest thrift store, so it finds life somewhere new. Soon, you’ll feel the space gained from decluttering and love your apartment again.
2. Add plants and greenery to every room
Plants bring life instantly to every room. While not everyone calls themselves a plant person, there are plants for lifestyle and lighting. You can find the right houseplant for you based on your lifestyle and add a few new ones to your living room and bathroom.
You’ll see how quickly the greenery brightens up the room and makes you feel cozy at home.
3. Switch up your lighting
Apartments often come with standard LED bulbs in every room, which can cast a harsh, cold light over your apartment. Not very cozy! Take the time to add a floor lamp or side table lamp to your living room and bedroom and create a cozy feeling to truly love where you live again.
Changing the bulbs to warmer white bulbs in the overhead can also help create a softer light that makes you see your apartment in a new light.
4. Get a few new cookbooks
Constantly going out to eat can quickly make you forget how good it feels to make a meal at home. Add a few new cookbooks to your library and spend a little more time in your kitchen preparing home-cooked meals and learning a few new dishes. Consider adding a new air fryer to your arsenal.
There’s no need to be an iron chef. Just follow the instructions, explore new ingredients and cuisines and pair it with your favorite drink for a lovely night at home.
5. Invest in your pantry
In the same way, you can invest in new cookbooks, refresh and invest in new spices that can bring new life into your kitchen. We are all guilty of keeping spices a little too long in our pantries, ignoring expiration dates.
Go through your stash of spices and condiments, make a list of what you need and spend the day replenishing it. You’ll see how quickly inspiration comes for your next dish.
6. Decorate with photos of friends and family
Beyond furniture, decorating the walls of your apartment with art and photos can quickly make it feel like home. Reach out to artist friends and pick a few pieces for your blank walls. You can also go through your phone and print a few photos from past vacation trips or holidays at your local pharmacy.
Spend the weekend framing and hanging them to add a more personal touch to your walls.
7. Find your scent
Nothing brings a cozy feeling like a good-smelling candle in the winter. Grab a few candles for your living room and bathroom in your favorite scent. In your drawers, add small bags of dry lavender to keep it smelling fresh. A good linen spray with a soothing scent can quickly make your bed comfier. Invest in scents, so you’re always glad to come home.
8. Grab more pillows and blankets
Sure, your couch is comfy, but what if you added more blankets? Add soft blankets, oversized pillows and even a fluffy rug to your living room for peak comfort. This combo, paired with warm, moody light, will make it really hard to leave your apartment: Trust us.
9. Refresh your bedroom paint color
Check with your landlord first, but sometimes you need a new paint color in your bedroom to make it feel like yours.
Whether you’re a neutral or bright color person, bringing a color that speaks to you to the place where you rest can make all the difference in loving where you live. Once you paint the walls, rethink the rest of the room if needed to make it perfect — from curtains to the rug and bed sheets.
10. Organize your apartment
So you spent every weekend decluttering, but did you reorganize what’s left? Spend time organizing your closet, bathroom and kitchen to make sure everything is where it needs to go. Grab a few organization trays and boxes to help you organize faster. It will make finding things in the future more accessible and make everything look cleaner.
Love where you live all year-round
Just because you rent your apartment doesn’t mean you can’t love your home like it’s yours. It’s up to you to make it a place to go back to and fall in love with it time and time again.
Source: rent.com