Create a Cozy, Chic Look in Your Bedroom With These Simple Steps

To improve your sleep, create a relaxing atmosphere, and add a chic look to your bedroom, all it takes are a few smart upgrades. From incorporating plush textures to changing up the color scheme, these simple tips will show you exactly what to do.

  • Replace your current bedding with crisp, white bedding. If your current sheets and duvet feel drab and outdated, upgrading to chic white bedding will give your bed a timeless look that's just like a four-star hotel.
  • Create storage for every loose item and stray article of clothing. If you constantly find yourself tripping over clutter, head to the home goods store and invest in additional drawers, bins and other storage items.
  • Frame some art to dress up your walls. Choose soothing nature scenes, neutral abstract prints or framed family photos that will make you feel calm and relaxed.
  • Add throw pillows and blankets that will add additional depth to your bedding. Choose one statement pop of color or something in a fun faux fur for some soft, eye-catching texture.
  • Update the lighting by replacing the current bulbs with muted lights or bulbs that imitate natural sunlight.

How to Make Any Space Feel Like Home

Making your space feel like a home can be a little overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be difficult. All you need to do is add your own personality to your space and make it feel more cozy. Follow these tips to make your space feel more comfortable and homey.

  • Decorate your space with people and places that you love and with items that have meaning to you. Use artwork that features places or maps of places that have a special meaning to you and your family.
  • A simple positive message can have a way of making you feel good and really bring up your mood. Use art that features a quote or phrase and hang it somewhere where you will be sure to see it every day.
  • Place a lot of throw pillows on your couch or bed. These will always make you feel nice and cozy. A throw blanket can give you the same effect as well.
  • Add a rug or two to your dining or living room area. A rug will make your space feel more complete and less empty or bare.
  • Add a lamp on your bedside table or on your desk to add a little bit of light to your home. If your space is too dark, you will never achieve that cozy feeling.

8 Ways to Decorate With Love and Meaning [Houzz]
8 Ways to Make Your House More Homey [Home Garden Vibes]
Decorating Tricks to Make Your New House Welcoming and Cozy [Freshome]

Turn Your Apartment Into a Happy Home With These 5 Mood-Boosting Design Tips

Your home should be a place for inspiration and relaxation, not just a place to store your belongings. Improve your rental's overall mood with these design tips that are sure to bring the "happy" back into your happy home.

  • Improve the lighting. It's no secret that natural sunlight improves your mood, so you want to maximize the amount of it that flows through your home. Switch out heavy draperies or blackout curtains with light, sheer curtains or bamboo blinds, and even replace fluorescent lightbulbs with modern bulbs that mimic the look of sunlight.
  • Create a place for everything. Target the areas in your home that collect clutter, such as the area around the front door or the always-overflowing recycling bin. Think of smart solutions for the storage in these areas to create a better flow throughout the home.
  • Add some plants and flowers. Studies show that adding some green to your home makes you happy, so fill small pots with leafy green plants, stylish succulents, or blooming flowers.
  • Redecorate in soft colors. If you're having trouble relaxing in your bedroom or feeling inspired in your home office, try switching up the color palette. Adding stark white bedding or soft colored throw pillows will create a calming effect in these frequently used areas.

Want to Decorate Your Apartment Without Emptying Your Wallet? Here’s Where to Shop!

Want your apartment at Christina Mill to look like something out a home design blog? If know the right places to shop, you can transform your rental into the home of your dreams — without emptying your bank account! Here are three great stores where you can buy stylish home decorations for less.

Pier 1 Imports
Pier 1 Imports isn’t exactly a budget store, but with its frequent sales and affordable versions of designer pieces, it can save you a great deal anyway. Shop here if you’re looking for a gold metallic side table, plush faux fur pillows, or luxurious frames for dressing up your walls. Don't miss the clearance section for even deeper discounts!

H&M Home
That’s right: the trendy clothing store now offers an equally affordable selection of home decor items, and they’re just as stylish as you might expect. From bedding sets for less than $50 to funky shower curtains and even marble print kitchenware, this is the perfect place to find all of the hottest decorating trends.

Z Gallerie
If your style is a bit more luxe, you’ll love the upscale touches without the upscale price tags that Z Gallerie has to offer. This popular home goods store is well known for its ornate wall mirrors and elegant tableware, but you’ll even find sofas, sectionals, and other affordable furniture pieces.

Spruce Up Your Space With Finds From These Two Retailers

Did you know that there are many affordable stores that sell furniture and decorations made specifically for apartment dwellers? Here are two websites to shop for apartment-friendly decor items!

Ikea
Ikea is everyone’s favorite one-stop apartment shop, beloved for its hip, modern aesthetic and impressively low prices. Here you’ll find everything from the perfect trundle bed to an artistic temporary light fixture that won’t jeopardize your security deposit, as well as all of the rugs, photo frames, and plants in between. Ikea also carries a wide variety of space-saving solutions for small spaces, which will help you to organize your space and keep it free of clutter.

West Elm
If your budget is slightly higher, West Elm is an equally stylish website with a bit higher quality selection of apartment decor items. Midcentury modern-inspired sofas and end tables are comfortable and compact enough for an oddly shaped apartment living room, while the wide selection of elaborate bedding, curtains, and rugs add a splash of color and texture to a cookie cutter living space. West Elm also offers a wide assortment of kitchen wares that can maximize space any kitchen.

Low-Cost Ways to Transform Your Living Space

Redecorating projects are fun in theory, but the actual process can be stressful and time-consuming. Here are a few affordable ways to transform your living space without much effort at all.

  1. Hang an eclectic collection on the walls. While the gallery wall is a tried-and-true favorite, you can create some visual interest in your space by hanging a collection of just about anything on the walls. Try a few vintage silver serving trays from the local thrift store, or use old postcards from places where you’ve traveled.
  2. Change the color scheme. Rely on textiles to give your space an instant makeover. Changing the color scheme of the pillows on your bed or the textiles in your bathroom can have a major impact on the feel of the room.
  3. Add plants. Not only do plants freshen the air in your home, they also add a pop of color and visual interest that can’t be replicated outside of nature. Choose low-light plants meant for indoor spaces.
  4. Invest in a large rug. Choose a large, colorful rug that draws your eye to the center of the room.

40 Living Room Decorating Ideas [Real Simple]
6 Clever Ways to Transform Your Living Room [House Beautiful]
Designer Secrets: Transform Your Space with Texture [Apartment Therapy]

Popular Shopping Sites for Stylish Apartment Decor

There’s no denying that modern furniture is having a major comeback, but the expensive price tags that often accompany those shell chairs or teak credenzas are often too much for the average shopper. If you want to furnish your home with mid-century modern-inspired furniture for an affordable cost, these three websites can help.

CB2
CB2, a smaller division of the pricey furniture store Crate & Barrel, carries equally high quality furniture and decor pieces with more modern styles and lower price points. Here you’ll find the low, rectangular sofas that modern furniture enthusiasts love, as well as other sleek furniture pieces, industrial-style lamps, and rugs, bedding, and textiles with geometric prints and patterns.

Design Within Reach
Design Within Reach carries all of the beloved modern furniture classics that you can’t find anywhere else, without the exclusivity of many private sellers. From Eames chairs to Herman Miller sofas, these are pieces that normally require extensive waitlists or knowing someone “in the business” in order to acquire them. This furniture selection is the real deal.

BluDot
If you prefer a minimalistic style with modern flair, BluDot is the place to shop online. These sofas, accent chairs, beds, and dining sets are all inspired by mid-century classics, but they’re readily available and much more affordable, even to budget shoppers.

Have an Interest in Home Renovation? These HGTV Shows Are for You!

If you have an interest in home restoration—while watching other people do all the work!—you’ll love HGTV’s hours of programming dedicated to home renovations. Here are two of the network’s most popular home makeover shows.

Beachfront Bargain Hunt
While beachfront properties can be very expensive, the budget-savvy homebuyers on Beachfront Bargain Hunt get the most bang for their buck by purchasing fixer-uppers and, well, fixing them up. Watch as dingy old beach huts are transformed into glamorous getaways right along the shore, and you’ll find yourself dreaming of the ocean yourself.

House Hunters
To someone who loves home design, there are few things more fascinating than getting a sneak peak at someone during their home buying process. HGTV’s House Hunters is the network’s cornerstone program—and for good reason. The show follows a very vast variety of different types of people as they search for condos, single-family homes, apartments, and even old firehouses turned into industrial city lofts in just about every city across the country.

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