text: 3 Tips For Decorating Your First Apartment + Apartment Reveal #athomewithkeda – Makeda Farrell
  By Makeda April 4, 2017
  It's finally here! You don't even know how excited I am to be sharing pieces of my apartment with you. I absolutely LOVE how it turned out! Like every person that is obsessed with decorating, I can't say that it will stay like this forever or that it's complete, but I can say that it's comfy, homey, fabulous and so very me. Not only will I be sharing my apartment, but I also will be sharing some tips for decorating your first apartment on a budget.
  If money was unlimited and I could get anything I wanted, I would head straight to Restoration Hardware (can anyone say expensive taste?) and buy the whole showroom as is LOL. But money was not unlimited and I was working with a just gradated from college budget. It's okay, don't panic if that's you too! You don't need to have all the money in the world to make your apartment look good and I'm glad I get to share with you some of the tips and tricks I learned a long the way.
  Tip 1: Sale, Sale, Sale and Coupons, Coupons, Coupons
  A lot of the decor pieces you see around the apartment were from Hobby Lobby on super super sale. Because Hobby Lobby is crazy and they put Christmas decor out in fall, they have a huge 90% off sale to make room for all things Christmas. Yes, I did just say 90% off. Needless to say, we got most of the decor pieces from Hobby Lobby. For the things that weren't on sale, I found coupons for them. Hobby Lobby ALWAYS has a 40% coupon that you can find and different items are on sale each week. Target is another one that has a lot of their home items on sale. You just have to keep checking around. But for my lazy people, you can always download shoptagr and it will let you know when that item goes on sale. That way you can justify buying that item you love (but was too expensive to buy before) because it was on sale.
  Tip 2: Don't limit your search
  When I think home decor, I think Target, Home Goods, Ikea, Hobby Lobby, Marshalls, etc. I was NOT thinking Walmart. Believe it or not, our bigger pieces of furniture (couch, chair, and bar stools), were actually bought at Walmart. I knew I wanted a grey couch and something that could turn into a sleeper/futon for when family comes over to visit. I so happened to stumble upon this couch, for a really great price, when I was doing a generic google search. I read the reviews and there were a lot of mixed feelings so I crossed my fingers and prayed. Because God is good and he answers prayers, the couch is awesome, super comfortable, and we had no problems with delivery! You can call it an upgraded futon because it includes cup holder and storage compartments on the arms of the couch (Oh So Fancy). From there, I realized I was limiting my search. I began to search on Walmart's website more often and found our geometric print chair that also converts down into a "futon" to hold more people and out bar stools. We got a couple of things from Burlington and Big Lots. These were places I never even thought to go and had amazing prices. So keep an open mind to where you are searching because you never know where can surprise you.
  Tip 3: DIY or FSTDIFY (Find someone to do it for you haha)
  This is a no brainer! If you're on a budget, chances are a lot of the expensive things you're drooling at, you can probably make something similar. Pinterest is great for looking up anything, but especially DIYs (shameless plug: go follow me!). If you love Anthropologie or Urban Outfitters, all you have to type in is "Name of store" DIYs and tons of ideas will come up. Like I mentioned before, I love Restoration Hardware. A lot of their pieces are very industrial looking, so as I was looking for industrial DIYs, I came across a lot of pallet coffee tables. I think it's safe to say one of the statement pieces of our apartment is our coffee table. I die every time I see it!!! I loved the idea of using pallets as a table and adding wheels on it for mobility. My friend's husband was making furniture at the time, so I showed him a couple of pictures and he was able to make it for me. I love the idea of mixing feminine and masculine pieces together, so the table really stands out more in contrast to the more feminine pieces we have around the apartment. There are a couple more DIYs around the apartment, but you guys will just have to wait to see the rest ;).
  Bonus Tip: Curtains
  After all the decorating, the room somehow still felt empty. We added all of these cool pieces, it was still missing something. But then, we put up the curtains and an instant warmth entered the room. I know that sounds super dramatic, but that was the only way I could describe it haha. Curtains are just that finishing touch that brings the room full circle and adds some texture to the room. It doesn't have to be anything crazy. As you can see from the pictures, my curtains are super sheer and white. I personally like a lot of light, so I wanted something that would still let light in if they weren't pulled back.
  Even though you have all these tips and things to be mindful of, you have to remember that things take time. Before we moved, I started looking at what I wanted about two months out and I'm still adding pieces after almost a year. You don't have to rush it because you want your home to be filled with pieces that you love.
  Special thanks to my mother, who is absolutely awesome and is the reason I am the way that I am! I wouldn't have been able to put all this together if it wasn't for her help. I learned my design skills from the best! You should definitely check her out! She was the one that was constantly out searching for things with me and she also put up with all of my diva shenanigans during the whole move. Love you mom!
  Well there it is! You can have a fabulous apartment on a budget! If you have any more questions, feel free to comment down below! I will have links to a couple of the items (or similar) in my apartment below!