From the moment I first opened the door to my apartment I immediately thought this wasn’t the place for me. The door only opened at a 90-degree angle; with the narrow hallway, it wasn’t possible for the agent and me to enter at the same time. To make matters worse, it was dark. Not dark because the lights weren’t on but dark because the apartment lacks natural lighting. On the front half of this oddly shaped apartment there are large windows but on the other half, the windows open to face concrete walls.
Although I’m delighted to have large windows on the side, opening the blinds for light means losing all the privacy I have inside. With the apartment being on the ground floor, everyone passing by this busy main street will then have a full view into my home. To make matters worse, the guest bedroom that I intend to rent is on the side if the apartment without windows and is also obscurely shaped; making it less appealing to renters. Despite the features that I couldn’t change, the location was superb and since apartments are rented out quickly I took my chances by agreeing to rent it.
Based on the decor of the apartment it was clear to see that the owner was an older person; due to the antique paintings that covered every inch of the walls and the flooring covered. The old dusty light fixtures did a better job constricting light than brightening the dark apartment. In the bedrooms, not even the bed sets looked like something that wasn’t bought within the last twenty years. The furniture was dated and not one piece matched to make a complete set. Even though I was the new tenant all of these aspects made me feel like it wasn’t my home. I knew I needed to do something in order to change this uncomfortable feeling I had while living there.
I started by removing everything in the apartment to start afresh; I removed excessively large pieces of furniture and all of the paintings on the wall. I looked through decor websites, saved multiple pictures and tips on Pinterest. Since I had a low budget I knew the way I truly desired to style my home wouldn’t be possible. However, I made the best out of it by shopping at lower priced stores such as Ikea. I also incorporated things I already owned from the previous places where I was living.
In the end, I now love my new home. There were a few things my budget didn’t permit me to change such as the light fixtures, and I obviously couldn’t do anything about the structure of the apartment. Nevertheless, the changes I made drastically changed the ambiance of the apartment. Removing all of the pictures on the wall managed to make the apartment to be seem brighter with the light now reflecting on clean white walls. I changed the blinds in the windows, I have access to all of the daylight I want without having to sacrifice my privacy.
There was one piece that I was able to incorporate into my apartment that added the perfect level of contrast and is the statement piece in the entire apartment, my rugged emerald green rug. The rug is used to identify the dining area in the petite space. Placed underneath the dining table this rug turned the open living room/kitchen space into three separate spaces as I wanted. This gives the impression of the apartment having more space, which is vital since I have to share a small apartment with someone else. My home is so cozy and comfortable to me now that anytime I have to leave, now feels like a burden.
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