College Apartment on a Budget
It has taken some time, but I have finally finished decorating my first college apartment! I was really excited for this apartment, because it was the first time I was ever able to decorate my room all on my own! I decided to take a frugal and DIY approach to this room! I stuck with a Kate Spade, gold, black, and red theme with polka dots!
For my bedding, I wanted to keep my comforter and sheets a neutral color so I could have some fun with my pillows! I found this gorgeous white comforter with gold details from Target! (similar here and here) I found this Kate Spade throw blanket on sale at Macy's during the Friends & Family sale this summer! As I mentioned in my previous post, the Nordstrom Anniversary sale is the perfect time to get ahead on your shopping! I found these pillows during the Anniversary sale for such amazing prices! The long and thin Chevron pillow and the hello pillow are still in stock, but I was able to find a similar one for the other pillow here.
Thankfully, the apartment I am living in this year came furnished! I added some accessories to my bed side table, with a cute picture of my friends, a LOVE canvas, and a cool glass tray to store some small things in. I also saw this really cool "You are my Sunshine" canvas at Home Goods, and I knew I had to get it! All of these decorations are from either Home Goods or Target! Both of these stores have such amazing deals for their decorations and accessories! Because no closet is ever big enough, I decided to make this rack to store some extra clothes! I made this rack with 3 pipes, cut to your desired length; 2 elbows and 2 flanges, make sure that these are the same size as your pipes; 1 wood board; and 4 casters! I also used spray paint to make my rack black & white! I absolutely love this rack, and it was definitely one of the best additions to my room! I really wanted to paint my walls to help add a pop to my room, but I decided that would be too much work. But when I found these awesome gold polka dot wall stickers I knew they would be perfect! I originally saw them on Etsy, and then found them at Francesca's (Walmart has them for an amazing price!)
I decided to have a lot of fun with my desk, and make a lot of DIY decorations! I made the two magazine holders, and the two gold mason jars for extra space! All of the DIY projects I found from Pinterest, and I had so much fun making! Staying with my black, white, and gold polka dot theme, I found the polka dot M, polka dot stapler and tape holder, the clipboard, and the white pencil case all from Home Goods! Home Goods is definitely one of my favorite stores, but it is also very dangerous because you end up wanting to buy everything! The three whiteboard stickers I actually bought from HauteLook, another Nordstrom brand, for only $10! I also bought the gold and white polka dotted hanging basket and the white and gold chevron storage box from Nordstrom Rack! All of these discount stores are such good places to find well priced items to decorate with!
Keeping the chic theme going, I decorated my bathroom with a city look. I found this super cool NYC skyline shower curtain from Target for only $9! I bought these three city canvas's while I was in Israel. My advice for anyone who is decorating their room for the first time is to find a color scheme or theme that you love, and then find fun and eclectic items to add and decorate your room with!
Bedroom Items:
Throw Blanket: Kate Spade
Similar Polka Dots Stickers: Walmart
Hanging Metal Basket: Enchante
Shower Curtain: Target