How To Make An Apartment Feel Like Home

Moving into a new apartment can come with a mix of emotions. There is the excitement of a new chapter, but also the stress and anxiety of moving boxes and the loose ends that often accompany new beginnings. While a bit of stress on moving day is normal, it is important that you get excited about your new living situation. One of the best ways to do this is by taking steps to make your apartment feel like home.

Some ways to make your apartment feel like home immediately include doing a deep clean, buying area rugs, and setting up a functional kitchen. Hang meaningful art and photos to make the space personal. Purchase house plants, paint a room, hang curtains and make your space cozy. Once you are unpacked, consider hosting a housewarming to meet the neighbors and help the place feel like it’s yours.

When you move into your new apartment, it might feel a bit sterile at first. The bare walls, lack of curtains, and often boring and unforgiving light might feel oppressive. Remember that a new apartment is a blank canvas. You can create all sorts of moods and interior designs with your new dwelling. Before you unpack and get too settled, consider these 10 different ideas that can help your apartment feel a lot more like your home.

Hopefully you move into a clean apartment. Even if it is clean, however, there is something ritualistic and purifying about deep cleaning the entire unit. If it’s possible, try to get into your rental unit a day early, and bring all your cleaning supplies. This way there is no need to move all your belongings around while you clean.

You can take this time to clean and install cabinet and drawer liners in your kitchen and bathroom. If you tend to lean towards the spiritual side, you might also want to consider buying a bit of sage, Palo Santo, or even incense. This is a very popular tradition in many cultures to rid the space of negative energy and reset the area with positive vibes.

One of the best ways to make your apartment feel like home is to fully unpack, and make sure you make it a priory to make the space cozy. While it seems obvious to unpack immediately, it is a task people often prolong.

Make it a top priority to unpack all your boxes. You should also make it important to make your living areas comfortable. That means fluffing up your throw pillows, setting out your couch blankets, and installing a reading nook. These little touches all make your apartment more inviting, and will make you want to stay in and enjoy it.

Lighting is a key factor in how inviting a place is. It is also a delicate balance. Dark apartments can leave the place feeling mysterious, ominous, and depressing. Overly bright apartments can feel oppressive, almost like you live in a hospital operating room.

While you can not control what lighting came with your apartment, you can accent it accordingly. Using lamps and shades and purchasing alternative light fixtures will all help improve your lighting. Spending less than $100 on lighting improvements can turn a drab space into a stunning and homey one.

Apartment floors can also be a bit drab, or at the very least they can feel impersonal. This is particularly true with laminate tile or even ceramic tile. These floors can not only look cold, but also feel cold to the touch.

Area rugs are a wonderful way to turn that feeling of drab into fab. Area rugs come in every possible design and aesthetic. From retro to bohemian to eco-friendly chic, the options are endless. Area rugs can warm up your space, make it more comfortable on your feet, and even tie your room and desired look together. They are a worthy investment, and there are many affordable options.

With any luck, within your boxes you already have some items that will make your apartment feel like home. One of the best ways to personalize your space is to add visuals that have personal meaning.

The easiest way to do this is by hanging photos. Photos of you and your loved ones is the perfect way to make your apartment feel like it’s yours, and like it is your home. You can even consider creating a photo wall, with all sorts of framed photos that have special meaning to you.

Bringing in some life, in the form of plants, is a great way to make your place feel homey. House plants give a sense of permanence to your space, and make it feel less “staged” and more authentic. House plants also offer a splash of color, and can liven up a space that may otherwise feel muted.

Plants also breathe oxygen into your space. They are good for your health, and also easy on the eye. Many house plants require very little maintenance. Plus, knowing you have a plant at home to water only further makes your apartment feel like a home.

If you don’t want to go through all the trouble of painting, curtains are a great way to add a personal touch and a dramatic pop of color. Curtains also make a place feel more like your home. There are all sorts of curtain fabrics, colors and textures. This allows you to choose curtains that best match your desired aesthetic and personality.

Curtains also allow you privacy. Privacy can go a long way in making your apartment feel like your home. It allows you to feel secure and comfortable in your space, which goes a long way in the comfort department.

Your kitchen is often the key to making an apartment feel like a home. There is nothing the smell of food cooking in your apartment to make it feel like you belong. In order to make this happen, you need to set up a functional kitchen.

Make sure you have all the basics to cook with. Make sure there are ice cube trays in the refrigerator and you have a suitable pots and pans set. Once you are able to get into a routine of cooking, or at least making some basic breakfast and morning coffee, you will quickly start feeling like you belong there.