Tag Archives: decorating my apartment living room

Add Personal Flair to Your Apartment with Vignettes

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There are plenty of ways to give your apartment that unique touch that shows off your personal style and flair. One of the easiest ways (and one of our favorites) is to create little vignettes throughout your space.

The word “vignette” may sound fancy, but a vignette is simply a small grouping of objects arranged on top of tables, shelves, dressers, bookshelves… essentially any flat surface in your apartment. As HGTV shares, you can use almost any kind of accessories or personal belongings within a vignette to “create a mood just like a movie set designer does for a film” to make the room appear “more polished and pulled together.”

An ideabook we came across on Houzz shares that the best way to create vignettes is by experimenting and rearranging your items until you get the look just right. It might take a few tries, but you’ll get there!

To help you get started, here are some of our favorite tips.

Build your vignette around a lamp or another source of light, especially if it’s located in a corner, so the darkness won’t overshadow the effect.

creating a vignette in your apartment

Photo via Houzz

Find a theme and stick with it. For example, if your vignette features photos from a favorite vacation, accent it with souvenirs from the trip, like seashells, a postcard, or a map.

vignettes for apartments

Photo via Pinterest

Create interest by varying the height and texture. A vignette is most effective when each item has its own stage to shine from rather than having to constantly compete. The best way to group items in a vignette, therefore, is to make sure you are incorporating a variety of heights and finishes. If you are working with multiple items of the same height, simply elevate specific ones to a desired height by placing them on a stack of books or coasters.

decorating your apartment with vignettes

Photo via Pinterest

Don’t be afraid of being uneven. Grouping like items in odd numbers can make a stronger visual impact.

vignette ideas for apartments

Photo via Pinterest

Have you created any vignettes inside your TriBridge apartment to show off your personality and style? Leave a comment to tell us about it, or share a picture with us on our Facebook page, or tweet it to us @TriBridgeRes.

Decorating Tips Renters Will Love

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Apartment living definitely has its advantages: you can come and go as you please, you have a maintenance staff that takes care of household issues, and you enjoy access to great amenities. But, there’s one thing you may feel you can’t do: Change your apartment. Oftentimes, renters search for apartments that are ‘ready-made’ or include all of the features they’re looking for upfront. However, renters have more freedom and power to transform their apartment than they realize.

TriBridge Residential offers apartments for every lifestyle all throughout the southeast and, as such, attracts discerning residents. Our renters want to feel at home in their apartments, and what that means differs from renter to renter. While it’s easy to feel limited in regards to transforming your apartment into one you can be happy in, there are noninvasive ways to customize every room in your home; it just takes a little research and creativity. We’ve scoured the web for the best design tips and ideas for renters to share with you.

If your community’s manager doesn’t allow you to paint the walls, or if you don’t want to invest the time and money in a project that big, consider painting your furniture. Adding a bright accent table or chair is unexpected and can travel with you if you switch homes in the future.

Painted Furniture

Image via bhg.com

You can’t choose whether your apartment has hardwood or carpet, but don’t think you can’t customize the finishes your apartment comes with. Hardwoods are a beautiful canvas for a rug. Add pattern, color, and something soft for your toes in one swoop!

Decorate your apartment

Image via bhg.com

Add windows, or, at least, add the illusion of windows. Hanging curtains along a length of wall, for example, the wall behind your bed, creates the impression that you have a wall of windows. Add multiple layers of curtains for a luxurious feel.

Hanging Curtains

Image via bhg.com

Create faux built-ins by placing identical bookshelves on either side of a doorway or an entertainment center. The closer they come to the ceiling, the better the look will be.

faux built-in

Image via bhg.com

Display your favorite pieces of art using floating shelves to create a gallery wall you can easily switch out with the seasons or as your tastes change.

Image Gallery

Image via bhg.com

If you want even more ideas for decorating your apartment, check out Better Home and Garden’s full list of 19 ideas to steal for your apartment.

Do you have any other decorating tips that you’ve used in your apartment? Share them with us on our Facebook page!

Boutique Style Furniture at Department Store Prices

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Spring is here and it’s time to update your closet and your home. Decorating your apartment or yourself with unique style while on a budget can be difficult. Everyone loves finding a one-of-a-kind item when shopping. Little boutiques and antique shops offer unique purchases, but can be hard to come by. Even when you do find a favorite store, the costs might be more than you want to pay. Luckily, there’s a growing trend among big box or department stores carrying boutique lines. Now, no matter where you live, you can have access to fun, unique items. Here’s a peek at two national chain stores that have begun carrying boutique items.

JC Penny has announced a new collection by Jonathan Adler. Adler has his own website where he sells high-end fashion accessories and home goods. Now his more budget-conscious fans can find his designs in a special collection called “Happy Chic” in their local JC Penny. The collection features bedding, bath, kitchen wares, lighting, furniture, and decorative accessories; everything you need to give your apartment a makeover!

happy chic

Image via JC Penny

Some of the shopaholics may remember Target’s recent experiment, The Shops at Target. They had boutique stores from across the country develop products to be sold exclusively in Target stores. Unfortunately, The Shops project ended last year and Target does not plan to revive it in the near future.

However, the mega-store has had a long history of partnering with individual fashion designers on a smaller scale throughout the year, and this pattern still continues today. The list of Target’s guest designers is a “who’s who” among the fashion elite and includes Izaac Mizrahi, Missoni, and Zac Posen, just to name a few.

Designer Prabal Gurung rolled out an exclusive collection for Target in February that was inspired by love. All the clothing cost between $19.99 and $199.99.

Prabal Gurung

Image via Target

The next guest collection is due out April 14th and is being designed by stylist Kate Young. Her clothing line will range in price from $29.99 to $89.99

Kate Young

Image via Target

We hope this gave you some shopping inspiration for the coming spring. Tell us, what’s your favorite place to find designer lines at a great price? Do you head to stores like JC Penny and Target, or elsewhere?

 

Tips for Saving Money While Entertaining During the Holidays

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The holidays are a great time for getting together with family and friends! Holiday parties put us in the festive spirit and give us a wonderful excuse to see those people that we may not get to see very often. However, if you are hosting any type of holiday event, it can be pretty easy to get caught up in the excitement of planning the party and let your spending get a tad out of control.

Since you’re already spending more than normal during the holidays, it is important to stretch your money and get the most bang for your buck as you buy your holiday party supplies. Today, we want to share some tips with you that will help you throw a festive holiday party you and your guests will enjoy without breaking the bank.

  • Have a potluck-style party. Redbook magazine reader Val W. shared that a great way to share the added costs of being the host is by having a family potluck. Each year during the holidays, the members of her family take turns being the host and everyone else contributes by bringing their own dish.
  • Finger Foods and Cocktails. Also, consider providing munchies like finger sandwiches and fruit and veggie trays, as well as a signature drink. CMN.com notes that there are a variety of affordable holiday-themed food and drink options available these days.
  • Send an Evite. The Seattle Times suggests forgoing formal invitations. Instead, send invitations through email, or create an event on Facebook and invite your friends to attend. You can use what you would spend on postage elsewhere.
  • Stream your Music. Rather than purchasing a lot of music from iTunes, use websites like Pandora to set the mood with festive holiday tunes.
  • Choose a focal point. Keep your decorations simple. Bankrate.com advises that you avoid covering every inch of every room with holiday décor. Instead, concentrate on the entrance of your apartment, food tables, and the restroom your guests will use. You don’t have to purchase expensive decorations, either. Get creative! The Seattle Times, for example, suggests purchasing sparkling “dollar store” ornaments and placing them in a glass hurricane for a high-end look for less.

holiday decorations

What tips do you use to stay on budget when entertaining others at your TriBridge apartment during the holidays? Leave a comment below to share your money saving tips with us!

Image from Pinterest.com

Decorating for the Holidays on a Budget

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Between the home-cooked meals and the gift buying that come with the holidays, your wallet may start feeling stretched to the brink this December. But don’t think that you have to skimp on showing your holiday spirit. We have some tips on how to create a winter wonderland without breaking the bank.

1. Get More Bank for Your Buck

If you’re going to devote valuable time and energy to making your apartment look beautiful, why not make sure you get to enjoy the fruits of you labor for as long as possible? We’ve written before about using UNCONVENTIONAL COLORS to decorate for the December holidays. Regardless of your color scheme, if you find a way to incorporate some sparkle or metallic elements, your holiday decorations can do double duty as New Years’ décor. Martha Stewart’s Shimmering Streamers are the perfect example of how to maximize the potential of your holiday trappings.

Budget-friendly Holiday Decorations

Sparkling streamers from marthastewart.com

2. Use What You Already Have

Most of us have at least a few people on our gift list this year. If you have a big family or lots of friends you exchange gifts with, decorations may seem like an extravagance that has to be relegated to the back burner. Well, we have some good news: your generous gift buying will work to your decorating advantage. Add some flair to the typical ho-hum gift wrapping and let your presents add that holiday sparkle to your apartment.

Present Centerpiece

Gift centerpieces from BHG.com

3. DIY

These days, DIY is a hot trend, but not all projects are created equal. Fortunately, there are several holiday DIY’s that we think pass muster when it comes to practicality and pizzazz. You can find countless wreath making tutorials with a simple google search. One of our favorites can be found here. It’s actually described as a “Halloween” wreath, but you can change out the color or add some ornaments to customize it to whichever holidays you wish. Another DIY craft we recommend is this simple and sweet menorah from Apartment Therapy. This project really encompasses our second tip of using what you already have around the house.

DIY Menorah

DIY Menorah from apartmenttherapy.com

We’d love to hear what you think about these tips. Did we miss anything? What’s your favorite budget-friendly holiday decoration tip? Share your ideas with us on our Facebook page!

Photos courtesy of Martha Stewart, Better Homes and Gardens, and Apartment Therapy