The first apartment. No matter that it’s run down, loud, and small as a shoebox. It’s a leap into adulthood, complete with water bills, vodka in the freezer, and furniture shopping.

Dorm life means walking downstairs and being able to eat pizza for every meal, it means never having to clean a bathroom, it means having down the hall. It also means gaining fifteen pounds and never having any privacy and having no where to put all your stuff.

I am so looking forward to moving to an apartment next semester, even if it is ridiculously over priced and tiny. A first apartment is a beginning and a home.

My roommate and I spent hours looking at furniture for our living room. Online window shopping can be addictive. Surprisingly, the quintessential stores like Ikea were far from crazy affordable and more like rather expensive for our college student budget. Amazon and Walmart (online) have some incredible deals on furniture. Before picking a piece, we scoured the reviews and made sure that delivery was to the door (vs curbside).

We already had a wonderful rug that we found on sale at Walmart for $20 to reuse. They have some great rugs in their clearance section. The navy couch is actually a futon. Extra sleeping areas are always handy in college. For only $200, it’s a steal. The coffee table is actually a wonderful brass finish. For the same price as the couch, it comes with one large table and two small nested tables. We found the chevron patterned chair for only $100, and it comes in several other patterns.

For decor, we’re planning on getting a houseplant from home depot or the grocery store. Greenery always livens up a small space and adds fresh air. I’m also making pillow covers from some gorgeous quilting fabrics we found on sale at Joann. Can you believe that throw pillows are almost 30 bucks? This DIY is definitely worth the money it saves. Since there are four of us, we’re each bringing two framed photos or prints or paintings to arrange above the sofa for a beautiful gallery wall.


1. Navy Metro Futon $200
2. Chevron Patterned Chair in Citron $100
3. Antique Bronze Nestled Coffee Table $200
4. House Plant $20
5. Wall Gallery DIY
6. Pillow Cases DIY
     a. Moroccan Spa Fabric
     b. Yellow Fabric
     c. Teal Geometric Fabric
7. Ikea Candle Set $8