I am grinning like a proud mother when I tell you this: the only furniture we bought for our apartment was a couch. Which brings me to my first tip: re-use what you already have. The trick is seeing the potential behind “hand-me-down” items. Plus, it can be so much more special when you’re sitting eating dinner a table that used to belong to your grandparents, not Ikea. Our kitchen table and chairs, beds, dressers, and living room chairs were all things that came from parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles. Sometimes a fresh coat of paint (like a sunny yellow on the new-to-me headboard, above) is all it takes to make an item yours.

Consider this: there are a bajillion couches in the world (that’s just a rough estimate). The same goes for chairs, lamps, beds–the whole lot. It’s very easy to be overwhelmed when trying to decorate a single room, let alone a whole apartment. My advice is to really take a few creative days narrowing down your design preferences. You don’t have to restrict yourself to a single style of design, but you should be able to choose four or five words that sum up your aesthetic fairly well. Mine? Eclectic, unexpected, bright, vintage and clean. It helps to make a few inspiration boards to keep yourself on track–I pulled the above one together from pictures I’ve pinned on my Pinterest (can you tell I really want a fireplace?).

Try your hardest to set a spending limit for yourself–and stick to it. You know how they tell a bride to never try on a dress out of her price range? Same goes for you. Don’t go wandering into Jonathan Adler when you know you can’t afford anything in the store. Take a sharp right and head into Pier 1, or better yet, a flea market.

Think outside of the box when decorating–could that thrifted table base make a cool mirror? Could you turn that old window frame into an entryway piece? Could you paint that chair to give it a new lease on life (it’s true–you can! We painted the one above a great coral shade.)? Coming up with unexpected DIY ways to decorate your home is half the fun–and they’re always great conversation starters!

Try not to get so caught up with the big stuff that you forget about the little things that make a home, well, a home. Pictures, candles, throw blankets–items that make your home cozy and lived in and you. A lot of times, these are things you already own, but if you’re looking to add, check out the great products so many Etsy shops have. They’re often far less expensive (and better quality) than anything you can find in a store, and they’re almost always made with love.

There’s no rule that says your apartment has to be perfect on move in day (or the month after, or by your first Christmas). Give it a chance to evolve and change–you’ll find new places to put things and think of items that you never even knew you wanted. Pressuring yourself to decorate your apartment perfectly within weeks is first and foremost a quick way to lose loads of cash, and it takes away the fun of decorating a lived-in space. Take your time (or at least as much time as your lease allows!). 

Happy decorating!