my apartment is sucking the life out of me.

[spooky]

hello! what a cute forum!
okay- any ideas to spruce up a sort of dingy first apartment?
i have no dressers, tables or couches. my tv is sitting on my only chair. the walls are white and there are no interior doors between its two rooms. it does have a room with windows covering 2 walls, but they open right into the walkway. maybe tissue paper would afford a little privacy and still let the light in? *shrug* _inabox_ <-- i live in a box.
i'm so lost in the aisles of the salvation army

[Eirwen Hartsock]

Salvation Army is a great place to check for stuff. For the opening between the two rooms, if it is not too wide a cloth drap of some kind could be used, if you have the money an oriental type screen might work. For a table, if money is an issue, a simple card table with a nice table cloth could do the trick for a while. As for the couch, well if you can't get it right now, you could always make some inexpensive throw pillows that are nice and big and fluffy and fun to lounge on in the floor, this could also be useful if you wanted to move the pillows out of the way and use the floor space for something else, like yoga or scrapbooking...Lets see dresser could be replaced by basket-style boxes that you could stack in a corner. For the walls, if you want really cheep, one thing my sister liked to do was cut out old calender pictures and frame them. Sometimes you can get really nice photo-type pictures that way. As for your tissue paper idea, that sounds good, but it would tear easily, maybe a thin cloth would work better, always check the dollar or two dollar cloth rack at your local wal-mart or k-mart, sometimes you can find really nice patterns there. Ok, I think I'll shut up now...hope this gives your a few ideas.

[Garnet]

If I hadn't already cleaned out my basement to help my neice furnish her first apartment....

Are you familiar with Contact paper? It's the stuff with the peel-off backing to use as shelf paper. (I've also used it to cover ugly metal furniture). There is a pattern that will make your windows look like frosted glass. It will let in light but provide privacy. I use it on a couple of my windows. Depending on who makes it, you can get it plain or in a 'block' pattern. There are also a couple of companies that make stuff that will make your windows look like stained glass or lace, but those are pricey. Go for Contact paper, or something similar.

Is there an Ikea near you? I've never been in one, but I understand there are heaps of deals in furniture, dishes, etc.
Try yard/garage/jumble/rummage sales.

Talk to relatives or friends to see if they might have stuff you can use.

Flat sheets are great. I've made curtains, tablecloths, duvet/comforter covers, & quickie slip-covers out of them.

Go shopping!!! Right now stores are having terrific sales to get rid of back-to-school stuff to make room for Christmas stuff. You can find all sorts of simple but cheap furniture made for college dorms: bean-bag chairs, small book-cases, etc.

Are there laws against curb shopping where you live? Are you forbidden to take stuff people put out for garbage collections? Sometimes, people put out furniture that's still useable. I wouldn't take a mattress, but if you find an end table or a couple of wooden or metal chairs that are still in decent shape, you can slap on a coat of paint & have something cute. I am still using a 'rescued' end table (that was actually an old wash stand).

Be creative. Many (most?) people I know had book-cases made out of planks & bricks, or shelving units made out of plastic milk crates or old wooden crates in their first places (I did).
An old cot covered with pillows & a piece of cloth (maybe a flat sheet) that hangs to the floor will make a quick sofa.
I used to have a table made out of a big wooden spool. Electrical wire & cable are on them, & they come in many sizes...look for them at construction sites.

[~*Ginger*~]

^^^
Great ideas!!!

Do you have permission to paint your apartment?
If so, see if you can find some latex paint.
I like latex enamal.
White is good for making the inside look bigger, and you can also go with some color, if you like.

At the $ stores you can usually find wall paper border.
Looks really cool if you are carefull to put it up right. ;)

There's a site called Freecycle, here's the link for the one in your town. (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecyclelouisville/)
If you join that group, you can see if there are anythings on there that you can ask for, or you can just ask for the things, if you need them.
check it out, maybe someone's got your bed, and dresser just waiting on you...

[Thalias_Smile]

I would suggest going to Target when there is a sale, and look for a large wall accent for walls w/large blank spaces (either a picture, a series of pictures or a tapestry), as well as nice slip covers for your couch (if that needs to be changed). The slip covers come in a variety of colors, solid & print. Also, if there is a particularly bland part of the house...you might want to consider a particularly colorful altar being set up in an inconspicuous corner...something out of the way...but where you can include items that represent creativity (perhaps statues of the muses), drawings you have done, whether recent or from childhood...items which to you might represent a happy home...that kind of thing...charge it often.

[-Ember]

Besides contact paper, many home improvement stores have stained glass patterns for windows.

Tissue paper does look nice if done well. Something that can look nice is to take an assortment of dollar store or thrift store frames and attach them together (eye-hooks and cord) and hang the whole thing in the window. You can put different colors/patterns in each frame or all the same (depending on the look you are going for... that determines the frames and the colors, whether you do a random pattern or just rows and columns, etc.) Light frames are best... less weight hanging.

[mara]

Garage Sales..:) Don't tell anyone, but nearly all my furniture is from garage sales. I buy tables and other pieces and paint or refinish them if needed. Also, look in your local newspaper under used furniture..sometimes there are really good deals to be found there too.You can usually get much better deals at yard sales than second hand stores.

[Fairyelf]

Yea at Garage Sales you can find neat things sometimes and very nice prices..ofcourse
_catroll_

[Mnemosyne]

I sometimes get the blahs when my home is untidy. A nice clean place brings some life into it. Also, flowers will make the place look more beautiful and make you smile. :)

[katclar]

There is also a cool website at: http://www.craigslist.org where people list stuff they have or need and you can get/find/meet/etc. lots of stuff and people that way. Check to see if your area is listed...I know that not everywhere is covered, but it's a cool deal.

Kat

[spooky]

There is also a cool website at: http://www.craigslist.org where people list stuff they have or need and you can get/find/meet/etc. lots of stuff and people that way. Check to see if your area is listed...I know that not everywhere is covered, but it's a cool deal.

Kat

not yet, i voted to bring it here though.

[MerrisHawk]

Try this site
http://www.freecycle.org

Anyone who has something they want to get rid of can post it there and anyone else who has a use for it can speak up.

[Yasmine Galenorn]

Garage Sales..:) Don't tell anyone, but nearly all my furniture is from garage sales. I buy tables and other pieces and paint or refinish them if needed. Also, look in your local newspaper under used furniture..sometimes there are really good deals to be found there too.You can usually get much better deals at yard sales than second hand stores.

Also, one thing I've found makes a big difference--hunt garage sales for frames. Framed prints and pictures make a place look so much more pulled together than just tacking them up on the wall.

You can buy inexpensive 2"X4"s, some stain, and inexpensive fabric and make your own folding screens--a couple hinges and you've got room dividers that could look pretty snazzy.

And yeah, hunt through the thrift shops for unique items that fit your style...even though I hate slipcovers, you can buy an old used sofa and a new slipcover and make it look 100% better.

Yasmine :colorful:

[spooky]

i love the ideas, i'm working on sprucing it up right now. i can't hang anything from the walls other than, say, paper since the plaster crumbles if i nail it. mostly i need furniture and some time.

[KaliGiri5]

Go to a 2nd hand store and buy small nicknacks at the dollar store.
I do that from time to time..
i'm not too proud to buy used items.

[Moonlight's Daughter]

Another thought, especially with the holidays upon us.. I go to JoAnn fabrics and get altar cloths and table cloths. I just get one or two yards of fabric, and their holiday patterns are usually at least 50% off. You can also use those for decorations. Also for furniture, any senior centers that have items are good, as well as thrift stores. I hope that helps!

Brandiwyn

[Gwynyvyr]

Check out yard sales and the end of season sales for GARDEN STUFF! Thats right...GARDEN STUFF
A bird bath makes an awesome accent or even kitchen/dining room table when you cover the top with a round glass table top.
Lawn furniture in wicker looks great in an apartment...in small apts. even better since it is so light and airy looking. Just add some cushions!
Concrete benches with a cushion on them = really cool looking seating. The big concrete planters can be used for : magazine holders in living room, a place to put neatly rolled up towels in bathroom, lined with plastic bag--a neat little trash can. Or get a smaller glass round and make a couch-side table. Four of them will hold up a box spring and mattress quite nicely.
If you want to *goth-out* your apartment the concrete looks suitably *cemetary spooky* especially if you find some older, aged stuff.
Wrought-iron furniture or metal furniture can be spray painted cheaply to give you any kind of look you want. If you want an Edwardian type look, either leave the wrought-iron black or paint it white for a *Springier* look.
Go to Wal-Mart. Buy a glue gun and a pack of glue sticks. Check out the sewing/crafts section and buy beaded trim, etc to gussy up lampshades and other stuff.

Even if you keep your walls white...paint your CEILINGS! Pick a nice pastel or even go a smidge darker...it will not make the rooms look that much smaller and it really livens them up. (Martha Stewart has a whole wonderful collection of ceiling colors at K-Mart and Sherwin Williams) Plus painting the ceiling usually only takes a gallon.

Another option if you are in an apt where you CAN'T paint the walls...
Fabric and double stick tape...buy cheap molding in a matching color to put around the ceiling and baseboard (or floor) to hide the ends of the fabric. If you can find a good fabric warehouse that has it cheap, get fabric-width (45 or 60 in) LACE to do this...looks incredible!

Hope this helps!

[wakywitch]

Salvation army,stained glass clings for the windows are all great ideas.
Here is a web site that you get someone else's stuff for free.

www.freecycle.org

[Zoritsa_Nepenthe]

Something I did recently to cover some wall space was,I bought some decorative fabric on sale,bought some cheap wood to make a large frame and stapled the fabric to the frame.I used that in my bedroom above my bed because I don't have a headboard.It was easy and everyone has raved about it.I spent about 6 dollars and still have fabric left over for something else.

[Isil Darkmoon]

For the windows, Walmart sells "temporary" blinds at about 2-3 bucks apiece. They're folded, mottled paper and they just stick up to the windowsills, no nails needed. I acutally replaced my old shoddy ugly metal blinds with the folding paper ones. They look better, keep piercing sunlight out MUCH better while letting in more ambient light, and actually help regulate the temperature better than my old standard blinds. They're a great thign.

[Ivy Artemisia]

Ooooh! Ima have to check the temporary blinds out! :)

[Shanti]

End Tables....that was an easy one for me. Go to the grocery store or any store and as for their discarded boxes. You tape the boxes shut, throw some material over it to hide it and whalla...you have an end table!! Years ago all my tables where boxes, good place to hide junk too!! LOL