8 Easy Ways to Make Your Apartment Feel Like Home

Mike and I recently moved to a new area in an effort to be closer to Mike’s work in Boston. Since then we have been working hard to make our new apartment feel like home. Here’s 8 easy ways you can make your apartment feel like home.

1 | Break down and recycle moving boxes

Staring at cardboard boxes, full or empty, isn’t exactly the best way to make you feel cozy at home in your new apartment. More than likely, the sight of these boxes alone will only stress you out even more. Unpack and break down the boxes as soon as you can! Even if you’re not ready to fully unpack, give yourself some peace of mind and throw away the moving boxes.

2 | Deck the halls with fresh flowers

Anyone who has ever moved before knows how stressful the process can be. I find that being surrounded by fresh flowers can radiate a sense of calm. The first weekend we moved to our new apartment, I bought multiple bouquets of baby’s breath and placed them in vases and mason jars around each room. The flowers made me feel relaxed and happy to be at home.

3 | Set aside time to hang pictures, paintings, mirrors, wine racks etc. on the walls

One of the best ways to make your new apartment feel like home is to set aside an hour or two to start hanging some pictures on the wall! Our previous apartment was inside an old mill building and almost all of the walls were brick which made it very difficult to hang remotely anything on them. Although the apartment was rich in character, we were never able to add that special touch to make us truly feel at home.

4 | Bake something sweet – like your favorite cookies!

Who doesn’t love the smell of freshly baked cookies? A warm batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies always makes me feel at home.

5 | Make small changes that will have a BIG impact

Our new apartment is much smaller than our old one, so we have been making any small changes we can to utilize our new space more effectively. For example, there was an empty closet in the living room that had no door handle, no shelves and no coat rack. It seemed like a waste of space, but instead of leaving it alone, we decided to turn it around.

We purchased a coat rod and hung it inside the closet. To stop the door from popping open, we added a simple sliding lock to the the outside. Small, simple changes like this will help make a big impact on how you feel about your home.

6 | Treat yourself to something new

To give our living room a new look, I bought a few new patterned throw pillows from T.J. Maxx for the couch and mixed them in with our old pillows. I love the look of them together!

7 | Explore the town

This one isn’t so much about decorating your new place, but is still so important to making yourself feel at home! The first week or so living in our new apartment I felt somewhat lost and like I didn’t belong to this new town. We didn’t know where we would order our sushi from, buy our groceries or even where we would work out.  We started taking walks and unnecessary drives around the town just to help get our bearings and a sense of belonging.

8 | Surround yourself with familiarity

The night before we moved, we took a drive down to visit the new place. When we went inside, I felt like a total stranger and instantly panicked. What if we made the wrong choice? Why were we moving? Mike reassured me that once we moved our furniture in and hung our photos, the place would start to look more familiar, more like us.

What are some special things about your place that make you feel at home?

New to the blog? Here’s some other posts you might enjoy:

• 13 Budget-Friendly Updates to Modernize Your Home
• Dining Room Decor: From Spring to Summer
• Simple Bedroom Bureau Makeover

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