Apartment Decor Ideas!

[downtown]

In the grand spirit of the Fifty Poster threads, I too come to CFC OT to ask for some ideas for spiffing up my new place.

I just moved into a new apartment, and between me and my roomie, we have very little in the way of "decor". I have one of my dad's paintings, a Van Gough print, and a Brazilian flag (which is currently employed as the cover for our small coffee table). We have wall space in the living room and in my bedroom (which has *nothing* at the moment, as well as some space on our large bookshelf in the living room.

No movie posters/babe posters
Maaaybe a music poster...but I'm leaning much more towards getting a small black and white print of say Miles Davis (instead of say, a huge Blues Traveler poster).
Maps?
Plants?
Things that can go on the shelf besides books?
Other cool Wall-type things?
Other ideas? I've never actually had space to decorate before!

 

[Masquerouge]

Cool stuff: grab one of these cheap three-pic frames at Ikea and fill it with pictures of your travels. Very decorative, and shows how weathered you are!
Green plants are always good, make sure you get perennials, stuff that is sturdy and won't die because you forgot to water it.
Good/cool idea for your bookshelves: if you have enough books, sort them by the cover color! You can make cool things like the full spectrum, or going from light green to dark green.

A world map is always nice, yes.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

For wall stuff, try visiting a poster store. It's amazing what cool things you can find -- maps, satellite images, Hubble images, folk art...

Get a huge jigsaw puzzle and put it together. Then glue it onto a board. Frame it and hang it on the wall (this may take a couple of weeks).

There's somebody on the forum here who does the most amazing MSPaint art. I'm thinking of converting one or two of his pictures into rug patterns (yes, I have permission ).

Plants -- only get plants if you're going to be able to keep them alive. Even plants have feelings, and don't enjoy dying of dehydration.

Are you allowed to paint the walls? What about the floor -- carpeted or bare wood?

 

[Nylan]

Well, you could put up a T-shirt with a tiger's head on it. That's what my roommate did. Personally, I prefer my black&white of John Coltrane.

 

[downtown]

Cool stuff: grab one of these cheap three-pic frames at Ikea and fill it with pictures of your travels. Very decorative, and shows how weathered you are!

Normally, I think this is a fine idea...but it might not work out so well for me. I am an AWFUL photographer!

A world map is always nice, yes.

I've been knocking around the idea of getting a small map for my room, but I dunno if I want a world map or just a US one.

For wall stuff, try visiting a poster store. It's amazing what cool things you can find -- maps, satellite images, Hubble images, folk art...

Yeah, if i knew a good image, ordering it wouldn't be hard. There is an okay poster store I might visit tonight. Do you have any favorites?

Plants -- only get plants if you're going to be able to keep them alive. Even plants have feelings, and don't enjoy dying of dehydration.

I don't really want a Cactus...is there another kind of plant thats a little..heartier than others?

Are you allowed to paint the walls? What about the floor -- carpeted or bare wood?

I can't, which is kind of a drag, because the desks are a really ugly green that doesn't go with anything else. I have grayish-blue carpet and white walls. Half of the apartment is also tile.

 

[sourboy]

Plants always work and are cheap. Use those tall, pole-lamps to help take up wall space too, aside from pictures or flags. Wall mirrors are cool too -- I had a friend who had 3-4 strategically located in his living room, mixed in between plants and pictures, and it made the room feel way bigger than it was.

Book cases, what else to put on it? I have books, magazines, DVD's, CD's, albums, and a mini stereo on mine. Usually the shelves are adjustable, so anything can really work -- but bookcases really add to a room. Guitar in the corner (even if you dont play), mini fridge, etc work nice too.

 

[Zelig]

I've been knocking around the idea of getting a small map for my room, but I dunno if I want a world map or just a US one.

Either way, I like maps that show something other than political divisions at least, and something better than just standard geographical maps. I've got a big "Earth at Night" poster, and a smaller poster with country sizes adjusted to be in proportion to their population.

I don't really want a Cactus...is there another kind of plant thats a little..heartier than others?

I've got a banana plant, it grows pretty slow since I sometimes go a month or two between watering. Downside to banana plants is that if you actually water them often, the leaves drip water.

 

[sourboy]

Get a map of the solar system, or a scenic or historic map of a favorite country (I have one of Ireland).

Plants... those "spider plants" are easy to grow, and you can get teh vines to stretch all across your home (which can really add to wall space). Those corner plants, warnekki (sp) are low maintenance too. Or just get a pot and plant a tomato plant. Those things are nuts, low upkeep, high produce.

 

[joycem10]

Lebron Fathead, enough said...

 

[Annex]

I've been knocking around the idea of getting a small map for my room, but I dunno if I want a world map or just a US one.

Personally, I like the 16th century maps, the ones where Europe and Africa are accurate but Asia and North and South America are horribly wrong. They also have the intricate borders on them. But thats just me.

 

[Desmond Hawkins]

Efficiency lesson: Multi-use chairs.

Position your computer desk and your eating table in such a way that you spin your chair around to get from one to the other. Brilliant use of space and less walking. Oh and you can eat while on your computer without gumming up the keyboard.

 

[LucyDuke]

I like filling bookshelves with crap besides the obvious. I have jars with different dried flowers, herbs, berries, and stuff like that. I have a lot of little wooden boxes that I have painted. I have a lot of little sculptures and statues. I have a lot of little plastic toys - green army men and crap that comes out of gumball machines. Toys are awesome.

Do you or your roommate or any of your friends paint or draw or anything? I've got a lot of my own and some of my friends' art on my walls.

Mirrors are also good if a room is smallish, they make the room feel bigger. The bigger the mirror the better.

Maps are also awesome, you don't have to pick just world or just country or anything, you can have a bunch of maps!

Plants are awesome. You might consider a small (10-25 gallon) aquarium if you've got just a little spare time to tend to it, just remember that water is heavy and you'll need something strong for it to sit on.

 

[mangxema]

Yay, maps! My grandparents have an interesting map that shows all of the distilleries in Scotland.

I've always wanted a toaster rewired to be a lamp. For some reason I just think that would be really cool.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

I don't decorate - in my last place there was nothing on the walls in my room, and the only things in the living room were some pictures my roommate had. Of course, a lack of decorations said more about me than anything else could have, so . . .