Small Apartment Ideas: Interior Styling Challenges + Practical Magic Aesthetic + More!
Want to create a beautifully decorated apartment without freezing up with analysis paralysis and self doubt? Same! Today I’m sharing small apartment ideas and advice that will help you make your space into the stylish, cozy apartment oasis you’ve been dreaming about. 🥰
And I’m doing so by going straight to the source and and answering your small apartment decorating questions! In this second part of my Ask Me Anything series, I’m giving my two cents in response to questions like:
How do I get over the analysis paralysis and actually start decorating your apartment?
Why have you been struggling with finishing your new apartment decorating?
How do I achieve the Practical Magic aesthetic in a small apartment?
And more! So if you’re looking for small apartment inspiration, tips for getting out of your own way when decorating, and witch aesthetic inspo, you’re in the right place!
Video Transcript
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How do you push past the analysis paralysis when it comes to decorating your apartment? How do you achieve the Practical Magic House aesthetic? Why am I so personally blocked when it comes to decorating our new apartment?
(Which, embarrassingly enough, is not even that new anymore, and it’s still not at the place where we want it to be.)
All of these questions and more I will be answering in this video, which is part two of my Ask Me Anything video trilogy!
If you missed last week's video, here’s a link to watch it. I ended up having to split this Ask Me Anything into three videos, because leave it to me; I have a tendency to get a little… verbose… when it comes to talking about small apartment living, cozy living, and lifestyle stuff.
So I'm going to do my best to try to be a little bit more concise in my answers to these questions. But we'll see.
And if you’re new to my channel, my name is Steffi and I give small apartment styling tips and cozy living inspiration!
And before we dive in, I wanted to let you know that you can now watch my free workshop, "Decorate Your Dream Apartment Without Spending Money on the Wrong Decor For You" whenever you want!
In this FREE, 1-hour workshop, I’ll teach you how to…
Discover your personal style so you can decorate a space that feels like YOU
Create mood boards to help you visualize what your apartment could look like before buying things
Shop for decor in a way that will save you money and allow you to buy things that actually fit your space and your personality
If all that sounds like exactly what you need to create the dreamy apartment you’ve been yearning for, click here to watch the workshop!
All right, let's jump into the questions you asked on my Instagram stories!
This question comes from @maliabecks:
“How do you push past the, for lack of a better phrase, analysis paralysis?”
First of all, I don't think there is a better phrase. It really is analysis paralysis! It's so easy to get caught up in your own head when trying to decorate a small apartment. I mean, there's so much to consider. You have to consider spatial constraints. You have to also somehow incorporate your own personal style in the mix. You have to make things look cohesive… I mean, you don't have to do these things, but you want to, you know?
And all of these factors pile up and cause analysis paralysis. So how do we combat this?
For one thing, I definitely relate to this hardcore right now because I've been facing my own analysis paralysis when it comes to decorating our new apartment, which I will get to because another question definitely addresses this head on. But I really have been dealing with the analysis paralysis demons when it comes to decorating our apartment.
So if you're dealing with this, I want to say…
Go easy on yourself. It's okay to not have it figured out immediately! I mean, you guys have heard me say this before - every stylish space has to look shitty before it can be pretty. So just remind yourself of that.
So @maliabecks, I would say step one to avoiding analysis paralysis is to first go easy on yourself.
Second, I would say to trust your instincts.
And I know that's a very ethereal phrase, you know, “trust your instincts” - what does that actually mean? How do I put that into practice?
But this is the way I look at it. I look for the sparkly feeling. I've talked about this before in other videos.
When it comes to decorating a space, buying new decor, buying new furniture, or using what you currently have, just look for the sparkly feeling.
This means that when you're shopping, only buy things that give you that sparkly, excited, “ooh, I think I have a crush on this item!” feeling, you know?
And the same thing applies to the stuff that you already own, that you're arranging in your space. If you're unsure of how you're placing things in your apartment, keep experimenting with that placement until you get that sparkly feeling. And if you're not getting it with your existing decor, that's when you should probably start doing a little bit of shopping.
So seek ye the sparkly feeling, and that is a way to sort of simplify how you look at the decorating process instead of getting paralyzed by overanalyzing.
So this topic transitions nicely into the next question, which comes from @pixieshara:
“Why are you so blocked in finishing your new apartment? What's holding you back?”
Oh @pixieshara, I could write a whole novel on what has been going on in my brain for the last several months since we moved into this new apartment. And of course, I can't possibly cover it all here.
But first of all, in this video I talked about some of the specific reasons why I’ve been having a hard time, so the full answer - or at least the somewhat full answer - to this question is in that video.
Basically, if I were to sum it up, I am dealing with the analysis paralysis that we covered in the last question. But then there's also a whole bunch of other shit going on in my head.
And frankly, as beautiful as this apartment is, I have found that I just… I haven't been very inspired by it. When I was decorating my studio apartment, I was on fire with inspiration. I was decorating with such a sense of self and such a sense of purpose and just sheer, pure inspo.
But this new apartment, I mean… a big reason why I’ve been having a hard time is due to the layout of the space and it's awkward shape. And when we initially toured this apartment when it was empty, I mentioned that would be one of the challenges.
But I, in a very cocky way was like, “I got it, I can do it. I'm like, good at decorating. So like, whatever.” But oh boy, I really underestimated the challenge of the shape of the main living area of this apartment. And apparently I overestimated my decorating abilities!
I don't know, I just… this space doesn't flow very well for me, and I have tried my darndest to create that flow. And I know there's a way to do it!
I believe that every single apartment in existence can look amazing. And in certain ways, this apartment does look amazing!
We painted this beautiful black accent wall:
We put up this amazing wallpaper:
By the way, I have no problem with our bedroom area. I think our bedroom decor is stunning, and I just adore our bedroom. I think it is one of the prettiest spaces that I have ever decorated.
So when I'm talking about how tricky and emotionally fraught my experience in this apartment has been, it's the main living area that I have a problem with.
Anyone who has been dealing with this kind of stuff, my words of encouragement to both myself and you are: every apartment can look beautiful. I even believe it about this one that we're living in.
That's why I say your apartment is destined to be pretty, and you are pretty powerful - because you have the power to make your apartment fulfill its destiny of being pretty.
So those are my thoughts and words of encouragement, frankly to myself.
The next question comes from @lennoxcrewe:
“Suggestions for Practical Magic granddaughter in a tiny house? No reason at all. Nope.”
Lennox is one of my Small Apartment Styling School students, so I happen to know that she is a big Practical Magic fan. And if you haven't seen the movie Practical Magic, you really should because the decor in that house is stunning.
So if I were to give suggestions to achieve a witchy style, first of all, I have this video, which is all about witch aesthetic decor. It's not specifically the Practical Magic aesthetic, but it is a good place to start and get some inspiration for all of those witchy vibes!
If you're looking to incorporate the Practical Magic aesthetic into your decor, first I'd look for sturdy antique-style wood pieces that capture the practical magic house’s timeless heirloom vibes.
I'd consider also using black paint in places like they did on the staircase of the house:
Speaking of that staircase, I'd also look for classical style paintings that give off wise-witchy-women-of-the-past vibes.
And you know the gorgeous conservatory the Practical Magic witches have? You can try to capture that look by decorating with tons of plants and antique botanical sketch art.
I also think the shop in the movie is very inspiring aesthetically as well. And you can get that look by displaying a ton of old apothecary-style bottles and vases in your space.
And of course, to get the Practical Magic aesthetic, you can't go wrong with having tons and tons of candles!
The trick is that living in a small apartment - likely in the city - means that you're probably not going to naturally have that old Victorian architecture within your space. So it's a matter of incorporating that sensibility in the space through accessorizing and through your furniture selection without having that existing architecture.
At the end of the day, a good Pinterest search for “Practical Magic house” will give you a lot of inspiration. You can't go wrong with a good Pinterest search, so I would be remiss not to recommend it!
The next question comes from @fourstringsandmusictherapy:
“If interior styling was not your job, what else would you do?”
Well, first of all, interior styling is actually not my job. It may seem that way because I talk about it so much, but really I consider myself a content creator first and foremost.
I have had some interior styling clients in the past, but honestly, my joy when it comes to interior styling is creating content for this YouTube channel, reaching the masses through video creation.
I really consider myself more of a content creator who gives advice and guidance about interior stying, rather than an interior stylist.
And then there's my other business, Steffi Designs, my Squarespace web design business. And so there's that whole aspect of my sort of entrepreneurial life.
So basically, I’m not an interior stylist, more of a content creator and web designer who just happens to be pretty good at decorating apartments. And I have a lot of experience living in tiny, tiny apartments and making them look pretty damn good if I do say so myself.
But to really answer your question, which is like, if I weren't doing what I'm currently doing, um, I would be a cat. I would just be a cat.
No, but really, I think I would be a maker of some kind, if I had any sort of crafty abilities. There are some people who sell polymer clay jewelry and polymer clay trays and accessories. I think that would be really cool to make pretty things and then sell them to people. So that's what I would do if I were to do something that I'm not currently doing now.
So that’s it for part 2 of my Ask Me Anything trilogy! Stay tuned for next part 3 next week!
For daily glimpses into my apartment life, you can follow me on Instagram @moda.misfit.
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