Studio Apartment Move-In Vlog {Pt 3/3}: Decorating Our Space Together!
Wondering how to combine interior styles with your significant other or roommate without sacrificing your personal style or creating a visual hodgepodge?
I get it, because my boyfriend just moved in with me in my 500 sq ft studio apartment!
And in the third and final part of our studio apartment move in vlog series, we’re incorporating his apartment decor into our small apartment styling. How will we pull it off in such a small space? Watch and see!
If you need studio apartment inspiration, small apartment decor tips, you’re wondering how to make your studio cohesive, and you just love a good studio apartment makeover, tune in for some interior styling eye candy!
Video Transcript Excerpts↓
Below are the redecorating tips I shared in the video, along with excerpts from the video transcript!
So, my boyfriend Kobee just moved in with me in my 500 square-foot studio apartment, and today we're going to decorate together!
Now, if you've been keeping up with my channel for the last few weeks, you know that Kobee just moved in because we've been documenting everything in a three-part vlog series. And this video is the third and final installment in this epic trilogy!
So if you live with a significant other or a roommate and you're trying to combine your styles and make your small apartment look and feel cohesive, then you're going to want to watch this video because I'm going to give you my tips on a how Kobee and I are going to do this.
And if you’re new to my channel, my name is Steffi and I’m the creator of the interior style blog Moda Misfit as well as the online course Small Apartment Styling School.
And you’re watching Living Pretty, the place for apartment styling tips! So if you want to get inspired with me every week, be sure to subscribe!
Also, have you downloaded my free Apartment Styling Handbook yet?
It's a bite-sized roadmap for decorating your apartment so that you can create a space you love - without feeling like you're stumbling alone in the dark. Because sometimes you just want someone to tell you what to do to decorate your apartment, right?
So download the FREE Apartment Styling Handbook for some extra help!
redecorating Tip #1:
Start with Focal Point
Kobee and I are started with styling the bed because it’s a major focal point in the studio apartment. And starting with decorating a focal point makes it so the rest of the decor falls into place so much more easily.
I highly recommend figuring out the aesthetic of your main focal point before anything else because it’ll help determine the rest of your smaller styling choices from there!
redecorating Tip #2:
Experiment & Play
Redecorating can be overwhelming (hello decision fatigue and analysis paralysis!), but I encourage you to approach the interior styling process with a spirit of play.
Treat it like an experiment! Try different combinations of decor, and simply play around. Decorating is supposed to be fun - try not to allow yourself to get weighed down by the fear of messing up.
Styling your space can be a much lighter experience than you might think!
However, one thing that can instantly make it feel heavy is money. How are you supposed to freely play with your decor when money is restricting you? In this video, I give you 9 ways to save money on decor without sacrificing style. Check it out for some ideas on keeping your interior decor budget on track! ↓
redecorating Tip #3:
Start with Subtle Changes
Our plan with styling the bed was to start with subtle changes - switching a couple throw pillows here, a blanket there. Then we got more and more dramatic as we went. And this was so helpful! It made it so re-styling the bed felt way less intimidating and much more approachable.
Don’t put pressure on yourself to completely transform your apartment immediately. First of all, that’s not physically possible. Second of all, why try to get it over with so quickly?
Some of the best styling discoveries happen in the tiny, subtle changes. Don’t rob yourself of that!
redecorating Tip #4:
Play with Different Color Palettes
Now with this tip, it helps if you already have a bunch of decor to switch around and try different color palettes with. If you’re starting from square one you don’t own very much decor yet, I recommend creating a mood board of different decor pieces you’re thinking about buying and playing with color on that board. You can watch this video for my tutorial on creating a mood board!
But if you do have a bunch of decor in varying colors to work with, I encourage you to try a bunch of different color palettes and see how they feel! Again, you can do this on a mood board too.
Kobee and I played with three different accent colors: green, orange, and red. And it was fun to see all of them! Back to tip #2, it’s all about experimenting and playing.
Try to be loose with color and see what comes of it!
redecorating Tip #5:
Try My “Bird Method” for Bed Styling
I’m going to share with you my simple decorative pillow formula for the bed!
Now, there are infinite ways that you can arrange pillows on a bed. My way is definitely not the only way.
But if you’re totally stumped when it comes to throw pillow styling, you may enjoy an easy formula like this one. So here it is...
Think of your decorative pillow arrangement as a bird.
First you have the body of the bird at the center. This is the pillow that holds everything together. It’s usually the biggest pillow and ideally it’ll have an interesting texture or color - or both. ↓
Then you have the wings. These are the pillows on either side of the center body pillow, and they are identical. So it’ll be two of the same pillow. ↓
Then, finally, you have the beak of the bird. This is a smaller pillow that’s layered in the front to create a sense of depth to the pillow arrangement. Because you don’t want your throw pillows to be in a simple line, you want a layered look! ↓
You can get the full lowdown on my Bird Method in this video, along with more bed styling tips!
redecorating Tip #6:
Don’t Be Afraid of Change
(Like I usually am!)
I’ll cut right to it: I don’t do well with change. I’m a creature of habit, and I have a strong emotional attachment to my decor.
But redecorating the apartment with Kobee was all about experimenting with new looks. And I made a decision to embrace whatever change took place!
This was a necessary mindset shift that not only benefitted our styling, but was also integral to making sure Kobee got a say in what was happening. It’s important that he feels like this is truly his space too, not just that he’s spending the night with me every night!
So if you struggle with change like I do, I highly recommend trying your best to embrace it. Good things can come when you do!
redecorating Tip #7:
Interior Styling is an Ecosystem
Interior styling is never about solitary decisions. Every decision you make impacts the rest of the space in terms of what looks good and what doesn’t quite feel right.
Think of interior styling as creating an ecosystem where every detail depends on the others, and one change often leads to a ripple effect of necessary changes.
Try to make your styling choices with the full picture of your space in mind. Rather than buying individual pieces without thinking about how they’ll fit in your styling “ecosystem”, think of telling a story with your decor, where each piece interacts with the other.
This is how you create a cohesive space!
redecorating Tip #8:
Establish a Vision
Close your eyes and imagine what your dream apartment would look like. How does it feel? What does it smell like? What colors, textures, and materials does it have?
Really allow yourself to daydream! Think of visual references and feelings you want to evoke with your decor. What interior styles do you want to go for? Boho? Industrial? Mid-Century Modern? Whichever styles you gravitate toward, try to vividly picture them in your space!
It takes some imagination for sure, but the more clearly you can cast a vision for how you want your space to look and feel, the more likely you are to make it come to life.
If you need help figuring out which interior styles could be a good fit for you, I recommend watching this video quiz I made! ↓
redecorating Tip #9:
Tiny Changes Can Make a Big Impact
The true art of interior styling lies in the tiny details; a small piece of art propped on a console table, a vintage-inspired jewelry tray on a nightstand, a family heirloom displayed in your entryway to make a meaningful first impression.
This is where the magic of interior styling lives - in the tiny details. Don’t underestimate them!
The trick is how they come together, which is where Tip #7 about interior styling being as an ecosystem comes in. Your styling ecosystem is made up of little details coming together to create a bigger picture.
If you take the tiny details for granted, that’s how you end up with a space that lacks direction, personality, and overall aesthetic appeal. So don’t overlook the little changes you make!
redecorating Tip #10:
Sometimes Redecorating Is Not Even About Improvement
Seriously!
Do I think our new look in our apartment is better than how it looked before? I actually don’t think so, haha.
But you see, sometimes a change - whether it's an improvement or not - is just good for the brain.
For more before & after shots, watch the video!
If you've recently redecorated, once you get to a place where you’re feeling pretty good about your styling choices, from there, simply live in the space for a bit. You don’t have to knock it out of the park immediately - your apartment can evolve!
New ideas will come to you. Just live in the space and feel proud of what you’ve done. Celebrate your creative accomplishment.
That's what Kobee and I are doing - enjoying this change and soaking in the new vibes of the apartment. It may not look better than before, but it's pretty damn refreshing.
Now, this is just the tip of the iceberg here for me and Kobee…
We didn’t do anything too extreme in terms of redecorating the apartment because we’re going to be moving out and finding a new place in just a few months when the lease is up in March.
That’s when things will get interesting, because we’ll both have a completely blank canvas to work with! So stay tuned for that in a few months, because you know we’ll be taking you with us every step of the way.
For now, we’re going to cozy up in this little studio apartment and enjoy the next few months, doing our best to make our way through the shitloads of ramen Kobee came with. Wish us luck!
And remember, whether you’re living with a significant other or solo, you’re still completely deserving of a stylish apartment that makes you happy every day. But if not sure how to create that dream apartment and you're wondering things like:
“How do I discover my personal style so that I can make these good choices for my decorating?”
“How do I become more confident in my interior styling choices?”
“How do I mix styles?”
“How do I actually arrange things in my apartment?”
Then I got you covered…
If you're wanting to dive deeper into learning about how to style your apartment step by step, that's where my online course Small Apartment Styling School comes in!
Small Apartment Styling School basically holds your hand through your styling process and tells you exactly what to do step-by-step, so by the end of the course you feel like you know your style, you know what to buy, and you know how to place it in your apartment with confidence.
Imagine living in an apartment that actually boosts your mood everyday and makes you feel welcome, and makes you feel a sense of belonging and being at home.
Just because you rent your space doesn't mean you can't own your style, and Small Apartment Styling School helps you do that!
My current students have been a raving about how helpful the course was for decorating their apartments and I am so proud of what they've achieved just after the couple months of being enrolled in the course!
Small Apartment Styling School will help you decorate your apartment step by step, including:
Figuring out your personal style
Choosing a color palette
Mixing different interior styles
Learning about the different interior styles that are out there and which ones might be a good fit for you
Arranging and accessorizing your apartment room by room - living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom.
All of this and more is in Small Apartment Styling School, so if you want to learn more and join the waitlist for the next time it opens for enrollment, click here!
For daily glimpses into my studio apartment life, you can follow me on Instagram @moda.misfit.
And for regular doses of apartment styling tips and small space decor inspiration, subscribe to my YouTube channel and hit the bell to be notified when a new video goes up every week.