This post is sponsored by Cortland; however, all thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.
Do you love to look at inspiring photos on pinterest and instagram? Are you always on a quest to incorporate more of your style and personality into the spaces around you? I have a few tips on how you can create a home that suits your personality, whether you’re renting or buying, living in a temporary space or a permanent one, a house or an apartment. Your style isn’t about the walls around you but about what you bring inside … and how you make a space your own.
Today’s post is sponsored by Cortland, an owner and manager of apartment communities across the Southeast and beyond. Cortland has more than 20 communities in DFW, so they have plenty of options {and areas of town!} to choose from. Their in-house interior design team makes each community unique, and they focus designing spaces around the living experiences apartment residents will have while they call #MyCortlandHome.
Cortland is as committed to great hospitality as they are great design. They are the only apartment company to offer a 48-hour service-completion guarantee. If you have a problem in your apartment, Cortland’s service team will fix it – even over the weekend or on a holiday break – within 48 hours or you live rent free until they do. Creating a space you love is all about knowing what you love – loving where you live is important, too!
Creating a space you love is all about knowing what you love.
Don’t limit your style.
You may appreciate a modern style but that doesn’t mean you can’t add an heirloom chair or elaborate vintage-style molding to your home. Think of your home as a tapestry. Your primary style should make up the main weaving but it’s okay to throw a fine gold thread in there for some interest and appeal. Savvy renters will know that just because you’re not picking the finish on the kitchen sink doesn’t mean you can’t make your apartment feel like yours. Find great, vintage pieces you love at a garage or estate sale. Those pieces add to a great mix with your apartment’s finishes.
Don’t be afraid to mix old and new.
Use trendy patterns and colors in your decor, choose subway tile over travertine, or pick a farmhouse style kitchen over a classic look. But add that piece of vintage furniture or an old sign as well. Pieces that have a story or a bit of history behind them are great conversation starters and often end up being the items that bring an emotional connection to a space.
Splurge on a few key pieces.
If you enjoy changing a room when new trends ramp up, don’t spend a fortune on the decor. Invest in pieces {and watch for deals!} that will stand the test of time, like a fabulous tufted sofa or a piece of colorful artwork. For renters, don’t think that just because your apartment may be home for a few years, you can’t buy pieces you want to keep a long time. They travel with you! Surround those more expensive pieces with affordable and attainable items that complement. Thrift stores, resale shops, and junk markets are all great places to find smaller items to add character to a space.
Use small pieces to add personality to a room.
When you walk into a room, you may first notice the bright yellow couch or the vintage kitchen island but as you get comfortable and start really noticing what’s around you, it’s always the small pieces that show the personality of the owner. Add an interesting sculpture, leave a fun message on a letter board, or frame a child’s drawing. The smaller items you love will allow your personality to shine in a room.
Create warmth with textures and materials.
Knit throws and toss pillows with different patterns and fabrics are great ways to add warmth and make a room feel more cozy. And because they’re affordable, you can change them seasonally or add components of new trends when they hit. Don’t be afraid to mix and match colors and patterns, sizes and shapes.
Blending wood with metal or adding fluffy pillows to a leather couch will add an element of warmth to a surface that’s otherwise somewhat stark.
Choose items that add interest.
Whether you have one cocoon-shaped chair or a hanging pendant lamp created from an old fan cover, have at least one piece that draws attention.
Use items you have in a new way and think outside the box.
Books aren’t just for reading. Stack a few on a coffee table for instant decor. Hang old records on the wall for a unique focal wall treatment. Use a vintage kitchen grater to hang a tea towel. Look at your everyday household items in new ways to add an unexpected decorative element to your home.
Add your personality to a space with DIY projects.
There’s no better way to let your personality shine in a room than to create something with your own two hands. Whether it’s a bench made from an old kitchen table or a knit pillow cover, let your talents build a special space.
Don’t be afraid of color and pattern.
If you love neutrals and monotones, decorate with them all day long, but if you enjoy color, don’t be afraid to add a little – or a lot – of it to your home. Renters, especially, should lean into color and pattern in their decor. Often, apartment designers create spaces with more neutral palettes, so anyone can move in and call it home!
Mix patterns, add geometric designs, be bold, and experiment.
Don’t underestimate the effect of lighting.
Good lighting can transform the mood in a room. Install dimmer switches on overhead lighting, exchange bright bulbs for low wattage bulbs, and place lamps throughout a room. Be sure to light up spaces in ways that will enhance conversations or illuminate neat items in a room.
Live in a place that feels like home.
Cortland can help you create a space that feels like home! With twenty-seven communities located across the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, the perfect Cortland community is waiting to welcome you home! Amenities like pools, business centers, clubhouses, and fitness centers are designed with residents in mind, an in-house design team carefully considers the resident experience, and a community team helps ensure that Cortland communities are the perfect community for you! Just like the tips above will help you design the home you want, Cortland communities will help you fully enjoy that space.
Cortland is a resident-first, hospitality-driven management company designed and managed with residents in mind. Cortland takes pride in their 48-Hour Service-Completion Guarantee, the apartment industry’s only guarantee of its kind. If you have a maintenance issue, a member of the service team will have it fixed within 48 hours or you’ll live rent free until they do. Cortland wants your experience living in one of their communities to be incredible.
What tips do you have for making your home a reflection of you?
Arkaa says
I really enjoyed reading this! Thank you so much for sharing! Great tips!