9 Steps to Designing Your First Space

How I designed my apartment:

Picking out furniture and décor for your first space is overwhelming. There are thousands of stores to choose from, you will be with these pieces for longer than some of your relationships, and it can be very pricey. Here’s how I did it:

1. Set a budget. You will inevitably go over the budget but it would not be difficult to spend tens of thousands of dollars so this will keep you from going into massive credit card debt after a Crate and Barrel shopping spree.

2. Create an excel spreadsheet. I know, I know, but girlies you got this.

   1. I made different tabs for different rooms and created a simple sum function to tally everything up for both anticipated and actual spending.

   2. I have attached a sample to this page!

   3. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14El26Z8xDsnUmtnbnOh5wlozN9YVpPIHbh-MIaJhr0o/edit?usp=sharing

      1. If you open this and then click, FILE, MAKE A COPY, it will open in to your very own spreadsheet!

3. Decide how you want your space to feel.

   1. Personally, I wanted my space to be super cozy, relaxing, and clean.

   2. I do not like a lot of tchotchkes out. I can see why people do, they are super cute and fun.

      1. But to me they make the space feel cluttered and they are difficult to clean around.

   3. I wanted to come into my home and literally fall asleep.

   4. Other ways you may want to feel are like partying, vibrant, fun, sexy, sensual, feminine, girly.

      1. These feelings could all be brought on by different décor.

4. Based off of that feeling you are trying to emulate, start making a pinterest board.

   1. This is a good place to start collecting ideas for what you want your space to feel like.

   2. It will also give you design inspo and can lead you towards one look.

5. Pick a theme and stick with it.

   1. I can appreciate a lot of different vibes. I love the modern look and also the shabby chic and antrho look. But if you pick a mix of pieces without intention it could end up confusing the space and lead to incoherence in the vibe.

6. Use a platform like Freeform to design the space.

   1. As I started to make selection on what I wanted to buy, I would take screen shots of it and made a mockroom on Freeform.

   2. This app is included with the Iphone so it is free and easy to use.

   3. You could also use an app like pinterest but it will be more scattered.

   4. You can even remove the backgrounds of images to really increase the flow and get a better image.

7. Shop online.

   1. Even if you make your final purchases in store, it saves a lot of time and energy to first browse online so you can get an idea of your item and pricing options!

8. Do not rush the small decor pieces!

   1. Pictures and nicknacks will come to you with time and travel!

   2. Give time to feel out your space and collect pieces that really mean speak to you!

   3. Better to have an empty wall for some time then to rush and waste resources and money.

9. Have fun!