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Big and bold. Small and subtle.
It all comes down to the… Making an apartment a new home can seem unmanageable when trying to create room for textbooks and other necessities every 20-year-old has. Kate McDougall, a junior interior design major, has lived in a 437 square foot apartment for a year. When she originally moved in, her new home didn’t look anything like it does now. Although the high-vaulted ceiling that starts at her entrance and leads up to her loft bedroom adds to the character of McDougall’s apartment, the bare walls didn’t help in making her new apartment seem like home. McDougall painted some of her walls cranberry and plans to paint her bathroom purple. She painted her kitchen cabinets yellow and added knobs shaped like forks and spoons to them. McDougall said she found the knobs at Target for $5. After McDougall and her boyfriend ate lunch at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden one autumn afternoon, she came home to dried leaves hanging from her walls and ceiling that led up to her bedroom, she said. Her boyfriend had saved the leaves that had fallen on them and furthered McDougall’s whimsical theme in her apartment, she said. McDougall said she saves all the flowers her boyfriend gives her, and those, along with candles, generate an inviting aroma in her apartment.
Gale Van Ackeren, interior design program director, said that for college students, organization is more important than decorating. Van Ackeren said students should keep decoration to a minimum. Poster art is an inexpensive way of making walls stand out, she said. “One mistake people do is hang things up on their walls that are too small,” Van Ackeren said. “Big and bold is much better on a wall.” Since most college students have a lot of activity in their dorm rooms or apartments, Van Ackeren suggested students buy comforters and curtains that can be washed easily. “Medium tones work well in a dorm room,” Van Ackeren said. “Dirt doesn’t show as much on these colors.”Although Van Ackeren suggested students go to the Container Store for help with organization, McDougall said the Container Store is overpriced. McDougall said bargain shopping is a good way to decorate an apartment, especially when working with a budget. Thrift stores and Goodwill are great places to find used furniture that can be easily fixed with painting, she said. McDougall has helped with painting on various sets for plays, including “My Fair Lady,” which was presented last semester by the theater department. Her stage craft class has helped her build and fix furniture for her apartment, she said. Hand-me-downs are also inexpensive ways to dress up small spaces, McDougall said. McDougall’s grandmother gave her a brown antique mirror which McDougall uses in her living room. Finding space in such a small apartment can be challenging. However, all the little things are important. McDougall’s bathroom is filled with photos of Europe and other contemporary European art work from the 1900s that she has collected over the years.
“My home is full of meaning,” McDougall said. “Every time I travel anywhere I get a piece of something to bring back with me.” Finding space in a small room can be challenging. Jay Hurst, head resident assistant in Milton Daniel Hall, said he uses his book shelf as a shoe rack to create more room on his desk for his computer. Loft kits can be purchased to raise beds and create more space under the bed for a small couch or desk, Hurst said. Another creative accessory students use in their rooms are different types of lights. Hurst said a good way to set the mood in a room is by hanging a tapestry over the lights on the ceiling, making the lights not as bright. White Christmas lights run up and down McDougall’s stairs that lead to her bedroom. She also hung colorful lights from the ceiling in her bedroom. McDougall said her apartment did not all come together at once. In fact, she said she’s not finished yet. She said buying one piece at a time is the best way to decorate an apartment. “Little pieces at a time will eventually make what was a bare apartment into something I can call home,” McDougall said. Yvette Herrera |
