Easy Crafts to Decorate Your Apartment

By Ashley Paskill on December 19, 2018

When you move into an apartment, it will not immediately look like a home. It will likely be the bare minimum. Most apartments do not even come with furniture. You will want to decorate your apartment to make it feel like home. To make it even more personal, you can make your own decorations if you enjoy making crafts instead of buying them at a store. If you have a roommate, making your decorations together can be a great bonding experience, especially if you are not close yet. It can be a way to learn about each other’s styles and things you like.

decorate your apartment

Infographic by Ashley Paskill

Wreaths For All Seasons

While most people think of wreaths for Christmas, they can be used as decorations throughout the year. You can have one for Christmas, but many crafts stores have things to put in wreaths that fit any season or holiday throughout the year. Buy artificial Christmas wreaths when they are on clearance and buy seasonal wreath additions. That way, you can make multiple wreaths and switch them out them out depending on the time of year. You can even make a custom wreath using things that are unique to you to make it even more personal.

If you want to be even more creative and personal, many craft stores sell metal wreath rings. You can buy the usual evergreen that wreaths are made of, but you can also buy colored tulle or ribbon to make the wreath out of. This allows you to get even more personalized as you can customize what your wreath base looks like. Using something other than the usual evergreen base will allow your wreath to stand out and will help your apartment look unique.

Floral Bouquet

Floral bouquets have the ability to transform an otherwise empty space into something beautiful. Whether you put one on your table as a centerpiece or on an end table, flowers can brighten any area of your apartment. Many craft stores or stores with craft sections have artificial flowers in various colors, kinds, and even patterns. Many stores have both seasonal and general use flowers, so you can vary your floral bouquet based on the season or trade them out based on what you want. You can even get a nice vase and use glass stones and ribbon to add a nice extra touch to the bouquet.

Photo Letters

Photo letters are a unique and creative way to add a personal touch to your apartment. Collect and print photos of you and your loved ones and mod podge them to your first initial. You can cut the images in order to fit them on the letter and get as many on as possible. You can have the photos be in color or in black and white, and you can add stickers, ribbon, and gems to make it even more creative and fun.

If you have a roommate, have your roommate make a photo letter as well. This will give you both an opportunity to tell each other about your friends and loved ones. It can be a great bonding opportunity as this can bring up a lot of memories and inside jokes that you and your loved ones have shared in the photos. Be open and willing to exchange these stories with your roommate to get to know each other on a deeper level. If your friends and family come to visit, your roommate will have an idea of who they are and what they mean to you if you share the memories behind the photos.

Shadow Box

Shadow boxes are a creative way to show off things that are meaningful to you. They allow you to display photos and 3-D objects that have value for you. You can pick a theme to base the shadow box around, such as a special event or things related to a particular loved one. You can also create seasonal shadow boxes using trinkets you find at the dollar store or craft store. Shadow boxes can be hung on walls around your apartment or set on end tables to add a nice touch. If you and your roommate have lived together for more than a semester, you can even make a shadow box around the memories the two of you have shared.

Wall Art

Wall art is a fun way to make something creative for your apartment. There are a wide variety of mediums, and you can even make a mixed media art piece. The sky is the limit. You can even make related pieces. If you have old newspapers or magazines around the apartment, use them to make different patterns and designs. You can use old paper from previous semesters to color and make collage art. For a fun challenge, take a basic art class as an elective to learn new techniques and make some cool art projects in the process.

There are also a wide variety of canvases you can use. From backs of old class handouts to canvas from a craft store, you have a bunch of things you can experiment with. If you use thin enough canvas, you can frame your artwork and can even decorate the frame to go with the art. Try out different mediums on different types of canvas to see what works best for you. Make sure you have enough room in your apartment for whatever size canvas you decide to use.

Dream Catcher

Dream catchers are a unique way to spice up any room, but they are perfect for your bedroom. They give you the opportunity to be creative and make a unique design in the center of the circle. You can also get creative by using different colored string, beads, and feathers. According to legend, the nightmares you may dream get caught in the web located in the center of the hoop. Good dreams pass through and slide down the feathers to reach the person sleeping.

For those who believe, dream catchers can help eliminate nightmares, especially if you moved to a new apartment and you are prone to having bad dreams after a drastic change. Dream catchers can be made in a variety of sizes so you can measure out what size works best for your room and space to make one that fits. The dream catcher should be placed somewhere in your room, but it does not have to be placed directly above your bed.

Quote Art

Quote art is a great way to add some positivity to your apartment, especially if you are having an especially stressful semester. Find a few quotes and buy some canvas and stencils. Place the quotes in a variety of places throughout the apartment so you are constantly surrounded with positive and uplifting words. Place one near where you and your roommate(s) study to keep you going when things get tough or you lose motivation. Use bright colors to enhance the positive vibes that the quotes give off. Use images that are related to the quotes in some way.

decorate your apartment

Image: Jessica Lewis via https://unsplash.com/photos/scT6pa6MNYw

Mason Jar Pen/Pencil Holder

As a college student, you are constantly writing things down or working on assignments. However, a common problem is not being able to find pens or pencils in your apartment. Many apartments have pens and pencils all over the place, even if there was once a designated space for them. Decorating a mason jar in a fun way allows you to have a place for all of your pens and pencils. Use acrylic paint or stickers to make a unique pattern and to make it personalized. Make several of these and put them in places where you study as well as in the kitchen. Just make sure the pens and pencils get back to their mason jars!

Decorated Flower Pot

If you are interested in growing plants or flowers of any kind within your apartment, decorate the flower pot you are planning on using. Many stores sell terracotta pots for plants so you can use paint to make a creative design or paint the pot a single color that goes with your apartment. You can also use things such as ribbon and stickers to add a personal touch. If you know what color flowers you want, you can decorate the flower pot to coordinate the flowers. You can use neutral patterns and colors if you do not know the flower’s colors so that there is no clashing.

Tissue Paper Candle Holders

While candles can be soothing to have in your apartment, your landlord may not allow candles to be lit due to a fire hazard. One way to get around this is to get battery-operated tea light candles and put them in candle holders. You can use recycled tissue paper to make a cool pattern on the candle holders. Use mod podge to stick the tissue paper to the glass. After that is finished drying, go over it once more with mod podge to add a glossy look so it looks nice and finished. The patterns will look neat with the artificial candle flickering inside of it. Make a bunch for different rooms in the apartment. You can even buy a tray to put the candles on and decorate a specific area for them. These candles can add a nice, relaxing touch to any room.

decorate your apartment

Image: Peter Goldberg via https://unsplash.com/photos/4bI2e06g_Iw

DIY Pillow Cases

If you have an apartment, you likely have a couch or two. While your couch may look great on its own, you can add a personal touch by adding some throw pillows to the couch. To make it more personal, you can make your own pillowcases using colorful fabric from the craft store or the craft section of a store. You can make interchangeable pillows to go with whatever season it is. Throw pillows without cases can be purchased at most stores that sell home goods.

You can make it even more personal by making pillowcases out of t-shirts that no longer fit but that you are too sentimental about to get rid of. Whether it is a t-shirt of a favorite band or a special event that you attended, creating a pillowcase out of an old t-shirt allows you to hold onto something sentimental while making something unique to keep. Put it on display and it will be a great conversation starter for those who come to visit.

Another way to make your pillows personal is to find a quote or two that you like and use fabric paint and stencils to paint it onto a pillowcase. Make the quote something that is inspirational and put the pillow either in your bedroom or on a couch or chair that you see frequently so that you have something positive to look at throughout the day. This will help you maintain your motivation when things get crazy throughout the semester.

Crate TV Stand

TV stands tend to be expensive. However, if you buy four crates, you can stack them and make a TV stand. Crates come in a variety of colors and styles. If you face the open portion of the crates towards the TV viewers, you can use the space to add a few decorations. You can include photos in frames, flowers, trinkets, or other little things that have sentimental value to you and your roommate. You and your roommate can each take two crates if there are two of you. If you have more than one roommate, you can figure out how to divide the space evenly in order to have each person represented fairly.

If you face the open portion away, you can paint the flat surface and use the open portion for storage. You can mod podge photos or scrapbook paper designs. Also, you can paint a creative design on the crate. You can even have multiple crates for the different seasons and holidays, whether the open portion or the flat surface is facing you as you watch TV.

Making crafts to decorate your apartment allows you to add a personal touch to a place that you do not own. You have to live at your apartment until your lease is up, so you might as well like how it looks. You can even take the decorations with you when you move so you always have things to fill wherever you live.

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