I moved into my first apartment right after I turned 18. Obviously I had no furniture to take with me so I took a lot of donations from different family members. This left me with a lot of different styles of furniture and it wasn’t until my second apartment that I finally got my own sense of style.
Even with my funky, mismatch apartment I had lots of people tell me how cute it was and how much they adored different aspects of it. Having guests feel welcome and at home was and still is the most important thing to me. Things I found that helped me feel like home was: Curtains - DON’T just have cheap blinds on all your windows. Make sure you buy or DIY curtains for at least your living room and bedroom. This will instantly make a room feel more welcoming and dress it up even if you have a futon and red cocktail table like I did! (Yes it was terrible, and the table was built wrong so the plank wood showed on the legs) Pillows and throws - who doesn’t love sinking into the couch for a movie night with pillows and throw blankets? Or when the newest episode of This Is Us is on and you need something to cuddle and cry into? Pillows are a cheap way to freshen up an old or plain couch. Throw blankets can cover any part of the couch you don’t really like or at least give guests or yourself something warm to grab if it’s a chilly night.(I have two cats that refuse to keep their paws to themselves if the corner of the couch is exposed - only the right side too! So using a blanket to cover the side of the couch has been my remedy for this.) I suggest a neutral color for at least the blanket so it never clashes as your taste may change! My rule of thumb for pillows is typically four square and one elongated or smaller square patterned one for the middle of the couch.
Wall art - there’s nothing I hate more than blank walls, they just look cold to me. I’m not sure I have a blank wall anywhere in my apartment. There’s so many stores now you can get cheap big wall art or even the peel and stick wallpaper to add a design to a plain wall. (apartment friendly too! Best part is some brands are reusable!) Wall art gives the eye something to look at in a room so it won’t look so empty. I’m a huge fan of the modern farmhouse style and I’ve found that wall art and wallpaper can bring the unique vibe you’re looking for and gives you a fun way to display some vintage items. I wanted to add charm and make my rather plain bathroom look bigger and more luxurious, so I added a slate patterned accent wall.
Hide the things you hate and emphasize the things you love - I used multiple small pictures and plaques to hide my apartments heat controls among the collage of wall art but I also used a wreath to draw attention to the vaulted ceiling in my living room in my current apartment. Another idea may be using rugs to hide bad flooring or buy stick on tiles for the bathroom or kitchen.
Most importantly add personal touches. Hang photos of your family, use antique furniture given to you by your grandma, fill your home with laughter. One of the best things I did was make sure I invited my friends over to create memories in my new place. Even the bad memories of my old apartment are held dear to me.
It’s crazy what small touches can do, over time you’ll build a home you’ll never want to leave.