Decorating Small Spaces

Category: Decorating Small Spaces (5)

San Francisco Student Dorm Room Decorating Tips to Make Your Small Space Fell like Home Year-Round!

Sep 13, 2018

Starting a new semester of college is scary. Living in a San Francisco dorm room? Even scarier. The transition from having your own space in your family home to a small cramped student housing space shared with 1-3 other roommates in San Francisco is a huge jump, and can be difficult to navigate. Lucky for you, we’ve got San Francisco dorm room design inspo by the dozen, and we want to help you make your San Francisco dorm room feel like home. So whether you are already living in San Francisco student housing or a student about to move into one of our SF student rooms, we are here to help you make your shared housing in San Francisco feel like home, from the moment you move in through the rest of the year.

Tip 1: Take the Time.

Before we even get started, lets talk about your intention going into this project. Take the time to really decorate and settle in. This is the place you will be living for the next year, your first year away from home! Take your time, spend some money, really make an effort to make the place feel like a home. The more you invest in your space, the most it will become YOUR space. We all get a little homesick down the line, and being able to come home to a clean, personal, warm, inviting, and organized space will make you feel settled.

Tip 2: Pick a Color Scheme or Theme

Before you start shopping, figure out what you want your room to look like. Browse a few interior decorating magazines, check out dorm room inspo on Pinterest, make a mood board with colors and styles you like. Is yellow your happy color? Or are you more of a black and white kinda gal? Girly and frilly or modern and sleek? Pick your poison. Here are a few color matching inspiration ideas.

Tip 3: Make it Personal.

If you feel lonely or homesick, rolling over to see your favorite pic of your dog, your family, or your BFF is an instant pick-me-up. Nothing cheers you up like cuddling with your childhood stuffed animal. And lets be real, having a stash of your favorite candy on hand will make even the worst day a little better.

Even if you are trying to start fresh and reinvent yourself in college, it isn’t ‘cool’ to leave everything that makes you you behind when you leave for school. Take a little piece of your past with you. That way, on a day when your new environment feels extra foreign, you have something familiar and comforting to rely on to get you through.

Tip 4: Lighting. Is. Everything.

Two words: Twinkle. Lights. The kind that make your heart feel extra cozy and remind you of winter time by the fireplace at home. Nothing can damper a mood like dingy or fluorescent lighting, and nothing brightens or warms a room quite like twinkle lights. If your dorm doesn’t allow the plug in kind, there are a number of battery-powered fairy lights that will make your ceiling twinkle. Other options? Glow-in-the-dark star stickers, fake candles, and color-changing ‘mood’ lamps are all dorm rule friendly and will do wonders towards your room’s lighting vibe.

Tip 5: And Plants. Plants are Also Everything.

So are pillows, poofs, and (weirdly enough) a ton of regular household objects. There are a number of reasonably priced things you can use to spice up your room and make it look like home, including indoor plants, dried flowers, decorative pillows, printed photographs, and more. But we have already covered all of that! You can check out our other interior decorating blog posts for more info on these topics.

Decorating with plants.

Decorating with pillows and poufs.

Decorating with regular household objects.

Tip 6: Get Organized. Like, super organized.

Because trust me, you won’t have time once your semester picks up. The last thing you will want to do in between two essays, a pop quiz, three labs, and a midterm is color-coordinate your paper clips. So do it now, while you have time! Here is a little checklist for you:

Wall calendar with important dates (taken from club calendars, syllabi, and your class schedule) and goals (fitness, mental health, etc!) already penciled in.
Desk essentials, divided and organized: Pens, pencils, erasers, highlighters, calculator, printer paper, notebooks, planner, binders, etc!
Under bed storage: Trust us, there is no way your whole wardrobe will fit in that tiny little shared closet. You will need this more than you think.
Containers for nail polishes, first aid kit (advil, cold medicine, bandaids, etc), skin care stuff, socks, sports bras, snacks, etc!
A shower caddy with important toiletries.
Clothing organization things: velvet hangers (thinner and hold clothes better), small dividers (for socks, underwear, bras, sports bras, etc), command hooks (to hang belts, purses, hats, etc), a shoe rack.
If you want a few more important student organizational tips, check out our blog on back to school tips for students.

Tip 7: Consider Making a Statement.

We are not talking about your basic Urban Outfitter tie dye tapestry. Nothing makes a space look rad like a statement wall. Wallpaper can be purchased from any home decorating store or online, and can be temporarily stuck on to the wall (without damaging your dorm paint!) with removable mounting products like tack or sticky strips. Or, if you are going for a tapestry, look for landscape scenes or patters, the kind of thing that will open up the room and make the wall look professionally done.

Tip 8: Make Seasonal Adjustments

A few little touches can go a long way to making your dorm room feel like home year round. Think about it – your mom most likely puts out pumpkins for Halloween or twinkle lights for the holidays, so why shouldn’t you? Those little seasonal touches will do the most to keep your dorm feeling like a home away from home, no matter what time of year it is.

Also, consider a DIY! We have a great one up on autumnal wreath making– the perfect home decor piece to make your dorm feel like fall.

Using these tips, your dorm space is sure to feel like home!

Don’t have a San Francisco student dorm room for Fall semester? Check out our open San Francisco room rentals here.

To check out more small space decorating tips and articles like this one, click here.

Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to keep up with what is happening in San Francisco!

How to Decorate Your SF Student Housing: All the Interior Inspo You Could Ever Need – The Power of Pillows and Poufs

Apr 04, 2018

The Power of Pillows and Poufs

Your SF furnished apartment should be a place that expresses you. Whether its a tiny dorm room at your school or a shared housing space in San Francisco, your San Francisco housing is somewhere you should feel comfortable in. You should be proud to show it off to visitors! This may seem difficult to do when you’re ballin’ on a budget. But here at Urbanests, we want to help you find San Francisco room rentals that are both affordable, functional, and that feel like a real home. These decorating tips are easy, affordable, and help make your temporary housing feel as cozy as possible, on a dime.

I am here to tell you how to create a Pinterest-worthy apartment under $60. And it all comes down to two things: pillows and plants. Today’s blog post is going to focus on all the ways you can use those pillows and poufs to transform your small space. Keep an eye out for part two, where we cover creative ways to transform your space using plants!

PILLOWS

One way to turn drab into fab is by spicing up your budget furniture with fun pillows.

It may be likely that you picked up your couch on the side of the road with a “FREE” sign on it. Or maybe you’re rocking the mattress-on-the-ground look in your San Francisco room rental. Whatever your situation, your short stay apartment can all be salvaged with the right pillows.

These beds (even the ones without frames, sitting on the ground) are all aesthetic and utterly gorgeous, and made possible fully by their pillows. Pillows can be as vibrant or as neutral as you like – but the key is to have them, and a lot of them!

PILLOWS & POUFS

Tired of people sitting on your bed every time they hangout at your apartment? Find a cheap chair or stool.

Throw a colorful bohemian pillow on any boring neutral colored chair and it’ll become the hottest seat in the house.

Plenty of stores are stocked with fluffy white stools that have your name written all over them.

If you don’t have much space and can’t find room for a permanent piece of furniture, find yourself a floor pouf! You can store one of these guys under your bed and take it out only when you have guests over.

You can find all the best budget pillows at places like Home Goods, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Cost Plus World Market, Ross and Target. Also check out your local thrift stores for some one-of-a-kind- finds!

Tune in the next few weeks for another post on how to freshen up your small space!

If you want to know everything there is to know about house plants, check out our post here.

If you want other decorating tips to save some cash and style your space using everyday objects, check out our post here.

Don’t have a San Francisco room to spruce up yet? Check out our open San Francisco room rentals here.

(All images courtesy of Pinterest.)

Post made by contributor Rachel Fay.

How to Decorate Your SF Student Housing: Using Everyday Objects to Bring Your Decor to the Next Level

Jan 17, 2018

It can be hard to get settled in your new home, especially when you are living in a shoebox. As a college student, I struggled with homesickness in my first few years living in San Francisco student housing. I missed the comforts of living in a ‘real’ home – most notably, the thoughtfully decorated interior that made the space so much more than just a building. Here at Urbanests, we want to help you find San Francisco room rentals that are both affordable, functional, and that feel like a real home. Therefore, in this new blog series, I am going to talk about a few tips and tricks that I use to make my small dorm room in San Francisco feel like a real home! These decorating tips are easy, affordable, and help make your temporary housing feel as cozy as possible, on a dime.

Today’s Small Space Decorating Tip: Using Everyday Objects to Bring Your Decor to the Next Level

This week, I want to talk about a few unorthodox things I did to decorate my dorm room in San Francisco for very, very cheap. I used everyday objects to create a beautiful and unique interior, and it cost me near to nothing! Here are a few ideas:

• Using Your Clothes as Statement Pieces:

You spend hours picking out the pieces that go in your wardrobe, and when you put on that special shirt or dress, it makes you feel like the best version of yourself. So why can’t that same concept apply for your room? Putting one of your more intricate pieces on display by hanging it in a windowsill can be an easy and affective way to make your single room in San Francisco feel like the lounge at your favorite boutique. I would opt for something light colored and breezy, and hang in in a windowsill so that the light can stream through it just so.

• Using Your Jewelry as Statement Pieces:

For jewelry, the same concept applies. In my myriad of small dorm rooms and shared housing over the years, I have found that you have to maximize on space with your decorations. You need to put your jewelry somewhere, why not put it on display. Then you can let those sparkling trinkets adorn your walls and have an organized place to put them! One of my favorite ways to display my jewelry is by nailing a few nails into a large piece of driftwood, hanging it on my wall, and arranging my necklaces and bracelets so that they hang down. The wood gives the room a very earthy feel, and as I mentioned in my last blog post, bringing nature indoors is one of the best ways to open up a space.

•Creative use of mirrors:

If you go to the dollar store, you can purchase small, flat geometric mirrors for just $1. Mirrors are the best way to open up a space, since they reflect light and give the illusion that the space is much larger than it actually is. You can hang the mirrors on the wall, place them in a mosaic on the ceiling, or put them under candles or flowers to add that extra flair. I use my small mirror as a tray to place my little bottles on, and they make my vanity area look very fancy!

• DIY a Poloroid Wall (Without a Polaroid Camera):

Nothing is cuter than a wall full of polaroid pictures, but we can’t all afford a polaroid camera or the very expensive film. But luckily, you can edit photographs to have a polaroid effect very easily! Use an editing app or a free editing service online, and up the brightness, use a ‘fade’ effect or decrease the contrast, and increase the saturation and the black point just a smidge. Crop the photograph into a square shape, and take your phone of a flash drive to your nearest drug store – You can print a ton of photos for a very low price. Once printed, purchase a few thick creamy pieces of paper, and cut them out in short rectangular shapes. Glue the photographs on top, and voila! You have polaroid pictures! You can hang them on some twine with clothespins, or on fairy lights to add a little pizazz. Just like that, you have a whole wall beautifully decorated, and you barely spent $20.

• Plants

We covered this extensively last week, so check out this post to read about all of the ways you can use plants to beautify your San Francisco housing!

Tune in the next few weeks for another post on how to freshen up your small space!

Don’t have a San Francisco room rental to decorate yet? Check out our open San Francisco room rentals here.

Want to know more small space decorating tips? Check out our other blog posts here!

Post made by contributor Isabelle Kaplan.

How to Decorate Your SF Student Housing: Using Plants to Make Your Small Space Feel like Home

Jan 09, 2018

Today’s Small Space Decorating Tip: Make your Room an Indoor Greenhouse

I’m talking plants, plants, plants!

There is something about indoor plants that help completely open up a small space and make even the darkest and smallest of dorm rooms feel airy and fresh. Many studies have shown that various plants reduce stress levels and tension created in the room, and plants absorb toxins and C02 and release fresh oxygen, so they actually will help freshen up your space. Plus, they create a relaxing and beautiful environment in your home. Here I will outline my three favorite types of indoor plants that you can use to transform your small space.

Succulents:
- Small, easy, and low maintenance – who could ask for more? With decorating, it is all about the details. Purchasing a few small succulents is a cost-efficient way to brighten up a corner of your room. Place them in funky glass jars on the corner of your desk, on a windowsill, or line them up along your bedside table. These small little details create an overall sense of thoughtfulness to you room decoration, and give your space a rustic edge. All they require is a little spritz of water every few days and a dash of sunlight. Good things really do come in small packages!

Hanging plants:
- In my myriad of small dorm rooms and shared housing over the years, I have found that hanging plants are the best for smaller spaces. When it comes to small spaces, you should “Think up, not out”. Vertical lines elongate the room without taking up well-needed space, so an ivy or fern cascading down the side of your bunk bed or off of the corner of your mirror saves on floor space, while adding that little pop of green and burst of oxygen that make your room feel fresh. Best part? Hanging plants need sunlight more than they need water, so even if you are a bit forgetful, your plant will thrive if you keep it near a window or door!

Floor plants:
- This is not for the feeble hearted. Floor plants require much more attention and love than succulents or ferns, and are quite a bit pricier, but they do they job better than any other. In my room, I purchased a $5 woven basket from a farmers market (that doubles great as a beach bag or grocery tote, thank you) and placed a beautiful plant from Home Depot inside it right at the foot of the bed. Let me tell you, nothing has transformed my single room in San Francisco quite like this baby did. Her name is Sherry, and I love her.

Fresh cut flowers:
- Now I know what you’re thinking, who can afford to replace the bedside bouquet every week as a college student? I agree, real blooms are an absolute splurge. But there is a wonderful flower hack that allows you to keep real flowers in your room for months at a time without having to replace them, and the blooming beauties are called ‘Baby’s Breath’. That’s right, those little white fluff balls that are a regular feature in wedding bouquets actually dry so beautifully, they look brand new even a few months in! In my room, I keep a bouquet of Baby’s Breath out of water in a vase by my bedside, and it serves as a lovely standby between those ‘treat yo-self’ fresh bouquets that still creates the same sense of extravagance on the daily.

Tune in next week for another post on how to freshen up your small space! In the meantime, you can:

Check out our open San Francisco room rentals here

Or read some of our other blog pages here.

Post made by contributor Isabelle Kaplan.

Cozy up Your San Francisco housing with a DIY Autumn Wreath!

Nov 21, 2017

Autumn is upon us! Your SF furnished apartment is a small space that demands to be cozied up! This DIY fall wreath is cheap and easy, and it adds a festive flare to any home, just in time for Thanksgiving.

Here’s what you need:

Green floral wire ~$2
A circular base (wreath wire is ideal, I used a “Surface Saver ring”) ~$3
A whole bunch of greenery of your choosing! $7-15
- Ideas: eucalyptus, oak branches, dried wheat, baby’s breath, bouquet fillers, cinnamon sticks etc. anything that catches your eye

Start by gathering a small bunch of whatever you want as the the body of your wreath. I used orange-tinted greenery. Wrap wire around the bunch and wrap it around your circular base, attaching your first bit of greenery to the wreath.

Continue this in the same direction until your entire circle is covered.

Now for the fun part! Attach small bundles of flowers, berries, etc to give your wreath some pizazz. You can go for a manicured look or something a bit more wild – whatever your heart desires!

The final step is to hang it on your door!

The best part? You can use any excess greenery you have to make fun fall bouquets, to make your shared housing in San Franciscoo even more cozy.

Pro tip: get some friends to join you for a wreath making party. Spread all your supplies on the ground, light some autumnal candles, turn on your favorite playlist or current binge watch and get crafting!

Here’s some more wreath inspo from Pinterest:

Don’t have a small space to cozy up? You can browse our available single rooms in San Francisco here.

Or check out our other San Francisco blog posts here!

Post written by contributor Rachel Fay.

Category: Decorating Small Spaces (5)

San Francisco Student Dorm Room Decorating Tips to Make Your Small Space Fell like Home Year-Round!

How to Decorate Your SF Student Housing: All the Interior Inspo You Could Ever Need – The Power of Pillows and Poufs

(All images courtesy of Pinterest.)

Post made by contributor Rachel Fay.

How to Decorate Your SF Student Housing: Using Everyday Objects to Bring Your Decor to the Next Level

How to Decorate Your SF Student Housing: Using Plants to Make Your Small Space Feel like Home

Post made by contributor Isabelle Kaplan.

Cozy up Your San Francisco housing with a DIY Autumn Wreath!

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