{shopping for my new apartment}

Now that I have less than two months before I move into my new apartment, I know I need to get the ball rolling on buying furniture. The only things I have {besides pots, pans, & bedding} are new bowls & plates.

The problem with my apartment is that it's TINY.  But despite the small size, it's totally charming & full of character.

I only walked through it once--for 10 minutes--so I have to buy furniture based off of my memory & 5 photos. Here's the layout I whipped up in Illustrator & the ideas I have for each room:

Not everything is perfect or to scale, but you get the idea. Definitely tight quarters...but totally doable.

Bedroom

My room is soooo narrow. Right now, the tenant has a queen bed in the center of the room, which makes zero sense to me. I'm going to get a twin bed....but the question is: which one?

I'll probably end up getting a bed with drawers attached to maximize all storage space. Here's what I've had my eye on:

ODDA Bed

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I LOVE Ikea. Not only do they have a varied furniture collection, but it's affordable & great quality. I want to buy a bed frame that looks semi-decent, but doesn't hurt my wallet. I probably won't take this bed on with me to my next place, so I don't want to spend a fortune on it.

The only other bed that caught my eye was this one:

MALM Bed

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I like it's simple & modern feel...& that it's super budget-friendly. My bedding even matches the dark color perfectly. Downside: no drawers. But the MALM set has so many pieces that match the bed, I'll definitely be able to find a set that looks great together.

As you can see above, I've created a tentative space plan in the bedroom. I'm lucky that I have a pretty decent closet {which actually extends that entire wall}. My only problem is that from my memory & pictures, I can't tell if a bed actually fits in that spot, LOL. As you can see...the steps & door to the patio are in my room {bummer} so I have to make sure there is room to walk:

I'm also REALLY hoping I'll have enough room for my keyboard, {which is a full 88 keys}, but we'll see. I'm more worried about fitting a desk & dresser in there than I am my piano. If the bed doesn't end up fitting in the spot where I have it above...I'll swap the dresser, piano & bed.

Let's move on...

Living Room

I think I may end up splurging on this coffee table from last week's Wishful Wednesday:

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This is one piece I'll definitely take on with me wherever I go. Not only does it have storage & multiple uses, but it can pretty much go with any room decor style.  I'm not sure if we'll have space for a table {other than the bar table}, so this can also be where we eat. {TV dinner anyone? Totally classy, lol.}

As for the couch...I'm thinking my roommate & I will go with a futon or daybed.  Since there won't be any room in our bedrooms for guests to stay on the floor, we'll want some type of comfortable space for them to sleep.

I'm not a huge fan of the way futons look or feel--they tend to be a bit uncomfortable for my taste. But I'm sure we'll be able to make it better with some soft pillows. It needs to be comfy enough to sleep on...& relax & watch movies on.

Here are a few that I've found:

MURBO Sofa Bed

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Looks fairly comfortable!  It also comes in a few other colors, which is something to keep in mind. The living room has very limited natural light, so we'll definitely want to brighten the space up with fun colors.

SOLSTA Sofa Bed

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I love the clean-lined look of this sofa, but I'm not too sure about the way it pulls out into a bed. But it's better than sleeping on the floor!  {& it's mucho affordable.}

The most stylish couch/daybed I've seen is this one:

Window Daybed

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It's definitely on the more expensive side, but with some comfy pillows, it can double perfectly as a couch & a guest bed. It's also really cool :)

If there's space, I'll also try to get a chair for the room.

I'm still trying to find some bar tables/kitchen islands that aren't going to break the bank, so I'm hoping that Ikea pulls through in that department too. I have an Ikea store about 15 minutes from my house, so I have yet to see these all in person, but I'm thinking about making a trip there next week. 

I was thinking about showing you all pictures of the apartment, but I'm going to wait until I get there to show you. It'll look significantly better with the old tenants stuff out. My room...at the moment...has a giant wall decal of a NY Yankees player {cringe} & I'm keeping my fingers crossed that by the time I move in, that decal is gone.


The only other room I have yet to shop/look for is the back patio. I'm sure I'll be able to find some cheap, outdoor chairs & small table somewhere. I'll start looking in the next few weeks.

So...anyone have any comments on my picks? Any preferences?  Even better...any different ideas? Please comment & let me know!

Happy Weekend!