New apartment needs decor!

[jellyfish]

I just moved in to a cozy (meaning tiny) apt. It's my first time living without roomies so I have a lot of bare space since I'm lacking in the furniture department. What can i do (cheaply) to liven the place up? I want color. Oh, and I can't paint the walls

 

[Panda]

A brightly colored rug can make a huge difference. I bought a big shaggy red rug for my apartment. I got bright red pillows for my couch to match and found some red fabric which i used to make curtains.

 

[Guest]

I hate bare white walls so in my apartment I hung large pieces of colored fabric on the walls. I like it because if I change my mind about the color i want the room to be all i have to do is change the fabric. In college i used butcher paper and then all my friends helped me decorate it with crayons and markers. Be careful though - in some places the marker bled through to the wall.

 

[jellyfish]

Good ideas guys. Keep 'em coming!

 

[apple]

I bought a bunch of wooden crates at a yard sale once for a buck each. I painted them all bright colors (some of them i painted black) and used them all over my apartment as shelving, end tables, coffee tables, etc. Once I got married to a man who could afford real furniture, i still kept the crates to use as storage boxes.

 

[copper]

Since you can't paint your walls, paint everything you can. I went to the thrift store and yard sales and bought up a bunch of old furniture - coffee tables, chairs, benches, shelves, etc. I got a bucnh of bright colored paints and gave my little apartment some color.

 

[sasha]

Tapestries! I think it's the easiest way to add color and personality to a white space. That and vinyl wall decals. Plants are also a great way to liven up a room.

 

[dirrdee]

go to some thrift stores, find some cheap furniture and spray paint it colors you love...I particularly love doing dressers just because they also give storage space. You can spray paint anything...save your tin cans, take off the labels and paint them, use a sharpie to label them and they become pen holders, kitchen utensil holders, vases etc...can also do to bottles (wine is awesome). You can spray adhesive spray on a canvas and attach a piece of discounted fabric for instant art, which also adds color to the walls, if you are handy you can make a wood frame of 1" X 2" pine boards and "stretch" the fabric around it and staple...that will give you giant canvases of fabric on the walls. Dont be afraid to use sheets for curtains, they have some lovely colors....and check out the shower curtains too!