Your apartment theme not only says a lot about you as a person and your taste, but it is also something that is meant to make you feel calm and relaxed. If you want to change your apartment’s theme, or this is your first time choosing one, here are a few things you should remember.
Look for Inspiration
First off, look for inspiration. With the internet and websites like Pinterest at your fingertips, scour the internet looking for something that lights a fire inside you. You can even look in more unusual places like apartment rental agency listings, as this will give you more of an idea of how something will look when it isn’t staged for the best photos.
Looking at inspiration and choosing whole ideas or parts of ideas will also help you with the next step of the process: finding out what you do and don’t like.
Consider Your Likes/Dislikes
Take some time to write down as many things as you like and don’t like about room themes and interiors. Colors, materials, patterns, etc., it is important to list down everything you love and don’t love, as this will make choosing a theme 100 times easier.
Don’t overthink this process either, and don’t worry about listing fifteen things from fifteen different themes; the idea is to lead you in a direction, not to reach the destination.
What Story Do You Want To Tell?
Depending on who you are, you may want the theme to represent a story. Do you want it to reflect your heritage, your aspirations, or simply just reflect your personal taste?
If you can decide on the story, narrowing down a color palette, material choices, and accessories becomes much easier.
Complement the Architecture
One crucial factor to consider is how your theme will work with your apartment’s architecture. For example, if you have an industrial-style apartment with a lot of exposed metal, an Alaskan log cabin theme will be challenging to do correctly.
While you will still have flexibility, consider how your theme will look in relation to the architecture of your apartment and each room, as you want the space to flow and not have your interiors look out of place.
What Do You Already Have?
If you are on a budget, the best route to take when changing or adding a theme is to see what you already own. More often than not, most people have already created a theme to some degree just through what accessories, furniture, and extras they own.
A great way to create a coherent theme is to get rid of or change the things that don’t fit in. For example, if you want a cottage theme, painting the black table you own brown or green is much more affordable than replacing it and is an easy way to make it fit in.
Budget
If you have a small budget, focus on the design aspects that will make the biggest difference and convey your theme the best. For instance, your wall color or wallpaper will make a much bigger difference to a room than an expensive bespoke lamp.
Once again, don’t get too caught up in thinking you need to make massive changes to convey a theme; far too many people underestimate the power of adding something small, such as a few plants, or exchanging a modern couch with something more vintage.
Use Accessories & Furniture
Another way to choose and create a theme in your space is to maximize accessories and extras. Think about accessories the same way you would think about jewelry; a bold necklace and a simple chain create two different looks.
Accessories and furniture are also the two things you need to create a theme if you are renting your apartment and can’t paint the walls or add wallpaper, for example.
Think About the Future
Finally, always keep the future in mind when choosing and creating your theme. One of the biggest and most costly mistakes you can make is choosing and implementing a theme that is difficult and expensive to change.
Your tastes, likes, and dislikes will change over time, which could also lead to you falling out of love with the theme you chose a year or a few years ago. However, there are easy and affordable ways to combat this.
If you are someone who isn’t quite sure which wall color they like the most, don’t paint your walls at all; instead, hang art, a mirror, or some shelving with decorations on it. You can also use wallpaper that is easy to remove and replace.
Creating or changing the theme of your apartment is relatively easy if you remember the tips you have read. You don’t need to be an interior design expert to create a theme you fall in love with from the moment you see the finished creation.
