Decorating Gloomy Apartments�

If you live in a gloomy apartment, and moving is not an option, here are a few suggestions for performing Apartment Therapy and brightening up your Home-Sweet-Home!

� Decide on one room at a time and designate a priority within your room. That's where you should begin.

� Create a Plan, Color Scheme, Style, and Atmosphere.

� Declutter and Minimize!

Get rid of the clutter! Clutter makes a room seem smaller. If you have things that you use regularly, consider purchasing some inexpensive baskets to conceal the objects. This includes the walls. Coating walls in paintings or photos can make a room feel closed in.

Remember the Golden Rule - More is Less!

� Paint your whole apartment!

The colour of your apartment is one of the most important features when it comes to choosing a nice place to stay in. No one would want to stay in a home where the colours of the wall are dark and gloomy. Your home should be bright and warm so therefore choosing the right colours will help you give your apartment a fantastic look.

� Repaint your Furniture White!

It reflects light, to counterbalance the dark drab apartment.

� Play with Furniture Arrangement!

Choosing Sleek Furniture (whether modern or antique) will look sharper and more sophisticated. Avoid overstuffed furniture. Too much furniture, or large bulky pieces, can make a room look smaller. No point in keeping a chair that you have, but never use.

� Maximize Light!

Mirrors and Light are great ways to open up a space!

Place mirrors near the windows to reflect light and add a brighter glow to your home.

Buy energy light bulbs to get brighter bulbs that put out more light, yet use less electricity.

Choose colorful sheets to make curtains with.

Use sheer curtains closed to give you some privacy, yet allow light in.

� Add Warmth!

Fight off the shivers and give your home a warm and cozy feel by choosing light, warm colors for walls, drapes, and furniture. Add curtain panels on a focal wall, ceiling to floor length. Candles are another great idea for Amping Up warmth and light. Also, landscape pictures which give the impression of a window with a view are great as well.

� Clean!

Take the Mr. Clean erasers to the walls, wash the windows, and clean the carpets with one of those rented carpet cleaners. You would be amazed at how cleaning can really brighten a place up.

� Throw in some Throws!

Throws and pillows are cheap and easy ways to brighten up any dull space! You can stuff pillows in corners, drape throws and pillows over old furniture that is ugly, faded, boring, or stained. It also adds a lot of texture and depth to a room.

� Bring in Nature!

Add some houseplants and fresh cut flowers. Having a fresh bouquet every week makes an apartment look and smell nicer. And incorporating elements of nature such as houseplants that can survive in shade is a great idea because it infuses life into a seemingly lifeless apartment. Plus, plants offer the added benefit of keeping air fresh--a boon in an otherwise musty environment.

� Buy Area Rugs!

Bring in rugs to add warmth and color. Get a good plush area rug that is neutral or brighter in color to offset the heaviness of the dark or drab carpeting/room. They can also be used to break up a room. Try putting a round rug under the table and a rug in the sitting area. Area rugs are a good way to protect flooring, add color, change the color of unpleasant flooring, separate areas, tie parts of a room together, and cover up worn or stained carpeting.

� Top the Tables!

Nice fabrics or Doilies draped over each table is a very inexpensive option to add some color and protect the wood.

� Work with what you've got!

Create a space that accepts itself and takes advantage of architectural idiosyncrasies. For example, got a low ceiling? Consider painting ceiling tiles or draping fabric.

� Think outside the box!

By placing tall, floor-to-ceiling bookcases in a small room, you will actually make the ceiling look higher. Consider a low-hanging chandelier over a dining or side table. String lights behind curtains or ceiling drapes to create soft, filtered light.

� Add some detail to your kitchen and bathroom!

Sew fabric edging to your towels, add a shell for a soap dish, and stitch up a pretty shower curtain to cover that vinyl one. Hang some calendar pictures on the wall in dollar store frames�perhaps of a faraway place you can dream about as you soak away your cares? If you have natural light in the room from a window, add a plant or two.

Now light up some candles, turn on some music, and fill the bath with sweet smelling bubbles. Your getaway waits!

� Add some Bedroom Appeal for all Five Senses!

TIPS & Warnings:

� If you have a window, open it as much as possible! Let in that fresh air!

Avoid dark, gloomy colors.

� Avoid the kind of clutter that we negatively associate with a basement-the place for storing our junk.

� Avoid fluorescent lights.

� If you place lights near or behind cloth make sure they do not get hot as this will be a fire hazard.