Halloween Porch Decor

I have mentioned a couple times now about the porch decorating contest my apartment complex is putting on for Halloween. There are 3 prizes, all various amounts off rent, so obviously I was interested! Of course, it had to be at a low cost, because I didn't want to spend too much and then not end up winning. Today I'm sharing my final design, as well as my tricks for keeping it low cost.

 

For the wreath, I used my fall wreath as the base, removed the floral spray, wrapped it in a black Halloween fabric I had on hand already from a Halloween past. I added a small pumpkin that I picked up at the dollar store, and I cut off part of my spider web and wrapped it around to finish the wreath off. 

And there you have it, the final result! Other residents in my complex went for creepy zombie-inspired porches, but I decided to go more of a cute Halloween route. In the end, I spent a total of $36. It was a little more than I was planning on spending, but I had to keep up with the competition! And the pumpkins will stay on my porch for the rest of the fall, so I kind of don't count those :)

Wreath Project: $1

Spider Web: $2

Pumpkin Garland: $2

Lights: $4

Pumpkins: $18

Pumpkin Sleeves: left over from years prior

Boo Sign: $9

The complex is taking pictures today, and then voting will be on Facebook. I will post the link on This Styled Life's Facebook page, so I'd appreciate you all liking my porch's picture! Winners are selected based on Facebook Likes.

Did you decorate your porch for Halloween? Do you have any low-cost tricks you used?

--Caroline

{Four} Friday Favorites: Small Space Organizing

Today I'm wrapping up Apartment Tour Week here on This Styled Life with a few tips & tricks that I used when downsizing to my new, smaller, apartment. 

1. Bring pantry items out in the open. When you have limited cabinet space, you have to get creative. Because of a lack of storage, one of lower cabinets in the kitchen is being used for "utility" storage, like my toolbox, Berlioz's food, etc. I knew that once I put dishes away in the cabinets and started adding pantry items, I'd run out of room. So I selected a few things to keep on the counter, and found little jars to store oats, chia seeds, and flax seed powder. I use these things nearly everyday anyway, so keeping them out in the open & accessible is also very practical. 

2. Be smart about bathroom storage. Going from a large "master" bath in my apartment last year to this small thing was definitely a big step. I had accumulated a lot of extra products because I had the room for them, and I got used to being able to have a lot of things out on my counter. First, I went through everything and got rid of all the extra products I didn't need. Thankfully, my apartment had a built-in medicine cabinet, so that solved the problem of all the stuff on the counter. I got new under cabinet organizers (my preview ones didn't fit in these smaller cabinets) and ended up only needing one because of how much I had gotten rid of! I used command hooks to hang my hairdryer, straightener, and curler on the door to free up space & for easy access.  '

3. Think duel-purpose & space saving. Here, you can see that my makeup roll I used for traveling this summer is still in full use. I keep it rolled up in my medicine cabinet for easy access, and when I'm doing my makeup I just unroll and go. It saves space, as opposed to having everything played out on the counter, plus when I go see Kyle for a weekend it's already packed up! 

4. Track what you use. After living out of a suitcase this summer on a limited wardrobe, I realized that I don't need all the clothes I do. This closet is smaller than my last one, so I'm taking advantage of that as an excuse and a need to slim down. I went through and have donated or consigned a lot of things, but with what remains I decided tot rack what I actually wear. I spun all the hangers the opposite way, and every time I wear something the hanger gets spun back the right way. This way, after a few months, I can see what I actually wear and what I don't. 

I hope you enjoyed the This Styled Life Apartment Tour this week! If you missed it, make sure to check out Monday's Decorating From Existing Pieces Post, Tuesday's  Living Room Tour post, Wednesday's Bedroom Tour post, and yesterday's Gallery Wall How-To post. 

I've got a weekend full of homework planned, but hopefully you're doing something more exciting!

Happy Friday!

--Caroline

This Styled Life Apartment Tour: Bedroom

It's bedroom day of the This Styled Life Apartment Tour Week! In case you missed the prior posts, check out Monday's Decorating 101 post, and Tuesday's Living Room tour post. One of my favorite parts about this apartment's bedroom are the two large windows; The morning light that comes in is just beautiful! Berlioz loves them too, as you can see from one of the pictures. From a decor standpoint, not much in my bedroom has changed since last year, though I think the few small additions I've made have a bigger impact than you might think. I really only changed my curtains, acquired a new desk chair from my parent's house, and got a new desk lamp. (Finally! The architect's style lamp I've been wanting for forever!) 

 

The bedroom square footage is just a little less than last years' apartment, which is no problem. I do miss the large "master" bath I had; this one is tinier, and so Berlioz's litter box is therefor next to my desk. Not the ideal place, but better than awkwardly out in the living room! The walk-in closet is also a bit smaller, but that's fine because I have way too many clothes anyway, so it's an excuse to be more thoughtful about what I keep and what I buy. 

As far as where I got everything, most of the accessories & pillows are from Marshalls/Home Goods/TJMaxx because I just love those stores! The quilt and small throw pillows were handmade by my mom, and the sheets are from Stein Mart a while back. The desk and nightstand are Target (see my nightstand DIY here), and the dresser was a thrift find that I updated the hardware on. 

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my bedroom! Tomorrow, check back in for details & tips on how I created my living room gallery wall.

--Caroline

This Styled Life Apartment Tour: Living Area

Yesterday I kicked off Apartment Tour Week with a Decorating 101 post on Starting From Existing Pieces, where I explained how I went about decorating my new living area. And today, you get to see the full deal! 

In this apartment, the living room, dining room, and kitchen are all one room. Which is fine for a little one-bedroom apartment but from a space planning aspect it was a little challenging. But thankfully space planning is one of my strong suites, and it took just a couple different tries before I found the right fit. 

When my couch first got delivered I thought, oh my, this is going to be interesting. It's a little oversized for a space like this, but I think I made it work! I love how the colors I picked all work well togather, and the gallery wall connects the space quite well; everyday I'm reminded of my adventures in Europe this past summer!

A tip I have for working with an all-in-one space like mine: make sure you define the separate spaces within the larger room. Here, the rug, angled chair, and end of the couch define my living room, even though the dining room table is only a yard away!

As you can see here, I pulled all the colors together with these patterned throw pillows. The burnt orange comes into play in the kitchen, with towels and a rug. 

A note about this kitchen: my apartment complex obviously did not hire an interior designer to come up with these kitchen plans. Because no trained designer I know would EVER place the dishwasher where they did! It violates the kitchen triangle, and putting dishes away is a multi-step process where I have to first empty everything out onto the counter, then into the cabinets. The door coming down prevents me from standing in a convenient spot to put the dishes away immediately out of the washer.   I would have done such a better job! :)

On the right of the sink is the refrigerator (you can see a hint of it) and to the right of that is a small laundry closet. And that's about it! It's the perfect size for someone on their own, and I love that it feels like home because of the personal touches I've made.

Where I shopped: The couch came from Haverty's, the dining set from Turner's Budget Furniture several years ago, the yellow rug from my parent's garage (lol!), and the bookcase from Wayfair.com. The trunk was a vintage find that I re-painted this year (it was black before). I found all of the frames from Marshalls/Home Goods/TJMaxx and a few from Michaels or Hobby Lobby. The rest of the accessories I either can't remember, don't know (some came from my mom's spare decor storage in the basement), or were also from the stores mentioned above. 

Check back tomorrow for a tour of my bedroom, and Thursday I'll be sharing my how-to for my gallery wall.

Have a great Tuesday!

--Caroline

Fresh Updates

I think it's nice to add a couple new things to your living spaces every so often, just to keep things fresh and fun. Recently, I've made a couple small updates to my bedroom, just enough to give me the feel of a change but without going overboard (because that could totally happen). I added some new light-blocking drapes (my thinner brown ones were not so effective, and had some kitty claw marks in them!), a new accessory to my bookshelf, and some new art above my desk. See the before here. 

With today being the start of Lent, I thought I'd share what I'm giving up and taking on! I have a small list, and I actually have started giving these things up already (rather, attempting to):

-- I would like to give up coffee for Lent, an amazing feat which will be difficult considering the long days I've been having with my major. 

-- I'm trying to go back to being gluten-free, so I've started to limit that in my diet and will keep going with Lent. I feel much better when I go gluten free, but it's a challenge when you just received your Girl Scout cookie order... eep!

-- In an effort to help relieve stress, I'd like to commit to yoga in the morning, meditation at night, and a relaxing bath once a week. Last night I took a nice relaxing bath and it put me to sleep so fast I forgot to meditate, but I think that's a happy mistake. 

What are you giving up or taking on for Lent? And do you switch things up in your home decor often?

--Caroline

Welcome Home: Closet & Bathroom

I hope you all had a great weekend! I'm kicking off the week here on This Styled Life with the last installment in my Welcome Home series. Welcome to where the magic happens behind the scenes of my outfit posts: my closet and bathroom!

I'm not OCD, but I do like to keep things pretty clean, neat, and organized, something that is especially apparent in these two spaces. To keep my closet under control, everything has a place; shoes neatly in rows, all clothes on the same style hanger and organized by type, and accessories in order on the back of the door. In my bathroom, I keep my essentials on the counter, makeup in an organizer in a drawer, and items grouped in my shower by type. When either of the places get too out of sorts, I have a hard time sleeping! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the tour of where I call home when I'm in school! Be sure to check out my Outdoor Spaces, Living Room, and Bedroom for more!

--Caroline

Welcome Home: Bedroom

I've already shared my outdoor spaces and my living room, so today is all about my bedroom! Which, as I found out through taking these pictures, is very hard to photograph. I think it's a combination of the way sunlight filters through over the eaves, past our front porch, and into my bedroom, and also the abundance of tan in both the apartment-issued wall paint and carpet. 

So that's my bedroom! You can find my DIY headboard tutorial here, and my DIY nightstand tutorial here. If you recall, I posted about bookshelf styling not too long ago, and I promised I would share with y'all what I did with my own bookshelf and here it is! You'll also recall that in this post I wanted a new desk chair and lamp... still hasn't happened, but I am a college student on a college student budget after all.

As with my living room, most of the little accents are from Target or HomeGoods/Marshalls/TJMaxx. I picked up my dresser at a thrift/antique store in town and spruced it up with my own knobs, and you can shop my desk here and bookshelf here.  My quilt was handmade by my mom, and the coral sheets are from Stein Mart (similar color here, same sheets in white and taupe; check out Stein Mart's website for other colors too, each color is it's own listing). These are my favorite sheets--they are so soft! If you happen to be in the market for new ones, I suggest you check these out. You won't regret it!

I hope you've enjoyed this glimpse into my bedroom! Check back next Monday for the final installment of this series, a look into my closet and bathroom.

--Caroline

Welcome Home: Living Room

Well, this post has been a long time coming. You may remember back in November that the Welcome Home series started with a post about my outdoor spaces. The intent was that the week after I'd share my living room, then so on so forth. So here's why that didn't happen, and the reason comes in the form of a confession: I dislike the custom art I made for my living room. It makes my eyes hurt every time I look in it's direction, which is every time I come out of my bedroom. The piece was a DIY project gone astray, and it's just not how I envisioned it. 

The weekend after I posted about my outdoor spaces, I had plans to fix it, just in time for Monday to post pictures. That didn't happen. And it still hasn't happened. SO why am I posting it now? What changed? Well, every guest my roommate or I have had over as commented on my art piece. Positively commented, as in they like it. After it happened a third time, I finally just decided that who knows when I'll get around to it, and since it seems I'm being too critical on myself them I will just post a picture of my living room like I've been wanting to all along. So without further ado, here is my living room and attached dining room! As you can see, there has been some decorative accents for the holiday season added, and hopefully you won't judge my DIY art too badly!

It's nothing too extravagant, but for two college-age women I think it's pretty great! The couch is my roommates from Ikea, the side chair is a Ross find, and the "coffee table" is a vintage Army trunk. Lamp, shade, pillows, throw, and the little accents are either from Target or HomeGoods. Some were borrowed from my mom's collection back home; thanks mom! The New York art was a HomeGoods find, and the vintage license plates are from a flea market. And finally, our bar-height table was a purchase from a budget furniture store in Thomasville, GA. All the wall paint and flooring were those included with the apartment when we moved in... I feel like I should say this because I'm truly not a fan of carpet. 

Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed this little tour and have a fantastic Monday!

--Caroline