your apartment should feel like you

Hi everyone! Welcome back to al dente. I have taken my longest hiatus from writing this newsletter, and for that dear reader, I apologize. Being an engaged woman and all, I have found myself in a busier period of life. Over the past few weeks, we have had visitors aplenty, taken some weekend trips around New England, read some good books, begun wedding planning (!!!), and of course, above all, consumed a serious amount of pasta:

Enough said!

Much of my time has also been spent getting our apartment in order. As you may recall from my last article, I stated:

“My apartment needs to be immaculate, this very minute. After staying in a nice hotel for the weekend, the return to our half-furnished apartment was a buzzkill. I fear I won’t be satisfied until our new couch is delivered, but I’m doing everything in my power to be chill. It’s going… okay.”

SO! I felt it appropriate to dedicate this post to our apartment updates, my findings on apartment decorating, and tips and tricks that have helped us get here. And before we begin, let me just say that I am much more an avid Pinterest-er and Architectural Digest YouTube video watcher than I am an interior designer. I truly have no business giving interior design advice, so please consider this post a visual diary of the progress we’ve made thus far, along with some insights I’ve learned along the way. As mentioned in my last post, I am a sentimental ass bitch, so there are always personal and nostalgic details strewn throughout my space. All of my apartments have had a LOT of personality, and this one is no different.

This is my sixth apartment since 2019, so I do feel somewhat qualified to write this, despite knowing seldom rules or concepts of actual interior design. In apartments prior, I’ve loved bits and pieces of my space, but this one finally feels like it’s on its way to being the real deal. And with all that being said, does a home ever feel “done” or “finished?” I have yet to find myself at such a destination.

The most profound update I have for you is that after a bone-chilling ten and a half weeks, our couch finally arrived. Our once barren living room has been made whole in the form of a dreamy chocolate brown velvet sectional. Big enough for at least five full-grown pitbulls to comfortably lounge (a girl can dream). Nel has taken a particular liking to it.

Our bookshelves have been erected and subsequently STUFFED with books and trinkets, not a square inch going untouched. We’ve framed some very special things for our gallery wall, and even found time for the un-fun things like painting and changing knobs (sorry to my landlord if you’re reading this). There is still a long way to go — as avid denouncers of ever turning on the “big lights,” some pendant lights or sconces may be in our future, especially as daylight savings comes around (grr). And now that I have one gallery wall, I’m finding the walls that have gone unadorned are giving me the ick. I could go on all day, but for now, here are a few of my learnings:

1. Don’t rush it.

The biggest takeaway and most common advice I have personally received is to not rush when decorating or furnishing a home. And so far, however annoying it can be to have empty walls and nowhere to sit, I wholeheartedly agree. In order to make your space feel like you, you need to wait for the right piece of furniture to come along, scour lots of vintage stores, wait weeks to get important things framed, collect various keepsakes from your travels, and so on. There is nothing wrong with having some HomeGoods or Wayfair pieces scattered throughout your space, but if you copied and pasted a gallery wall or entire furniture set from the catalog, it’s hard to make that feel unique and personal. Throughout these tips, you’ll notice that my favorite pieces were hunted down, collected over time, and very much worth the wait.

2. Frame everything.

Jack and I are really into gallery walls, and if you thought we cracked it in our previous apartment, just wait until you see this one. We decided to invest in a Samsung Frame TV after wanting one for years, and finally went for it last year during Prime Day. This TV is probably the boujee-est thing about us. It elevates any space and is perfect for gallery walls.

I am also a firm believer in having art that speaks to the people who live there. So frame everything! Handwritten notes, photobooth strips, receipts from your first date, matchboxes, newspaper articles… This can easily be done on a budget with a thrift store frame, craft paper, and glue, or a custom frame shop for the more special pieces. Either way, it also makes a great gift for friends and loved ones.

My advice is: mixed media! Featured in our current gallery wall is my new prized possession, the matchboxes we got framed from our engagement weekend, one of my grandmother’s canvas paintings, a framed photo of Jack’s family dog, Millie (if there’s one thing about us, our apartment is going to be very dog-centric), a framed map of Scotland we found at a flea market, Etsy prints, a vintage lithograph of Edinburgh we received as a beautiful gift from my aunt and uncle, and a ceramic bunny dish by Hunt Slonem. All of these pieces have a story and special place in our hearts — another example of taking your time to curate things. I also recommend various types of frames in your gallery wall — we have black, gold, and wood frames, some with no matte, some with four-inch mattes. There really is no color scheme, and we barely planned the layout — we just let it organically come together to fill the space. And I’m sure there will be more to add as time goes on! Trust the process, et cetera.

My next venture, you ask? I have a plaid SCAD pennant flag that I adore, and she’s practically begging to be permanently enclosed in museum-quality glass.

3. Find your muse.

I warned you that I’d never shut up about this hotel…

Something I recently adopted and feel like has truly helped our apartment come to life is taking design inspiration from a real space that I fell in love with. It’s not rocket science, but for some reason, living and breathing in my inspiration was more beneficial than a thousand Pinterest boards combined. And yes, I’m talking about the Municipal Grand Hotel in Savannah, Georgia, where Jack and I spent our engagement weekend <3.

As I said before, I am not a professional interior designer. Not even close! So when I found a space I was absolutely in love with, I began to use it as a blueprint to help me make design decisions for my own home. The Municipal Grand was so thoughtfully designed, and with choices that my brain would never even think of. The tiling, the curtains, the marble, the mixed metals, the COLORS — when we didn’t exactly know what we wanted, we referenced the interior of the hotel to help inform our decisions. We did this when we were getting things framed, decorating the bathroom, ordering curtains, and picking out new knobs for the kitchen cabinets. I even made a moodboard I could reference because that is truly very fun for me, and also because I’m insane.

4. Plants!

For those of you who aren’t plant people, you may think that houseplants will just be a waste of money because you can’t keep them alive. That is so fair, and I know this because that was once my POV when it came to plants in the home. I am here to debunk that statement! I mean, yes, many houseplants can be hard to maintain and keep alive — I have had to say goodbye to many in my day. I’m staring at a crispy, browning hanging plant as we speak. BUT I am here to say that there are SO many plants that are super freaking easy to keep alive. I bought my snake plant in 2019 from Home Depot for $18, and it has lived in all of my apartments ever since. And although plant shops can be super expensive, and the healthiest of plants will be purchased from an impossibly chic and expensive houseplant store, there are TONS of pre-potted houseplants on Facebook Marketplace, often for free because people are moving away.

There is something very special about having living things inside your space, and I firmly believe they are a key part in making a house a home. They soften and ground an interior space, and it’s also just a fun hobby to have. I am no plant expert — I water each of them once a week, and when they start losing leaves or going yellow, I move them to a different spot in the house. I tell Jack they’re taking a vacation.

5. Curtains are your friend.

Every single window in this apartment is curtained to various degrees. We removed the ugly blinds and faux stained-glass peel-and-sticks from residents’ past, and replaced them with curtains from sheer to velvet to blackout. There is not a naked window in sight. Each window is dressed with a curtain rod substantially higher and wider than the window itself (something I learned on TikTok), the length of the fabric gathered slightly on the floor, and about a million ring clips were purchased to install them. It sounds like such silly details, but they make all the difference.

Curtains and drapery add softness to a space, making the room feel warm and cozy and ultimately, finished. Curtains can totally change a space and they allow you to add texture, color, or pattern in a room that needs a little extra something. I love the look of a heavier outer curtain with two sheer panels in between.

6. Color is your friend.

Grey is your worst enemy. No more grey. We have so much color throughout our space. The bookshelves are a full-on rainbow, so nothing feels super out of place to me. Books are the best way to bring color into your home, and I also LOVE a brightly colored frame. I found this glossy red one at a frame shop in my old neighborhood, and it houses a free postcard I got from one of my old favorite restaurants in Savannah (RIP to The Fat Radish).

7. Books, everywhere.

If you’re not a reader, this is your sign to start!1 If I’m having a bad day or feel like treating myself without breaking the bank, I head straight to the bookstore. A) it brings me joy, and B) it brings me home decor. Not to mention that it’s good for your brain and you’re supporting a small business, yada yada.

My life’s greatest pleasure is redecorating these bookshelves. The ones we got are from Nathan James, and I love them. I also love the look of books just stacked on the floor or better yet, in a non-functioning fireplace — obviously, on a bookshelf, coffee table, bedside table, floating shelves, and even cookbooks stacked on the kitchen counters.

My best tip is to go to used bookstores or thrift stores, where you can often find exactly what you’re looking for for just a few dollars. I always find David Sedaris and Chelsea Handler books at the used bookstores, which I wholeheartedly recommend.

8. AMVAP (as much vintage as possible).

Just like fashion, I think bringing in as many vintage pieces as possible is always a good idea. In a home, vintage mirrors, picture frames/art, chairs, rugs, and glassware add an intentionality and sense of style to a space. Vintage pieces tend to have a lot more character than what you can find on Wayfair and can really speak to someone’s personal style. You can also find such good pieces for CHEAP! My personal favorite is the Habitat for Humanity ReStores, which is where Jack and I have found tons of unique glassware and bowls, mirrors, vintage frames, books, and one console table we regret not buying to this very day.

My next crusade is to find some metal candlestick holders and maybe some small ceramic dishes to use as ring holders, because I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it, but I’m engaged.

9. Fridges are meant to be adorned.

Engagement cards still FILL the outside of our fridge. I don’t know if we’ll ever take them down. But even before that, our fridge was decorated haphazardly with photobooth strips, tacky magnets from our travels, cards from friends, drawings from our friends’ kids, the list goes on. I really like it when people have the tiny word magnets on their fridge to make funny sentences (I’d get them if we had the room), and I really like how Noel’s college diploma is just taped to her fridge. So unexpected. So chic.

10. Don’t be afraid to make changes in a rental.

Lastly, and arguably most importantly, this is your reminder that you can paint the walls in your rental, you can drill holes to add sconces and hanging lights, you can change the knobs on your counters, use peel-and-stick tiles, etc, etc. I mean, it’ll be dependent on your lease, but as long as you repaint it white before you move out and fill in the holes, no harm done. It’s important to love where you live, and if that means limewashing your bedroom walls or changing some outdated hardware, then so be it.

I hope that all didn’t sound too preachy. If you disagree with anything I’ve said, I’ll get over it! If you HATE color and have a more minimal aesthetic than I, your home can 100% still be a reflection of you. If you’re fridge isn’t magnetic, I’ll keep you in my thoughts. And if you own your home, high-five.

Now go hit a vintage store and eat some yummy pasta. Until next time!

- Ally