Any way to make a college apt less boring?

[inq89]

Just moved to my first place on my own from years of having roommates. I am in grad school and have a basic one bedroom apartment with carpets, office space window blinds, and white souless walls and not allowed to replace any of them. Basically your generic apartment. Since I will be living here for a few years, I want a presentable and unique bachelor pad for a 22-25yo. I've visited ApartmentTherapy.com and similar sites for design ideas but it seems all of them are for city flats with wood floors and exposed brick while my place lacks any kind of character. Any ideas? I want to keep it simple but different from my friends who hang up sports posters. Budget is so-so, I'll probably hit up craigslist more than I want, but honestly don't plan on spending a lot since this isn't a permanent residence and I work part time with just enough spending money. Just need ideas to point me in the right direction. fyi Nearest Ikea is almost 4 hours away

I don't mind the drive but it'll obviously limit the amount of day trips.

 

[StephenHero]

Don't turn on the lights.

 

[Xericx]

colored lightbulbs.

 

[Find Finn]

Are you allow to paint or/and hang stuff on the walls?

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Do what I did my freshman year in college and use duct tape to write vulgar words all over the place.

 

[guest]

tiki bar.

 

[otc]

You could just paint your walls and then send them back to white in a few years when you move out.

I like white paint though...if it is dingy, crappy white paint, just paint them a better white and you won't have to repaint and they will wonder why the place looks so much nicer than the other units when they come to inspect.

Hang some art on the walls...you can use those sticky things.

Get some non-ugly furniture

 

[Dakota rube]

A regular dosing of lysergic acid diethylamide certainly will make things less boring.

 

[GreenFrog]

Originally Posted by Dakota rube

A regular dosing of lysergic acid diethylamide certainly will make things less boring.

 

[inq89]

Originally Posted by Find Finn

Are you allow to paint or/and hang stuff on the walls?

I can hang stuff but no painting, walls have to remain a standard white.

Originally Posted by patrickBOOTH

Do what I did my freshman year in college and use duct tape to write vulgar words all over the place.

Did something a bit similar my freshman year too, but I am 22yo so Im past the undergrad stuff!

Originally Posted by guest

tiki bar.

Thinking about having a setup like Don Draper with some glasses and spirits always on the ready.

Originally Posted by otc

You could just paint your walls and then send them back to white in a few years when you move out.

I like white paint though...if it is dingy, crappy white paint, just paint them a better white and you won't have to repaint and they will wonder why the place looks so much nicer than the other units when they come to inspect.

Hang some art on the walls...you can use those sticky things.

Get some non-ugly furniture

I'll probably just leave my walls as they are, but what kind of non ugly furniture do you recommend? I'll take a trip to that distant Ikea I mentioned before and see what I can pick up.

Originally Posted by SammyJ

grab some cheap curtains at wal-mart. That's what my g/f did for me when I had a college apt..best of luck!

Definitely have to get some curtains...the sun beats me too early in the morning these days lol.

 

[ter1413]

To make it more interesting, make sure there are college girls there on da regular!

 

[yjeezle]

Originally Posted by ter1413

To make it more interesting, make sure there are college girls there on da regular!

+1

 

[divitius]

I envy you; if I had that time to do over again I would definitely have made my grad school apartment more of my own. Try scouring antique stores for good quality old furniture (while desperately trying to put out the no-**** vibe), especially if you really want to go for a Mad Men style. Another possibility is inexpensive print art. Just get a decent frame and it looks 100% better than a crappy dorm poster. For curtains make sure they let enough light through- don't make the mistake of just getting your favorite color (which for me was dark blue

) For a respectable (female-inviting) bachelor pad you probably also want a religiously clean bathroom with lots of towels, a solid, comfortable sofa (no futon) and a full-size bed

 

[henrikc]

I'm sort of in the same position. I can hang stuff from my walls, but since I live on the corner of my apartment building most walls are pure concrete walls (small studio apartment). I went to Ikea and bought some stickers, and they turned out pretty good. White walls, and they look pretty good if I may say so myself. Easy to remove as well. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00167575

 

[jon-mullen]

I'm pretty sure you're required by law to have atleast one (1) Bob Marley poster.

You might want to look into Home Reserve furniture, they ship it to you ready to be assembled. They've got ok fabrics and most models have storage space built it.