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When I moved to Philadelphia last year, I was super stoked because the lower cost of living meant I could finally get an apartment of my own. Living alone wasn’t an option when I was in D.C., so I knew this was my opportunity to have the bachelorette pad of my dreams. Not having a roommate was the best experience ever, and after this past year, I couldn’t imagine living with a Craigslist rando ever again!
Even though I only lived in this Philly apartment for 13 months, I did my best to make this little one-bedroom pad feel like home. I re-purposed a lot of pieces from my old apartment in Arlington and added a few budget-friendly pieces and did a couple of DIY projects to give this space a bit of flair. To be honest, I never finished decorating it: I knew about five months into my lease that I would likely need to move out of Philadelphia since my travel schedule was insane — oh, and I was in an LDR. However, I’m moving into my new space in Charlottesville in a couple of weeks, and while I’m a little nervous moving in with a guy, I can’t wait to see how we end up styling the new place!
Picking My Neighborhood & Finding My Place
Ok — so I had friends who already lived in Philadelphia, and they all happened to live in the Northern Liberties neighborhood. I visited them numerous times, and I knew that NoLibs was the perfect neighborhood for me. It was full of young professionals like myself, it was very walkable, I was close to the subway (which I ended up taking a grand total of 3 times that year), and I was only a 10-minute Uber ride from Old City/Center City. Not to mention, it was full of vibrant murals, incredible restaurants, and cozy bars.
When I first started apartment hunting, I looked at a mix of apartments in Northern Liberties, and also the neighboring Fishtown neighborhood. It was a lot harder to get an apartment in Philly IMO than it was in Arlington: I would be on my way to a listing, and a real estate agent would email or call me to say the apartment was already rented out by someone else. When I saw this renovated loft, I knew I had to jump on it. I was the very first person to live in this renovated unit, and I chose the top floor of my building, which had massive windows and skylights — perfect for blog shoots!
The Decor
I didn’t have a ton of money to redo my entire apartment, so I kept the gold accents, as well as the big-ticket items such as my couch from my last residence. My previous living room was completely neutral since I lived with another roommate, but I decided to add some pops of blush just to make my place seem a little more girly — after all, this was my bachelorette pad! I also did a few DIY projects around my place since I’ve gotten pretty comfortable with IKEA hacks over the past few years! I think I might tone down the gold accents for my next home, and add in a bit more color, but I enjoyed my mostly neutral apartment.
Couch | Gallery Wall ℅ Minted: Print #1, Print #2, Print #3, Print #4 | Black & White Art Print ℅ Minted | Similar Circle Mirror | Coffee Table | Area Rug | TV Stand | Wall Clock | Throw Pillows: ℅ Target (One and Two) | Faux Fur Throw ℅ Zgallerie (Similar) | Bookcase (IKEA DIY Project)
The Living Room Area
For my living room, initially, I started a project with Laurel and Wolf to get things started on my redesign. I had my apartment set up a completely different way before my L&W consultation — and I’m really glad I took my designer’s suggestion and flipped my couch around! My living room was super open and very inviting for any guests that I might have over.
I loved the mix of textures that my living room had: from the metallic accents to the faux fur throw, it was a blast mixing and matching different kinds of fabrics in this space. I used to have my DIY bookcase in my bedroom at my last place, but since my bedroom at the new spot was a lot smaller, I decided to move it into my living room. Also, the #1 reason why I signed a lease for this Philly apartment? I fell in love with the exposed brick throughout the place and the super high ceilings!
View the Original Blog Post Here
The Office Area
I had to create myself a little office nook since I work from home, so I decided to set up shop near one of the massive windows in my apartment. I partnered with IKEA earlier this year for this DIY project, and I loved how it turned out! It was easy and gave my space a lot of much-needed glam. You can view a full tour of my office area, plus instructions on how to do the DIY here.
Similar Headboard | Duvet Cover | Similar Sheets | Throw Pillows ℅ The Blush Label | Pink Throw ℅ Lans Downunder | Mirrored Nightstands
The Bedroom
Believe it or not, I had a proper 1-bedroom apartment, so it was nice to have a separate space to sleep. My bedroom was pretty tiny — I could pretty much only fit my full-sized bed, a dresser, and a chair in the space. Not to mention, I had a super tiny closet: only one of the doors opened, and 35% of the area in my closet was taken up by the water heater.
To be honest, I never found a suitable method to organize my closet, and it was always a mess. However, I’m moving into an apartment with not one, but TWO walk-in closets — swoon! Since my bedroom is pretty much the same setup as my old apartment, you can view product details and more photos of the space here.
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