Moving into a new home can be stressful for a number of reasons: you have to coordinate packing, the actual moving, and, of course, decorating.
You might decide that you're just going to keep the decor you had in your old home, but if you're moving into a house or apartment for the first time, well, that's not exactly an option.
Besides, moving into a new home is a way to start over fresh, try something different.
So, keep these tips in mind when you're deciding how to decorate your home — they'll make things a lot easier.
First of all, decide whether you want the apartment as a whole to have a theme, or if each room should have its own theme.
An apartment-wide theme might be more manageable because you'll only have to get things of one aesthetic (beach-themed, for example, or safari).
Room-by-room, though, will give you more room for creativity and most likely allow you to use things you already own more easily.
Try choosing a separate color for each room and paint or paper one of the walls that color.
That way you'll have both room-based themes are still incorporated into an apartment-wide theme.
Once you've decided on your theme (or themes), look at each room individually.
The Living Room Are you going to be using this room a lot? Will kids be using this room? Pets? Your husband's Sunday night game of cards? Your wife's book club? Think about what this room will be used for and plan accordingly.
For example don't buy a white sofa or loveseat if people will be eating or drinking in there, or if a big black dog is going to be jumping up on it.
Find a sofa or loveseat that will match whatever you want to do with the room, or that you can use as a guideline for the other things you put in the room.
And remember — you can never go wrong with an entertainment center.
The Kitchen Use light, warm colors in the kitchen.
You want it to be bright and airy; try to let in as much natural light as possible by using sheer curtains.
The Bedroom This room needs to be comfortable above all else, and what will make it comfortable is determined by you.
If you like a lot of pillows, go all out and cover every square inch of the bed — just remember you'll have to take them off each nice and put them back on each morning! Bathroom Bathrooms usually end up getting the short end of the stick, so to speak, at least when it comes to decorating.
In a way this does make sense, as most people don't go into the bathroom to check out the decor.
Still, there's no reason not to make your bathroom look nice; plus, you don't want to screw up whatever theme you've come up with.
Hallways/Entryways Hallways and entryways can be simultaneously the easiest and the most difficult areas of your home to decorate.
A few small paintings or photographs will typically suffice, but you might have trouble picking them out.
Just go with designs or photos you particularly enjoy, but not so much that you'll want them somewhere more visible.
Now that you have the basics down, don't be afraid of the moving process — you're moving into a new home! If nothing else, it means you get to buy new things, like a sofa or loveseat and coffee table.