Guest Post By Jayme Lamm
Somehow, someway, I was born without the fashion, makeup, cooking or creating and decorating a house gene. I can throw a softball faster and further than most, I know more plays and schemes for the NFL than most, but when it comes to decorating my apartment, I am at an utter and complete loss.
Somehow, someway, I was born without the fashion, makeup, cooking or creating and decorating a house gene. I can throw a softball faster and further than most, I know more plays and schemes for the NFL than most, but when it comes to decorating my apartment, I am at an utter and complete loss.
So I did what any normal girl would do – I spent hours and hours on the Internet. And here’s what I found – I like a lot of random stuff including, but limited to pale colors, bold colors, whites and nudes, bohemian and Texas and ranch-inspired things.
Needless to say, my tastes are all across the board, but here are some things I found helpful during the decorating process:
- I find a lot of inspiration on Instagram and there are so many great bloggers and photographers out there. Even if they don’t tag or link where they bought a product, I’ve had quite a bit of luck asking and getting a response. I actually created a “my home” folder on my iPhone where I save screenshots, so I don’t have to search for them later. This helps when I’m consulting with friends who are good at this kind of stuff (see the last tip at the bottom).
- Speaking of finding inspiration on Instagram, I used a photo I had saved and took it to my local hardware store to make (believe it or not!) my own kitchen table. (This still shocks me to this day.) The table was made with a wooden round top (that I purchased there) and hairpin legs (which I had never heard of but ordered online). I just asked around and figured out how to make the table, which ended up costing less than $100, total, and gave me an insane amount of pride.
- I learned to get over my fear of crossing multiple “themes” for my home because guess what – it was my home. If I want to have a clean, crisp sectional in cream, I can easily add and change the accent colors each season, or every year, etc. I have a very modern theme from my pieces I got from Apt2B, but I wasn’t afraid to throw in a cow skull as my main décor piece. I also saw a cool idea on Instagram to glue flowers onto the skull head, so once I can convince my significant other into defacing our beloved skull, it’s on!
- I also used the Internet to get rid of some furniture and décor we didn’t need or want anymore. I’ll admit, it took a lot of effort to repost (Craigslist for example) until things got sold, but the extra cash and space in the apartment was really worth it. Of course, you can always donate to a local worthy cause or search a fun DIY furniture hack/project on the Internet. We also had a lot of duplicate items we didn’t have room for (two dish sets, two Keurigs, etc. that needed to be sold or gotten rid of).
- I decided to pick one small area of the apartment and crown it as my “favorite little place.” The vain human in me just so happened to make it a “selfie station” with my Taft full-length mirror (in walnut) and added a graphic bath mat that says “You Look Good,” which I put right smack-dab in our living room. As a full-time blogger, photos and selfies are an essential part of my job, so this not only fits my style, but it helps make my job easier too. My boyfriend won’t ever admit it, but I know he loves it too, posing with the dogs with the readily-available caption you look good.
- Pinterest, of course, is a no-brainer when it comes to finding décor ideas and inspiration. And of course, APT2B has some incredible pins. Here is my personal “House Inspo” board – with things I want and need now, and others that I need to be a millionaire to afford. Always a dreamer.
And one last note that has nothing to do with the Internet, but was incredibly helpful in this process – I asked friends and family. Odds are we all have friends (even just Facebook “friends”) that love this kind of stuff. I was amazed at how many people were eager to help us with décor ideas.
I also had to have a talk with myself (well, truth be told, my boyfriend initiated this conversation) to remind me Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’s true; I wanted to snap my fingers and magically transform my apartment exactly how I wanted it, but it just wasn’t feasible – financially and with our hectic work schedules. So we are taking it one day (or project) at a time.
The Couple from 2D is written by Jayme Lamm, a sports + travel + fitness writer and blogger at The Blonde Side and is based in Houston, Texas. Her work has appeared in ESPN, CBS, Women’s Health, Elite Daily and various other publications. Follow Jayme’s adventures on Twitter and Instagram: @jaymelamm.
