My First Place: A Budget-Friendly Apartment

Five years ago I packed up my life and left Richmond, moving north to DC for a boy I met on the internet.  (Ladies, don’t ever do this without first building an emergency break-up fund in the bank.) Thinking it was meant to last, I moved into his house and got rid of most of my old furniture.  Only weeks after I sold my antique vanity and dresser – two amazing free-to-me pieces that I will forever regret selling – he dumped me and asked me to move out.

This tragic event was a blessing in disguise!   I fled the suburbs and committed half my monthly salary to 600 square feet of freedom.  Freedom that came in the form of an urban, 1-bedroom apartment  in a hip neighborhood only 10 minutes from downtown DC.

Upon moving out, I knew I needed to come home to a cheerful place so that I didn’t get depressed about the breakup.  The only catch?  I’d gotten rid of so much of my stuff,  and the high cost of urban living left me short on cash.  But between Craigslist finds and hand-me-downs, within a week I had the first space I had ever loved coming home to.

*Disclaimer:  These photos were taken in my pre-blogging days, and make me cringe.

My First Place:

The front door opened straight into the living room/dining room combo.  The entrance was a bit awkward, but I found the living space comfy.   Between an Ikea chair the ex had given me, two mismatched Ikea sofas (one thrifted and one handed down), the room would have been blah – except that I scored a colorful wool Kilim rug on Craigslist to add some excitement.

Sure, the editors of House Beautiful weren’t going to be knocking down my doors, but the place made me happy.  The TV was ancient, but sufficient enough for me to discover the joys of Netflix.

The walls were an ugly rental white, but they later became the perfect backdrop for a huge gallery wall with photos of friends, family and pets that looked over me.  At the time I didn’t even know “gallery walls” were a thing – it was just the easiest, cheapest way for me to cover the walls.

The large windows of both the living and dining spaces let a ton of light in, making the space feel way larger than it was.  The glass tabletop of my already-owned Ikea dining table also kept things open and uncluttered, while the red chair covers coordinated with the living room rug.  A simple bar shelf from Ikea hung on the left wall of the dining area, providing storage for hanging glasses as well as a shelf for liquor.  It was functional, but looked cool.  The perfect combo.

The galley kitchen left a lot to be desired, but I made it work.  There, on it’s nearly non-existent counter space, I developed my love for uncluttered counters,  tucking appliances away wherever I could hide them. (But apparently I had not yet discovered how clean counters and sinks made for nicer photos.)

The back door led to a small, brush-enclosed patio – which is pretty much what sold me on the place.

Back inside, a small hall off the dining area led to two closets, a bathroom, and my bedroom.  That bathroom always felt cheerful to me.  I threw in as much tropical color as possible to counteract the dinginess of the old black and white tiles.  I’m not normally an advocate for toilet seat covers, but that bathroom was so small that I didn’t want to waste any real estate when it came to adding color.  An old metal cabinet came in handy for more bathroom storage.  And the occasional bird I would petsit.

A few brightly colored calendar illustrations in Ikea frames dressed up the walls.  And so did the towels, which apparently I didn’t keep folded back in the day.

A clear shower curtain helped keep the tiny space feeling as open as possible.

And the coolest thing about the bathroom?  Totally not decor related. Aside from letting in tons of light, that window made my day in two other ways.  First, all the brush growing outside of it (on my patio) masked it well enough that I didn’t ever have to actually put the shade down.  Trust me, I checked.  And second?  Having that brush there allowed me to keep the window wide open so that my cat could go in and out as he pleased.  Now that’s a bonus you don’t often get when living in an apartment.

And then there was my bedroom.  Fortunately I’d stored my mattress at my parents’ house.  I already had the skinny Ikea dresser, and was able to find the matching Hopen bed frame and night stand for only $150 on Craigslist.  A generous (for the small space) walk-in closet housed most of my clothes, and I hid my file folders and important papers in the bottom drawer of my nightstand.  Man, life was simple back then.

Eep.  I cringe seeing the marks on the walls.  Why on earth didn’t I paint them??

And that was it!  When I think back on it I have nothing but good memories of that apartment; memories of how simple it was to keep the place clean, because I had only the bare minimum.  I spent lots of time having fun, and very little time cleaning.  And here’s the insanely cheap breakdown of what it cost to furnish the whole place:

Living Room: $125 (Rug, blue sofa)

Dining Room:  $75 (bar shelf installed in wall & clearance Ikea table)

Bathroom:  $40 (towels, shower curtain, toilet seat cover, rug)

Bedroom:  $150 (Bed and nightstand)

Grand total:  $390

Now how’s that for a budget-friendly apartment?