Don’t Wait to Make It Beautiful: Your Small or Temporary Apt Deserves a Lil Romance Too!
If your room looks like a sad little white box with furniture that came from another, sad box... guess what? You can spend the same money on pieces you actually love.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we treat the spaces we call “temporary.” The rentals, the small apartments, the not quite forever homes. The ones we tell ourselves don’t deserve too much effort or investment because, “I won’t be here long.” Or, “It’s not worth decorating when I’m on a budget.”
But, I’m here to not so gently push back on that. Especially when it comes to your bedroom.
Your bedroom is the first and last space you experience each day. It’s where you rest, dream, love the lovah, cry or kiki on FaceTime with your bestie. So why do we convince ourselves it should be an afterthought just because we don’t own the space or we think we’ll only be in it for a little while?
I saw the girlies on Tiktok sharing extra small NYC bedrooms and I noticed a theme. All white Ikea furniture - which isn’t a bad thing theoretically but in a white box, adding in only extremely minimal - also pieces with no personality seems like a bit of a disservice to yourself. We should decorate our bedrooms with the same care and curiosity we do to figuring out the hottest fit for Cowboy Carter. It’s small, it’s a rental, and you’re on a real budget but, it’s yours right now. Just like the time you spend with Beyonce is temporary but she’s your friend for the night!
French inspired style speaks to my soul: I’m personally more drawn to the mix of antiques and modern/post modern styles but one of my followers commented asking for a French aesthetic bedroom using a twin bed and featuring blue hues. Let’s think romantic textures, a little ironwork, soft lighting, nothing too perfect. A mood more than a look. I’m building that feeling by mixing thrifted pieces, layering in dreamy bed linens, and letting the art have a moment. You can still work in storage like in this twin daybed and free treasure by way of this vintage dresser listed on Facebook Marketplace.

Don’t let your baby girl first apartment or the “I live in crazy ass NYC in a 9x7 bedroom” moment talk you out of creating something dope. Don’t let a tight budget silence your taste or make you afraid to try! Use what you have, pick things out with intention, and give yourself permission to make it beeeeeautiful.
Love you, mean it!
Kellie
Love this notion! I've definitely been guilty of this before.
Not so much into French, but agree with everything else you said. ❤️