We all know college is expensive. Everyone with a brain knows that, but it can get even more expensive when you have to furnish an entire apartment, and you have roughly $6 in your savings account. Since starting up my blog, I’ve gotten a lot of questions about my apartment decor! So, I want to share with y’all how I made my apartment so cozy and cute (on a budget).
This summer I made sure to save as much money as possible because I knew that when I came back to WSU just about all of it would go towards my new place. Now, I only worked like part-time as a nanny, so I wasn’t about to create the fully furnished apartment of my dreams. OBVIOUSLY. But I did my best to make it work, and I’m super happy with what I was able to accomplish!
This is how I made it work…. Target, Homegoods, Ikea, Craigslist, Walmart, the Dollar Store, and Hobby Lobby. I lived at these stores during the summer and I was constantly refreshing Craigslist to try and find furniture items that were in good condition, while staying at an affordable price.
I went to Target and HomeGoods religiously, which was not something I had to do, but I did enjoy every second of it. Honestly even if I didn’t have to furnish an apartment you would still catch me there everyday.
Let’s start with HomeGoods. I have a few different locations around where I live, so I was always going back and forth between the same stores but going to different locations. They all have different items, and I was determined to find the best of the best. I would suggest y’all to do the same. Frequent the store in your area with a certain item in mind, eventually you’ll find it (or something similar) I promise! Another tip for HomeGoods is to go down every aisle. Yes, EVERY SINGLE AISLE. Overwhelming, I know, but you never know what you are going to find. With HomeGoods it can be hit or miss. Don’t let the days that are more of a miss discourage you. The store constantly gets new stuff, and that makes it a better percentage of finding something next time. From HomeGoods I purchased a huge seven-foot mirror for the living room for an unbelievable price. I wanted a mirror in the common room because it made the living room appear much bigger. The cute metal basket holding my throw blankets is also from HomeGoods! Another proud purchase from this store was a Magnolia wood table for such a good deal! This table is durable and in perfect condition. The last thing I got from there is my bedside table, I was able to get it for around 49.99!
Now, Target is great because it has literally EVERYTHING. And it won’t hurt your wallet as bad as other stores could. I bought a ton of smaller decorative items, along with trendy storage units for my apartment which was great. I always make sure to check out their clearance section, eight out of ten times I find some pretty great steals there. That’s where found the cute “Namaste” sign next to my bed!
Ikea is another one of my favorites because it is so inexpensive. The only downside is that you can go a bit over board, and have your entire apartment looking like Ikea. Which is fine, but that’s not my style, I love having my own little twist on my home decor. So only a few little pieces here and there are needed for an apartment from Ikea. I got my desk, my palm tree plant, and the couch in the living room from Ikea! So, a few pieces really do make the space work perfectly!
Hobby Lobby always has insane deals, and great prices. So when I went to buy some cute wall decor, it was all 50 percent off, which is a blessing for my bank account. The tip is to wait for something until it’s on sale. Even if you feel like it will be gone if you don’t buy it right then and there, I promise it will go on sale! They have the absolute cutest things for any style preference! I bought the cute painting that’s over my table for a good deal because it was on sale!
The huge rug in the living room is from Costco and that was like $100. Although this is on the more expensive side of options, its been a staple piece of my living situation for the past two years. It has been so durable, and has stayed just as fuzzy as the day I bought it, which I’ve found hard to come by when it comes to rugs.
The coffee table is from Craigslist, and it is such great quality. The chairs at the dining room table are also from Craigslist! They were brand new!
Right now, my apartment has a little bit of holiday decorations spread around to celebrate the season. I got most of my stuff from Walmart and the Dollar Store because they have the cutest things this time of year, and then the throw blanket on the couch is from Walmart. Remember y’all, I’m ballin’ on a budget! You can find really inexpensive holiday themed decorative pieces from Walmart and the Dollar Store! There is no shame about being smart with your money! Little seasonal decorations don’t need to be top of line, they’re only up for a certain time of year. So functionality is the key here!
My goal was to make this apartment as cozy as possible, with the very minimal budget that I had, and I think I made it work! It still needs some help here and there, but I’m overall super happy with the result!
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NANCY HURTADO 
Love this post! I’m in the same position as you – a college student ballin’ on a tiiiiight budget. Most of my money goes to HomeGoods and Target but there’s no shame in that game because they both have SO many cute things at reasonable prices. Your Instagram posts are so cute, I’m excited to start following along (I very recently came across your account on the Insta explorer page). I’m planning to start my own blog soon so I’m excited to keep up with yours 🖤 my name on insta is lainezebari if you want to connect!
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