Apartment Mood Board

This past week I moved into my new apartment. I say new, but I should really say first. This is my first time living by myself, and I could not be happier! My last apartment experience was a nightmare, so I’m thrilled to be living alone and be fully independent.

Some people dream about their perfect wedding, but I have dreamt about my perfect apartment for years. I didn’t live in an apartment in college, I was an RA so I had my own dorm room. It was cute and cozy, but college decor is so different than grown up decor. My style has changed so much in the past few years.

In Florida I definitely went for a beachy cottage vibe – lots of white and bright, fun colors. When I was super young I loved everything glam: sequins, glitter, mirrored surfaces, fur rugs. It was very over the top. Thank god I grew out of that phase. I still appreciate those other styles, but I think I’ve finally found the decor style that fits my personality perfectly.

I like to call it mid-century bohemian.

Mid-Century Bohemian

Mid century bohemian might seem a little crazy. But, I like too many styles to fit into one box, so I created one all my own. Each of these styles offer some aspects that I really love. I can swap out the things I don’t like from one with what I love from the other.

Mid century decor is from the 1950’s and ’60’s and is known for low sofas, tapered legs, and lot of textures. There are two things that really draw me to mid century style. One, I love how clean the design is. The straight edges, the linear visuals, and the clean look that all of that brings. Second, are the tones: rust orange, light wood, and metallic accents. To me, these tones are very comforting.

Bohemian style is very abstract, and no one’s boho decor ever looks the same. I guess what I love about this style is that there are no rules. When I think of boho I think of culture, earth, and warmth – it leans a little eclectic. To offset the warm colors of mid century I’ll be pulling in pops of aqua and navy blue. I also think of textures like embroidery and fringe add a nice dimension to the space.

These two styles work so well together because the bohemian gives a more lived in look to the mid century. It also softens all those lines so it doesn’t look as “cold” or “harsh.” The colors will work well together because they are opposites on the color wheel, and make it easy to change out towels, and pillows during the seasons.

The Wild Card

My apartment will be mostly mid century bohemian, but I also have an antique quality to some of my choices. For example, I’m using my great-grandmothers table for my desk. This piece isn’t mid century or bohemian, in fact it’s a little farmhouse. That’s what is going to make the space interesting.

I also found a chair that I am obsessed with. (Look out for a post about all my thrift finds.) It’s also not mid century or bohemian or farmhouse. It’s definitely antique looking with a barrel back, cane paneling, and almost ornate legs.

The moral of this story is don’t be afraid to try different styles. You can mix and match as much as you want. It won’t always work, but the majority of the time you’ll be surprised with how well something pairs together.

Inspiration for the Mood Board

When I walked into this apartment I knew this was where I was supposed to live. I saw myself cooking dinner with a glass of Merlot, listening to my record player with all my candles burning, and curling up with a good book during a snowstorm. I knew that my lifestyle would be a perfect fit for this space.

After living with a less than enjoyable roommate for a year, I wanted my apartment to feel like an escape. I wanted it to feel like a safe space, an inspiring place, and a rejuvenating space. Most of all, I wanted this space to feel grown up. I’m trading in my twinkle lights for candles and vintage lamps, and self painted canvases for intriguing photographs and practical wall art.

Now that I have a big girl job, and big girl relationship, it’s time I have a big girl apartment. Now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the mood board.

Mood Board

I’ll be living in a studio apartment, so the biggest challenge is making sure everything flows. When there’s a wall between your bedroom and living space it’s easier to change styles. I decided to make a mood board to keep me in the big picture. I started by creating a private Pinterest board. This let me explore all my ideas without people being confused by my vision.

I started noticing trends in what I was saving to this board, and as those trends became more prevalent I started deleting the pins that didn’t match. After purging my board, I took a few pictures of different spaces to put onto an individual mood board. I used Canva to create a whole PDF document so I could easily reference it.

First, I separated my spaces: living, bedroom, office, and fun accents. I added my photos to each one, and left comments about why I liked each photo. All photos are featured below. This is just my inspiration. Stay tuned for a full apartment tour!