Eek! You guys, I’m excited to give you the first look of my new apartment!

It’s been a little under a month since I moved in, and I am starting to feel really at home—despite having been out of town for two weekends since I moved in!

When I told people I was moving to an apartment by myself sans roommates, a lot of people asked me if I was worried about being lonely. Honestly, I wasn’t all that nervous about being lonely—mostly because I lead such a busy social life and really value my alone time—and am happy to report that there have only been one or two times I’ve wished someone else was around. And those times were either at night after a long day of work or when I thought I heard a creepy noise in the shower only to realize it was my washing machine. (Hah!)

If you’re thinking about taking the plunge and living alone, I’m really happy I did two things during this adjustment period. First, I invited (or am in the process of inviting) different friends over for wine nights. Those low key nights allowed me to create some new memories here and warm up the space with some of the people I love the most. Second, I am really glad I splurged on Verizon Fios—it’s nice to have background noise on when I’m cooking dinner or working on my blog. I’ve also been listening to Podcasts a lot for this very reason!

Overall, I am loving living alone and having total control over my space—especially when it comes to design decisions! While my roommate experiences over the last eight years were largely positive, I am excited for this new adventure—I am already learning a lot about myself and really wanted to prove to myself that I could live alone (mentally, physically, financially). I’ll be sure to check in on how living alone is going when I have more than 3 weeks of experience under my belt, but wanted to give you my initial thoughts while they’re fresh.

Once I get everything set up in my apartment and decorated to my liking—though, let’s be real, interior design is always a work-in-progress—I want to hire someone with a wide-angle lens to get some high-quality shots of the entire space for y’all. But, I couldn’t hold off in showing you what I’ve done so far! So, let’s get to the good stuff, shall we?

To give you some context to these photos, when you walk into my apartment, you enter into my kitchen and then there is one big “great room,” which I have divided into two spaces—this living room and then a dining area behind my couch. The dining area is still very much a work in progress—I’m still debating what to put on the walls and want to get a plant for back there to warm up the space—but the living room is coming along nicely. I prioritized getting the “living room” part of this room done since I often eat dinner in front of the couch, as opposed to my more formal dining room table. Plus—I already had most of the furniture/decor, which meant it was a lot cheaper to fix up fast!

I’m really glad I purchased a sectional with a chaise since it turned out to be perfect for making a cozy seating area! Added bonus: my coffee table fits perfectly in the space between the couch and the television. While my old IKEA coffee table did the trick, it is nice to have something a little more sturdy—and I love the rose gold color.

And, after much debate, I ended up settling on these Society Social Midnight Sahara Pillows for the couch—I thought doing a palm print pillow would be too much. I am really happy with how the navy pattern pairs with the Beverly Hills Hotel Wall Paper and adds another color to the area. I’ve long admired Society Social, and was so glad my experience with Roxy + her employees lived up to my expectations—the quality was great, shipping fast, and customer service was super helpful!

This isn’t the best picture, but on the wall my television is flanked against hang these two paintings from Southeast Asia. These are probably my favorite—and most meaningful—possessions in my apartment.

My grandfather brought these paintings home from one of his tours of duty during the Vietnam War, and they hung in a stairwell at my grandparents house. When I was a little girl, I used to stare at these for hours trying to figure out how the mountain turned into the volcano, not realizing they were two different scenes. Eventually, my grandparents replaced these paintings with other art, and I didn’t see these scenes for years.

After my grandparents passed away, my Dad asked me and my sisters if there was anything we wanted from their house. These paintings were the only thing I wanted—and since my grandparents were children of the Depression and thus had hoarder tendencies, it took him quite a while to find them. Then, on my 24th birthday, he wrapped them up for me as “one last gift from Nana and Pop-Pop.”

I’m really glad they have a prime spot in my new home.

*** SHOP THE POST ***
Blaxlands 85″ Sectional
Janelle Coffee Table
Target Television Stand—newer version here
Society Social Midnight Sahara Pillow
Acrylic Stacked Ball Lamp
Stacked Ball Floor Lamp
Metal Hammered Gold Bowl
Beverly Hills Hotel Wall Paper Sample + Lafayette Frame
Footed Glass Vase + Neutral Vase Filler
Marble Coasters
Mirrored Picture Frame
Vanity Fair Portraits
The Kennedys: A Portrait of a Family
Audrey Hepburn Treasures
Influence
All In Good Taste
In The Company of Women

If you have any questions about where I got anything, let me know in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer! x