Your apartment is a place where you can retreat from the outside world and reconnect with yourself; where you can recentre and make sure that you are in your best state of mind for whatever lies ahead. So, you really don’t want your living space to be in opposition with who you are. Your apartment needs to be an extension of yourself, a place that facilitates the return to the essential you, rather than somewhere that sits at odds. Your apartment is a palace, and you deserve to feel like the master in whose image it was made. With that in mind, here are a few ideas to help you decide how this can be achieved.
Light Your Own Way | Designing your apartment so that you have excellent control over light levels allows you to personally sculpt the ambiance that you’re aiming for. Ready made curtains can be chosen specifically to meet your needs. Don’t forget that each room will have a different feel, so make sure you choose your curtains accordingly. Heavier drapes will have the added benefit of dampening sounds from outside, so partially opening them influences both light and sound levels.
If you choose to light your rooms with lamps, there are a couple of things to consider. Cloth lampshades are great for diffusing light throughout a room, especially if you attach a dimmer to them. Directional lampshades can also be used to impressive effect. Pointing them towards feature pieces can direct attention, as well as subdue the harshness that comes from spotlighting empty parts of the room. And what better way to draw attention to the gorgeous wall hangings that sit between you and your neighbour’s full-volume evening television habits?
No Sound But Your Sound | If you live in an apartment, there is a good chance that you share floor space, walls and even ceilings with neighbors. There is no threat to personal space quite like heavy footsteps just above your head as you’re trying to relax, and removing these impositions is a surefire way to make sure that the only one influencing your space is you.
There are a few ways to do this, even if you are renting. A packed bookshelf set against a shared wall will minimize the sound coming through. Bear in mind that empty shelves and blank spaces admit sound, so you want the shelf to be as packed as possible, and if it stretches from wall to wall, even better. Stocking up on wall-hangings, tapestries and macrame can make your apartment feel cozy and close without taking up floor space. Heavy rugs and blankets on the floors will have the same effect for downstairs neighbors, and leave you free to wander your castle in blissful silence.
Express Yourself | Save the hangings for walls that you share with others. When it comes to bare wall space, get creative with your painting. Block colors can be lovely, but patterned wallpaper can add real personality to the space. If you’re feeling particularly brave, perhaps browse online for a mural artist whose style matches the vision you have for your home. Natural symbolism, city skylines, and landscapes are all ways that you can effect the feel of your palace home.
To truly make your home feel like your very own castle, you need to approach questions from a different direction. It is your home, what you need to think about is simply what makes you feel like the master of the space? What is it that makes you feel elevated and powerful?
Answer those questions, and the rest is just imagination and a little bit of logic. You can feel like the King or Queen of your home. So why not do it?
