How I'm Thinking About Decorating My New Apartment
Inspo, a "before" walkthrough, and thoughts on working with a designer
Hi friends,
As of this week, I’ve been living in my new apartment for just over a month and I haven’t bought a single home décor item.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve made plenty of house purchases—dishwasher tabs, a new rolling hamper, bins to organize my linen closet, an under-sink trash kit—but zero furniture or décor.
On the one hand, I’m proud. I remember Olivia Muenter saying her biggest home regret was not living in her space longer before jumping into decorating. So, this is me settling in. I’m learning this apartment’s rhythms and quirks.
On the other hand, this is also major validation for my decision to hire an interior designer. You see, I have incredibly strong opinions about other people’s decor choices. (Especially people I don’t know on the internet.) I have big feelings about individual pieces of furniture. But when it comes to putting it all together in my own space—picking the light fixture and window treatments and rug and table and chairs and art that all work together—I get overwhelmed and freeze.
So, let’s chat about how I’m thinking about everything in these early stages. (FYI: lots of photos and even a “before” video tour below, so you may need to open this letter in your browser to see the entire thing.)
On working with a designer…
Working with a designer was a no-brainer—though admittedly an expensive no-brainer, and one I wouldn’t have been able to afford in my 20’s—after having a wonderful experience working with the same designer (Emma Beryl Kemper) on my last apartment.
If you’re wondering what this entails, let me attempt to sum up the process.