5) No more roommates.

"This too shall pass"

A home is an ever evolving, living and breathing entity in constant flux.

Remember these things when something seems overwhelming and insurmountable and know that you can and likely will change it with time.

Relax, take a breath... you'll figure it out. There ya go.

Visit the appartment in the day and at night, it might seem like a nice neighboorhood in the day when the landlord cleaned up before you got there, but take the time to go see what the appartment looks like at night.

There were some security issues with my first apartment, which my roommates and I regretted not figuring out ahead of time, but I still have very fond memories of some of the funky decorating decisions we made.

Man.. natural light! Had I realized that our new place gets so little, I probably wouldn't have signed the lease! The only time we get light is at 8am when the sun is low enough to get through the bay windows -- the rest of the day the whole house is dark.

Laura

Bigger != Better.

My first apartment was shared with 3 other dudes, and was a very large place. Then, I moved into a large 1 bedroom by myself. Only then did I realize that I didn't have nearly the amount of stuff to fill that place and it always felt too empty. Now I live in a very small 1 bedroom and it's very comfortable and has a cozy feeling. It's not cluttered, just,well... filled out.

I'll echo mlhdrain. No roommates. Also, don't accept every hand me down that your relatives try to gift you. It's better to wait & save up for things you love and will last rather than tolerate something you hate, especially since once you have it, it's harder to get rid of it.

I hate it when I hear people say, "My first apartment looked like sh*t. It was just a bunch of old mismatched junk that I got as hand-me-downs." C'mon! You don't need a lot of money and brand new furniture to have a great looking place! Why wait to live in a place that you love? What are you waiting for? More money? Better furniture? A bigger place? You might be waiting a long time. In the meantime, embrace what you have and learn to flex your creativity/DIY muscles. There's no time like the present to be happy with your home.

Oh god, I loved my first apartment. I have to disagree about the hand-me-downs. Take 'em unless it's truly something hideous, because having something free now allows you to save up rather than have to buy something cheap. That said, my advice is to think long and hard about taking an eyesore of a sofa and thinking you can disguise it with a slipcover. Good slipcovers are hard to come buy, only work on certain styles of sofas - and are usually so expensive you'd be better off buying a decent used sofa off of Craigslist instead. A bad slipcover makes an ugly couch look even worse.

I loved my first apartment, even though my furniture was overwhelmingly composed of crates and sarong-covered boxes. I learned to come up with something I loved even with my limited means.

Agreed on the mattress point. I went ultra cheap and really regret it. I'm hitting 6 years on it, so I think I can justify upgrading soon.

As for the rest, buy only what you need, don't overstuff your place.

So what if you have ultra-cheap, matchy matchy big box store furniture at first? You can slowly replace out each piece with something better. I started with a hand-me-down living room set from Pier 1. It's country style, which isn't even me, but it's cozy and dependable and ties the room together. Over the years, I've acquired some nice, unique pieces to replace what I have, and thanks to that living room set, I never felt I had to rush to buy fancy furniture.

If the hand me downs are things you hate, then why take them? Most of my family's taste ran to the country or Victorian frou frou style, which I never liked. I didn't say no to the hand me downs foisted on me and lived for well over a decade with things I really hated, but could not easily DIY fix. I could have easily gone to garage sales and thrift stores to get things that were my style instead. And once the hand me downs were in my home, they were hard to get rid of because relatives would have commented and asked after them. So the lesson I've learned is "don't be afraid to say no." If it's something you like or can work with, sure. Otherwise, don't be afraid to say no and save up a few bucks to hit other secondhand sources (where there's also no guilt if you want to get rid of it a year later)

1. Those pieces that came from your Grandma, respect them. You'll realize later they're actually very nice, but are falling apart or damaged because you abused them.

2. Spend money wisely. Be cheap on trendy things, but invest in keeper pieces. Replacing them is more costly in the long run.

3. Have ground rules with roommates. Shared spaces can become war zones if you're not careful. Spend the least amount of money on things in those spaces. They will get wrecked. If you want to get something special/expensive keep it in your room.

The first place I moved into with my then boyfriend was so tiny, we had to custom make a lot of the furniture ourselves. It was a strange and special (in lack of a better word) feeling to know that when we moved out we would have to chuck most of those things away because they would not fit into another apartment... although when we finally moved, we ended up customising them to fit the new place, but they never sort of felt at home there...

Harpa

I just went to my parents garage- TOOK the hand-me-down (they were hideous & included verdigris-iron frog candlesticks & such) & made 750$ at our garage sale. People will anything if they think it's a bargain. Go!

@babyfishmouth - I hope you didn't think I was suggesting that people shouldn't take hand-me-downs! Quite the opposite, actually, I'm all for it. My point was that just because you have lots of "hand-me-downs" doesn't mean you have to throw in the decorating towel. You just have to be creative and learn how to make stuff work together. It's a fun challenge! My first non-college apartment was a conglomeration of hand-me-downs, handmades, and garage sale finds. I lived with a roommate and we just made it work. I thought our place looked awesome. And truly, we had not one piece of new furniture. Not one! We paid for NOTHING. Although, not everyone is lucky enough to have a mother who reupholsters (like I did). It helped to have a neutral color fabric on the hand-me-down couch. Knowing how to paint furniture helps too.

-Make it feel like a home. If you don't, you'll always see it as just a rental, and you'll never feel quite settled.

-Don't hang pictures or art until you're comfortable with your furniture arrangement. Every time you adjust furniture, you'll probably want to adjust where things are hung, which means you'll end up with holes everywhere. :

-Start with a few pieces that you really like, the kinds of things you want to hold onto for years. Then, you have a basis from which to make less important things work with what you love. For instance, I started with an area rug that I really love and want to keep long-term, and then I matched the shorter-term things to it. For instance, I accepted a tiny, hand-me-down beige apartment-sized sofa that I know I'll probably sell if I move to a bigger place, on the condition that it happens to work with the area rug.

-I often had well-meaning people say to me, "Why don't you wait to buy nice furniture until you're married? Just shop garage sales and IKEA now and save your money." Well, I learned to respond, "No. I want to feel at home now and enjoy nice things now. Besides, a husband and kids can be horrible to furniture! At least now I know it'll be nice!" ;o) There are other ways to save money. For one thing, you can often haggle on prices for big-ticket furniture you really want. Like I bought a beautiful $1000 dinette for $750 by negotiating the manager down to $850 (it was the last one in stock) and THEN pulling out the $100 off coupon. ;o) And it's solid wood, with a granite table top, and it will last me for YEARS. IKEA, not so much.

I just moved into my first apartment on my own 4 years ago and its been a work in progress to say the least! When I first moved in I was working with little money and my design taste wasn't evolved. Now four years later I've managed to work with some existing pieces as well as find some great thrift finds and pieces from my grandparents that work well in home. A lot of people my age don't care much about their home or the design/feel of their space but I have always wanted my home (rental apartment or not) to be just that, my home.

Looking at the accompanying picture, I've got to say that I surely couldn't have afforded an Aeron chair, a George Nelson lamp, or a flat-screen TV for my first apartment! LOL! I had a dilapidated old Salvation Army sofa covered with a bedsheet, milk crates for tables, and sisal "carpet" I bought at Pier I for $10, and was happy with that. Things sure have changed.....[OMG, is that my mother speaking from my mouth???]

Don't put your big honking speakers on the wall opposite your neighbor's bed.

Pass the flat-roofed unit by, unless you like that "lake-side" effect inside your apartment.

A hearty second to the "no west windows ever" concept.

@ jokerman:"By the way, *everything* today is veneer. Even $2000 desks from Ethan Allen." Veneering is an old and accepted practice however there is a major difference in a veneered piece from Ikea (or Pottery Barn) and someplace like Ethan Allen or a high end manufacturer. Most are things you can't see such as base material and construction. Also veneer thickness will vary. You (a professional) can repair and work with veneers on higher end pieces because they are thick enough to handle the work. Lower end pieces are much thinner and will always show the damage. Also, if you want solid wood, buy Stickley.

Sometimes, roommates are a necessity...
...in fact, I believe that they're a part of growing up - You have to learn to deal with other people's issues and they have to deal with yours. That said, I'd suggest never moving in with someone who's a stranger or who's lifestyle is completely different - ie: You're a banking intern and he's a drummer in a band, you're in lawschool and she's an artist/part-time barrista, or you're from a working-class background and they're a Trust-Fund-baby: It's never gonna work.

Hand me downs are fine as long as you like them & have a place as well as a need for them - If not, learn to graciously say "No thank you". However, if you do accept a hand me down, be Very clear on what should happen when it's no longer wanted/needed BEFORE you accept it: If it's Grandma's mahogany dining set that she recieved as a wedding gift from Grandpa on their First Anniversary, there's probably someone in the family who wants it too, and you would NEVER hear the end of it if you sold it on Craigslist...
...but if it's the 20 year old Levitz sofa from Mom's basement, she probably doesn't care what happens to it after you're done with it - Just ask to make sure.

No basements EVER. MN is a very soggy state and all basement apartments end up dank and chilly in the spring- and stay that way well after most buildings turn the heat off. Also mold is an almost unavoidable problem. Even if the walls don't mold, your furniture will, and it's gross.

Also, try to talk to other current tenants before moving in. Our first landlord had a terrifying habit of just walking in to our apartment to make changes, without notice and without knocking, mid-day, assuming everyone would be at work. I worked evenings back then and was constantly worried I was going to walk out of the shower and find him there. Find out the landlord quirks before moving in.

I wrote something similar to this on my blog recently.
One of my tips was to not take hand me down furniture that you don't like just because you need furniture. It will make you miserable every time you look at it lol

My first place was a 1930s hotel conversion, LOVED IT but there were things that I knew would be issues...

if its an old building expect 3 things...BUGS (they live in between the walls, especially if there is a crawl space), drafty windows and pipe problems. If you know this going in, then you won't be surprised by the banging radiator in the middle of the night.

I second so many things here: I wish I would have spoken to neighbors or the police because otherwise I might have known the other half of the duplex was owned by a drug dealer in jail and inhabited by his sometimes-girlfriend with 2 unwanted and borderline-abused kids. Horrible experience. I constantly felt that I had to monitor the kids' safety.

The place I live in now is a basement apartment. We thought it would be okay because the ceilings are pretty high and it's light and bright. It's very cool in the summer, but that's where the advantages stop. Having a "cave" is great to retreat to when you have a house on top of it, but never being able to get out of the cave is bad for morale.

And the hand-me-downs. I have my family's old dining room table: the one we all grew up with. I took it because I had no savings to buy furniture with, but now I have to find someone in the family to pawn it off on because they'd never let me give it away to someone else. Meanwhile, it sits there whispering to me that I have to deal with my parents' buying choices even now.

Doorman, doorman, doorman!!!

"Sometimes, roommates are a necessity...
...in fact, I believe that they're a part of growing up - You have to learn to deal with other people's issues and they have to deal with yours."

For me, the trouble with roommates isn't the personality issues. It's the financial issues. It wasn't the dirty dishes or the failure to lock the front door that did me in (although I didn't appreciate having my stuff stolen due to the front door thing). It was getting saddled with their share of the bills they didn't pay, the subsequent lawsuit to recover the money, and the reality that even though you win in court it doesn't mean you'll ever see a dime. In the year I had roommates, they cost me far more money than I saved. Of course, it was college and that's prime time for people who don't know how to be responsible.

#1 Budget - and stick to it. Don't rent more than you can afford and often you don't need a ton of space when you're first starting out. So long as you have a safe place to sleep, shower and eat, usually you can get by. I've seen too many young people get hung up on a lifestyle (large apts, designer furniture, etc.) that they can't afford and end up either constantly broke or paying for it years down the line. You're just starting out, it's your first place - no one expects you to break the bank to furnish it.

And yes, there are always more lessons, but it depends on people's experiences and preferences.

Wow, elankat, that would turn me off roommates too! I've had over a dozen post-college roommates (good lord, have I really?), including strangers, and I've never had problems with them not paying the bills. I guess I am either lucky or have a supernatural ability to screen out deadbeat roommates! Or possibly I'm the deadbeat... I did have to ask my last roommate to deposit $50 in my checking account while I was on vacation so that the rent check wouldn't bounce (but I paid her back as soon as I got home!). For me, roommates have been necessary and occasionally great, but they definitely make it difficult to decorate. When your roommate already has the world's most hideous couch or wants to jam every kitchen gadget in the world into your 10 square foot kitchen, that can cramp your style.

As far as advice for first apartments, I say don't wait to have nice things! Yes, the nice things you can afford/are responsible enough to take care of in or just after college are not the same as the nice things you'll have ten or twenty years later, but some people I know seem to think that you're not allowed to decorate or own a non-futon couch until you've got a single-family home and a spouse. Don't live in a hole just because you're 22.

Oh, and, don't bring things into your home that you don't like or need. And don't pick up mattresses off the side of the road, you're better off sleeping on the floor.

- Central air and heat with a thermostat are very good things.

- Double check to see if your roommate is actually paying the bills with that money you are giving him/her. Check before the city turns off your water or the owner comes knocking.

- There is a good reason why your mother or father wanted the trash taken out on a regular basis. Same comment goes for cleaning up crumbs and other food bits in the kitchen.

- Don't get sloppy about locking the door.

- The most important thing about setting up and decorating your apartment is that it is functional for the actual type of life you live (not the one you think you should be living) and that it makes you happy.

Chances are your first apartment is not going to be your last. My advice is to accept the fact your place will not be featured in Architectural Digest and just start from there. Your stuff is going to look cheap, partly due to inexperience, but mostly due to lack of money. That's ok because you're still young so don't worry. Your first couch can be crap. Your first dining table can be crap. Your first TV can be crap. These things won't look nice but they also won't hurt you if you need to settle for less. In fact, you want to save resources for the most important thing that will have the greatest impact on your comfort: your first BED.

Do NOT get a used mattress. Do NOT get a crappy box spring/frame. Don't even THINK about getting a futon. Settle for a bad bed, and it will make you pay every waking night and every sleepy day. On the other hand, reward yourself with a premium mattress on a solid frame/platform and your back will thank you. Indulge yourself with 400+ thread sheets and a down comforter, and it doesn't matter what your place looks like because you will be in heaven when you close your eyes.

Then you can take your time gradually upgrading stuff as you move up in life. A nicer couch, a nicer table, etc. But nothing will ever replace a good night's sleep.

to my 21 year old self: you don't have to live with your boyfriend. Enjoy your privacy. I love you.

Make sure you're not living on a floor beneath newlyweds or a family with small children.

Love illegaldanish! So true!

My first apartment was actually pretty empty, but I loved it-because it was MINE. No parents. No roommates (though I had them later and regretted it for distinctly different reasons than many of you have stated). My TV from seventh grade was on the floor-but I had cable. I had to eat with my food balanced on my knees-but it was my food on my knees in my place. I own a shiny new condo (coincidentally, still pretty empty) but I would go back and be 21 again in a heartbeat just to feel that feeling of hope and excitement again.

Area rugs will make that horrid wall to wall carpeting last longer...

Don't decorate your home like how you think it should look just because you're an "adult" now...that was the misstep we made in our first apartment. We were on our own for the first time, and we thought we should be adults about our home - so we ended up with some handmedowns and curtains that we came to hate because they didn't fit OUR personalities; they fit the personalities of the people we thought we were supposed to be or act like because we were "grown ups" now. Thank goodness our home looks MUCH better now that we totally understand that we should decorate however WE want to.

@Lizzykewl: But area rugs distract you from how horrid that carpet is. :)

I'm moving into my first real apartment this month - thanks for all the tips, guys! :-D

1. Never sign a lease before driving through the neighborhood during at least two different times of day. Pay attention to the cars in the parking lot/street parking. Are they similar to yours? Much fancier and you'll be in over your head; much more beat up and you're more than likely going to be enjoying some more ... umm ... UNIQUE neighbors.

2. NEVER EVER EVER sign a lease with a "special" thinking you "can afford it now." ONLY sign a lease if you can afford it NEXT YEAR when the special is over.

3. Make your own art. It's cheaper, authentic, and totally you. Not to mention it will match your second-hand sofa.

4. Sofa. Comfort trumps color; good bones trumps all. Haunt Craigslist. I wish I had. My brand new sofa my husband and I got before we were married was $400 more expensive than the gorgeous modern sofa cast-offs from my richer neighbors downtown!

5. Let it slip to your grandparents that you like "old things" and would love to take some furniture off their hands if they don't want it anymore. SCORE.

6. Like Pi said, don't decorate the way you feel the grown-ups did, or even swing too wildly away from it. I did both and lived to regret it. On the one hand, I ended up with 90s maroons, hunter greens, and navy (and stripes, oh my!) On the other, I went too Wal-mart chic and bought "modern" lamps that screamed COLLEGE DORM!!!! and accent pillows I Never. Want. To See. Again.

7. Study Interior design books. Learn history. Mix-n-match.

8. Don't be afraid of DIY.

9. "Light and bright" = cold and sterile and hard to heat or cool. "Cute/quaint" = tiny, cramped, and no new wiring.

10. Etsy.

11. If you love it, and have always loved it, and will continue to love it ... then it will work. I promise. Matchy-matchy isn't the way to go. Well-loved is.

-Hand-me-downs can be wonderful! My first sofa was a country-style (my style changes back and forth over time) and was gently used by a family member - and without the back cushions, it was damn near the size of a twin bed, so perfect guest sleeping. Just make sure if it's a hand-me-down to know if the person would like it back - if they don't, feel free to trash or sell it.

-Don't waste too much money in stores - you can sometimes find the best finds in yard sales. I found a nice antique coffee table (that somehow looks more modern) that was made in 1941 in a yard sale - for fifty cents!

-Don't do roommates unless you have to. Either get the place on your own or if you are moving in with a boyfriend (which I admit we got a place together) make sure you've been together at least a year.

My biggest regrets are the few pieces of furniture I bought before I found a place since though they were nice they made decorating harder than it should be - and the borrowing of items (like some end tables that were literally in a friend's garage) that she whined about not having back in just a month or two.

This might explain why many people around my age would say their first apartment looked like sh*t.

It's much easier to have a nicer apartment now compared to when I had my first apartment, which was before the internet and HGTV, and before CB2 or IKEA (and before Crate and Barrel had furniture), and when I had a bicycle and limited access to public transportation. I took hand-me-downs because I was living in poverty and grateful for what little I had, even if it was a wood-trimmed, brown plaid Herculon couch. My generous relatives did not have a home full of Eames furniture, Hans Wegner chairs, and George Nelson lamps to give me. In fact, no one I knew had these things.

I did buy a decent mismatched mattress set and some Marimekko sheets on clearance. The sheets made up for the other crap I had. I knew I would replace the furniture I didn't like eventually.

In my first apartment, I had a giant light blue velvet couch. It was hideous and I LOVED it because it reminded me of Elvis and cost $5. Sometimes a sense of humor is absolutely essential.

What I did learn (and am still learning) is that sometimes it costs more to "fix" a cheap piece of furniture than it does to just buy a nice piece of furniture- especially if you are as handy/impatient as I am. I keep learning this the hard way. And no, it doesn't look better because of my hard effort. It looks like someone attacked the table/chair/lamp/whatever with spray paint and a staple gun (which is exactly what happened in most cases).

1) natural light is important

2) it's better to buy quality pieces you love once than to buy cheap junk and continually replace it. live without, improvise, or take hand-me-downs in the meantime. Knowing this then would have saved me tons of money!

My first apartments (many moves for many reasons) were mostly furnished with music gear, futons, posters and "gypsy/mystic/poetic" accessories. I scoured garage sales and slowly built up a collection of pieces I had repaired/repainted/refinished. My place now is similar, but without the music gear (except for my guitars) and with good furniture and real art. The gypsy-poet accessories are now antiques and "real" items, like a real crystal ball, not a glass one.
I guess the lesson is "Begin as you mean to go on," plus "Perseverance gets you there."

Experiment! Take this time to figure out your own style and take chances. Don't worry about matching.

Get crafty! It will save you tons of money. Painting, sewing and building your own things is fun (for me, at least) and if you shop around its cheaper.

Look for the potential in pieces. I once bought a wooden coffee table and side table for $15. It looked like crap but had good bones. $30 and few hours later and I had a living room I kept for 5 years. It's currently in my parents living room - it's that nice!

#1 Do NOT get an apartment with a spare room. You won't use it and it will just become a junk room. (this is probably a packrat problem and doesn't apply to minimalists).

#2 That south facing apartment is exactly as good of an idea as you think it is. It might get warmer than you'd like but the daylight is absolutely worth the trade-off. Some of my favorite memories of my first on-my-own apartment are dozing on the floor in a slightly-too-hot apartment, enjoying the sunshine.

#3 Remember to turn off the power if you're mucking about with wires, even if you're just flipping a switch over.

I have regrets about my second apartment, not my first. The second one was a dark, cold cave and I was super happy to GET OUT, despite a lot of other amenities. The apartments I lived in with roomies were a lot of fun, oddly enough. My sophmore year we had the most awesome bookcase in the living room. Decorative cinder blocks and 1"x6"s up six feet and completely full of books. It rocked. I got stupendously lucky with roommates in college and I know it.

don't tolerate poor heating. i suffered two winters before forcing the management to fix it. also, don't be afraid to piss off the manager. if she says she can't make the super repair your toilet until saturday, call the city immediately.

If you're allowed, painting a new place (or an otherwise crappy/disappointing place) can not only make it feel much more home-y, but can spruce up a lot of cosmetic blemishes. Every place I've rented let me paint as long as I painted it back to white before I moved out and had them OK the colors first.

Enlist some friends to help! Lay down plastic sheeting (or old sheets), order a giant pizza, blast some music, and you'll be done in no time! Make sure you're able to properly ventilate it for fumes/prompt drying.

My aunt used to sell pretty good quality furniture in a showroom and she told me that everything is veneered and for a good reason. Unfortunately I don't remember what the reason was - maybe strength?

Something I'm going to just put out there: There's no shame in going to a store and buying something new.

Seriously. We love talking about DIY and thrift stores and garage sales and craigslist and antique shops, but all that time spent finding something you're supposed to LOVE means a lot of time spent without that item. If you find yourself frustrated that you just can't find something old that you love, there's no shame in buying something new.

Don't worry that it didn't come from an antique store or that it isn't vintage or that you didn't paint it yourself. Who cares? You like it, that's the point. I have a lot of craigslist stuff mixed with brand new stuff because I was just too sick and tired of scrounging through antique stores.

Two bonuses Trish!

I just want to say that we live in Dallas, TX and love our huge westward-facing windows. Sitting on the couch and watching the sun set in the evening is a big treat.

Just moved into my first apartment by myself and in the 5 days I've lived here I've learned the following:
Tell your landlord everything wrong with the apartment.
Check where the outlets are.
Make sure the place is CLEAN before you start moving all your stuff in (working around cat hair is NOT fun)
Make sure all appliances work (broken fridge=$$$ worth of ruined food)
Have back up money in case you forgot something/need to buy something (i.e. towels, socket covers, etc)

So that's all I can think of for now. Thanks for the great blog- great inspiration to my first place!

Dear 21-year-old:

Don't worry about it, it's just an apartment. You can sell things when you get tired of them and buy different stuff. Also, it's art if YOU say it's art!

And get air conditioning next time, dumbass.

As an aside, I bought IKEA pieces I still think are gorgeous (10+ years later) and was vindicated when watching a fancy real estate show to see my exact dining set (including chairs that didn't come paired with it but that I picked out myself) in their nice Italian kitchen. I have awesome taste, and IKEA haters can bite me :)

A number of lessons I learnt from my first "apartment" which is a rented room with a landlord and other tenants that stay within the house:
1. I viewed the room at night. when I actually moved in, I disliked that it was so dark in the day time that I have to on the lights most of the time. totally agree to view the place both in day and night.
2. I didn't try opening and closing the windows and door to see how sound proof the room is. The first few months I lived without an aircon and left the windows open, the traffic outside kept me awake for months.
When I pay the landlord for aircon and shut the windows to sleep, the noise within the house becomes obvious instead. The TV from outside the room or other tenants moving in and out of the house is actually rather disturbing. (I have problem sleeping in the first place.) Testing how sound proof the place is is important if you get affected by noise easily.

Good and bad, it was a special, unrepeatable time of which I have many nostalgic memories. I'm glad that from school on I made each place I lived into my home.

On natural light, I feel I got lucky in the windows category. There are windows on the front and back of the apartment (instead of front and side or back and side) - the ones on the front face east and the other side is west. I placed my bedroom in the back so the sunlight wouldn't be waking me up at dawn each day.

andregirl - great point about the cars in the parking lot. Always a dead give-away.

1. I always live in an owner-occupied building. Then, when pipes break/things leak/neighbors are loud, they will be very quick to do something about it. Since they live in the building, they care that it looks nice and is safe and pleasant.

2. Sorry style mavens, but I say, never buy any furniture that you are in love with. Moving sucks. Your first apartment will not be your last. Now in my 30's, as a renter, I finally bought a good couch. I love it, and my tables, but I long for the days when I moved out, handed down the hand-me-downs, and moved in and acquired more. It makes moving so much easier. Did I mention moving sucks? Oh, and never get a storage unit. If you like it that much, use it. If you don't use it for a year, you don't need it.

I've lived in many apartments, in many cities across America. I find it enjoyable and challenging to decorate a new place, that's what makes it home.
One (batchelor) apartment had high ceilings and windows. I ended up replacing the bathroom floor linoleum (with nicer lineoleum)& I remember the giant floor pillows & matching curtains that I made. (It was the 70s!)
In one apt I took a chance on some custom mixed Chartreuse green paint that some one probably lost their nerve & couldn't buy. I used it in the bathroom because it had chocolate brown floors. I bought second hand green and brown bottles and put plants in them. It was gorgeous! I found a piece of wood that just fit an empty area in my kitchen & created my "kitchen counter",painting it and the refrigerator bright orange. I don't know what they thought of it after I was gone, but I enjoyed it while I was there! lol!
In another small "batchelor" apartment, I moved the refrigerator out of the "kitchen area" and into a far corner of the livingroom, hiding it with large uva leaf plants. No one even noticed it til I opened it.When I rolled down the bamboo blind, the kitchen was "officially closed" and the room became the bedroom.
And yes, the first apartment is hardly ever one that you stay in forever. Have fun with it!!

If there are small, inexpensive improvements you'd like to make, do it when you first move in. I have lived in my first "real apartment" for six years, but didn't paint, change the window coverings, or replace light fixtures for the first three. Had I known in the beginning how long I would be here, I would have done these things right away.

Just be sure to keep the originals so you can replace them and reuse or sell your own items when you move.

Landlords out there might disagree, but...don't ask permission, just paint. You'll like your place so much more. Shady landlords will always find some way to keep part or all of your security deposit, and non-slumlords will repaint when you move out whether or not you painted the place yourself.

But please, take the time to do the prep work, and if you use dark colors, prime before you leave.

And speaking of slumlords...get to know your neighbors so that when you have a problem in the building you can act as a united front. Someone once broke in and stole the washer and dryer from our laundry room and our landlord refused to replace them. Eventually everyone in the building made it clear that no one would pay rent until we had a functioning laundry room. It may not have been legal, but it worked.

@jokerman re: renting a condo. Best housing decision I've made (after I was talked into it). I live on the river with great (read: very quiet) neighbors, low rent and just 10 minutes from work.

Live close to work/school. If you can't, live on a major bus line that will get you to work/school. Even if you have a nice, newish, reliable car, there will come a time when it dies and you will be SO glad you can still get to work, school, groceries, etc.

My boyfriend and I just moved into our first apartment together. After years of roommates pushing their furniture and curtains and paint choices on me, I FINALLY have a space I can make my own (Well, *our* own). We have all of the stuff we need, but we'd really like to upgrade. My first instinct was to run out to Ikea and get all new stuff, but I'm glad I decided to hold off and only get a few essentials. Yes, I hate sitting on our couch and I despise our mismatched dressers, but I'm willing to wait to find the perfect pieces.

Well, dear 21 year old, you are going to move, a lot. Your first apartment is not permanent, so your furniture doesn't have to be either. You can buy from IKEA and thrift stores cheap and then sell it on Craigslist to other youngsters looking for cool stuff on the cheap when you move. If you buy nice furniture now, the more apt it'll be to get dinged up in your moves and possibly not fit in future homes, so please wait. I am 25 and know that I will be moving at least two more times before we find a house in a place we love, and I'm still living with Ikea, Craigslist and thrift store furniture. I love it, but I also will not feel bad parting with it later on.

I would accept hand-me-downs or thrift-store furniture that is durable and that you can personalize. I still have some of my first-apartment furniture because I refinished and/or painted it. Painting the pieces helps tie them together so they look less mismatched. And because it wasn't IKEA junk, it has lasted through many many moves in the last twenty-plus years.

Gellergeorge, you work for that company for crying out loud. That is SPAM

I liked my first apartment. My bedroom had tons of natural light and got a ton of breeze. I painted the walls light yellow, which gave it a really happy ambiance. Twin bed and 2 dressers was all the furniture I had, but I loved them!

One dresser was handmade by a carpinter who sold his stuff out in my neighborhood, and my bedspread was a Moroccan-inspired thing I'd bought in Carytown, Richmond years before. I also had a woven rug.

Just a few cheap things, but lots of texture and bright light!

The apartment complex also had a pool and beautiful gardens, which was nice.

I will agree with the first poster, though... no more roommates!

places like craigslist are a beautiful thing.
its okay to spend money and find furniture, because you dont have to feel like you'll be stuck with it forever...

and my parents tried to tell me that it was a waste of money to buy paint for an apartment but those were the things that made it feel like it was mine.

your home is a place that will always be evolving and there will always be things you want to change and do with it. so spend the money because its your sanctuary to relax and express yourself. :-)

Things I learned AFTER living in my first apt- roommates are not a good idea and pottery barn is not the be all of home decor.

If you are going to be in your first apartment for more than a year, buy a good mattress! I spent the first six months on a hand-me-down 20 year old twin mattress on the floor - what a mistake! I wish I would've saved myself those 6 months of poor sleep and just invested to begin with.

Mostly I've moved so many times that I've always had the attitude that I'm not allowed to buy anything nice or anything big - roommates will break it, lose it, or it will have to be abandoned because it won't fit in my car for the move. I've just decided that the next time I move I'll have to rent a Uhaul.

Oh, and I agree with what another commenter said about not buying anything nice that goes in a common room. My roommate has an (adorable) dog, but she doesn't brush him or clean up his fur so he leaves his mark EVERYWHERE. I won't buy a couch, chairs, nice pillows, or living room throws while I live here because I don't want them to be furry and smell like dog.