I wish my first place looked like these!!! Sadly mine was filled with stop signs a blow up mattress and red plastic baskets used as dishes stolen from the restaurant I worked at! Great pics!

These are lovely! My first place at university had a floor so slanted you rolled backwards, and what were probably zombies living in the roof.

@Laurie - if only I'd thought to add stop signs...

Well, while these photos are pretty, the one thing I can't help but notice is that they all, with a few exceptions, look homogeneous. I think one of the common mistakes folk make when they get their first legit or adult or real space is that they go overboard making it all look so well put together... There seems something contrived in many of the above photos...

@Julian, I'd use the word "composed." I prefer a more casual look. Symmetry is optional. Obligatory splashes of color just look obligatory. Cheap art looks cheap.

That said, I fully recognize that my home would never pass as a home tour here!

"the one thing I can't help but notice is that they all, with a few exceptions, look homogeneous..."

Perhaps because such a great amount of the major furnishings and textiles in the above photos came from IKEA or WestElm?

I think a lot of love went into these spaces and making them comfortable and attractive to their owners. Even now, after years of having apartments, homes, and now, back to apartments, it takes time to work with things to get them the way you want them -- and even then, I enjoy making changes. Photos of peoples' spaces are just a glimpse into the process - try to remember that and also remember that these are regular people, not designers!

They do look similar, but I think that's because of AT and its readers, more than anything.

It takes me a long time to realize what I really like. In the meantime, I buy something that may or may not work in the long term, but for now, it works. It won't be perfect, but I can be happy with it - and that is what home means to me.

I have to say that I really like seeing other people's "first" places. My husband and I bought our first house last spring and I have already painted the living room three times! There is something about OWNING a house that has made me very nervous about going bold with style. I have no idea why that is but I am desperately trying to break out of that!

Seeing others successfully put a first home together is inspiring me. Maybe I will finally stick with a paint color.....

I love the painting in the bedroom wall, where can I get something just like this one?

Laurie615 - actually that sounds cute. I'd love to see pictures!

These look great! What paint was used? I just bought a home and am painting - what is a great neutral/white Benjamin Moore color to show off white trim in the living room/dining room/bedroom?