Here at Apartment Therapy University, we can’t help you pass Organic Chemistry or tell you how to find the student union, but we can help you design the coolest collegiate space around. Whether you’re living the dorm life or moving into your first off-campus apartment, having a comfortable, stylish home base will inspire you all semester long.

College is a rite of passage into adulthood: Managing your own schedule, keeping up with your coursework, and creating your own home — even if it’s a dorm room. Whether you’re a freshman or grad student, living on campus or off, the start of a new school year is the perfect time to upgrade your living space into a stylish hub for studying and socializing.You don’t need a degree in design to make it happen: Bed Bath & Beyond® can help.

Back-to-school shopping isn’t only about freshly sharpened pencils and color-coded folders (though we’re always ready to talk organizational systems). It’s also a great opportunity to make sure your space is set up to be chic, comfortable, and conducive to a new year of hitting the books.

There’s nothing more exciting than a new home — and nothing more stressful than moving into one. But don’t get your packing tape in a twist: While we can’t make all those boxes disappear (sorry), we can keep you from feeling overwhelmed and underprepared on your first day in your new place. And that goes double for first-time movers.

College is one of the best times of your life — and one of the busiest. From group projects and cram sessions to 10-page papers and pop quizzes, you need a home base that feels calm and cozy when the school day is (finally) done.Whether you’re living in the dorms or an apartment off-campus, you can create a relaxing respite from all that scholastic hustle.

We will never not be excited about choosing paint colors. It’s literal magic! Whatever mood you’re looking for — calm, creative, serene, sophisticated — a coat of paint can create it instantly. Paint has the power to transform and transport us to places that inspire us to be our best selves. And we want to give your block a paint makeover.We teamed up with Benjamin Moore to give away paint makeovers to four worthy community spaces in a neighborhood like yours.

For their entire seven years together, Abby and Vic had always wanted a dog. “Most couples dream of having kids, but we dreamt of having a house full of golden retrievers,” she says. It never seemed like the right time to take the plunge. When the couple relocated from California to Dallas, away from family and friends, life suddenly felt a lot quieter. And then they met Ollie.“Ollie was such a quiet and shy puppy. We looked down, and he was staring up at us.

Living alone for the first time is a special milestone: an opportunity to find out not just what you like, but also what you can accomplish. For Emily Sanchez, a San Diego business owner and content creator, moving into her first solo home has been a journey of growth and independence. She’s learned a lot about herself — and she’s learned a lot of skills, too.Decorating a small space on a budget means that Emily is constantly using her creativity in new ways.

Having a work-from-home space that merely works isn’t enough. We need them to also look and feel great to be in — and not just to show off on video calls. Spending eight (or more) hours in a space that expresses your personal style is one of the perks of working from home, plus it tends to be more energizing than sitting in a cookie-cutter workstation under fluorescent lighting.

Most houses don’t start out as your dream home — and we think that’s part of the fun. Take the home that Ashley Quintero and her family recently bought in Fort Worth, Texas: Beautiful but outdated, the 1950s house has a long list of projects to tackle and features to upgrade. Luckily, that’s where Ashley shines.Ashley is a self-taught — and seriously skilled — woodworker and DIY maven.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Nothing transforms a space like a fresh coat of paint. It’s an affordable, weekend-able DIY with as many possibilities as there are colors. And whichever you choose, you’ll enjoy it for years to come (or whenever you decide to change things up again).But while painting is a manageable project, there are common pitfalls that can keep your hard work from looking its best.

When Ashley Quintero and her family moved into a lovely-but-dated midcentury home in Fort Worth, Texas, there were projects to tackle everywhere she looked. Luckily, Ashley has the skills: The healthcare worker-turned-DIYer is known for her amazing and approachable woodworking projects, which she breaks down to her followers on TikTok and Instagram.But not every upgrade requires busting out the table saw — especially when your whole house is a work in progress.

Part of the fun of interior design is that your home’s style is constantly evolving. That also means that occasionally a piece you love doesn’t really work anymore. We like to think of those moments as opportunities for more creativity.There are few design bloggers more creative than Amanda Walker, who can turn old televisions into art and awkward corners into cozy reading nooks.

Our tastes change as we settle into our spaces, and that’s a good thing! Style is something that evolves as we gain more life experience. Sometimes these changes lead to big dramatic before-and-after affairs, but more often it’s little fixes along the way that allow our space to grow with us. DIYer and interior decor creator Zenia Olivares has figured out how to make a space feel different with little more than a single trip to a home improvement store.

One of the best things about moving into your first apartment is having a home that really feels like yours: a well-curated ode to all the style and personality that only you possess. But much like Rome or a fine wheel of Parmesan, your dream home can’t be built in a day. You’ll feel much more at home when you take your time, reflecting on what you want your space to be and then bringing in only the decor that speaks to you.

Happy Place is a brand-new editorial series dedicated to helping you live your happiest, healthiest life at home. Every week for 4 months, we’re sharing quick, doable, and not-at-all-preachy tips that wellness pros, home decor experts, and Apartment Therapy editors actually use (really!). Sign up now to get 16 weeks of actionable advice in your inbox. This issue of Happy Place is presented in partnership with Yogi Tea.

Happy Place is a brand-new editorial series dedicated to helping you live your happiest, healthiest life at home. Every week for 4 months, we’re sharing quick, doable, and not-at-all-preachy tips that wellness pros, home decor experts, and Apartment Therapy editors actually use (really!). Sign up now to get 16 weeks of actionable advice in your inbox.This issue of Happy Place is presented in partnership with Yogi Tea.

Happy Place is a brand-new editorial series dedicated to helping you live your happiest, healthiest life at home. Every week for 4 months, we’re sharing quick, doable, and not-at-all-preachy tips that wellness pros, home decor experts, and Apartment Therapy editors actually use (really!). Sign up now to get 16 weeks of actionable advice in your inbox. This issue of Happy Place is presented in partnership with Yogi Tea. Calm is a moving target.

Happy Place is a brand-new editorial series dedicated to helping you live your happiest, healthiest life at home. Every week for 4 months, we’re sharing quick, doable, and not-at-all-preachy tips that wellness pros, home decor experts, and Apartment Therapy editors actually use (really!). Sign up now to get 16 weeks of actionable advice in your inbox. This issue of Happy Place is presented in partnership with Yogi Tea.

Cheer is definitely one of the first words that come to mind when we look at Ashley Wilson‘s interiors. With her creative DIYs and palette of rainbow pastels, this home decor blogger fills every room with energy and joy. So naturally, we couldn’t wait to see what she could do for the holidays.We asked Ashley to work her magic with some super cute finds from one of our favorite decor destinations: The Home Depot.

One of the best things about winter is its combination of peak coziness (blankets, sweaters, hot chocolate) and peak festiveness (tinsel, twinkle lights, all the candles). Those layers of nostalgia are part of what makes decorating for the holidays so much fun: Our homes become the warm, cheerful lives of the party. We challenged three style experts to take their seasonal looks to the next level with gorgeous decor from Garnet Hill, and the results literally could not be cozier.

Styling a room is a lot like styling an outfit: Start with a neutral foundation, then layer on moods, colors, and textures for a look that’s part trendy, part timeless. No one exemplifies this approach better than designer (and very snappy dresser!) David Quarles IV.

If you’ve ever locked yourself out of your home or felt the terror of learning too late that your pet sitter doesn’t have the right keys, you’ve probably wished your front door was just a bit, well, smarter. We can turn on lights with our voices, so we should be able to make getting in and out of our own homes more convenient too.Whether you’re a homeowner or renter, the August Home smart lock can up your entryway’s IQ in minutes.

Our love for bouclé knows no bounds: Touchable and trendy, chic and comfy, this looped fabric — which designers have been rediscovering in recent years — makes a style statement that’s also super approachable. We’re fans of the warmth and texture it adds to seating — especially when the seat comes from a collection we already know to be built with relaxation in mind.

At this year’s Small/Cool Experience, we asked 10 of our favorite designers to interpret 10 hot interior trends. Each designer had just 120 square feet, but what their rooms lacked in space, they made up for in style — and color. Whether classical or whimsical, warmly minimalist or gregariously maximalist, these rooms showed us that the right shades can transform the entire mood of any room.

A blank canvas doesn’t mean boring. When you start with a couple of timeless pieces, you can create myriad style statements, looks that can change according to seasons, trends, or just your mood. That’s why we were so excited to ask three of our favorite designers to put their own spins on the same living room.We started with a classic couch and coffee table.

We’ll let you in on a laundry secret: Wash day doesn’t have to be complicated. Most people make doing laundry more difficult than it needs to be with excess products, treatments, and clutter. Try adding some of these clever moves to your repertoire instead. They’ll make laundry day much simpler, plus get your clothes cleaner in the process.Mesh laundry bags are great for delicates like bras, but you’ve already got an excellent alternative in your linen closet.

An unexpected bright spot of the past year is how much joy we’ve found in nature — especially at home. This was the year we grew scallions in glasses of water, sprouted new greenery from our bok choy and carrot scraps, and maybe even got avocado pits to grow roots. Sometimes these plant projects provided food, but they also gave us the delightful magic show that is watching plants grow. Mother Nature has another trick we bet you haven’t tried: peanut plants.

Designing your space is an art that’s unique to you. It depends on your personal style and unmistakable eye. But whatever look speaks to you, there’s one thing we can say with certainty: Every aesthetic looks better with greenery.When you think about it, plants are the ultimate versatile home decor. They come in endless shapes and textures, and their pots and accessories present extra opportunities to show off your style. How to choose? Ummmmm, astrology, obviously!

There’s nothing like spending months (and months, and months) at home to make you realize how much your space is worth investing in. All those changes we said we’d get around to? We’re making them. All those pieces that don’t spark joy? We’re replacing them. All those design trends we were afraid to try? We’re trying them. (Well, maybe not all at once.

Our pets love the comforts of home just as much as their human housemates, and with leaves and temps falling, it’s a great moment to refresh your space for the coming months of peak pet snuggles. But while we want our furry sidekicks to always have the best of the best, we also want pet gear that aligns with our own style.The solution? Chewy’s Home Collection!

Prize: $1,500 gift card to LUMASGallery walls are the It Girls of interior design: effortlessly cool and sophisticated with an intuitive combo of shapes, colors, and textures that somehow look just right together. A great gallery wall isn’t hard to put together, either — once you have the artwork.Think of LUMAS as your personal art buyer.

It’s easy to focus our design energy on the spaces other people will see, like making sure our living room is well-situated for conversation or prioritizing places for guests to hang out in the kitchen while dinner is cooking. We work hard to give these areas good flow and bright energy. But we tend to overlook the place where we spend so much important personal time: the bedroom. Your bedroom is your sanctuary: a place to relax, meditate, and recharge.

As a New York apartment dweller, Apartment Therapy contributor Erin Johnson knows how to make her space multitask: Her kitchen is also her office since she prefers spreading her work out at a table over working at a desk. Because she spends so much time at her kitchen table, she wanted the room to feel extra special and energetic. The walls were currently a blank canvas, and she knew just how she wanted to fill them: a geometric mural.

Sometimes even the most stylish spaces still need a little extra something. That was the case for Meredith’s charming Brooklyn apartment, a whimsically maximalist space that a friend once likened to a curiosity shop. Meredith just wasn’t sure what her added oomph should be — so she let the AT community help.Meredith knew she wanted to paint some part of the living room, which features a cozy seating area and an open bookshelf.

Technology hasn’t advanced quite enough to bring us robot butlers who do our laundry, but it’s come close: Smart technology has totally revolutionized how we wash clothes. The days of meticulous measuring and wondering, What is this button for? are gone, and we’re glad to see them go. It’s time to introduce smart tech into your laundry routine.Samsung smart washers and dryers aren’t just tech for tech’s sake.

If you’ve ever visited a friend’s newly decorated home and thought, Here’s what I would’ve done..., then you’ve come to the right place. When game artist Emil wanted to add some colorful energy to his home office/guest room, he agreed to let the Apartment Therapy community choose the new hues. And you crushed it.Emil’s Pasadena home has a low-key eclectic style that both matches the pace of SoCal life and honors his artistic roots.

One of the few bright spots of quarantine was having more quality time with our four-legged family members. Cuddly coworkers! Midday walks! No more sad eyes on the way out the door! But now that we’re heading back to the office, our fur babes need some extra TLC to adjust. (As do we, frankly.

We don’t know about you, but we’re making this the Summer of Spending Every Possible Second Outside. Nothing sounds better than dining al fresco, lazing in the sun, and splashing in the pool. Since our outdoor spaces are going to get so much love this year, we’re going to make them feel extra special. Want to join us? We designed three outdoor styles to get your summer party started, featuring the season’s best and brightest looks from Target.

Carrie is a thoughtful artist whose upstate New York home reflects her personality with a combination of mid-century furnishings and whimsical decor. And while her office setup featured bold colors and playful accents like a glasses holder in the shape of a hand, that character did not extend to the walls, which were blank and bare. She wanted her workspace to have a little — make that a lot — more fun.

Open-concept living spaces are big on airiness and charm — especially when they’re awash in SoCal sunlight, like Katie and Cody’s place in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. But open layouts can also feel a bit muddled. Katie and Cody wanted to make their living area stand out from their dining area: two spaces separated by an archway that, lovely as it is, didn’t help them feel distinct. Their walls weren’t helping either.

Between work and play, Sarah spends about 90 percent of her time in the living room of her Washington, D.C., apartment. The space had been well-suited to her sophisticated style, with a gorgeous period fireplace and striking built-in bookcase, but it just didn’t feel complete — not even with an upgrade to new modern furniture. The culprit: the gray walls, too ho-hum to help the space pop.

It’s easy to get so inspired by incredible designers and magazine-worthy rooms that you forget about your home’s ultimate style expert: you. We love to borrow from the creativity around us, but for the final say on your space’s look, nothing beats your own instincts. After all, how you live reflects who you are!With her cheerful color palette, quirky furnishings, and houseplant jungle, home decor blogger and DIYer Wendy Lau marches to the beat of her own design drum every day.

If we may quote Paula Abdul — and can’t we always? — opposites attract. In design, a little tension sparks interest and energy. Fall in love with a mid-century modern lamp that doesn’t match your boho aesthetic? Bring it to the party anyway. Think those two colors you like don’t go together? Think again! A space that’s too matchy-matchy can feel airless, but a dash of contrast is like a shot of espresso.

Life is rarely tranquil, so it’s wonderful when our spaces can be. Not every room can be a spa-level sanctuary, but it can have balance: a sense of design harmony that makes you feel calm and settled instead of chaotic and off-kilter. (Our schedules do a good enough job of that, thankyouverymuch.

We know it when we see it: that visual signature that makes a space stand apart from the pack. Be it bold color themes or iconic accents, if an interior is unforgettable, chances are the person behind it wasn’t afraid to leave their style mark. Distinctive is instinctive — and it’s easier than you might think to wake up your design instincts to create a space that’s unmistakably yours.Designer, artist, and photographer Dabito is about as distinctive as they come.

Maybe it’s so much time spent at home lately, but when we think about interior design right now, we want one thing: drama. At this year’s Small/Cool Experience, designers Jaclyn Journey and Amanda of Jacobs of Journey + Jacobs agreed — and they delivered big time, with lush fabrics, moody colors, and furnishings that command attention. Oh, and deep cherry red walls. Let’s take a closer look at the Moody Musings trend room they designed.

Ashley Poskin is an Apartment Therapy contributor with a Ph.D. in decorating with color. (OK, we made that up. But it should be a thing.) Her Chicago home is full of fixed-up vintage finds, cheery DIY projects, and every shade of the rainbow. So when she wanted to give her pale neutral sunroom a monochromatic makeover, she was eager to go bold. We were excited to see the final result — and find out what she learned along the way.