Melissa Alam is a digital and experiential brand designer growing a small agency, which works with brands to develop their web design, branding, strategy, and photography. From her amazing apartment, she works to host a ton of events to build community, including her annual conference for women called FearlessCon (held every fall here in Philadelphia). When she’s not doing all of that, she’s working on writing more stand up comedy routines to perform around town. Melissa’s active life can be viewed over on Instagram and Twitter @RingTheAlam!

Melissa had a ton of help picking up pieces and decorating her new apartment from her good friend and fellow event planner, Sydney of Sydney Marie Events. Melissa also has an open door policy and encourages friends to come and co-work whenever she’s around. “I’m addicted to entrepreneurship and mostly work alone, so I welcome hustle and grind sessions here with my friends so we can motivate each other and share our ideas,” Melissa shares. “But I do love my alone time in here when I can binge on Netflix or go through all of my browser tabs with no distractions. The neighborhood also has a great community feel. You walk down the street and always know someone!”

My Style: Global gypsy meets chill genie bottle meets tech startup

Inspiration: I work from home with my team, meet with clients, and even host workshops and events in my apartment so I wanted a space that felt productive and inspirational. I also love hosting guests so I made the living room space an open area for conversations and hang out sessions. My bedroom gives off French boudoir vibes to me with the beautiful doors and open space, so I wanted to keep that area minimal but feminine.

Favorite Element: I feel like I seriously manifested this apartment. I was previously living a block away in a new apartment complex but wanted a new place that had character, history, and more natural light. I came across this old warehouse where the previous tenants used my current apartment as an office space and fell in love with the high ceilings, exposed wooden beams, and just the overall beauty and practicality of the space–I knew I had to have it to level up my life and business. I honestly love waking up and being in my apartment everyday, and I’ve even started to miss my space when I travel so I know that’s a good sign!

Biggest Challenge: I mean I love a good challenge, but I’d have to say filling up the space so that it felt cohesive, creative and cozy while also being on a budget.

What Friends Say: I love hosting everything from workshops, coworking sessions to dinner parties with friends in my apartment, and I’ve been getting a lot of “holy crap this place is huge” to “you decorated so well” to “that tree is amazing” from guests visiting. I’m a Leo so I live for the compliments hehe.

Biggest Embarrassment: This is an old warehouse so I seem to have a little ant and bug problem right now but hey, the more roommates the merrier!

Proudest DIY: Because this apartment already came with some amazing features, my favorite DIY would have to be the tile stickers I bought off Amazon for the kitchen backdrop. It was a boring beige tile that sucked the life out of the space since the kitchen hasn’t been renovated, so adding these Moroccan-style sticker tiles adds more dimension and color to the area without costing me an arm and a leg.

Biggest Indulgence: I’m a bargain hunter and a lot of the larger pieces in this apartment were actually left by the previous owners (like that awesome fiddle-leaf fig tree, workshop table, and light fixtures), so my biggest indulgences would have to be the custom-designed wood piece in my bedroom from Sage Woodworks, the beautiful, gold mirrors from local Philadelphia-based Argent Mirror, and the large, blush pink ottoman from West Elm.

Best Advice: Your home is your sanctuary so fill it up with stuff you love but make sure everything has a place so it doesn’t feel too cluttered!

Dream Sources: I love supporting local Philly designers, but would also love more unique, cultural pieces from my travels around the world.

ENTRY

• Custom coat rack — From previous owners
• Black leather chair — Jinxed

LIVING ROOM

• Blush Ottoman — West Elm
• Red Couch — IKEA
• Purple Couch — Jinxed (by way of Facebook Marketplace)
• Sofa/Floor Pillows — Ross/Home Goods
• Plants — Left by owners and City Planter
• Foosball Table — Bought used from a friend
• Rattan Chair — Jinxed (by way of Facebook Marketplace)
• Indonesian Side Tables — Ross
• Wall Art — Random thrift stores. The “Home Is Where The Jawn Is” frame is a fan favorite and was a print from a local store my friend Sara bought for my birthday one year.

WORKSPACE

• Teal Mermaid Chair — Betsu Studio
• Mint/Turquoise Bar Stools — Amazon
• Rattan Bar/Snack Cart — HomeGoods
• Desks — IKEA

KITCHEN

• Custom FearlessCon Wood Sign — This was made by the lovely owner of Everlaser for my annual women’s conference.

BEDROOM

• Custom Wood Art — Sage Woodworks
• Purple Shag Rug — Ross
• Boob Bath Mat — Yowie
• Palm Leaf Wallpaper — Target
• Matrix Blush Pink Sofa — Article (by way of Betsu Studio)
• Ivory Chair — Jinxed
• Maui Rattan Divider — Betsu Studio
• Bedding — Opalhouse by Target

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