Just getting out of a 2 year relationship (blah blah blah). Long story short- She's moving out and I have a 2 bedroom/ 2 bathroom apartment all to myself.
The only problem is that now everything still looks like a couples apartment. What are some staple bachelor pad items? This is my first time living 100% by myself with no roommates.
I've got a tv/ surround sound system, nice dinner table, futon (I don't like), queen sized bed, and a few computers. I need decoration and practical furniture.
I'm 24, done with college, with an "expendable" budget of ~$400/month. All the furniture I find around here is either way over budget or looks like a college dorm setup. I like simple, clean, and functional.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
>>16761116
congrats. the big thing here is that its kind of up to you. things may be overpriced but you can also save up or considering getting a credit card to buy it now and paying it off 300 bucks at a time.
one thing you can do is google 'cool things for bachelor pad' and look at all the lists that come up. another you can do is just go to craigslist and look at what cheap furniture they have there that fits your style. another thing you can do is go to pinterest and look at variations for things like 'cool rooms' and the such and try to find pictures to model your own room after. theres a LOT of options and unfortunately 'simple, clean, and functional' isnt a lot for us to go off of.
think about any cool artwork or posters you might like (but have them framed so they look classy, not just pinned up.
consider investing in a talking point. i have some dinosaur fossils hanging on my wall.
consider your personal interests and see if there is anything related to that. dorks have a lot of merchandise these days. rubiks cube tissue boxxes, spiderman cookie jars etc.
>>16761138
make sure to google things like 'cool' and 'decoration'. most of the list that come up are like
>HURR DURR GET SOME POTS AND PANS CUZ LUL XD MEN DONT KNOW HOW TO COOK BUT THEY NEED TO LEARN
is all thats coming up. one thing you can do is look for cool pictures of bedrooms nad living rooms and just remodel everything you can to look like it, one piece at a time
Why dont you go with minimalism for now until you find stuff that you really like and THEN buy it?
You dont have to blow your expendable income on shit you dont really want just to fill up your apartment.
OP here-
Sorry if I was too vague
Attached picture is something I'd like to aim for, eventually.
Thanks for the tips
>>16761180
my recommendation is to simply find a picture like that and just do it. you see everything in that picture, so start either buying it 1 piece at a time, or get some major line of credit to do it and pay that back 300 bucks at a time (For faster results, consider subletting your spare room for 6 months. you dont quite need it , at least not yet, and it'd be an easy way to raise your budget).
one thing to consider though is the types of walls and floors you have. are you willing ot have those changed? painting isnt hard, but that framing behind the TV looks like it'd be expensive. also keep in mind whether or not you are a cleaner. a lot of that image relies heavily on being shiny. do you clean often enough to maintain that? a lot of masculine designs feature more warm colors and earthy textures that look just as great if you havent swept in awhile.
one thing you can do is start picking out your wall art, your curtains, and your carpet now.
pic related is 150 bucks on amazon. works with that particular color scheme, but not as stupid as random lady poster or whatever.
>>16761180
this has that manly brown shag carpet feel, but has a bit more of a pattern:
http://www.hayneedle.com/product/safaviehmiamishagsg3551391arearug.cfm
having touble finding an exact match. found some close but they look more cylindrical up close than just basic furry.
one great thing you can do is keep checking craigslist just searching for rug daily and see what pops up. then snag it when it does
>>16761343
That picture is amazing. I can't do any major drilling/mounting to the wall unfortunately. I am a pretty clean person 8 times of 10. Tidy up once a day as needed and deep clean Sunday mornings.
>>16761432
shiny floors require daily cleaning. any hard floor needs daily cleaning in my experience, but perhaps my floors are just dirt magnets, i dont know.
as for the wall thing, it wont require any serious drilling. they are broken up into many little pieces that hang along side each other, and you can easily by one of those sticky hooks to mount them on, they come off when you move and its no big deal. though i imagine these will work with two thumb tacks as well.
you wont be able to get a floating TV, but thats wont change your aesthetic all that much to be honest, and is better long term in case you ever just want to move stuff around.
which also means you have the chance to look at cool TV stands and such. the TV itself is an easy investment. i forget the best month but if you google you can find the best time to buy a big screen TV (protip: its not black friday) assuming you dont already have one.
but yeah. if you arent willing to remodel, find some cool masculine living rooms that match the color scheme of your walls and floors (painting isnt that big a deal though) and then make a list of everythin on there you want on it.
immediately go to amazon and google and such and start doing searches. rug over stock sites etc. get specific and see what you find. immediately save the links of the things you know you'll want, and make a point to keep checking craigslist for the others. order them in importance and buy as needed, or again credit card / line of credit / roommate funding.
>>16761459
one random cool thing I recommend is that globne that has a mini bar in it. even without the mini bar, like if you dont drink, its still awesome. i really really want one but i dont make nearly as much money as you (or save nearly as much at least) its not as modern as whats in your pic though so be cautious. i know you think mixing and matching things will work just fine, but you'll be surprised to find it rarely does. you'll just have a weirdly unmatching uncomfortable feeling room that you cant understand.
even the way things are arranged can change it. had a gay guy come in two weeks ago and just move my furniture ever so slightly now its comfy as fuckkkk
>>16761432
this also doesnt match decor, but its for night use so wont matter
http://www.amazon.com/Laser-Stars-Indoor-Light-Show/dp/B000VBNIP2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1454448766&sr=8-3&keywords=star+gazer
for bedroom or living room its amazing, it casts greenstars and a blue cloud on the ceiling. in this pic it looks cheap but its really not its actually really beautiful, best project i have ever used (i went through a lot trying to find one that wasnt cheap or stupid) great for relaxing nights at home, i always turn it on when i have someone over, easy way to get them into bed.
>>16761464
>globe mini bar while not being in a 007 movie
>tacky wall decorations that dominate the entire space
>listening to this autist about anything
>>16761472
>projection of night sky on your ceiling as a means to attract women
oh god, pls stop.
>>16761475
>yuyu hakusho reaction image
says everything right there.
just go to fucking ikea
>>16761479
it worked for me. i cant couch for everyone. whos to say if it would work for an ugly person.
buy one. find out.
>>16761484
>attack his autistic interior design tips
>retaliates with my choice of reaction image
>>16761493
>>16761459
My 20 year old sister in law bought this for her apartment from amazon. The thing looks cheap as fuck and screams of autism.
I don't recommend purchasing one if your goal is to increase people's opinion of you.
>>16761534
>if your goal is to increase peoples opinion of you
i rarely have anyone over unless they are a lay or a friend. if their a lay, im already getting laid, so its a moot point. I often pull out my fossils or power morpher, so having another globe wont make much difference. im not sure what kind of 'friends' you have, but mine arent assholes.
if you seriously build your house (and by extension, your life) around the things that will make people 'increase their opinion' of you, then it doesn't even matter if you do have autism, ur a slave to other peoples whims.
decorate your place so 1) you're comfortable and 2) you're surrounded by things you actually like.
>>16761547
Why else would you be on 4chan asking people for decorating advice if you weren't some narcissist in training?
I'm going to have to accuse you of being an autist if you couldn't extrapolate that much.
>>16761557
im not here on 4chan asking for decorating advice. I am giving decorating advice. considering the posts you quoted are all me giving suggestions, im going to have to accuse you of being a retard if you couldn't extrapolate that much.
as for OP, just because he wants advice doesn't mean he wants to further the opinion of people who randomly walk in and out of his apartment. it simply means that hes never had the chance to make his own home before and wants advice on how (notice the biggest issue was price, not 'whats cool?').
TL;DR go be elitist somewhere else.
I couldn't care less about opinions of most. Although, my best friend said my apt was "too clean" and she meant it look unlived in. So I started leaving little things out and about.
Other than that, I just want to be comfortable
IKEA has some really nice and minimal things that don't cost much:
> KARLSTAD or NOCKEBY sofas
> BESTA combinations for tv storage
You can use some design things for some minor details like the coffee tables, lamps or mirrors. I like mixing light wood, white and grey.
I prefer cold and dark shades of grey for sofa/carpet and white/light shade of wood for the rest of the furniture because it's manly but not as much as using a lot of black/dark furniture.
>>16761585
I'm not talking about you, sperg. I made a comment on the globe you recommended. You're doubly autistic if you think that he doesn't care about the globe being a plastic pile of shit.
He may as well decorate his apartment with feces if he wasn't low-cost bullshit to put everywhere.
>>16761627
IKEA is shit tier furniture. OP can afford to buy quality furniture. Everything I've ever bought from IKEA is poorly made and made with low quality wood.
>>16761642
>OP can afford to buy quality furniture.
>with an "expendable" budget of ~$400/month.
are you sure?
>>16761642
Depends on what you buy. Some things are shitty, some others are decent.
You also can't buy top quality furniture with 400$. A good quality design sofa is about 1500$-2000$. IKEA ones are about 600$, which is still over OP's montly budget.
I bought some of my furniture from IKEA and I have been using it for over 10 years and it's still good. I bought one of the most expensive lines, which are still pretty cheap. The quality is decent. Not top tier, but decent.
>>16761650
>what are credit cards
Are you even trying? Most places offer no interest for a year. He could pay off $4,800 worth of furniture in a year. Realistically, he could throw down $1,000-1,500 on furniture and pay it off a couple hundred a month with ease.
>>16761642
>low quality wood.
Then only buy the metal and glass furniture.
Anyway shouldn't it be op who decides where he shops?
>>16761116
Just build your own out of crates and pallets
>>16761675
>taking offense I said IKEA sucked
Yeah it's his decision and we're all giving opinions. You think IKEA is good. I think it sucks. He'll decide.
And what if he doesn't like the look of metal and glass furniture and wants wood. Personally I'd rather have wood over some new age looking metal look but that's just me. Again he'll decide, it's all just opinions and advice to OP.
>>16761674
>get into debt to buy something to sit on.
I'd rather just save up and buy it outright.
Using credit is a cultural thing, only 33% of Germans have a credit card.
>>16761691
If you're responsible then credit cards are great. I've been using credit cards for over 10 years. I currently use 3. I've probably had close to 15 over the years for various perks and one time purchases. Never missed a payment and have a high 700 credit score. Which makes getting a loan better if I ever need one. Plus better rates on said loan.
Plus if I don't want to sink $2,000 into a new toy I can open a line of credit wherever I buy it, and they'll usually offer no interest, then pay it off over time. Getting into debt is for idiots, not for people who spend money. You have to be an idiot first.
>>16761690
don't flatter yourself I wasn't offened.
Just thought I'd mention the metal and glass furniture from ikea as you implied they only sell shit wood furniture and that is misinformation.
>>16761674
In my head, spending so much money on something that you'll use at most 7-10 years (I don't think OP wants to live in his bachelor pad forever) isn't worth it. Maybe it's just my perception.
When I decorated the apartment I live in, I knew I was going to live here for 5-7 years and bought mostly IKEA things, so I don't feel bad when I'll move and redecorate according to my new needs.
>>16761710
Fair enough. That shit still looks tacky you gotta admit.
>>16761708
Again credit is culture thing and so is credit score.
Where I'm from the decent rate loans and mortgages are based on income, not how many credit card you manned to pay off on time.
