We are officially 3 weeks in (to the day) living in our new digs, woo! The 1st week felt like such a blur TBH because I was focusing on getting the apartment relatively organized while juggling several days of missed work (yikes) that naturally, I drove myself into the full-blown plague during all of week 2 as a result. Sooo needless to say, this is the first day in 1.5 weeks where I feel like I won’t be coughing up a lung. Moving really does take everything out of you..glad to be on the other side of it now! But despite my health bender, we’ve been able to make a couple improvements in the short time we’ve been here.

Unlike my last apartment, this one will take a lot longer to get set up completely (like months..) So instead of finishing each space & sharing the reveal once done, I’ve decided to share multiple updates as we continue decorating our new home. This way, I feel like the transformation from beginning to end of each space will be better recognized & I can keep you all in the loop with what we’ve been hard at work doing here!

Sectional Couch | Coffee Table | Area Rug | Assorted Throw Pillows

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Two major accomplishments achieved off the bat: the living room is now 90% done + I got my wardrobe set up in my office! I was STRUGGLING with all the wardrobe boxes and clutter in my “offlet” for the first two weeks & literally wore the same thing every day as a result. Now I can finally see the floor of my office & am able to get some work done (TG!) Of course, there was a slight speed bump in the process – IKEA decided not to include 4 very essential pieces of the wardrobe in order for me to add the drawers..just my luck, right? I found out the only way I can get the right pieces is to physically go back to the store I bought them at & ask for the inserts at Customer Service. So when I’ll find the time to do that, TBD..

Back to the living room – all that needs to be done is hanging up the gallery wall. We knew this would be the space we’d hang out the most together, so getting it done first was our priority. I’m so happy with how it turned out, from our indoor garden to our colorful rug! It feels so warm & cozy already, so once the wall art is officially up it’ll be 100% perfect! But of course, we still have a monster of a to do list that we’ve been chipping away at day by day.

What Needs To Be Done

Here are the tasks we’ll be tackling next:

• Hang gallery wall in living room

• Set up entryway storage

• Pick out bar stool + pantry cabinet

• Organize storage closet & laundry/bathroom

• Get wardrobe drawers from IKEA

• Place floor mirror in office

• Determine gallery wall idea in office

• Mount TV in office

• Hang curtain + rod in office

• Get rid of items we don’t need (extra mirrors, wall art, kitchen tool duplicates, etc.)

[Ongoing] Decorating Plans

Once we have our to do list in better shape, we’ll be able to focus on completing the other two spaces of our apartment:

KITCHEN + DINING

• Round area rug under table, possibly matching the one in living room

• Sailing/nautical-themed gallery wall above dining table

• Plan out the far wall in kitchen incorporating large whiteboard calendar

• One bar stool vs two + pantry cabinet for additional storage

BEDROOM

• Mount light fixtures on either side of headboard

• Determine what will go on the far wall in place of a tv (we decided not to put one in the bedroom.)

• Get some sort of window treatment in place

• Floating shelf display above bed

How Cohabitation is Going So Far..

Are you sick of each other yet? Any petty fights? Do you miss your own space? Honestly guys, no, no & no. I know this is brand new and based on the unsolicited advice we’ve already heard, we know it won’t be rainbows & unicorns forever. But right now, in this moment, it totally is & it’s amazing. I think a lot of this excitement stems from the fact we’re building a home together, and the process of seeing our future come into a stronger light is something that means a lot to the both of us. We’re both equally willing & wanting to be in this time of our lives, and with each other. I’m looking forward to all the challenges we’ll begin to face as we continue our partnership, because it’ll ultimately determine how strong of a team we are.

I will say if there’s any sort of “challenge” on the personal front, it’s reminding myself that I can’t take over & do what I please without asking Thomas for his opinion, from decorating to furniture buying to giving my sister a spare key in case of emergencies. So far, I’ve been very good about making sure T is up to speed with certain things & haven’t gone rogue with anything major. Keep in mind, I’ve lived by myself for the last 5 years so re-learning how to compromise, let alone how to live with a roommate again takes some getting used to. Thankfully, I’ve become more courteous with age than I probably was when I was in college, so it hasn’t felt like a struggle (yet..lol)

Related: What to Expect When Apartment Hunting as a Couple

I’ll be sharing more apartment updates as improvements are made & items on our to do list begin to check off. You can also catch more updates & links to furniture/decor items posted daily on my IG Story; I’ve also created a highlight that hosts everything related that I’ve posted, too >> called “New Apartment.”