By Elizabeth Pullman
Apartment Living/Rental Expert, about.com
You may have already written your shopping list for your new apartment,
but take a second look - it might be missing some truly awesome things
that could complete your home. From storage-savers you simply must have
in your bedroom to spice racks behind hidden doors, these additions are
some of the most usefully random home goods you should add to your
list:
Hook-On Balcony Desk
If you work from
home, you will certainly spend good time and money furnishing your home
office. But when it's warm and sunny outside and the chirp-chirp of
robins are beckoning, you may be tempted to move your whole workspace
setup outside. The hook-on balcony desk means you don't have to lug a
clunky desk outdoors - it attaches to the frame of your balcony railing.
Folding Wall-Mounted Barbecue Pod
Many
apartments don't offer enough outdoor space for you to set up a
barbecue grill, which is why a wall-mounting, fold-out barbecue pod is
so helpful. It's comprised of a mounted, steel firebowl that folds up
against the wall in order to save space when not in use.
It also looks super cool - imagine the
expression on your friends' faces when they arrive for a cook-out and
you make a barbecue magically appear from a wall.
Vertical Wine Rack
When
you live in an apartment with limited space, you have to make some
sacrifices. But like any adult of sound mind, you would sooner throw out
your bed than get rid of your wine collection - even if it's comprised
solely of $10 bottles from your grocer's international aisle. A vertical wine rack can be mounted on the wall to save counter space and lets you store your bottles properly - on their side.
Slide-Out Spice Rack
In
your youth, rarely did you find yourself thinking about storage options
for your vast and ever-growing collection of spices. Now, however, you
need a spice rack that can hold all those jars of curry you keep
forgetting to use while taking up minimal room. One of the most awesome
things you can have in your kitchen is a slide-out spice rack - it fits
in the 6-inch space between your refrigerator and wall and pulls out to
reveal a wonderful world of flavors.
Magnetic Wall
Bulletin
boards are nice additions to an office, but they don't belong in the
living spaces of your apartment. A magnetic wall can be created by
applying two coats of magnetic paint followed by a third coat of regular
paint to match the other walls (unless it's an accent). Then, you can
use the magnetism to hang pictures and other home decor. You can even
make a magnetic wall in your kitchen to hang knives, pots and pans.
Shower Curtain with Pockets
Pockets
aren't just for pants and aprons - they're a must-have for anyone with
an over-cluttered bathroom. Hang a shower curtain with pockets to store
shampoos, hand towels, loofahs and whatever else you need to get all
squeaky clean. Keep in mind that water can fill the pockets, but you can
avoid this by choosing a curtain with drainage holes at the bottom of
each pocket.
Staircase
There's no
hard-and-fast rule that you must have a second floor in your apartment
to have a staircase. Install one that leads up to your loft bed, or put
a few steps under that kitchen cabinet that you can never quite reach.
You can also purchase (or build) a small, transportable staircase that
serves as a furnishing - stairs that function as bookshelves are trendy
right now.
Secret Storage Headboard
Sure,
it's easy to just lay your mattress on the floor, but you're an adult
now and you need a proper bed frame and headboard. Might as well make it
one that doubles as a secret storage spot
in which you can hide whatever awesome things you want to keep from the
world. In fact, there's no reason to stop at the headboard - you can
deck your apartment out with everything from secret storage ottomans to
bathroom tiles that are actually slide-out drawers.
Moving Wall
Small
spaces call for creativity, especially in a studio where the one-room
setup leaves little to the imagination - entertaining guests can get
weird when they start snooping through your bedside drawer. If you think
paneled room dividers are straight-up boring, one of the coolest
additions you can make, if you can afford it, is a moving wall. Click a
button and suddenly one room becomes two. A little spatial
reconfiguration can go a long way.
Wall Graphics
Remember
when we mentioned the whole thing about being adults? Toss that out and
take a journey back to the 1990s when wall tattoos were crazy cool. Wall decals
are actually very popular again, especially among the DIY-ers, and they
allow you to add a little personal flavor to your apartment. Your
landlord won't let you paint your bedroom walls with a mural of the
Rainbow Road track in Mario Kart? Recreate the scene with wall graphics
that you can take with your after you move.
