Lifestyle

The Importance of Sleep: Top Tips That Will Help You Sleep Better

by Brosa Design · Jul 6, 2017

We all lead constantly busy lives: whether it be work, family or the never-ending to-do list, it seems there never is enough time to a day. Among these priorities (work, family, commitments) that form the pillars of our lives, sleep becomes less of a priority. The way we sleep dictates our mood during the day, our sense of productivity and our overall quality of life.

According to a recent study by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society, it is recommended adults snatch seven or more hours of sleep per night. This golden seven-hour rule should be no secret to us. But with a third of the study’s population getting six hours or less, it’s clear our actions don’t reflect this knowledge.

If you knew how much this sleep deficit impacts on our quality of life, you may be more inclined to grab a few extra hours. A recent survey involving over 28,000 subjects showed those whose sleep time was outside the seven-hour mark had substantially worse quality life, associated with physical illnesses.

Sleep More – Improve Your Quality of Life

1. Physical Health

According to the Restorative Theory of Sleep, shut-eye time allows our body to repair and rejuvenate, through repairing tissue, boosting muscle mass, synthesising proteins and releasing growth hormone.

These processes are essential to developing the strong immune system we need to operate optimally on a day-to-day basis. Indeed, a study that exposed a cold virus to its subjects after monitoring their sleeping habits, showed that subjects who had less than seven hours of sleep were three times as likely to get sick than those with eight hours of sleep.

2. Maintaining your weight

One of the lesser known benefits of sleep is better weight control. A 2005 study by Archives of Internal Medicine showed that overweight participants sleep less than participants of normal weight.

Why?

In our bodies, we have a hormone called leptin – key to making us feel full. But when you don’t sleep enough, leptin levels drop. This causes you to feel hungrier than usual, making you reach for those high-fat and high-calorie foods you know you should avoid.

3. Good sleep = good mood

Getting enough sleep won’t instantly flick on your happy switch, but it’s true that when you’re tired, you’re more likely to be cranky.

Lack of sleep negatively affects the way your emotions regulate, often increasing your stress levels through amplified moodiness, anxiety and aggression. While sleep won’t eliminate all your stress, it will increase your readiness to cope with it.

4. Improved memory

We all have two types of memory: the declarative “what” (e.g. what is the capital of Australia?) and procedural “how” (e.g. how do you open a door?). Both of these are key to our day-to-day lives.

Studies show that while we sleep, our brains process and consolidate memories — both declarative and procedural. Safe to say, when you don’t sleep enough, these memories may not get stored properly, or worse, get lost altogether.

5. Mental clarity

Sleep affects the way you think. When you lose sleep, you’re far more likely to make silly mistakes (e.g. leaving your phone in the fridge) and become worse at solving problems than if you’re well rested.

Why?

When you don’t sleep enough the night before, the neurons in their brain are not able to function optimally the next day. Your ability to focus and decision-making abilities are significantly impaired.

More importantly, our safety is compromised when sleep is disregarded. The Institute of Medicine highlights that one out of five auto accidents in the U.S. is a result of drowsy driving, resulting in 1 million crashes a year.

How to Sleep Better

Allow quiet time before bed

Whether it’s the latest episode of Game of Thrones or the last few outstanding emails in your inbox, we understand the struggle. “Just five more minutes!” you reason with yourself. But it’s essential you spend these last five minutes up to half an hour before bedtime away from stimulants.

Doing work close to bedtime stimulates your brain and may cause you unnecessary stress, making it hard to sleep. In fact, bright lights from the TV and laptop can hinder the development of melatonin – the hormone that actually helps you sleep.

Take a hot shower.

Hot showers help you fall asleep, by relaxing your muscles. But do make sure you don’t take one too close to your bedtime. This can lead to overheating and sweating, making you uncomfortable and preventing you from falling asleep.

Try to keep the same bedtime over weeknights and weekends.

Staying up late and sleeping in at different times across your week disrupts your body clock’s circadian rhythm. It’s good to wake up and go to bed at the same time every day, allowing your body to learn the optimal time to sleep.

OK, being practical, we understand that social events over weekends mean this is not always possible. While it’s okay not to follow your bedtime down to the minute, try to allow no more than an hour’s difference.

Sleeping Tips for Expectant Mums

Getting a good night’s sleep is one of the hardest things about pregnancy. Sweats, aching hips, heartburn that gets worse as you lie down — these side effects of pregnancy make the whole sleeping process difficult.

With the increased size of your abdomen, you wonder, what is the best sleeping position for both you and your baby? Is sleeping on your back okay, or is that bad? It’s important to find the right sleeping position and conditions for both you and the baby growing inside you.

Pregnancy: Finding the right position

1. Sleeping on your tummy

Certainly, this is OK to do during the early stages of pregnancy. As you move deeper into your pregnancy, you should avoid this sleeping position and will inevitably find you can no longer do this anyway.

2. Sleeping on your back

Much like sleeping on your tummy, it is OK to sleep on your back during your first trimester, but best to avoid in the later months of your pregnancy.

When you sleep on your back, your growing baby puts pressure on your spine, back muscles, intestines and, more importantly, major blood vessels that circulate blood to your heart.

So this position could restrict the amount of blood and nutrients that reach your placenta and baby. It could also cause your blood pressure to drop, leaving you feeling dizzy and nauseous, not to mention muscle aches and pains when you awake the next morning.

3. Sleeping on your side

Sleeping on the side, otherwise known as SOS, is the best. But which is the best side to sleep on – left or right?

The answer is your left. While sleeping on your right-hand side is much better than sleeping on your front/back, it’s still not as good as sleeping on your left. Sleeping on your right puts pressure on your liver while sleeping on your left prevents this.

Recommended by doctors and midwives, sleeping on the left allows your baby to receive the right amount of nutrients and oxygen through the placenta. It also helps your kidneys efficiently eliminate waste products and fluids from your body.

Make use of pillows: positioning a pillow under your body keeps you on your side, preventing you from rolling onto your stomach or back.

While sleeping on the left is the best, don’t panic if you wake up on your back or your right-hand side. Staying in one position all night isn’t comfortable, so it’s okay to turn from side to side; though, of course, favouring the left side is best.

Strategies to sleep better during pregnancy

Apart from honing the right sleeping position for both you and your baby, many mothers-to-be struggle with falling asleep. Below we have a few suggestions to help you ease your way into a good night of sleep.

1. Skip late night snacks

Consuming food and drink within two hours of bedtime will increase the likelihood of reflux or heartburn, so it’s best to avoid this.

2. Prop your body

Get a firm pillow and prop your head and upper body a few inches higher. This will put less pressure on your diaphragm, helping you breathe easier during the night.

3. Make your bed comfortable

As your spine will suffer more pressure than normal due to the extra weight of your stomach, try arranging different sized pillows in a way that would elevate your body and relieve back pain. A mattress pad is also handy in providing more support for your back.

4. Turn down the temp

The right sleeping environment is key to a good night’s sleep. As your body heat does increase during pregnancy, experiment with your room’s thermostat and find a temperature that is right for you.

5. Unplug well before bedtime

This is the golden rule most of us forget about in today’s tech-savvy day and age, but so important when it comes to getting a good night’s rest.

Be sure to remove any external stimulation from your presence fifteen minutes before bedtime. This includes social media, books, laptops, newspapers, television. Allowing your mind and body to unwind and relax at the end of the day will help you fall asleep better.

Getting a good night’s rest with a baby growing inside of you is no easy feat, but there are ways to make it easier on yourself, such as finding the right sleeping position, following a nightly ritual and creating a comfortable sleeping environment.

Sleeping with Back Pain

Back pain is common and affects most of us at some point in our lives. Recent estimates from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that about 1.8 million Australians suffer from back problems. It has also been estimated that around 70-90% of people will suffer from lower pack pain at some point in their lives.

As sleep is a time for repairing tissues and boosting muscle mass, it makes sense to look at how you can reduce back pain through sleep. Your sleeping position itself may even be causing the back pain, instead of repairing it! Today, we look at the best and worst sleeping positions specifically for back pain:

Worst Sleep Position for Back Pain: The Freefall

Freefall sleepers, you may want to think about changing up the way you sleep. As sleeping on your stomach can flatten the natural curve of your spine, this may put additional strain on your back muscles — thus, making your back pain even worse. As your neck is crooked to the side while you sleep, this results in back pain between your shoulders.

If you’d like to continue with the same freefall sleeping position, the next best thing would be to put a pillow under your lower abdomen and pelvis. This is to support the natural curve of your spine.

Best Sleep Position for Back Pain: The Log

In the Log position, you lie on the side with both arms by your side. This position keeps the spine straight, which would help ease your back pain. Aside from this, side sleepers can also draw their legs slightly towards the chest with a pillow between their knees to further alleviate pain.

For Back Sleepers: Put a pillow between your knees – this is to allow your spine to maintain its natural curve.

Creating the right sleep spot

When it comes to sleeping, creating the right environment is just as essential as your sleeping position. Comfort differs from person to person. You may prefer a hard mattress or a soft one, or vice versa.

It’s important to choose a mattress that fully supports your back; so do some research beforehand and try sleeping on various mattresses in-store when you select your mattress. A firm or medium-firm mattress is usually the best option.

Aside from this, it’s also helpful to use a contoured pillow to alleviate neck strain. Alternatively, you can sleep on just one pillow, instead of a stack of pillows, to keep your body level.

While the log is the best sleep position for back pain, it’s fine to move around a bit while you sleep – don’t literally be a log! In fact, if you maintain a sleep position for too long, this may actually amplify your back pain.

Back pain is not fun, and unfortunately, it doesn’t stop when you go to bed at night. So it’s important to find the right support for your back when you sleep. You can position pillows unique to your sleeping position, or altering your sleeping position to alleviate the pain.

We hope the above suggestions will help all of you with back pain in getting a better night’s rest and some back pain relief.

How to Clean Your Sofa in a Jiffy

by Brosa Design · Jul 6, 2017

Whether you’re relaxing after a long day or entertaining guests in your living room, your sofa is an integral part of your home, and a great investment given how much time you’ll probably spend lounging on it.

Before buying your sofa, consider the sofa fabric and how it will fare in your household. For example, that white fabric couch might seem like a stylish choice but it’ll be no match for a messy toddler who likes to get creative with their crayons.

Once you have your dream sofa, it’s important to ensure it stays looking good for as long as possible. Whether you have a comfy fabric couch, an elegant leather sofa or a stylish velvet lounge, you’ll want to protect and preserve it. Prevention is better than restoration!

Prevention can be anything from regularly fluffing and flipping the cushions so your sofa keeps its shape to using a protective spray. However, no matter what type of sofa you have or how much TLC you show it, you’ll have to clean it from time to time, and these tips and tricks will help you keep your couch in good nick.

How Often Should You Clean Your Sofa?

Cleaning your sofa depends on how often you use it and how you use it. It also depends of the kind of sofa and the kind of material it is upholstered with. In any case your sofa should be cleaned regularly to keep it in pristine condition.

Spot-clean your sofa as needed; it’s best to remove stains as soon as they occur.

Conduct a regular vacuum of your sofa fortnightly, especially if you have pets or someone in your household suffers with allergies or asthma. Make sure to vacuum under the cushions and in crevices to avoid an embarrassing pile up of dirt and debris.

Supplement a regular spot-clean and vacuum with an annual steam clean. Steam cleaning will kill bacteria, remove stubborn stains and lift scuffs and marks.

Most sofas come with a tab or tag – check this to determine the best cleaning solution for your couch. And don’t forget to spot test any cleaning solution you’re about to use in an inconspicuous spot.

How to Clean Your Fabric Sofa

Preparing your fabric couch for a spot clean is easy.

Step #1

Thoroughly vacuum your sofa first. This will remove the main dirt and dust.

Step #2

Take a lint brush and brush your fabric sofa to remove any lint and pet hair.

Step #3

Remove stubborn stains using white vinegar mixed with water. Use a soft, microfiber cloth to gently rub in a circular motion.

Step #4

Apply a mild laundry detergent mixed with water or a specialty upholstery product for an all-over clean and to sanitise/deodorise your fabric sofa. Be careful to avoid oversaturating and scrubbing your sofa or risk damaging the fabric.

Step #5

Allow the fabric to air dry. You can speed up the process by opening a window.

Step #6

Now your sofa is clean, grab a specially formulated stain guard spray to protect your fabric sofa. They repel liquids and prevent stains from sticking to the fabric.

How to Clean Your Velvet Sofa For Great Results

Caring for your velvet sofa is a lot like caring for a fabric sofa, except that velvet is more delicate and requires a little more attention. Remember to clean up any velvet sofa spills immediately with a microfibre cloth.

Here are 4 easy steps to cleaning velvet sofas:

A soft brush or a lint brush will remove dirt and will prevent the velvet from getting matted. Roll them gently over the main surfaces of your sofa.

Test upholstery cleaners before applying them liberally. Most are effective to clean your velvet sofa, but be sure to try it on a small area first.

For stubborn stains, apply a water and laundry detergent mixture and gently dab until the stain is gone.

Dry any wet velvet sofa spots using a hairdryer or a fan. Moisture and velvet aren’t a good mix and leaving it wet can damage the velvet.

How to Clean Your Leather Sofa With Ease

Leather sofas are unique and require a special treatment:

Your leather sofa can get scratched by abrasive dust particles. To prevent this, be sure to vacuum your leather couch regularly. But be careful not to scratch your sofa with your vacuum.

Leather requires special maintenance. A moisturising soap is a good start but soap and water can stain the material.

You’ll need to ensure the leather gets the moisture it needs with a special leather protective conditioner or treatment. These cleaners contain healthy oils and waxes to rejuvenate the material and prevent the leather from cracking and wearing down.

You’ll be pleased to know that moisturising, polishing and taking proper care of a leather couch will actually see it get better with age.

We hope this article has aided you in your sofa cleaning quest. However, if you think your couch is too far gone to recover, browse our selection of sofas and designer furniture online to update your lounge room décor today!

Reasons Why We Love Notting Hill

by Brosa Design · Jul 6, 2017

Image via Buildington

Home to many highlights, Notting Hill is filled with plenty of charm and history. Today we take a deep look into what it is that makes us fall head over heels for the historic attraction, with the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road market sitting right at the top of our list.

The Notting Hill Carnival

Emerged in 1966, the Notting Hill Carnival first began as a showcase of steel band musicians every weekend. Slowly but surely, the bands’ parade drew Afro-Carribean residents onto the streets, reminding them of their beloved homes that they had left behind.

Having been forbidden from holding their own festivals during the slavery period, the Afro-Carribean community took advantage of the freedoms that this abolition of slavery brought them. Such freedom is celebrated in the the extravagant and vibrant fashion displayed throughout the carnival — a tradition that has remained unchanged since its conception.

Images via Shopcade, 500px

Today, the Notting Hill Carnival continues to be an annual tapestry for Afro-Carribbean communities to celebrate their own culture, as well as becoming the largest street festival in Europe. In fact, the annual event is fast approaching, with this year’s event taking place from 29th to 31st August.

Portobello Road

Beyond their distinctive mark on the carnival, the Caribbean community has also influenced the much loved architecture of Notting Hill. The houses along Portobello Road are painted in bright hues, reminiscent of the colourful and creative vibes that the Caribbean community brought into the neighbourhood.

Images via Popsugar, Brosa Notting Hill Collection

It’s no secret that our latest collection Notting Hill is inspired by none other than London’s Notting Hill and Portobello Road itself. Filled with all sorts of antiques and collectables, the place’s unique charm derives from its balance in colour palette, oscillating between bright colours and neutrals. It is precisely this charm that we were particularly drawn to, as reflected in our Notting Hill collection, available as a 3-seater and armchair.

Our Notting Hill Chesterfields come in: yellow gold, tangerine orange, peacock teal, amethyst purple, venetian red, heritage red, putty beige, ocean blue, cosmic anthracite and ebony black.

Image via Lazy Sunday Cooking, Brosa Portobello Collection

Aside from the Caribbean community, Portobello Road is well-known for its love for the alternative and all that is creative – characteristics shaped and appreciated by the many artists that reside in the area. Inspired by this open approach to creativity, our newly launched Portobello collection reflects a contemporary take on the traditional footstool. While intricate studding pays homage to the traditional, the Portobello comes in an assortment of ten lush Warwick velvet fabrics, softening the otherwise solid frame to a make for a contemporary, versatile piece. Just like Portobello Road, this marriage of the classic and eclectic create a beautiful, character filled addition to any home.

The Portobellos are made to complement the Chesterfield perfectly, as well as beautiful standalone pieces that will integrate beautifully with your beloved space. The multipurpose footstool and ottoman come in ten colours: yellow gold, tangerine orange, peacock teal, amethyst purple, venetian red, heritage red, putty beige, ocean blue, cosmic anthracite and ebony black.

Our Notting Hill and Portobello collections are a celebration of the creative and the eclectic, made for those with a special place in their heart for contemporary classic pieces that will be loved for a lifetime. In celebration of the upcoming Notting Hill Carnival, we are currently offering all our customers Australia-wide free home delivery to metro areas. Enjoy this special offer, as well as $30 on us when making your first purchase.

When Eclecticism Meets Minimalism

by Brosa Design · Jul 6, 2017

When two successful creative come together to design their home without outside help, our ears prick up at Brosa. Meet Erika Garaerts and Charl Laubscher’s new Loft in Collingwood, Victoria.

Erika is the co-founder and copywriter at Willow and Blake, the creative backbone of brands such as “frank” and the recently revamped Greywing website. Charl is the co-owner and director of digital agency Love + Money.

The canvas behind this creation is an industrialist’s delight. An open plan Warehouse with high ceilings, exposed beams and Baltic pine floorboards. For the design traditionalists, this is where the fantasy ends. All conventional philosophies go out the window at this point, and it works masterfully!

In true minimalist style, the highflying couples have decorated their space with nothing but the things that make them happy. Keepsakes and vintage finds punctuate their apartment with the guidance only of their instinct and creativity. Where possible, materials are repurposed in the space, the living room table has been created with the frame of a table, topped with an old shower door. According to Garaerts, the couple love to have “awkward dinner parties”, whereby the couple invites four to ten friends over who are complete strangers. The mismatched chairs matchup with each individual at the table, “It’s usually small talk at the beginning, but it’s a great way to meet new people and everyone leaves with a new friend”.

Still evolving, the creative pair’s apartment is still under construction. Geraerts and Laubscher are still readjusting their layout and searching for the perfect lounge room pieces. “I’m still searching for the right sofa, I’m coveting a gold-velvet Danish Piece.

The open plan living plan is as alive as the couple is, creating walls out of bookshelves and wardrobe units which are dynamically changing with the couple’s moods to open up and spaces to match the couple’s moods. Ceiling high windows flood the living room with light, which are filtered by an array of nursery finds including maidenhair ferns and a fiddle leaf fig tree, which impart a calming effect on the living space.

Photography: Brooke Holm

Mother’s Day Must Haves

by Brosa Design · Jul 6, 2017

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, there are a number of ways you can make your mum feel special. Brosa has found some great gift and recipe ideas, to make it easier for you to make this Mother’s Day a memorable one.

Breakfast in Bed

Start the day by spoiling your mum with breakfast in bed; and do it in style with the Stella Bed Head with Gas Lift Bed Base. This stunning bed set has just the amount of luxury that mum will love, featuring elegant tufting and a winged bed head.

Make something delicious and a bit special for mum, such as these Blueberry and Vanilla pancakes from Taste.com.au or if she prefers savoury, a salmon and chive omelette will also work a treat! Make sure you also serve up her favourite beverage whether she likes coffee, tea or juice.

Gift Ideas

Pretty in pink, the Piccolo Coffee Table is a feminine piece your mum will love, and the perfect spot to keep her favourite books, knick-knacks or even just a cup of tea.

Special Additions

Go an extra step further and get your mum a floral arrangement from Flower Temple in Melbourne, which features exquisite bouquets that are guaranteed to make a statement for Mother’s Day.

The Best Kid-Friendly Fabric for Dining Chairs

by Brosa Design · Jul 6, 2017

Your dining room chairs see a lot of activity, from your restless children crafting crayon pictures to fine dining events with family and friends.

Since they’re a main feature of your dining room, it’s natural you want your chairs to look good – and you don’t want to compromise on style so you have a resilient chair that will outlast the kids. Here’s news: it is possible to have both. You just need to have the right kid-friendly fabric.

So what child-proof features are a dining chair fabric must-have? And which natural and synthetic fabrics have these qualities?

To avoid

Silk

On the scale of kid-proof to total disaster, silk sits at the lower end. It may look beautiful, but natural silk is to be avoided if you want long-lasting dining chair fabric.

Silk is, effectively, a nightmare. It’s a delicate fabric with a loose weave and should be a strictly adults-only fabric. Spill or smudge anything on it, and you can be sure the fabric will wear the stain for life – unless you send it off to be professionally cleaned.

Good when blended

Pure linen

On its own, linen isn’t the best all-weather fabric for dining chairs. It wrinkles and stains easily. And if you do soil it, it must be professionally cleaned.

Having said that, linen does resist fading and pilling. It also resists abrasion better than cotton and can actually be quite a sturdy fabric when blended with other materials, such as with these Jesper dining chairs.

Cotton

Again, cotton is a reliable fabric when it is blended with other fabrics. Its durability also depends on its weave and finish.

Cotton alone resists wear, fading and pilling. But it is susceptible to staining and wrinkling. Cottons blends with other fibres, such as linen, polyester and viscose, create a much sturdier fabric. It’s even stronger if it is surface-treated with a stain-resistant finish (see below).

The tighter the weave, the less chance your material has of tearing. Avoid looser damask weaves (they’re best for the formal dining table); canvas weaves are longer lasting.

Polyester

You won’t really see polyester as a stand-alone fabric. But when blended with other fibres, it really bolsters the material’s resilience. Polyester resists abrasion and helps reduce wrinkles and fading.

Viscose

As with polyester, viscose is rarely used alone. But when blended with other fibres, it makes a great replacement for silk. It feels like cotton and looks like silk, which is probably why it is a popular chair fabric option; it is soft to touch, elegant to look at, but resilient to wear and tear. But take care; it can wrinkle easily.

Highly recommended

If you have small kids, you can expect a lot of spills and texta streaks during the life of your dining chair. Try as you might, you won’t be able to prevent these mishaps. But you can, at least, choose a fabric that won’t hold onto a stain. Thankfully, there are a few of them out there.

Vinyl

Vinyl is a controversial choice and you have to love the material to go with it on one of your most-viewed and most-used furniture items.

It isn’t as expensive as leather, but then its durability will depend on its quality. It is also VERY easy to take care of – which is probably why it’s so popular in budget eateries. When it comes to child-friendly qualities, you can’t get much more kid-proof than this.

Leather

Real leather takes the cake for resilience. It is a forgiving fabric, easily washable and virtually stain resistant. Even better, it stands up to any rigorous cleaning routine; it can be vacuumed, wiped with a wet cloth, and cleaned with leather conditioner or saddle soap. And it looks good too (just check out these Espen dining chairs)!

The only thing you need to watch out for is the natural and unavoidable wear and tear your leather will receive over time. But if you’re really concerned about that, you can always buy chairs with distressed leather – this will hide added blemishes from the outset.

Extra measures

Whichever dining chair fabric you eventually go for, it will always be worthwhile treating it to ensure maximum endurance.

For a start, patterned fabrics will always do a better job of hiding wear and tear. Choose them over plain-coloured fabrics.

A stain-resistant treatment, or Scotch-guarding (with the right product for the material, of course), is a great way to prolong the life of your fabric. Some dining chairs undergo Scotch-guarding in the manufacturing stage; otherwise, treat the furniture yourself.

If you have truly rambunctious children, or you are very fond of your furniture, the last measure is to place slipcovers on your chairs. This protects the chair fabric from kids and pets and can be tossed into the washing machine for easy cleaning. Of course, this isn’t ideal if you have a beautiful chair you want to show off – but it does mean that chair has a greater chance of looking good longer.

If you want more handy dining chair tips, check out some of our other resources on the blog like our guide to cleaning your sofa. Or browse through our quality range of designer dining chairs to find something both you AND the kids can love and enjoy for a good time to come.

The Essentials of Nesting Your Starter Apartment

by Brosa Design · Jul 6, 2017

Settling into a new apartment can be an overwhelming task. This is especially the case if it’s your very own first apartment. You’ve got nothing to put on the shelves, and no basis for your interior design except for the paint on your walls and the colour of your carpet.

There are several things you’re going to have to sort out when you move into your starter apartment. Unless you have a swish penthouse apartment (lucky you if you do), you’ll have to compromise once you move into your new abode. Most apartments have less floor space than houses, which means you’ll have to be choosy about furniture and clever about storage options.

Here are a few handy tricks to nesting your starter apartment, from creating a furniture plan to picking your design and – most importantly of all – selecting your furniture.

Creating your floor plan

Some people might think this is a drag, but we get excited about drafting up floor plans (and it’s certainly less of a hassle than literally dragging your furniture from one position to another to see what works).

In fact, these days the internet has made floor plans a real game – like your own Sims home design you can put into real-life practice. There are plenty of free floor plan programmes you can find online, such as Gliffy.

Of course, some of us are a bit averse to the internet. That’s OK too. There’s a simple way to map your own floor plan – although you’ll be short on time before all the furniture clogs your space. Use either your boxes, towels or newspaper cut-outs to decide where everything will go.

Settling on a design

Choosing a design for your starter apartment is perhaps the most important aspect to decorating your new place. Whatever you pick, you’re going to be stuck with it for a considerable while, so you’ll want to get it right first time.

There is a very simple key to unlocking the right décor style for your apartment: go with what you like.

These days settling on a design you like is easy. You need only traipse through the internet, browsing on Pinterest, Houzz, and other interior design websites to fix on a style that appeals to you. If you’re a real home bug you can create a scrapbook – a virtual one using Pinterest for example, or you can go old-school with newspaper cutouts in an A3 folder.

Your décor preference could be rustic chic or New York elegance, but once you’ve picked your style you can start choosing your furniture.

We do have to issue a word of caution here: it’s all very well for you to adore a certain design style. But if it doesn’t fit with your permanent apartment fittings it’s going to flop.

If you own your pad, it’s relatively easy for you to mix and match styles until you find one that fits. Paint the walls and ceiling, refit the kitchen cupboards, or tear up the carpet to reveal the polished floorboards underneath (at your own risk, of course!). Create styles based on both home features and décor.

But if you’re renting it’s a whole different story. Without being able to tailor the apartment to your favourite style, you’ll have to compromise to make sure whichever design trend you choose fits with the existing décor.

Selecting your furniture

Your furniture is perhaps the thing you can be most flexible within your apartment, but that doesn’t mean you should just pick something willy-nilly. This is the area you really want to invest in since your furniture is probably going to be with you a long time.

Think about how you intend to use each piece of furniture now, but also in the future. It’s all well and good to buy a small square dining table for four, but what happens if you have a growing family or turn enthusiastic dinner host?

And since it’s possible you’ll move out of this apartment and into another at some point in the future, try to get furniture pieces that are malleable to different room designs. Chairs, sofas and ottomans in neutral tones work best. You can then focus on particular décor styles in the accessories you use to adorn your furniture and walls.

Adding the décor

Your décor is where the house truly comes into its own – or your own. Even if you can’t overhaul the brown carpet or linoleum floors, you can add décor to spruce up your space.

Photographs and paintings can personalise your wall space while throws, cushions and large rugs can add colour to your living room. It’s an easy way to spice up a space without spending loads of money which may be wasted should you move and have to start over again.

Clever Storage Tricks

If you’ve moved into an apartment, you’re probably going to have to deal with some space issues. Apartments can be roomy or boxy, but unless you’ve gone for a plush, modern affair you’re probably going to have to get creative with your storage options.

Use all the spaces available to you. That means walls as well as floor space. Use cheap hooks and over-the-door storage racks.

A particularly clever trick for storage is to give your furniture a dual purpose. Fill the space beneath your bed with organised storage boxes. Better yet, purchase a storage bed frame that offers plenty of additional storage space. Choose ottomans and couches that also offer extra room within the frame (or on the other hand are expandable for when you need that extra seating or bed).

And finally, make careful considerations when selecting your commodes and bedside tables. If you’re looking for some compact storage, choose something that has plenty of storage space without taking up too much room, such as this Edgar chest of drawers.

Stocking up

Finally, if you’re heading into your first apartment, you’re probably starting from scratch: that means no towels, no cutlery, no can opener or cheese grater.

Thankfully, instead of scribbling up a long and desperate list of things you need only to realise you forgot the dishwashing liquid, the internet now supplies an array of starter apartment stock lists. We find this one by My First Apartment particularly useful.

Having fun

Don’t forget that more important than your design and décor, a floor plan, a stock list, or even the furniture and accessories is having fun. This is your first home! It’s yours to truly enjoy.

So our last piece of advice to you once you’ve shifted all the boxes inside is to put up your feet and crack open a bottle of champagne – just don’t forget to include a bottle opener on your starter apartment stock list!

At Brosa we celebrate the starter apartment. This is a big step in your life! So we supply elegant yet practical furniture that’s made to last. Make a mark on your apartment with one of our designer pieces.

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