Give It a Colorful Makeover

Most metal cabinets are just dull. Fortunately, it's easy to give a cabinet a little personality by painting it a new color. 

1. Take your cabinet outdoors or to a well-ventilated spot. Use a drop cloth to protect the area.  
2. Clean and dry your cabinet. If necessary, sand down any rusted areas. 
3. Remove the drawers.
4. Cover the drawer pulls with painter's tape to protect them from the paint.
5. Spray metal primer on your cabinet and drawers and allow to dry. If you can't find spray paint, you can apply a metal primer instead. 
6. Spray paint your file cabinet and drawers with your favorite color of rust-resistant spray paint. 

A File Cabinet that Doubles as a Chalkboard

Would you like to be able to write inspirational notes or reminders to yourself on your cabinet? Then use chalkboard paint instead of regular spray paint on your file cabinet. Just follow the first seven steps above, but instead of spray painting your cabinet, apply three coats of chalkboard paint. Ideally, you should wait about five hours between coats. 

Add a Wooden Top

Find a piece of nice wood that is the same size or slightly bigger than the top of your file cabinet. Attach the board by drilling in 1-inch screw from the underside of the cabinet. Use washers to keep the screws from going all the way through your wood. 

Have you been searching for a new apartment home close to NAU where you can store all your files, trinkets, and keepsakes? Then, please come by and see our apartments in Flagstaff. We offer shared apartment homes that are individually keyed, a furnished common room, and more.

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Are you excited to decorate your new Flagstaff apartment? If so, you might want to check out these tips for how to get trendy design decor for less. Designer name brands can be pricey, but when you use these tips, you’ll find that you don’t have to pay a lot to get the looks you love.

How to Get Designer Decor for Less

Get Crafty

Often, you can upgrade low-end or antique furnishings with details and embellishments. Add fringe, buttons or sequins to throw pillows. Convert an old dresser into a mini bar station. Stain or paint the frame of an old mirror. It will look like you picked up these items at a trendy artist’s boutique, but you’ll avoid the boutique prices.

Bargain Shop Online

There are lots of places to get good bargains on trendy decor online. One of the best is on Facebook Marketplace. This is a kind of group where locals can post items they have for sale to others who live in the area, like Flagstaff. This and other online places such as Craigslist often have trendy items at less than half the cost of shopping at a boutique store.

Browse Decorating Magazines

Decorating magazines often have sections that feature top brands with beautiful pictures you can use as inspiration to decorate your apartment home. But then they’ll also have a resource listed where you can get that look for less, with the average price of the item. This is a great way to get trendy design decor for less!

Visit Estate Sales

Estate sales are different from garage sales. Estate sales are sales of the entire contents of a home. These sales are listed online, in the same places you would find garage sale listings. With an estate sale, you can browse through an entire home and pick and choose trendy decor items to bring back home with you.

It’s a lot of fun to decorate our Flagstaff apartments. For more inspiration or to learn more about life in Pine Village, please get in touch with us!

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Use lighter colors and fabrics

During winter, it's great to use cozy fabrics made of heavier materials, and it makes sense to use darker, richer colors. But as spring arrives, try switching to lighter colors, such as pastels in blue, pink, yellow, peach and green tones. White, beige, tan and cream colors are also nice for the season. Light is the way to go with fabrics, too, so choose ones like gauzy cottons and linens.

Add airy curtains

In keeping with the theme of lightening things up, try adding some airy curtains in your living room, dining room or bedroom. They will be beautiful as the sunshine streams through and soft springtime breezes cause the fabric to gently move.

Rearrange furniture

The change in seasons is the perfect time to think about moving your furniture and accessories around. Perhaps put your sofa and other seating areas at a different angle, or place a dining table near a sunny window.

Consider lighter materials

Certain materials in furniture just seem to say, loud and clear, that warmer weather has arrived. So try adding some pieces made of wicker, light woods or metal.

Have fun getting ready for spring and summer by switching up your decor. Oftentimes, simply making these changes can really invigorate your apartment's design. Keep in mind that you do not have to spend much money at all to greatly enhance your decor.

If you are ready for a change of scenery this spring and a new apartment to decorate for the season, consider our comfortable Flagstaff apartments. Feel free to call our office today to see which floor plans are still available.

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Mirrored Jewelry Cabinets

These clever storage solutions offer a way to store your favorite jewelry items without taking up much floor or shelf space at all. In fact, some varieties allow you to mount the cabinet on your wall, reducing the floor space required to the lovely number of “0.” You will find options available in a variety of wood finishes and can even paint them to match your walls, so they take up very little “visual” real estate in your apartment too.

Storage Ottomans

These are sure to become fast favorites in your apartment. Not only do they offer clever storage for board games, blankets, coasters, pillows and other essentials, but they also provide clever seating solutions when you have unexpected guests. Some varieties have added benefits that make them well worth the investment, such as converting into tabletop surfaces when you want to take your meals in front of the television or serving as a clean, comfortable space to work when you bring your work home with you.

Sofas With Pull-Out Drawers

Sofa makers are getting creative when it comes to features these days. Many of them now come with cleverly concealed charging stations for mobile devices. Some of them even offer drawers beneath where you can store all manner of blankets, pillows and other living room essentials.

It isn’t difficult at all to find furniture and décor items that pull double duty when it comes to clever storage solution. Contact us today for help in finding the perfect Flagstaff apartment where you can try out these innovative solutions for yourself.

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Wintry weather often heralds an onslaught of neutral colors in fashion, especially after the holidays are over. After a few weeks of this monochromatic lull, anyone can start feeling a bit bored of the color schemes that they see around them. Though the selections at your local home design store can be a bit bland between January and March, you can still employ a few tips and tricks to warm up your Flagstaff, AZ apartment.

Get Indoor Plants

Indoor plants create instant vivacity in your wintry abode. Not only it is refreshing to see greenery when the landscape outside is leafless and gray, but indoor plants offer the following benefits:

• The color green is known to boost moods.
• Plants naturally detox the air of volatile organic compounds like formaldehyde. They also provide fresh oxygen to keep you alert!
• Taking care of a living thing like plants can decrease feelings of sadness, a common feeling associated with winter.
• Plants naturally increase humidity in the air, which slows down the spread of illness. It's especially dry in the winter, so having a few plants around will help prevent respiratory problems and keep your skin hydrated.

Keeping plants with you all year round will help you feel more healthy. You'll also maintain a consistently cheerful environment of life and natural beauty.

Use Colorful Throws

Just like green plants add a splash of color, have some fun by adding a few colorful throws to your couch and bed. Bright throws will keep you warm while watching TV and make the color palette in your apartment more interesting and fun. Get bold with some bold blues and yellows to kick the frosty feelings of winter to the curb.

Are you looking for a place to live that's packed with amenities? Check all the floor plans available at Pine View Village Apartments today! Call us at (844) 807-1412.

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Most residents try to keep the hot Arizona sunlight out of their Flagstaff apartments, which can make it a challenge to keep houseplants. Fortunately, there are some great low-light plants that will still thrive in your apartment, even as you try to beat the heat. Here are some suggestions if you are in the market for a houseplant that does not need a lot of sunlight.

Low-Light Apartment Plants

• Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii): The peace lily is a flowering plant (and it's not actually a lily). A peace lily is a very forgiving plant that will start to droop when it finally does need some water.
• Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana): This plant grows in water and it tolerates low light very well. However, it does grow faster if you can let it get some bright light each day.
• ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia): The ZZ plant was practically made for neglect. You can forget to water and leave it in low light for months and it still looks great! These plants do so well and require so little care that people often mistake them for fake plants, because they will almost never see anyone caring for them.
• Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata): The snake plant has a nice architectural look. It can go weeks at a time without water and still looks sharp and green. It also does well with low amounts of light.
• Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum): The spider plant is another option that does well in low light. It requires very little watering and, in fact, spider plants do better if you let their soil dry out a bit between waterings. A spider plant will also self-propagate in a large enough pot, sending out roots that will turn into new shoots.

You can still beat the heat and work on your green thumb at the same time with these low-light plants. Contact Pine View Village today to see the off-campus apartment plans that we still have available!

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You can’t spell “HOME” without “om,” a unique meditative phrase sometimes interpreted as “that with which one is liberated.” If nothing else, we hope your apartment home is a place where you feel free to be you … or, even more simply, a sanctuary where you feel free, period. Here are five ways to create the sanctuary of “om” in your own apartment home!

1. Clear your mind

… And your space. Clutter is a huge energy suck in your home. We all know the familiar impulse to hold on to things because we might need them someday, we’ll convinced they’ll increase in value, they have sentimental value, or the dreaded “just in case.” But consider how much space those “just in case” items are taking up … and how stressed your clutter can make you on a daily basis! Take time today to clear away clutter, especially from desktop surfaces and your major relaxation spaces. Consider donating or regifting the items you no longer need; not only will you decrease stress, but the act of giving things away is an instant mood enhancer!

2. Create your zone

Find a space that you can make your own private refuge. Whether it’s a special spot on the couch, your bed, your favorite spot to sip your morning coffee, or the bathtub, we all need a place in our home that is private and personalized. Find a way to define that personal space, be it with an item (a guitar, a special chair, a beautiful rug, etc.) or an extra touch of coziness (extra pillows, bath salts, a scented candle, etc.). Find ways to make that area distinctly yours, even if you can’t create physical separation from the rest of your apartment. Consider the impact of draping your favorite blanket over your favorite chair in your favorite reading nook … that spot is yours, and no one else’s, even if it’s smack dab in the middle of your living room!

3. Here comes the sun

“Let the sun shine … Let the sunshine in!” Natural sunlight boosts your mood and health, and can totally change the feel of a room. Whenever you can, let in as much sunlight as possible. Consider natural daylight bulbs if your apartment doesn’t naturally face direct sunlight during the day. Crack open a window and let in the fresh air … soak it in!

4. Color your calm

Add pops of your favorite colors to every room. Pick a color theme that creates the mood you want in each space of your apartment. Even if you’re in a studio, you can create distinct mood places through color: deeper shades wherever your bed is, brighter colors in the living room, softer hues for a spa-experience in the bathroom, etc. Greens are serene. Blue is restful. According to Feng Shui, 2017 is the Year of the Rooster, so consider this year’s “lucky” colors: yellow, brown, gold, silver, and white!

5. Sent-sational

Have you ever heard of signature scents? Many hotels feature specially crafted scents as you enter the lobby or your room to create an instant sense of place. You can bring this same sense to your own space by identifying, claiming, or creating your own signature scent. Flagstaff is known for smelling of vanilla, so if you love nature consider scenting your apartment with vanilla, evergreen, and cinnamon. The main scent “categories” are: musk, smoky, citrus, woody, green, floral, aquatic, and incense (spicy and sweet). Consider your favorite scents of cologne/perfume, shampoo, lotion, or even your favorite coffee shop or hangout. Find ways to bring those scents home.

Remember, it’s the things that make your space personal, peaceful, and private that make it your own sanctuary. When it comes to making your home into a haven, do what feels right to you! With the tips above, and your own personal touches, you’ll be saying “om” to your home in no time!

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Christmas Tree Wire Ornament Holder

For this project, you’ll need crafts wire, an old frame, plenty of ornaments, and a handful of other accessories and craft tools. We love that this untraditional “tree” gives you the chance to take something old and make it new! It also makes a wonderful tree alternative if you don’t have a lot of space in your apartment for a full-sized tree. Hang your tree in a central spot in your home, or lay it wherever you’ll be doing your holiday gift exchange! For a full tutorial, pack up your crafty sleigh and head on over to Better Homes and Gardens!

DIY Pallet Christmas Tree

Looking for an easy decorative piece for your patio or balcony? Check out this easy guide to making a Christmas pallet tree. This is a project that you can size to meet your needs; if you want a bigger tree, just get bigger pallets, or go small for a corner tree for your living room. You’ll need several pallet slats, paint, tools, and maybe some holiday lights and ornaments to make your tree extra festive! Get all the supplies and instructions you’ll need to bring this project to life at Hometalk.

Paper Christmas Tree

We’ve seen this project done a few different ways, but one thing they all have in common is that they are super easy! For a homemade paper tree, all you’ll need is tape, several pages from old books or sheet music, twine, and something decorative to serve as your tree’s star. We’ve seen folks use empty frames, wooden cutout stars, favorite family photos, and more. Simply hang your pages in the general shape of a tree, securing them with tape (or adhesive putty) to the wall and each other. Decorate your “tree” with twine, lights, or any other décor you’d like (just keep in mind … your tree is made of paper, so avoid fire hazards). Hang your “star” at the top, and lay your gifts at the base. You can find a ton of tutorials for making a paper Christmas tree, but we used this one from My Sweet Savannah!

Upcycled Sparkly Christmas Tree

This tree DIY calls for the use of cemetery vases, but you can easily replace them with paper mache cones or doll cones, which can be picked up at almost any craft store. The project has you wrap the cemetery vase in craft paper, but with our craft cone alternative, you can easily skip this step! The main craft supplies you’ll need are hot glue and strands of gold beads! You can find the beads you’ll need at a craft store or a Dollar Store (just head to the party section). This is an easy tree to place on your table or bookshelf. Just set it down as it is, or place it on top of a pretty matching candlestick! For easy to follow instructions, visit Vintage News Junkie … and scroll all the way down for a ton of other fun DIY tree ideas!

“From Trash to Trees” Book Spine Tree

Unless you’re a diehard book junky who thinks dismantling a book is sacrilege, we think you’ll love this project as much as we do! All you’ll need is a pallet wood or other sturdy craft background and pretty spines from some vintage books (head to a second hand or consignment shop to find some if you don’t have any of your own), plus some craft glue. (If the idea of taking an old book apart is giving you heat palpitations just scroll down on the tutorial page for a tutorial for another tree project; it calls for vintage book pages, but you can easily replace them with craft paper or old newspaper!) Check out the full tutorial from Vintage with Laces.

In these final days until Christmas, we wish you happy crafting, and much joy!

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Our theme for October is Fall Into Autumn! We’ll be bringing you everything from tasty treats for the season to décor ideas that will “leaf” you inspired to deck out your home in the colors of the season! We’re lucky to be in a four-season town, so we’re excited to “fall” in love with Autumn with you!

Harvest Vases

All you need for this beautiful table topper are a few cylinder vases (we like these from Michael’s), a few handfuls of shelled nuts (think pecans), wheat bunches, and a sheet of autumn-colored scrapbook paper (brown, deep red, rust, gold, etc.). First, roll a strip of scrapbook paper and tuck it into the top of your vase as a decorative cuff. Stick a wheat bunch or two (you can also pick this up from Michael’s!) into the vase, and surround it with a big scoop of nuts! These make beautiful coffee table centerpieces, or you could hang them in wall sconces!

Twine Pumpkins

Have any extra toilet paper lying around? Turn it into a beautiful DIY pumpkin! You’ll need a roll of toilet paper, a skein of twine, scissors, a hot glue gun, and a stick. Secure one end of your twine to the inside of the toilet paper tube with a dab of hot glue. Wrap the twine around the toilet paper until the full roll is covered. Once the full roll is covered, glue the other end of your twine into the center of the roll to secure it, and stick your stick through the center to make the stem! Voila … an easy, beautiful autumn decorative piece!

Burlap Leaf Wreath

A wreath is a beautiful and simple statement piece to make your home’s exterior a little more welcoming. For this project, grab a straw plain wreath (you can snag one for under three bucks at Jo-Ann’s), a half- to full-yard of burlap, and either various colors of crafting felt, craft leaves, or head out to the Flagstaff forests to pick up some real fall foliage. If you go with craft felt (think greens, reds, yellows, and oranges), cut out some leaf templates on the felt—you’ll want at least twenty! You’ll also need some scissors and a glue gun. Cut strips of burlap; use hot glue to secure one end to the wreath frame, then wrap the full wreath with your burlap, gluing down the other end when needed. Once the full wreath is covered, begin placing your leaves on the wreath, securing them with hot glue. Make sure you leave some of the burlap exposed; it’s a beautiful fall textile, so let people see it! Once you’re happy with the look, hang your wreath on the door to welcome friends and fall to your home!

Mason Pumpkin Jars

For this craft, raid your cabinets for mason jars; you’ll also need brown and orange acrylic paint, wood pegs, scissors, glue, and fall-colors card stock. First, paint your mason jars orange (you can get a variety of shades for not a lot of cash at any craft store). Paint the lids brown. You can also paint the wood pegs, or leave them their natural shade of brown. While the jars and lids dry, cut leaf shapes from the card stock. Cut thinner strips of your card stock to curl as vines. (All you need to curl your strips is either the edge of a scissor blade—to curl like curling ribbon—or a pencil to wrap the strip around.) Secure a leaf and a few paper “vines” to each wood peg with glue, and then secure the peg “stem” to the jar lid with more glue. Simply screw the lids on to finish your project. These are great as centerpieces, or as candy jars! You can also use them as beautiful fall gift containers if you don’t mind giving up your beautiful craft!

Pine Cone Place Cards

Make beautiful pine cone place cards or card holders with pine cones you can find right here in Flagstaff! First, hunt for some pine cones with relatively flat bases. Secure them to a drink coaster with hot glue. To create a holder for your place card or stand for your greeting card, use sturdy craft leaves or dried real leaves; secure the leaf to the pine cone by tucking the stem into the pine cone and securing with hot glue. Secure the place card or greeting card to the leaf with either hot glue, foam tape, or double sided tape. Place these beautiful pine cone card holders on your table, bookshelf, or window sill!

Happy Crafting!
 

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Get in the (Study) Zone

We all know your favorite part of your apartment is your bed (ours, too), but that doesn’t mean it’s where you should be studying! It’s time to invest in a desk. You can go pretty basic, like this sweet little Mainstay Parsons Desk with convenient drawers for organization. But we’re in love with South Shore’s “Smart Basics” desk with an above-desk shelf for photos (or framed reminders to start studying!), drawer space, and a sliding keyboard shelf. Don’t forget to invest in a basic task chair, like this basic rolling wonder from Target. (Hint: We prefer armless chairs so we don’t get in the habit of dumping clothes and other stuff we should put away on it!) Don’t forget a basic desk organizer—something to hold pens, desk supplies, and even store that paper print out so you don’t lose it before class—and calendar, and of course a nice desk lamp!

The Five Ps

One of our favorite NAU professors always reminded students to “Remember the Five Ps: Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance.” Well, here are our Five Ps for proper planning:

1. Planner: Check out these Day Designer planners from Target, stylish and perfect for organizing your day to day activities during the school year.
2. Portfolio: Buy yourself at least one three ring binder or portfolio to keep track of all your course materials for the semester.
3. Pens and Pencils: Here’s a “Duh” moment … you’re not going to get very far this year without a good supply of writing instruments. (Pro Tip: We know you’d love to just take your iPad to class, but keep in mind you always run the risk of having that ONE prof who hates tech and bans it from their classroom.)
4. Plenty of Paper: Use your desk organizer to store a reserve of printer and loose leaf paper, and plan to have at least one notebook for each class. (Remember that three ring binder we told you to buy?)
5. PDA: Don’t worry, we’re not recommending you go old school. We personally love the myHomework app (free) to track assigments, iHomework ($0.99) to track your coursework to-do list, and iStudiez Pro ($2.99) to keep color-coded track of class schedules and assignments.

No Bore Décor

We love Walmart’s special section of Inspirational Wall Art! Target has a huge selection of College Décor that will help you deck your apartment out in impeccable style, including floor lamps, pillows, posters, and must-haves like this sweet bulletin-chalkboard combo!

Sundries

Don’t forget to add your personality to your apartment! As much as you should be focusing on your studies, home is where your heart is, so put your heart into your home. Check out these unique and sometimes-classy-sometimes hilarious mugs from Urban Outfitters. Keep an eye out for inspiration, like Pier One’s Boho look selections and room inspiration guides. And for all your Lumberjacks: Don’t miss NAU’s Apartment Décor deals!

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