Making a new house a home!

I recently moved out into a flat in Cardiff Bay and whilst I've moved out previously, to various student houses, during my time in university, this was my first 'proper' place I've moved to.  

It's difficult first moving out, in my mind I want the ideal flat instantly, with perfect décor and matching ornaments.  In reality getting that image in your head to become reality takes a lot of time, and you have to settle with the fact that when you move into a new place, getting it to look 'perfect' is a gradual process.

So I thought I would give you some tips that helped me make the flat homely, I'm still not completely happy with the decor, and ideally  I would like to take a very long trip around Ikea but like I said these things I'll just have to buy gradually.

Wall Stickers

These are such an effective way of brightening up a wall and making your space personal.  They are super easy to apply to the walls and leave minimal damage to the wall.  I got mine from a company called Vunk Wall Stickers.  They have so many different designs on the website.  I chose the Bird cage sticker which I previously mentioned on my Summer Wish List Post.  This is now on my kitchen wall and I love it, the colours are grey and blue which perfectly suit my décor in the kitchen and even match my fake flowers and little bird salt and pepper shakers on the table.  I also got this New York Sticker which is actually a quote from a Taylor Swift song, and since we are going to New York next year I though it would be  a perfect little addition to our living room.

Plants
Plants, fake or real add so much to a room.  They just seem to lift them by adding some life and colour.  I've already mentioned our little collection of cacti, in my previous post but we also have a fake shrub plant in one of these cream pots from Ikea.There's also nothing better than having a fresh bunch of flowers in the house. 

Picture Frames
Obviously it's a good idea to frame pictures of friends and families but lately I have also loved framing postcards.  These are some vintage style postcards I picked up in a market whilst in Rome and they're too nice not to be put on display.  You can also get some really nice postcards in paper chase which is where I got this elephant one. 

Have things that make you happy

Whether it's a memory from a holiday,a special picture or a musical instrument.  Have things around you which make you smile.  For me this is Disney.  I have alot of Disney inspired ornaments and that's simply because I love it.  When in Florida  I could really go crazy and buy every home ware product available, but I have to restrain myself.  I brought these vintage style plastic plates, with no idea how I was going to make a use of them, as they are probably aimed at children. However, I have made them into ornaments for my kitchen and I love it, they do really make me happy. I also have this elephant which I really love, It's from one of the rides in Magic Kingdom and whenever I look at it, it  reminds me of Disney world! I have also snuck my massive Simba into the living room, much to my boyfriends disapproval. 

Candles. 
Candles are so relaxing especially on a cold winter evening.  At the moment we buy loads of Yankee Candle Tarts and melt them on our Yankee candle burner.  Whenever we get bored of a flavour we can just switch them over, and the lovely thing about our burner is that it moulds the tart into a heart shape, so we currently have a bowl of heart shaped waxes.

As I said there is so much more that I want to do with the flat but for the moment I will settle with dreaming on Pinterest. You can follow me on Pinterest here:
 https://uk.pinterest.com/Amysergeant22/.
 Hope you like my homely tips, let me know some of yours in the comments :)