Since selling our house in Phoenix, we have been living in an apartment while our home in Tucson is being built. I cant believe we’re almost coming up on a year of living here. That really flew by. The apartment has been great for us space wise. It’s a little smaller than our old home, ~1100. We miss our private backyard space sometimes, but all in all we’re really grateful to have had this space and it’s been fun decorating a bit. The apartment is way more modern than we would prefer, but it’s reminded me how decor and finishes can really impact and transform a space. 

A few things we did to make the apartment feel more like us was change out the towel hooks and bars in the bathrooms. All the finishes here are chrome, but adding the natural ceramic hooks by Virginia Sin, paired with our Parachute Home waffle towels softened the bathrooms a bit and added an earthy feel with their terracotta tone. They come in multiple colors though.

Adding shelves in the main living area, as well as bathrooms, provided a way for us to infuse a bit of personality to display our favorite books, ceramics and trinkets. The large wall unit in our dining room is actually four different shelving pieces from West Elm, that when installed together creates the look of custom shelving, which I’ve always been a fan of. 

The shelving doesn’t stop there. We have a ton of cabinetry in the kitchen of this rental, which has been amazing for storage, but I definitely missed the open shelving in our Phoenix kitchen. To achieve the look we removed a few of the cabinet doors on the upper cabinets, so I can display and have easy access to some of our favorite bowls and mugs. I know not everyone is a fan of open shelving, but I really think it gives the kitchen a more organic feel. This is an easy way to display some of your favorite pieces, if you’re renting and can’t change cabinetry. 

You might have guessed it; I’m always an advocate for more plants the better. We have some leafy favorites and cacti in every corner in some beautiful planters that double as decor. Above is a rare site of our woven hanging basket actually empty, which is usually filled with all of our to-go items (cloth bags, sunscreen, etc).

The living room, kitchen and dining are all open to each other, so we kept the furniture neutral with a lot of texture and pillows. Adding a light woven rug helped brighten up the dark floors and the — stools at the counter helped soften the cold modern finishes a bit. 

Cozy rugs and sculptural artwork in the bedroom by Christina Graziano of Blade and Knoll, along with wall hanging sconces that operate by a switch vs being hardwired (this one is cute too), made the room feel more like ours. Most of our pillows and throws are by Pampa – an Australian based homewares brand that works closely with skilled artisans to create beautiful textiles.

All in the all this place has been so good to us. There’s of course the noisy neighbors that come along with apartment living, but it’s given us the opportunity to still stay close to some of our favorite Phoenix eateries and shops before we make the move to Tucson.