The most wonderful time of the year is here, and it’s time to transform your home at Juniper Springs apartments in Austin into a festive wonderland!

Our ultimate guide to Christmas and Hanukkah decorating is packed with cheerful ideas that will fill your spaces with holiday spirit. Whether you’re draping glimmering lights on your tree, adorning your front door with a vibrant wreath, or creating a cozy atmosphere in every single corner, our tips will help you enjoy and make your home sparkle this season.

Holiday decor doesn’t have to break the bank or consume your precious time. We've curated a collection of delightful ideas that utilize small, budget-friendly decorations and clever furniture arrangements. So, you can curate the enchanting Christmas atmosphere you’ve always dreamed of without emptying your wallet!

Happy decorating!

• Infuse your home with a relaxing Scandinavian charm using a tight palette of red and white (with a hint of greenery from the tree) that inspires warmth and coziness in this lovely Utah home.
• Why stick to the traditional red and green? Embrace a pastel palette with lighter hues—think pretty pinks, delightful blues, and soft yellows that maintain a festive spirit.
• How adorable is this little tree? A vintage candy box perfectly serves as its stand, or for a fun twist, try a cookie tin for added charm!
• Add a sprinkle of cheer to your curtains by simply threading ribbons through Shiny Brites and tying them in a festive pattern.
• Drape an oversized garland across a headboard to add instant holiday cheer, swapping out accent pillows for plaid patterns to ramp up the festive ambiance.
• Craft your own enchanting garland using dried navel and blood oranges, twine, and decorative hooks—a zesty addition to your holiday decor!
• Sprinkle some Christmas cheer in your kitchen with a small wreath elegantly hanging from the window to remind you of the magic of the season while you cook and clean.
• Count down the days until Santa’s arrival with an adorable, neutral-toned advent calendar made from brown craft paper. It's sweet and simple!
• Transform the vibe of your space! A towering garland that reaches from floor to ceiling enhances the height of this cozy stone fireplace, creating an airy atmosphere.
• Make your front door sing with charm! Create these festive "bells" using mini-bundt pans and molds, complete with ornaments for clappers—finish with a bow and greenery for festive flair.
• Infuse nostalgia and warmth into your living area with a sparse alpine balsam fir in an antique copper pot, complete with bird ornaments and dried-orange garland for an organic touch.
• Incorporate non-seasonal items in festive colors to elevate every nook of your home—think coolers and camp lanterns that can seamlessly bring in holiday flair!
• Gather your family’s favorite Saint Nicks! Start collecting these charming figurines. They'll create a delightful, mismatched display atop your mantel or bureau.
• Host joyful crafting sessions around the dining table, creating “trees” from Styrofoam cones wrapped in baker's twine and topped with star cookie cutters.
• A well-placed wreath and a few holiday decor items are just the right touch to make your kitchen feel merry and bright!
• Don't forget to illuminate every corner of your home! A simple string of garland can even turn your bathroom into a merry escape.
• Bring back memories and warmth by stringing together old winter mittens—this delightful craft is perfect for kids’ rooms!
• So, gather your loved ones, heat up some hot cocoa, and let’s deck the halls with joy and laughter this holiday season!

The post Easy and Affordable Holiday Decorating Ideas appeared first on Juniper Springs A Concierge Community Blog.

Fortunately, a select group of bloggers continually finds creative, even genius ways to transform four white apartment walls into an extraordinary living area. With tastes from modern to vintage to eclectic, these bloggers focus on what makes small spaces shine. Plus, some offer tips for green living, sharing your home with pets, decorating on a budget and more.

If you’ve ever moved into an apartment only to discover you don’t know how to make it your own, worry no more: We have chosen the top five apartment-decorating blogs. We guarantee you’ll find interior design inspiration on at least one – if not all – of these extremely useful sites:

The Thrift Shop Romantic

What it is: The writer behind the Thrift Shop Romantic is self-professed “packrat descendant” Jenn Thorson, who advises how to find vintage, Victorian and romantic decor on the cheap. For those in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio, the site suggests thrift shop, antique store and flea market resources.

Why We Love It: Jenn is excellent at do-it-yourself, but her humor also shines through. If you're hesitant to start, she'll help you get over that hesitation. Some of her thrift store finds are hilarious, such as Better Homes and Garden’s 1971 decorating ideas under $100. Three words: Victorian robot bathroom.

Making It Lovely

What It Is: New mom and stationary creator Nichole Balch has decorating tips for transforming older spaces into vintage-modern havens on Making It Lovely. She also suggests storage and fashion solutions and encourages readers to appreciate all shades of pink.

Why We Love It: The Making It Yours category of the site is genius. Balch photographs a single piece of furniture and shows readers through mood boards – which include purchasing information – how to work the piece into five different rooms of the house.

Young House Love

What It Is: Young married couple Sherry and John Petersik blog through Young House Love about their home improvement projects that they tackle themselves. While many posts require renovations, apartment dwellers can take advantage of tips on transforming furniture pieces and discovering new art ideas.

Why We Love It: After nationally recognized interviews and appearances on HGTV and CNN, you might think these two don’t need any more exposure. Oh, but they do. Even the smallest, most drab spaces would benefit from the how-to’s found on the site, such as how to transform an ugly mirror, paint any piece of furniture, decorate in stages and upholster a headboard.

Photo credit: Shutterstock/Africa Studio
By: ApartmentGuide.com 

The post Top 3 Apartment-Decorating Blogs appeared first on Juniper Springs A Concierge Community Blog.

• You can use many items already in your home to make DIY Halloween decorations
• Milk jugs, paint cans and egg cartons can make for some spooky decor
• Add the DIY Halloween decorations to your front door, above your mantel or in your balcony

Halloween marks the beginning of the holiday season, which means it's time to get festive! Decorating isn't just for those who own big homes. There are a lot of ways to make your apartment festive for Halloween.

We found some easy, inexpensive Halloween DIY decorations that kids would not only love to make but love to see around their home, too! With these decor ideas, you'll have the spookiest apartment in your complex.
 

1. Ghost lantern

Photo courtesy of isavea2z.com

Save your milk jugs for this adorable project. All you need is a milk jug, sharpie, pencil, knife, rocks and mini lights.

Draw out the face you want on the jug with a pencil and then fill it in with a sharpie marker. Add a few rocks to the bottom to weigh it down so it won't get knocked over.

Cut a small flap on the opposite side of the jug for the lights to go in. String in your lights and place your ghosts around your space.

2. Egg carton bats

Photo courtesy of craftsbycourtney.com

Upcycling makes great DIY projects. To make some awesome hanging bats for your apartment, save your next carton of eggs. For this project, you need an egg carton, scissors, paint, string and googly eyes.

Let your kids get creative and paint the bats however they see fit. Add googly eyes to the middle cup and attach a string to the top. These bats will be sure to spook up your apartment!

3. Spider webs

 Video courtesy of YouTube/Gillian Bower

Your kids will love making these spider webs to hang around your apartment. Fake spiders are optional but will definitely make your webs look more realistic.

Start by blowing up your balloon. Attach a string to the end so you can hang it to dry once you're done. Place a good bit of yarn into a bowl with glue and water. Mush it all together so it creates a paste on the yarn. Wrap the yarn around the balloon so it looks like a web. Once you've created your masterpiece, let it hang until it's dry.

Lastly, pop the balloon to reveal a creepy web that no one will suspect was made by anyone but a spider! Glue on your fake spiders to complete the webs.

4. Spider windows

Photo courtesy of diyandfyi.wordpress.com

If you want to scare your neighbors, this spiderweb window decoration is for you. To make this, you need black yarn, scissors and tape.

Using your yarn, create a spider web in your window from the inside of your apartment. Use your tape to keep the web in place. Get creative. You can't go wrong with this web!
 

5. Front door mummy

Photo courtesy of dinahollandinteriors.com

Create a chilling entrance to your apartment home by making this front door mummy. The supplies include white streamers, black and white paper, scissors and tape. All you have to do to create your mummy door is wrap, wrap, wrap. Using your scissors, cut a large circle out of the white paper and a smaller circle out of the black paper.

Tape the black paper on top of the white to make eyes. Tape them near the top of the door to complete your door mummy!

6. Eyeball wreath

Photo courtesy of The Love Nerds

This wreath looks scary yet it's easy to make. Grab a foam wreath from the local craft store, a bag of googly eyes and ping pong balls. With a hot glue gun, start attaching the ping pong balls, layer by layer. Once you're good with the layout, start attaching the eyes to each of the ping pong balls. You can follow the easy tutorial here.

7. Candy corn wreath

Photo courtesy of The Gracious Wife

This is a good DIY Halloween decoration to do with kids during a Saturday afternoon. Grab a stack of paper plates and on the back, paint a circle of white in the middle, then a bigger orange circle and then the outside circle in yellow. Let me plates dry completely.

Once dry, cut the plates into eight slices (similar to cutting a pizza). Use a hole punch to string twine through each plate and then hang it up above your mantel.

8. Front yard tombstones

Photo courtesy of eHow

This tombstone would be a scary addition to your front door or to your little outdoor space. Draw the tombstone outline on a cardboard box and cut out two identical pieces (these will be the front and back of the tombstone). This tutorial explains how to attach them together.

After your cardboard tombstone is complete, paper mache the outside with newspaper, allow to dry and use dark gray spray paint to get it to that cemetery color. Paint the letters using a stencil and add cobwebs for extra flair.

9. Tin can ghosts

Photo courtesy of Chicken Scratch NY

Boo! Paint one or two large tin cans white. Once dry, draw the ghost's face on each one — have fun with this and make some fun expressions. Cut some white ribbons in different lengths and glue them to the inside of the can. Don't worry about being perfect. If anything, raggedy lines will add to the effect.

Then, add a little hook to the top for hanging. This tutorial shows you how.

10. Scary eyes for plants

Photo courtesy of Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons

These creepy eyes in plants will get a jump out of your neighbors. Start by purchasing two green pumpkin baskets, you'll be using the bottom of them for the eyes. Tape off the bottom and paint the rest of the pumpkin white. Once dry, paint the red veins and a black circle on the green bottom.
 

Bring the spooky to your home

Halloween decor doesn't have to be expensive. You can use materials already sold at the dollar store or that you have on hand.

Use paint cans, paper plates, tissue paper and other affordable materials to make your apartment the scariest in the whole complex.

Article By: Muriel Vega

The post 10 Easy DIY Halloween Decorations Your Kids Can Make for Your Apartment appeared first on Juniper Springs A Concierge Community Blog.

By Tara Mastroeni

Decorating a rental can feel like a tedious task. On the one hand, you want to be able to create a space that feels like your own, no matter how long you intend to live there. On the other, you don’t want to get so into personalizing the space that you put your security deposit at risk.

With that in mind, we’ve laid out some temporary decorating ideas to help you along the way. Use these to achieve a homey look that can be taken down as soon as your lease is up.

Invest in area rugs

Area rugs are great for livening up any living space, but they’re especially useful when it comes to rental situations. Put simply, they pack a big punch of visual interest but are just as easy to roll up and put away the moment your lease is done.

As far as how to pick out a good rug, in this case, aesthetics come first. If your rental is fairly basic when it comes to decor – we’re talking white walls and neutral flooring – you’re going to want to pick a rug that easily draws the eye.

Your next consideration is size. Unfortunately, rugs come in only a few standard sizes that you’ll need to work around. To help, here are some guidelines for you to keep in mind:

• If you’re choosing a full room rug, remember to leave room for a border of flooring around all sides. 18 inches is considered the standard border measurement.
• If your rug will be grounding a seating area, measure the length and width of the seating area in its current layout and buy the next size up.
• If the rug is meant to highlight a piece of furniture like a dining table, make sure it’s big enough to extend beyond the piece with room on all sides. For a dining table, 24 inches is standard. However, it should be less if you’re working with a smaller piece, like a coffee table.
• When in doubt, bigger is better. You can always hide excess rug under a piece of furniture, but a too-small rug will stick out like a sore thumb.

Reconsider removable products

While you may be tempted to write off wall decals and the like as products for children, we’re here to urge you to reconsider. These days, removable wallpaper and similar applications are sleeker than ever before and they come in a range of modern patterns and hues.

With removable products, your biggest concern is the quality of the walls themselves. You want to look for smooth walls, without texture or pockmarks. Smoother walls will reduce your chances of getting air pockets under the product during installation and ending up with a bubbly look.
 

Add your own lighting

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: having the proper lighting in place can totally change a room. Oftentimes, in rental scenarios, you start out with the bare minimum, like harsh overhead lighting that’s flattering to no one. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t round out the space and soften it up by adding lighting of your own.

Remember, dealing with lighting is all about creating layers. There are three different types of lighting that you can use to your advantage:

• Ambient: Also known as general lighting, ambient light fills the majority of the room and allows you to move around safely. It usually comes from recessed lighting, track lighting or wall-mounted fixtures.
• Accent: Accent lighting is used to highlight a particular focal point, such as a piece of wall art. Picture lights, wall-mounted-fixtures or track lighting are common, and dimmers are often used on these features to provide mood lighting.
• Task: As the name suggests, task lights are used to assist you in completing a particular function. This could be anything from desk lamps to pendant lights that hang over a kitchen island.

Mounting ambient lighting to the walls may not be possible in a rental. However, a variety of task lights like floor and table lamps will certainly do the job.

Stylize your surfaces

Lastly, keep in mind that decor does not need to be hung on the walls in order to play a role in your home. Stylized surfaces like coffee tables, dining tables and shelving units go a long way towards making your rental feel like it allows your personality to shine through.

Effectively stylizing surfaces is all about creating groupings of accessories. They can match, like the place settings on the dining table in the picture above, or they can simply coordinate, like the items on the shelves.

When selecting items to go in your grouping, you want to ensure that they’re different enough to create visual interest while still having a common thread to tie them together.

The post These 4 Temporary Decorating Ideas Will Help You Keep Your Security Deposit Safe appeared first on Juniper Springs A Concierge Community Blog.