Design the Perfect Apartment With These 9 Tips
Moving to a new apartment in Washington DC means living in the American capital. DC offers a hodgepodge of history, art, and a unique charm that’s impossible to replicate anywhere else!
Which also means that inviting people into a drab living space just won’t do.
A DC apartment needs style, opulence, and intrigue! Here are 9 luxury design ideas that will match the spirit of the Nations Capital.
1. Buy Furniture That Fits
Just like wearing clothes that fit is the number one rule of fashion, buying the right sized furniture for your apartment is critical to achieving a luxurious look. After all, space never goes out of style.
Just like wearing clothes that fit is the number one rule of fashion, buying the right sized furniture for your apartment is critical to achieving a luxurious look.
After all, space never goes out of style. You don’t need expensive pieces to give your apartment a luxurious look and feel.
Diligently plan your apartment design. This includes taking careful measurements and deciding on your layout before you ever hit the furniture store showroom. When it is time to go shopping, make sure you bring that tape measure with you.
Try to plan multi-functional spaces. This allows you to get the most from your apartment without making it feel crowded with furniture and decor.
2. Play with Brick
Brick signifies protection and strength and makes a fantastic decoration for any inside wall. It’s perfect for an abode in the building block of our American system.

If you have a brick wall, don’t hide it! Accent it with bold colored, modern fixtures.
Use its structure to build wooden shelving to hold books and antique trinkets to add a sense of history to the room.
Add blocky leather furniture to the room. Black leather works with almost any room, but a bold color will pop!
If there is enough space, place a round, unframed mirror in the center of the wall. The mirror will add another element of contrast.
A brick wall also works well in your luxurious apartment kitchen. Build small wooden shelves and decorate with mason jars and steel kitchenware!
3. Bring Luxury Design to Life
Using natural elements is a fantastic way to transform a city apartment into a sanctuary. Marble floors and bathroom fixtures look clean and decadent. They open up a room. Adding large floor plants adds color and natural style. If you’ve already got too much on the floor, use an old, wooden coat rack to stagger hanging plants.
If marble and plants don’t cut it, opt for a beach-inspired style.
Fill glass table lamps partway with sand and decorate with natural wood. Add a glass bowl of seashells and pearls for table decorations and line the windows with flowing, sheer curtains.
4. See in a New Light
Forget about dull floor lamps and ceiling lights. Here are some trendy ways to see the apartment in a new light:

- Dangling lights look super cool, especially in kitchen areas.
- Use a variety of white candles on brick walls or above fireplaces.
- Ditch the traditional fixtures and cover the bulbs with mason jars for a super trendy look.
- Hang Christmas lights all year round by lining the walls or piling them into wine bottles for a table decoration.
Ask any interior designer – lighting is essential to a room’s experience. Some will even say it’s the most critical element of luxurious design.
Think about the lighting elements in your apartment and how they interact with your furniture and other decorative features.
5. Create Contrast
Though mentioned several times, contrasting deserves its own section. Create contrast by playing with color, shapes, material, and context. For example, pair:
Though we’ve mentioned it several times, contrast deserves its own section. Create contrast by playing with color, shapes, material, and context. For example, pair:
- wood with metal
- light with dark
- circles with triangles and squares
- marble with leather
- modern with historic
- glass with brick
- fantasy with reality
Get creative and play with this; contrast is the new way to match.
6. Adopt the Arts

Your new apartment shares a community with the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Gallery of Art, and a plethora of amazing modern artists. Get with the program.
Every DC luxury apartment needs a bold statement piece. CBS shows how to buy modern local art for under $100!
If the apartment offers enough space, sculptures scream artsy.
If floor and table space is limited, place a large, bold piece on the largest wall to add character to the room.
7. Get Funky
Step outside of the art box! Functional art puts a super funky twist on decor. Here are a few funky ideas:
Display that amazing shoe collection with wall shelves to save closet space.
Install a metal rack above the kitchen island to display stainless steel cookery and preserve precious cupboard space.
Functional art offers a modern feel while serving a higher purpose. Funk yeah!
8. Write on the Walls
Well, don’t actually write on the walls – that’ll upset your landlord.
But you can use your own writing as decor by displaying your weekly menu, random thoughts, or favorite quotes.
You can even invite your friends to write messages when they visit.
Use a whiteboard against traditional walls or chalkboard against brick walls.
9. Simply Decorate

If we’re working with a tight budget, no worries. The apartment can still look luxurious!
Small improvements, like tall curtains or large mirrors, can go a long way toward improving your apartment’s design.
To give your apartment an Eastern vibe, add some potted bamboo. You’ll find yourself trending in an affordable modern luxury apartment. Keeping it simple works when you put it together correctly. Whatever style you prefer, keep a lookout for inexpensive pieces and accessories that fit into your vision.
Live in Luxury at DC Apartments
Regardless of what luxury design livens up your apartment, just remember it’s tucked away in one of the most incredible places in America – our capital.
Sure it needs that luxury feel, but more importantly, it needs to capture the essence of you.
Our apartments offer DC residents luxurious apartment units and amenities in twelve premium locations.
When you reside in one of our spacious studio, one, or two-bedroom apartments, all you need is a little creativity to create a delightfully luxurious domicile. For ideas on finding fun outside of the apartment, and places to inspire your decorating ideas around the city, check out our local guides!