At 30, you’d much rather hit the gym on a Friday night instead of welcoming the weekend in a bar, vodka in hand. Your home has become more than a place, it’s now a special space where you can shut yourself from the world and ponder on things that truly matter to you. Did you turn into a boring stone? No. You just grew up. Turn your condo space into a beautiful refuge through these 12 condo design ideas for thirtysomethings.
Your mini library
When you were in your early 20s, the world seemed to dash in full speed. You wanted to do a lot of things, possibly all at the same time. It’s all about reaching heights and “feeling alive.”. “Work hard, party harder” was your overused mantra and pretty much summarized your insanely fast-paced life. Life’s good. You’re unstoppable. At 30, you’re a changed person.
Brew homegrown coffee, grab a book and chill in your living room. Your condo design should include a mini library. Get creative with space-saving floating shelves. You can also check out furniture pieces that can store your favorite paperbacks.
Your “seat of power”
A study suggests a link between age and creative and scientific genius. A significant number of artists and scientists achieved the peak of their careers in their late-30s.
In developing condo design ideas for your first home, don’t forget to get yourself an accent chair either for your living room or bedroom. Relax with a book, chat with friends via your phone or simply relax after a toxic day in the office. Place your throne beside your bookcases or near your bedroom window.
Add a feel of “permanence” in your condo
Joshua Fields Millburn, a corporate dude-turned-blogger, listed down 30 things he learned over the past three decades of his life. “Change equals uncertainty and uncertainty equals discomfort, and discomfort isn’t fun. But when we learn to enjoy the process of change—when we choose to look at uncertainty as variety—then we get to reap all the rewards of change. That is how we grow,” Joshua mused.
One of the changes that you may have noticed in yourself is your new perspective on stability. You’re at the point of your life where settling down may be the next goal. Plants exude a feeling of permanence and calm. Indoor plants such as peace lilies and anthuriums also help clear the air of pollutants.
Invest in good quality mattress
Quality rest is now something you aspire for. Admit it. You don’t have the same level of endurance and strength you had in your blooming 20s. Health should be on the top of your list. “Our well-being is more important than most of us treat it: without health, nothing else matters,” said TheMinimalist blog co-founder Joshua Fields Millburn.
Make sure that you get seven to nine hours of good sleep each night. Purchase a mattress that supports your body correctly and other bedroom accessories that can help you rest well.
It’s time to get rid of those plastic stools
In your 20s, you embraced the idea of being able to fit your entire life in a suitcase. You love your mobile lifestyle, your couchsurfing perspective. At this stage, decorating your home is more than just filling up space. Interior designer Scot Meacham Wood told Elle Décor that by the age of 30, “you should really be living intentionally—invest in some classic pieces that you can carry with you, but stop waiting.
You don’t necessarily need to get a mahogany table (though it’ll be lovely) for your dining area. Discover furniture must-haves within your budget such a metallic dining room set with chairs that have lightly-padded seats. You can change the seat cover design as often as you want. You may also drop by antique shops for a wooden table that you can easily refurbish.
Adorn your walls with beautiful artworks
Replace your taped posters with artworks in custom framing. You can also consider purchasing paintings, art pieces such as small sculptures. Those will be good investments. Mount a large frame above your bedroom headboard. If your condo has a hallway, putting up frames and decorative mirrors can give an expansive feel.
Mount functional and decorative lights
How do thirtysomethings design their condo space? The primary concept is stability. Vogue advises that upon reaching your 30s, you should be thinking about “branching out and investing in a few staples that will carry you to the next decade and beyond.”
Don’t just settle with overhead lights that came with your condo unit. If a chandelier is too much for your taste, you can get a pendant light that can both give a warm feel and a stylish look to your home.
Get real linens and kitchen utensils
Living in a space-limited condo means that you can focus on quality. Donate your plastic cups and disposable spoons and forks, and get yourself real kitchen utensils. Now that you’re older, it’s also time to ditch paper towels for real linens. Mismatched cookware was understandable during your post-college years, but unreasonable at your age. It’s time for a full set of quality pots and pans that you can use for many years.
These kitchen staples will get handy when you’re hosting lunches with family and close friends.
Create a working/creative thinking space
Being single in your 30s doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you. Sure, nearly all in your circle have settled down but that doesn’t equate to a problem. There’s 101 (or more) reasons why you shouldn’t obsess over the fact that you’re still unmarried.
Instead of overanalyzing your life choices, why don’t you explore a new hobby or engage into an advocacy? Incorporate a work area into your condo living room design. You don’t exactly need a “bat cave” as your small space may not accommodate such an idea. Go with the basics—a desk, a comfortable chair and mounted shelves for your books, notes and other work materials.
Install cabinets and wall-mounted racks
A mature home design includes lots of storage spaces that are not all temporary plastic containers. If you can, avoid plastic items. Install, or have someone install, cabinetry and wooden racks in various parts of your home.
Avoid tacky plastic, fake items
If you’re in your 30s and still single, you know the struggles of facing your family’s scrutiny every time the issue of settling down is discussed. Can you blame yourself for finding ways to skip family reunions?
If you’re in a relationship but still in limbo whether or not to tie the knot, you may consider the idea of cohabiting. Testing the waters may be a preventive measure. However, you should be aware that moving in together is not as easy as it seems. You and your partner most definitely have different tastes in home designs. One may be a minimalist while the other an avid antique collector. One thing’s for sure though—you should avoid owning cheap and tacky house items. Fake house plants, plastic dishware and kitschy photo frames are condo design no-nos.
Matching bath towels
According to Vogue, matching items in your home is “a crucial part of the whole grownup thing.” It is an element of mature decorating. When you buy stuff for your condo, get matching bath towels, robes, and hand towels. It’ll be easier to get these in sets. If you’re in a tight budget, you can opt for individual pieces as long as they have similar colors or patterns. Perhaps more so than any other part of our homes, we develop an intimate relationship with our bathrooms—maybe because it’s privy to so many things we’d never do in public! There are so many ways to level up your bathroom to become more efficient and comforting, but matching towels have a lot of impact for so little effort.
Turning 30 is an exciting phase of your life. Studies show that most people have their breakthroughs in their 30s. It’s also a time to reassess your priorities and consider prospects of stability. Establishing your first home, whether bought or leased, is an important step in this chapter. Consider these condo design tips for thirtysomethings.
