Our top priority is to focus on organization. Even with maximum storage opportunities in your apartment, you should capitalize on every space available to store your items. You will be more comfortable and utilize your apartment space when every item in your apartment is stored appropriately. Buy drawer and cabinet organizers for your apartment home, specifically in the kitchen and bathroom. You want to clear your countertops to feel less cluttered and make apartment cleaning easy.

While in the bathroom, use towel hooks as an easy hack to use less space and keep your towel off the ground. If your apartment doesn’t already come with towel hooks, you can get these inexpensively. Style tip: if you have a towel rack, hang decorative towels here and separately hang your shower towels on hooks to avoid clutter.

Looking to live apartment life comfortably? Use either a white noise machine or a fan to keep out noise from neighbors or traffic depending on where you live. Even in the quietest apartment communities, this is a life saver and will result in better sleep and more relaxation in your apartment.

Lastly, utilize under bed storage containers. Fill these with clothes you don’t wear frequently and easily slide the container under your bed. This will free space in your apartment closet and help maximize every square foot in your floor plan.

We hope you are enjoying apartment life! If you ever need anything else to feel comfortable in your apartment home, let our leasing team know and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

The post Things You Need for Your Apartment that You Didn’t Know You Needed appeared first on Mosaic at Levis Commons Blog.

Price

The most important detail when searching is price point. You don’t want to get too far along in the decision-making process to realize an apartment home is out of your budget. To avoid this, check with our leasing team to make sure our apartment homes are in your price range.

Size

Finding the right sized apartment with enough square footage for your lifestyle is very important when moving to an apartment home. The number of square feet helps determine if your furniture will fit, if there’s enough room for your pets, or even if you can go for a smaller home. 

Floor Plan

Your perfect floor plan is out there! Your floor plan helps determine the type of kitchen, how many bedrooms, how many bathrooms, how big is the living space, if you have a balcony/patio and more. These details shape your next apartment home and help to make your space your own. Our apartment homes feature unique, spacious floor plans just for you.

Location

The location of your future home may be flexible but can be a very big decision. Your apartment home location determines your commute to work, restaurants, and shops. Location even effects your drive to friends and family. Ask our team about the perks of our convenient location today.

Amenities

Our apartment home community features extensive amenities for our residents. The amenities package in an apartment home is an added perk to living in a professionally managed community. You get the perks of our amenities along with the experience when you choose our community.

Should you need any help making your apartment home search easier, please feel free to contact our team any time to discuss whether our community is the best fit for you.

The post How to Find the Perfect Apartment Home for You appeared first on Mosaic at Levis Commons Blog.

Want to utilize your windowsill space? Try basic herbs like basil, rosemary, mint, ginger, cilantro, or parsley. If you have counter space in your kitchen, this is the perfect location for these little plants. Plus, when it’s time to harvest your goods, you don’t have to go far!

Have balcony or patio space? Try growing a plant that needs ample sunlight and a little more room like tomatoes or a dwarf fruit tree. You can get different kinds of dwarf trees like apple, lemon, or orange easily. These outdoor plants may need a little more care-taking, so be ready to take on a challenge.

Don’t have a great space for natural light in your apartment? Buy a mushroom growing kit online to get started. You don’t have to do much, and you can enjoy fresh mushrooms from your apartment home.

This spring we hope we can spark some ideas and that you can to grow some delicious fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs right at home. It’s easy and a great hobby to get started. Happy growing!

The post Ideas for Growing Food in Your Apartment Home appeared first on Mosaic at Levis Commons Blog.

Many people do not get the recommended eight hours of sleep for a variety of reasons and the bedroom may be part of the issue. Sleep is vital for our bodies and there are several steps to take to ensure a bedroom is maximized for sleep. Use the following tips to update your apartment home bedroom or change your bedtime habits to enhance more restful sleep.

Don’t do work, watch TV, or eat a meal in bed. The bed should only be used for sleep and although a cozy bed can sound inviting, separating the way we think about our beds can help change our attitude toward sleep. If we only think of our bed as a vessel for sleep, we are more likely to feel relaxed around bedtime. Live in a studio apartment? Try breaking up your space so the bed doesn’t become the focal point of both the living and sleeping area. This way, daytime activities can be separated from nighttime.

Clean up clutter. The bedroom should be an organized haven from the chaos of life. Simple décor and proper storage can ensure a bedroom is a clean as possible and therefore more relaxing.

Save the electronics for the living room. The brightness of a screen is very stimulating and will keep people awake for much longer. This includes TVs and even alarm clocks. Though alarm clocks are helpful, the brightness can be distracting. If necessary, simply face the alarm clock away from the bed to avoid glancing at the time throughout the night.

Keep the bedroom dark. Blackout curtains are an easy fix and will keep out light from streetlamps and the rising sun in the morning. If curtains are too difficult, try using a sleep mask.

Keep the bedroom cool. Studies show sleeping in a cool room leads to better sleep. Try adjusting the thermostat to below 70 degrees or wear light pajamas.

Keep the bedroom quiet. Don’t fall asleep to TV or music because it adds the risk of being woken by an unsuspecting sound. Try setting a timer on the device so it doesn’t continue all night. If sound comes from neighbors or outside noises, try a sound machine or fan. The consistent sound is lulling and can drown out distracting sound.

By making simple adjustments to your apartment home bedroom, you can maximize your sleep for the better. We hope these tips can help lead to sound sleep and relaxation in your apartment home.

The post Tips for Maximizing Your Apartment Bedroom for Sleep appeared first on Mosaic at Levis Commons Blog.

Trick or Treat! Halloween is a few days away and we know most people are in a panic to create a last-minute costume. No matter your level of creativity, we’ve made a list of a few easy costume ideas for all ages and even a few suggestions for pets. Read below for some creative (and easy) Halloween costume suggestions!

Costume: Gumball Machine

What you’ll need:

Multicolor pom poms

A black/white top

Red skirt/pants (the gumball machine)

Black felt (the 25-cent coin slot)

Glue gun and sticks

Steps: Hot glue the pom poms to the shirt to create the “gumball” portion. Use the felt to cut out and create the 25-cent slot. Glue the “money slot” on the red skirt/pants to create the “machine/stand” portion.

Costume: Harry Potter

What you’ll need:

Red and gold striped scarf

Black, round, glasses

Red face paint

Black robe

Steps: Draw a lightening bolt shaped scar on forehead. Throw on the robes, scarf, and glasses, and poof! You’re a Hogwarts legend.

Costume: Holy Guacamole

What you’ll need:

Green t-shirt

Printed photos of avocados

Angel wings

Halo

Steps: Glue printed photos of avocados to a green shirt. Add angel attire and now you’re the puniest person at the party.

Costume: Bunch of Grapes

What you’ll need:

Black t-shirt

Black pants

A pack of purple balloons

Tape or hot glue

Steps: Tape or glue inflated purple balloons to your neutral under clothes. For an added detail, wear a green beanie to create a grape stem.

The anti-costume: Error 404

Steps: Find a local t-shirt screen printer or draw on a t-shirt “Error 404 Costume Not Found.” This is a snarky and minimal effort costume for even the most last minute of decisions.

Owner/Pet costume: Vendor and Hotdog

What you’ll need:

Red apron

White shirt

Chef hat

Doggie hotdog costume

Owner/Pet costume: Little Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Wolf

What you’ll need:

Red fabric/hood

A basket of goodies

If your pup’s ears aren’t ferocious enough, add large black fluffy ears to mimic a wolf.

We hope our suggestions sparked your imagination and that you can pull together an easy and creative Halloween costume. Have a safe and spooky Halloween!

The post Creative Halloween Costumes for All Ages appeared first on Mosaic at Levis Commons Blog.

Financial

The biggest benefit of renting instead of owning is the financial aspect of renting. The fact is that rent is generally cheaper than a mortgage. In addition to an overall lower monthly payment, upkeep and utilities are lower due to less square footage.

Maintenance

When renting, maintenance is taken care of, making this a financial benefit and a timesaver. No worrying about watering the lawn or shoveling snow and no stress over a clogged sink or broken air conditioner. Fixing these items in an apartment is easy, because it’s someone else’s problem!

Community

A sense of community is an underrated benefit to apartment living and being steps away from neighbors can provide an excellent atmosphere for creating life-long connections. Some complexes even regularly host resident events to encourage community engagement.

Amenities

Unlike houses, apartment complexes are often built with amenities on-site such as clubhouses, pools, and fitness centers. Some apartment communities offer discounts to local gyms, shops, and restaurants as an added resident perks program.

Size and Style

Apartment units are built for convenience. Often, apartments are spacious but not overly large. They are built to be functional while the personal touches and décor are in your hands.

Short-term

When looking for short-term living options, renting is by far the superior option. Buying a house is a much longer time commitment and is a major life decision. Whether you are working on your credit score, saving up funds, or slowly preparing for the responsibility of owning a home, an apartment is the best option in the meantime.

Savings

Renting is the perfect time to invest in a long-term future. While spending less on your living arrangements, this is an ideal time to save extra earnings.

Lower Responsibility

Homeownership comes with stresses and responsibilities that you can avoid entirely if you rent. Homeowners must deal with up-keep, unexpected damages and replacements far more than a renter would.

Accessibility

One of the major perks of apartment home living is the convenient proximity to everything you need. Apartments are much more likely to be located in communities that offer shopping, restaurants, art galleries, parks and more as opposed to a house that is tucked away in a neighborhood.

Convenience, cost, and safety are just a few of the unbeatable perks of choosing to rent an apartment home instead of owning a house. When considering the options, we hope that you can find a place you are proud to call home. 

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If you want your own Christmas tree…the beautiful thing about living in a smaller space is that less is more, so you don’t need to break the bank on a 12 ft. monster-size tree. Instead, find a tree that fits your space. It’s easier to set up and tear down so you have more time to decorate with your own flare.

Looking for a classy but subtle look? Add white and gold accents around your home. A new set of accent towels for the kitchen and bathrooms, soap dishes, or picture frames are good places to start. You could also buy large apothecary jars or another kind of clear container and fill with whatever goes best with your home’s look. Need inspiration? Think tinsel, ornaments, garland, string lights, gold accents, pinecones, or faux snow.

You may not have the opportunity to go full blown Griswald Family Christmas on decorations for the outside of your apartment home, but that just gives you more opportunity to bring the outside, in. Hang string lights on your walls and at night you’ll have extra ambiance for the season. You could also hang holiday wreaths on the inside of your doors so you can enjoy the greenery and liven up your every day décor.

Want to hang stockings but don’t have a fireplace? No problem. You could hang the stockings from a wall coat rack, a curtain rod, a stair railing, or even just on an open wall!

We hope this helped spark some new ideas for decorating your holiday apartment home and during this holiday season, we hope you and your loved ones are safe, happy, and healthy.

 We wish you a very Happy Holidays!

The post Celebrating the Winter Holidays in your Apartment Home appeared first on Mosaic at Levis Commons Blog.

Get creative and make use of ever square foot of your home’s counter and floor space. Depending on how many people you plan to host, strategically planning ahead of time and re-arranging your home will allow you to live out the “more the merrier” lifestyle.

1. Hang string lights and decorations rather than focusing on an elaborate center piece. By freeing up your table and counter top space, you can serve more food and drinks while keeping festive. Hint: Hang a festive Autumn wreath inside your home as a simple way to set the tone for the season.
2. Instead of worrying about ironing a table cloth that will inevitably get dirty, buy craft or butchers paper and decorate however you choose. Great for kids and adult doodlers, plus you can use this to label any food that’s sensitive for dietary restrictions.
3. Seems simple, but try to prepare as many meals ahead of time as possible. It also doesn’t hurt to require guests to bring their own side dishes while you’re in charge of the main course. Once guests arrive, you won’t want to be running around still cooking pies!
4. Clear your floor space and designate an area for guest’s personal items. If furniture can be moved to your bedroom, clear it out so you can have optimal space for entertaining.

The post Thanksgiving in an Apartment Home appeared first on Mosaic at Levis Commons Blog.

1. Fill up water bottles and freeze them the night before. Use these as makeshift ice packs, and when they melt you can drink the water! Cooler space is sacred so don’t waste it.
2. Buy a helium balloon or invest in getting your team’s flag. Fly these high and proud so friends can find your spot with ease.
3. Serving potato salad or coleslaw? Set it out in a decorative bowl. No one will know you bought it from the grocery store that morning.
4. Supplies that will help in a bind: toilet paper, duct tape, permanent marker, hand sanitizer.
5. Make your own Bloody Mary bar or deck out your hotdogs with lots of toppings. Use a 6 pack cardboard container to carry all of your sauces.
6. Walking Tacos are a hit for all ages. Cook beef with taco seasoning the night before, heat it up however you choose the day of, and set out all the toppings people could want. Set up is simple, so it’s a win-win situation.

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