College Apartment Decorating – Part 1

This coming school year will be my first time living in an off-campus apartment.  I’ve waited until my senior year of college to lease an apartment because I’ve always enjoyed the convenience of living on campus and being so close to my classes.  Everything was going great until this past year when I had a roommate who watched TV almost every hour he was awake.  I have nothing against TV, but when it’s still on at 1am and I’m either trying to sleep or finish homework, I have a problem. So something had to change and this year I’m responsible for partially furnishing my own apartment.

After seeing an article in New York Magazine about a college senior who decorated his dorm room in a preppy style, I became inspired to do the same in my apartment. (Photo from New York Magazine, click the photo to view the article)

The apartment I’m renting is “furnished” which as everyone knows just means it has appliances, a bed, sofa, and a few other pieces of furniture.  Since I’m sharing the apartment with two other guys I’m going to focus on how I’m planning to decorate my room until the beginning of the semester.  I want to create a great preppy space for my bedroom.  For part 1 I’m going to focus on some great decorative storage options that I either own or plan to buy soon.

Rugby Striped Bin from The Container Store

I think this striped basket will make a wonderful storage option for blankets. In a smaller size it could also be used to hold magazines, newspapers, and pretty much anything else that I might want to keep.

Silver bowl with rope trim

I think most guys are like me and hate keeping keys, change, and pretty much anything else in their pockets.  I’m guilty of just dumping the contents of my pockets on pretty much any available surface and then scrambling around the next morning to find everything.  My resolution for this coming year is to get a great bowl like this to use as a catchall.  I’m not sure what this was originally, but antique ashtrays as well as old silver pieces would serve the purpose really well.

Serving/Drink Tray

I think everyone needs to have some type of tray not only to use for carrying and serving, but it also defines a space for storing things like glassware or bottles.  I’ve looked everywhere for a tray that I really like, but haven’t been able to find one yet so I’m thinking about buying a plain wooden tray and making my own.  Check back in a few weeks or follow me on Twitter to see what I come up with.

I hope this series of decorating plans and ideas helps inspire you whether you’re living in a dorm, an apartment, or a house.  Check back next week for Part 2, where I’ll outline some great preppy linens for both guys and ladies.

The Dog Days of Summer

Walking my girlfriend’s Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Penny. Note the Lilly Pulitzer print leash.

Since it’s been around 100° this week I’ve been enjoying some great summer clothes.  One of my favorite fabrics for summer is madras, especially the lightweight weave that Ralph Lauren uses in their button downs.  A madras shirt paired with a ribbon belt, shorts in a GTH color such as these light pink shorts, and a pair of loafers or Sperrys makes a great casual summer outfit.  I hope everyone stays cool this summer.

The Importance of Thank You Notes

Welcome to “The Preppy Texan” a blog about living a preppy lifestyle in Texas.  For my first post I’ve decided to write about thank you notes and really any note for that matter.  I hope you enjoy this glimpse into my life.

In this era of Facebook messages, Tweets, and Text Messages it has become increasingly rare for anyone to send a thank you note.  I for one still appreciate when someone takes the time to send a handwritten note.

While sending a handwritten note is a wonderful gesture, I also feel that it’s very important what your note is written on.  I personally prefer a heavy plain white folded notecard as I think it makes the special gesture of sending a thank you note even more special.  Here are a few examples of stationery that I think would be nice for both ladies and gentlemen.

Stationery for Ladies

A nice simple card with “Thank You” in an embossed script with a colorful border matching an interior pattern is a distinguished way to still have a little of your own style in your note cards.

This is another way for a lady to bring her personal style into her thank you correspondence with a very Spring and Summer appropriate floral pattern.

Sometimes using a different shape for your stationery can make your notes stand out even more. You can also get a set of plan note cards or have them personalized with your name or other text so that you can use them for general correspondence.

Stationery for Gentlemen

I’m a huge fan of minimalism, especially with my stationery. While my personal note cards are solid white this would be a good solution if you want a card that is a little less plain.

This is what my thank you/correspondence cards look like. Since they’re plain and don’t have any text on them I can use them whether I need to send a thank you note or just to write a note to a friend or family member.

All of the photos above came from the great stationery company of Crane & Co. If you’re in the market for fine stationery I would highly recommend you visit their website or find a store to observe the unmistakable quality of their papers.