Transformation Tuesday: Residences at Keystone Crossing

March 8, 2016March 11, 2016

For anyone who loves the North side of Indianapolis and Keystone Crossing area, you might want to check out the fabulous Residences at Keystone Crossing. The community now offers select, pre-furnished apartments (with the help of our fantastic friends at CORT furniture).

Check out these views:

Living Room 1

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Located in the heart of upscale shopping and dining, The Residences at Keystone Crossing offers living at its finest. Live only steps from the Fashion Mall skywalk, and just a short drive to Carmel or the museums and sports of Downtown Indianapolis.

Kitchen

This maintenance-free luxury apartment community features all the finishes of a custom home, including maple-finished cabinetry, granite countertops, full-size washers and dryers, and wood-style floors.

Apartment Cleaning Tips

July 31, 2015July 28, 2015

Keeping your apartment or home clean is essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. But with summer bringing about schedules that are more hectic than ever, we know how easy it is to become a little negligent towards our cleaning duties. Fortunately, cleaning your apartment doesn’t have to be a chore that takes up an entire day or weekend. Whether you’re preparing for an impromptu visit from friends or family, or simply wish to organize and tidy up your living space, below you’ll find a few tips and shortcuts to clean your apartment quickly and efficiently.

Image from www.apartmentguide.com

Cut Out Clutter

One of the first steps in cleaning any space is to cut out clutter. Do a walk through of the apartment and gather in a bin any items that have been thrown on the ground or aren’t in their proper place. Cleaning the space will take much less time when you aren’t constantly stepping over clothes or other items that have been strewn on the ground.

Clean Similar Surfaces Together

Since you most likely use different cleaning products for different areas of the apartment, clean all areas that use the same product at one time. This prevents you from constantly running back and forth to the same area to exchange one cleaning product for another.

Fluff The Living Room

Since the living room is most likely where you’ll be spending most of your time when entertaining, it’s important to make sure this area is looking clean. Fortunately, making the living room look clean and tidy when you’re short on time is actually quite easy. Simply run through the room with a vacuum to eliminate crumbs and dirt on the ground, fluff up the couch pillows, and fold your throw blanket. Lastly, light a scented candle to create an extra aura of coziness.

Tackle The Bathroom

Not only do you not want to use a dirty bathroom, but you especially don’t want to make your guests do so. To tidy up the bathroom in a hurry, simply wipe down the counters and sinks, swish a little Clorox in the toilet bowl, straighten up any rugs, and pull the shower curtain shut. All of this will make the bathroom appear freshly cleaned without you having to perform a complete ceiling-to floor scrub down.

Clean As You Go

One of the easiest ways to maintain cleanliness in your apartment is to tidy up with everyday tasks. For example, wipe out the sinks right after you brush your teeth or throw dishes in the dishwasher right after you finish eating. By cleaning areas as you go, you’ll prevent dirtiness from building up and save yourself time when you do need to tidy up the place in a hurry.

Cleaning the apartment doesn’t have to be a weekend-long task that you dread for days prior. Keep your place neat and orderly by cleaning as you go and following these tips for the times that you need to tackle a quick tidy-up.

Décor on a Budget

July 22, 2015

Decorating a new apartment can be difficult, especially when fancy décor isn’t always in the budget. Luckily, you don’t have to let limited funds squelch your decorating dreams. Believe it or not, there are countless small, relatively inexpensive, and/or DIY techniques that can completely reinvigorate your living space without breaking the bank.

Utilize Used

First and foremost, the fundamental key to saving money in any circumstance is to shop smart. That being said, brand new furniture can certainly put a dent in the bank account. Many find that utilizing used furniture is the perfect solution when attempting to decorate on a budget. By shopping at thrift shops, consignment stores, garage sales, eBay, etc., one can find perfect pieces to enhance and beautify the home without spending a great deal of money. Even better, take a piece of furniture you already own and give it a makeover! Used furniture can be easily revitalized with some simple TLC such as cleaning, refinishing or reupholstering, all of which can be done on your own at little cost to you! Check out these Drab to Fab Furniture Projects to help transform old, used furniture into contemporary, stylish pieces.

Go Green

What better way to liven up a home than with decorations that are-you guessed it-alive! Live plants are one of the easiest, quickest, and cheapest ways to liven up a drab living space. Keep your eyes peeled for inexpensive and relatively low-maintenance plants such as fresh herbs, philodendrons, lucky bamboo, etc., all of which thrive indoors. Flaunt your creativity and style by displaying the plants in a unique and innovative fashion, such as utilizing a mix of pots and planters or mounting/hanging plants on the walls or ceilings.

Image from www.homedit.com

Image from www.carlaaston.com

Image from www.aliexpress.com

DIY

The most effective way to decorate in the least costly manner is oftentimes to simply do it yourself. The Internet and home décor magazines are teeming with DIY projects suitable for even the most inexperienced of decorators. Here are some of our favorites:

DIY Wall Art

Hanging artwork or photos on the walls of your home is a perfect way to spice up any room. But why pay big bucks for expensive artwork when you can make it yourself? We’re well aware that not everyone is a crafting connoisseur, so we found this simple method to create beautiful wall art regardless of your previous crafting experience (or lack thereof). Check out the instructions here.

Image from www.dealsfrommsdo.com

Mirrors

Mirrors are great decorative pieces that not only liven up walls, but also can add light to a room and make the room appear bigger. Spruce up an old, boring mirror by covering the edges with a fabric that you love. Here are the instructions.

Image from www.tealandlime.com

Hanging Shelf

Tie rope to a painted board to create a simple yet elegant hanging shelf. Check out the super easy instructions here.

Image from www.burkatron.com

Headboards

Headboards are a crucial element to any bedroom. Because of this, finding a durable and trendy headboard for a low price is not usually an easy task. But believe it or not, headboards are actually quite simple to make yourself. Check out these 101 Headboard Ideas That Will Rock Your Bedroom for an array of options for creating your own headboard.

Frugality doesn’t have to hinder your decorating ambitions because properly decorating your space doesn’t have to cost a fortune. There are innumerable methods and techniques to revitalize your space without breaking the bank, all it takes is a little research and creativity!

Apartment Fitness Tips

July 15, 2015

Tired of spending countless hours in a crowded gym? Is the incessant rain this summer putting a damper on your trek to the fitness center? All can agree that finding the time and/or motivation to exercise isn’t always easy; and we’ve all used the “I’m too tired to go to the gym” excuse at one point or another. Luckily for us, it turns out you don’t always need fancy gym equipment or a mundane workout plan to properly train your body. In fact, some of the most effective exercises can be accomplished with your own bodyweight in the comfort of your apartment living room. While almost all of our F&C properties offer state-of-the art fitness centers for our residents, we totally get that some days you just don’t want to leave home. Because of this, we’ve researched several techniques to help you stay in shape without ever leaving the apartment. Here are some of our favorites:

Cardio + Resistance Pyramid Circuit

This cardio and strength circuit trains numerous different parts of the body and requires no outside equipment. Simply clear a space, and complete it right in the comfort of your living room! The circuit is made up of ten exercises done consecutively in rounds of decreasing repetitions. To begin, pick a number of repetitions to start, for example, ten. Perform each exercise ten times to complete one round. Take a short break, then move on to the next round, in which you will perform each exercise nine times, and so on. Below are the recommended exercises to use with this circuit, but feel free to swap out exercises based on personal taste/fitness level!

Jumping Jacks
Squats
High Knees (R+L=1)
Alternating Lunges (R+L =1)
Wide Ski Jumps (R+L =1)
Triceps Dips
Squat Jumps
Push-Ups
Ballet Squat Jumps
Bicycle Crunches

Yoga

Who needs a membership to a fancy yoga studio when you can get the same results at home? Check out this Heart-Pumping Yoga routine that can be done anywhere.

Image from www.womenshealthmag.com

5 Minute Total Body Workout

Not a lot of time on your hands? Never fear! For all you busy-bodies out there, check out this 5 Minute Equipment-Free Total Body Workout!

Leg Workout

Summertime also means it’s shorts season! To get those legs ready for their time in the sun, check out this Hot Legs Workout or this Best Home Leg Workout.

Insanity

Why hire a personal trainer when you could have one in your living room? Despite its daunting name, the Insanity program is one of the most popular at-home workout programs on the market. The program is based on a fitness method called “max-interval training” and is a total body workout that requires no gym or equipment. The full Insanity program includes 10 DVDs of intense workouts, a nutrition guide, and a calendar to track progress. Purchase it on Amazon.com here.

Image from www.topworkoutreviews.com

So whether you’re having one of those days (and we all have them!) when you just don’t feel up for the trip to the gym, or if you simply prefer to work out the privacy of your own home, always remember you can achieve a top-notch workout wherever there is ample space!

Space Saving Tips & Tricks

July 10, 2015

While apartment living certainly has numerous benefits and perks, there seems to be one small dilemma that many apartment dwellers find themselves facing-lack of space. But just because you live in a small space doesn’t mean you have to feel like you do! Thankfully, the struggle to find a proper place to store belongings has made renters and small homeowners quite the resourceful bunch. Below we’ve compiled our favorite space-saving and storage-maximizing, tips and techniques to help get you started in creating a clutter-free and organized apartment.

Furniture

As far as furniture goes, it’s important to keep in mind scale and proportion. Try to keep your furniture as tight and compact as possible, and remember that multifunctional furniture is definitely the way to go in small spaces.

Ottoman

Not only do ottomans serve as a footrest or an extra seat for guests, they can also be extremely helpful in saving space around the apartment. Choose an ottoman with a removable top, and you now have a multi-functional room centerpiece that also serves as place to hide remotes, blankets, DVDs, and more. There even exist convertible ottomans that can easily transform into an extra bed for guests!

Trunk/Storage Bench

Using a bench or storage trunk is a perfect way to maximize storage and utilize space in an apartment. By placing a storage bench at the end of your bed or using a trunk as a coffee table, you’re able to store a multitude of items in a vital piece of furniture that also serves many other uses.

Image from www.venturanaba.com

Image from www.pinterest.com

Murphy Beds

Studio apartments can surely get a little packed, especially since you’re combining dining, entertaining, and sleeping all into one room. Consider investing in a Murphy bed, or a bed that can be pulled up and down from the wall. Murphy beds are the perfect solution to create more space for eating and entertaining by completely hiding your bed when it is not in use.

DIY Tips

Proper furniture isn’t the only way to save space in your small area! Here are some simple DIY tips to quickly and easily increase the amount of space in your place:

If your home is lacking in closet space, make the most out of your closet by stacking clothes vertically. Simply hook hangers onto one another with a soda tab, and you’ve instantly increased your amount of closet space. (Which gives you the perfect excuse to buy new clothes!)

Image from www.rantchic.com

If you’re looking for more shelving to store cans or other pantry items in your kitchen, check out this easy-to-make DIY Slide-Out Cabinet that will conveniently store food while taking up hardly any space.
Even walls can provide storage in small places! For a simple and lightweight shelving option, consider using wicker baskets instead of traditional shelves. Check out the instructions here.

Image from www.makinglemonadeblog.com

Another important tip to remember when decorating a small space is that mirrors can make a room seem significantly larger. Likewise, mirrors are great decorative pieces to liven up a space and add more light to a room.

In addition to these helpful storage tips and techniques, many of our Flaherty & Collins properties offer storage units for bikes and other similar items!