Five home decor bloggers feature the best ways to create your space.

Photo Credit: iStockphoto/EricVega

Apartments can be difficult spaces to decorate. Someone else owns the space, so certain decor basics may not be allowed, such as painting, and some units may be on the small side. And what fills the space must be balanced or delicate; no one wants to worry about how to lug an expensive, heavy piece of furniture up three flights of stairs.

Fortunately, a select group of bloggers exist who continually find creative, even genius ways to transform four white apartment walls into one extraordinary living area. With tastes ranging from the modern to the vintage to the eclectic, these bloggers focus specifically on what makes small spaces shine. Plus, some offer tips for green living, sharing your home with pets, decorating on a budget and more.

If you’ve ever moved into an apartment only to discover you don’t know how to make it your own, worry no more: We have chosen the top five apartment-decorating blogs. We guarantee you’ll find interior design inspiration on at least one – if not all – of these extremely useful sites:

Rental Decorating Digest

What It Is: Rental Decorating Digest. an online rental decorating magazine, began in January 2000 and provides extensive information on decorating an apartment, home, studio or dorm, sometimes with input from professional celebrity decorators.

Why We Love It: If you don’t know where to begin with decorating your new space, this site can easily help you get started. Divided into categories such as decorating by room, budget, furniture piece and color, Rental Decorating Digest keeps decorating tips simple and organized.

My Little Apartment

What It Is: My Little Apartment is a blog with eclectic decorating ideas (an entire post dedicated to antlers, anyone?), whimsical photographs and links to the blog creator’s vintage items for sale.

Why We Love It: The writer’s positive attitude is contagious, and her style is unique, with a tendency toward the 1970s decade. Plus, she has creative appreciation for items that others have thrown away, such as Moroccan birdcages, beat-up metal pieces and 1960s German dinnerware.

The Thrift Shop Romantic

What it is: The writer behind the Thrift Shop Romantic is self-professed “packrat descendant” Jenn Thorson, who advises how to find vintage, Victorian and romantic decor on the cheap. For those in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio. the site suggests thrift shop, antique store and flea market resources.

Why We Love It: Jenn is an excellent do-it-yourselfer, but her oft-humorous accounts of the process are unabashedly human, which is inspirational to those hesitant to tackle a project themselves. And some of her thrift store finds are hilarious, such as Better Homes and Garden’s 1971 book on decorating ideas under $100. Three words: Victorian robot bathroom.

Making It Lovely

What It Is: New mom and stationary creator Nichole Balch has decorating tips for transforming older spaces into vintage-modern havens on Making It Lovely. She also suggests storage and fashion solutions, and encourages readers to appreciate all shades of pink.

Why We Love It: The Making It Yours category of the site is genius. Balch photographs a single piece of furniture and shows readers through mood boards – which include purchasing information – how to work the piece into five different rooms of the house.