Creating a fashionable apartment is reliant on many factors. Exquisite taste and an eye for unique pieces is part of it, but a sense of architectural form and detail can play a huge role in how your chic apartment evolves. The space itself is as important as the pieces you bring to it so the first step is to find just the right shell in which to show off your works. Whether you choose an older building brimming with architectural charm of its own, or a glass box in a modern skyscraper, this will set the backdrop for how the rest of the design evolves.

In some cases, units in classic buildings have retained their luxury of space and also preserved their architectural charm. Details, such as moldings and carved ceilings, abound in such apartments. These spaces can be desirable, but the downside is that some of them may have been ignored or altered unfavorably through the years, thereby requiring a great deal of time and money to bring their structure and design back to life. They may also require excessive work and funds to maintain them in their improved state.

There are many questions you should be asking yourself before selecting an apartment. Do you want to rent or buy, and based on this, how much money do you want to spend? Are you willing to forgo some of the ultra modern conveniences like a deluxe shower system that an older building might not be able to accommodate, or are you willing to live in a uniform space without any architectural charm? And if it's a matter of simply redecorating your present residence, can you work with the existing architectural style to create the fashionable apartment of your dreams?

Once you've selected your shell, its time to start decorating. In a chic apartment, hardwood floors adorned by elegant area carpets to designate room areas are common, but so are spaces covered in plush, thick, wall to wall carpeting. There is no one floor-covering standard in determining what makes an apartment "chic," so there's no one way to decorate it either.

The decisions you make about wall coverings will set the mood in your apartment. Will it be serious and austere, or warm and feminine? Do you want to introduce a lot of pattern on the walls and then select more subdued furniture pieces, or do you want the walls to serve as a backdrop for what you bring in?

Certainly some might say that the walls should be the backdrop and that's all, but what if you decide to cover the wall in an exciting hand painted mural that spans floor to ceiling, or inlay a mosaic pattern in one of the walls? The point is that there are times when the walls themselves can be focal points so you must decide carefully on how they will look and what kind of statement they will make in your chic apartment.

Furniture selections should be taken very seriously. No matter what kind of apartment you live in, your furniture is a natural focal point. In a chic apartment, furniture can mean the difference between chic and ordinary. The same holds true for accessories. Depending on how interesting or eye catching these pieces are, finishing touches like an antique vase or a carefully placed lamp can take attention away from prominent furniture pieces and become focal points in and of themselves.

But how you decorate a chic apartment need not be all on the inside. If you have a view, it can become part of the design. Flaunt it to make the room and your apartment look larger. Balconies, patios, roofdecks, holland blinds, and window seats offer private places and make an apartment seem larger and cheerier because of the light and outdoor vistas they reveal. A nature-scape or cityscape will create different moods in a design scheme. Think carefully about whether or not your particular view will enhance your decor or detract from it before you bring the outdoors in.

The most important consideration for decorating a chic apartment is to not let form overcome function. Remember, this is not a museum piece, it is where you live. No matter what means you take to make it a showpiece, don't forget you have to exist there every day. Consider why that means in terms of what goes on in your home on a daily basis, but don't forget the most crucial concept: comfort. No matter how wonderful you apartment looks, it still must be a space in which you can put your feet up and call it home.