6 Must-Haves for Every Hipster Apartment
First, some definitions…
Hipster: a man or woman in his/her 20’s or 30’s that thrives off of indie-rock, vintage furnishings, ironic/off-beat/untraditional art, skinny jeans, and liberal politics.
Apartment: a dwelling that someone pays a monthly fee to reside in. “Apartments” come in one, two, and even three bedroom options, and can be decorated in many different ways.
If you’re striving to combine the concept of “Hipster” with your apartment, there are a few must-haves that you need to obtain. They are what you would call “hipster standards”…items that basically identify one as a hipster (or someone with hipster tendencies). These items can be found in many locations, from thrift stores to high-end vintage shops (often found near New York apartments) and even the local dumpsters; however, where you acquire these articles of hipsterdom does not matter. What matters is that you have them properly displayed in a highly visible location in your apartment for everyone to see, admire, and lust over.
So without further ado, here are…
Quick “6 Must-Haves” for Every Hipster Apartment:
1. Record Player w/ Record Collection
: No hipster home is complete without a record player prominently displayed in the home. There are no rules about the exact type of record player you get. It can range from a belt-driven Vintage Philco Stereophonic record player to a direct-drive Technics SL-1200 series turntable. All that matters is that it works and you have a collection of records that goes along with it.
Now the specific records you have in your collect DOES matter. You need to have a combination of:
- Beatles
- 70s rock
- 80s rock/new wave
- 90s rap/hip hop
- Indie rock
- Punk
- Jazz
- Funk/Soul
- Obscure artists/records (like Johnny Thunders, Roky Erickson, or George Burns Sings)
What you don’t want to have in your collection is too much modern music. Remember, hipsters like the obscure and the ironic. So make sure your collection reflects that.
2. Indie Rock/Old School Band Show Poster
: Hipsters love older and non-mainstream music. So, if you want your abode to resemble that of a hipster haven, you must have a band show poster featuring an older band or obscure artist. Acceptable bands/artists include:
- Black Sabbath
- Alice Cooper
- The Pixies
- John Coltrane
- New York Dolls
- Pavement (a definite must for those living in Northern California apartments)
The more obscure the show poster is the better. And if your show poster is an original (not a reproduction), you score even more hipster apartment points.
3. Vintage Furnishings
: If you buy your couch, dining table, or dish set at a department store, you’re veering off the hipster apartment living course. When it comes to home furnishings, you need to go vintage; however, you don’t need to go completely vintage. You just need to have a few select vintage furnishings that show you have an appreciation of years past when furniture was better designed and made. You’re actually allowed to do the bulk of your shopping at IKEA (because they at least “try” to resemble the modern styles of the 60s and 70s), but be sure to have that one chair, lamp, bookcase, or desk that’s directly from the 50s, 60s, or 70s. 80s furnishings are acceptable too, but if it’s obvious they’re from the 80s.
Also be sure to have a few vintage kitchenware items. Things like a vintage salt and pepper shaker, old cookie jar, or even a vintage dish set will show your friends you also know how to be “hip” in the kitchen.
4. Bookcase Filled with “Classics”
: This is a definite necessity when setting the ultimate hipster aura in your home. If you can’t afford or manage the above mentioned hipster must-haves, you at least need to spring for a bookcase and go to your local thrift store/garage sale/library book sale to pick up some classic novels. Now titles such as Pride and Prejudice, Oliver Twist, and Gulliver’s Travels don’t count as hipster classic novels. If you want to come across as someone who appreciates great literary works in the hipster community, you need to get books like:
- Naked Lunch (William Burroughs)
- On the Road (Jack Kerouac)
- Slaughter House 5 (Kurt Vonnegut)
- Me Talk Pretty One Day (David Sedaris)
- Women (Charles Bukowski)
- The Rum Diaries (Hunter S. Thompson)
In fact, the more books you have by the authors above, the more clout you’ll have as a hipster with sophistication and one capable of deep thought. And here’s the best part…you don’t actually have to read them. Just have them neatly and clearly displayed in a bookcase (preferably a vintage or 60s modern bookcase) so other hipster friends of yours can acknowledge you own these classics (and they can acknowledge they own them too).
5. Electric Guitar w/ Small Amplifier
: Even if you don’t know how to play the guitar, if you want to rock your apartment like a hipster, you need to have an electric guitar and a small amplifier in the corner of some room in your apartment (it doesn’t matter what room, as long as it’s not the bathroom). The key is that the guitar is an electric. An acoustic guitar won’t cut it. Any hippie can have an acoustic guitar in their apartment. What will keep you apart from those unsophisticated troglodytes is the fact that yours is electric. An electric guitar tells guests that you have musical ability and that you may be in a band (even if you don’t know how the hell to play the guitar).
The small guitar amp located perfectly next to your electric guitar will secure that assumption, yet still leave an air of mystery whether or not you’re in an indie band or simply a tragic soul who plays blues songs alone at night. If you go to big, it may appear you’re over compensating.
6. Taxidermy
: This one is not for the faint of heart or the fair weather hipster. Rather, this sixth and final hipster apartment “must have” is in fact the créme de la créme of hipster apartment must-haves. Having a piece of taxidermy in your home is the biggest move you can make and will secure your home as a true hipster haven. It has everything a hipster home needs: kitchiness, irony, randomness, a vintage feel, and a slight air of sophistication. It screams “look how cool my apartment is!” without you having to say it. The ideal pieces of taxidermy to get are the following:
- Deer head (wall mounted)
- Wild Boar head (wall mounted)
- Ram head (wall mounted)
- Goat head (wall mounted)
- Armadillo (table top)
- Any stuffed bird (table top – owls, ravens, and vultures are highly recommended)
NOTE: you don’t want to overdo it with the taxidermy. You should only get one taxidermy piece. Too many and your apartment will quickly turn from “hipster haven” to “weird guy’s home”. Remember, you only need one to get the point across.
So, now that you’ve discovered 6 must-haves for any hipster’s apartment, go out there and start decorating (you glorious hipster you)!