We live in a weird time when it comes to owning property. Most millennials know there’s little chance of them being able to own an apartment and they will probably keep renting for a very long time. On one hand that means they have more freedom to move around, you don’t have to deal with repairs and you’re not burdened by property taxes, on the other – there’s a lot of things you’re not allowed to do when dealing with rented apartments and landlords. A lot of the time there’s a lot of limitation when it comes to furniture, style, decorating and basically truly making the apartment look and feel like your own. But don’t despair, we’ve compiled a whole list of cheap ways to add a little style to your rental apartment, all without the risk of losing your security deposit.
1. Rearrange The Furniture
If you’re renting a fully furnished apartment but don’t quite like the style or the layout – you don’t have to keep it. No one is stopping you from rearranging the furniture and moving it around. If you want a bigger bedroom, switch it up with the living room. If you feel like that armchair doesn’t fit into your living room aesthetic – put it in the hallway and make it your designated chair for putting shoes on. If you don’t like the dresser in the bedroom – put it in somewhere else. The point is – you can move stuff around and find new locations and purposes for it.
2. Switch Up The Hardware
One of the most disgusting things you might encounter in rental apartments is the icky bathroom hardware. You know you can change that right? Get yourself a new shower head, replace those drying racks with shiny new ones. You can even change the handles, cabinet pulls in the kitchen and door knobs everywhere. Just remember to store them somewhere, so you can change them back when you decided to move.
3. Change The Color Of The Walls
If the apartment has horrible icky 80s wallpaper you can ask your landlord for permission to change it up. Some will agree, others might not. If you get a stern landlord who doesn’t want you to improve their apartment – you can always get removable wallpaper. Yup, it’s a real thing and it’s perfect for these situations because you can change it as often as possible and just remove it once you leave.
4. Add Some Curtains
Curtains are one of the easiest ways to spruce up a room. Just take off the old ones, put them away into storage (you’ll need them later) and get yourself some new, fresh, nice looking curtains. You’ll be surprised how much this simple step can change the look of a whole room. And the best thing is that you can get a couple of different curtains and change them according to season if you wish.
5. Get A Rug
It’s unlikely that your rental apartment will have nice hardwood floors. A lot of the time the flooring will be ugly as hell, or covered in some old icky carpeting. Thankfully there’s an easy solution for that – get a cool carpet. It’ll make the floors warmer, add a personal touch to the room, and, most importantly, cover the ugly floors. You can even get a couple of rugs and layer and overlap them for a chic boho look.
6. Put Up Some Art
Another easy way to make your walls look nice is to put up some art. If you’re allowed to put nails in your walls – hang up some art pieces, pictures, even some cool framed movie posters. These things will add character to any apartment and make it look more personalized.
7. Stick On Tiles
If you want a cool, modern kitchen, get some stick on tiles and turn that icky backsplash into a nice white tiled one that resembles one of those nifty kitchen catalogues. It’s pretty easy to do, it’s cheap, and most importantly, it’s temporary.
8. Buy Pants
Plants are a great way to add more color to your apartment. They also make everything look fresh and cosy at the same time. They’re a great way to brighten up an empty corner or a windowsill. Just remember to water them on time, or get succulents and other easy to take care of plants. You don’t want your apartment to become a plant graveyard. That would defeat the purpose.
9. Accessorize Like Crazy
If you can’t replace the furniture you can sure accessorize the hell out of the one you have. Get some funky throw pillows to put on the couch, put up some mirrors to create the illusion of a bigger space, add some lamps and replace the light fixtures to add more light. Hang up some fairy lights if you must, fill the shelves with cool decorative things. Accessorizing is truly the one and only way to make an apartment look and feel like a reflection of you.