When you buy a home you can change it to meet your needs and tastes, but when you are renting it you are limited in what modifications you can make to a rental home that reflects your style, but unlike other generations today’s renters have quite a few more options on things they can change, and best of all the change can be reversed when you go to move out. Many of the alterations best of all do not require a lot of skill and won’t break your budget. In today’s blog it will explore some ways of transforming a space that was once terrible and gross to a space that looks sleek and bright.
1) Paint
The paint is fairly cheap. If done well and the color is neutral you might not need to paint it back. Paint can transform a tired boring apartment rental into a space that is light and airy and feels like life really lives there. This living room went from sterile to a place with life.
This is the old bedroom before This is the same bedroom with new paint after
2) Refreshing countertops
Who doesn’t love the look of Marble or Granite, but your current kitchen you are looking at has Formica. Don’t go out and gut your current kitchen you don’t own. There are products that give the appearance of marble or granite, but all the product is contact paper sheet or paint kit. Both solutions you can buy on Amazon, and it can cost you anywhere from $10.00-$70.00. A renter can also change out the backsplash. If the landlord dislikes it you can change it back.
My client added a backsplash and made the Formica countertops look like granite or marble. The client has also started painting cabinets which she did get permission to do. Other changes they made was updating the hardware in the kitchen. These small changes make this kitchen look like it was transformed into a brand new kitchen. However, it is the same old kitchen with small easy touches making a tired space feel like it has a life to it.
3) Accessorize the home
You don’t need to spend a fortune on furniture, you don’t need to spend a fortune on accessories to make your home not only feel like a home to you but to others. Most of the time its where furniture is placed in a room and other elements in the home a mirror there, a shelf in another place.
There are so many resources available to the consumer today Pinterest, Apartment Therapy, HGTV, Instagram there are plenty of resources including Curate by SIR which can help you get ideas on space or help you style it and you can even buy the furniture that you use when you virtually stage your home.
Most of the work in this picture is paint and adding furniture that doesn’t overtake the space.
4) Change Hardware
Changing the hardware on drawers, cabinets can make a space like a completely different space. Painting or Staining cabinets with permission from your landlord can really change the living space. Shelving and adding mirrors and pictures can highlight the space or make it feel bitter then it is. 
5) Lighting
Adding the right lighting to space. It can be pretty simple and doesn’t require breaking the bank.
My client who rented this apartment spent very little to make this place look amazing.
Next time when you see an apartment that isn’t perfect when you walk into it try to imagine small simple changes you can make.
Some of the best deals often are the ones that are not so obvious. If you’re looking to buy, rent or sell contact me. If you don’t have a clue where to start with space don’t worry I know a few interior designers who can also help.
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