Rental-Friendly Home Resolutions You Can Make (and Actually Keep!) This Year
If the start of 2020 has you itching to tackle some home upgrades, we’ve got good news: You don’t need to sacrifice your security deposit to transform your place into your dream home. These six simple, renter-friendly projects work wonders but won’t take more than an afternoon to pull off—and won’t make an enemy of your landlord, either. Do one or all, and call your New Year’s resolutions complete.
Replace a plain medicine cabinet with an ornate mirror
In my previous apartment, I was absolutely obsessed with the exposed brick walls present throughout my bathroom and bedroom, and when I picked up a vintage brass mirror at a flea market, all I could think about was how amazing it would look against the brick. The medicine cabinet in my bathroom was just so-so in terms of storage and wasn’t the most pleasant piece to look at, so I asked my landlord if I could take it down, return it to him, and hang the mirror up instead. He agreed! The medicine cabinet was extremely easy to remove, and while I did need to find a new storage solution for my toiletries, the overall results—pictured above—were so worth it. The small ornate mirror added to the apartment’s Victorian feel and made getting ready each morning feel a bit more luxurious.
Give a room a high-impact accent wall
Oftentimes, getting approved to paint the walls in your rental comes with a price: repainting everything before move out. If you want to bring some color to your space but want to keep work to a minimum once your lease is up, an accent wall like the one Heather Bien designed may be the right fit for you. As Heather notes, such a wall can make a room seem larger, even in a small space. Plus, painting just one wall and not four makes this an easy project to do in a weekend—and an easy project to undo before move-out.
Camouflage so-so carpet with a statement rug
Sometimes you just can’t avoid wall-to-wall carpeting when living in a rental, but there is an easy, affordable way to cover it, according to Julie Briones. As she explains, a large statement rug in the pattern of your choice can work wonders (and it’s easy to change out over time, too—Julie used the patterned option shown above before switching to a neutral piece later on). While a small amount of her rental unit’s carpet still showed, this quick fix still made a major impact.
Fix up your fireplace (on the cheap)
We’re in awe of the makeover that Tiffany Piotrowski gave her fireplace, which originally featured yellow tile that had seen better days. Using marble contact paper, Tiffany was able to completely transform the fixture to align with her decorating style. The best part of this project is that you can select any pattern of contact that appeals to you.
Switch out a boring ceiling light for something with more spunk
I knew replacing the ceiling fan in my apartment’s dining nook with a sophisticated pendant light would make a major difference—my Pinterest boards are full of beautiful chandeliers and other light fixtures that always seem to add intrigue to a room. Luckily, my landlord gave me the OK to make the switch so long as I re-install the original fixture prior to an eventual move out, which seems worthwhile to me. After calling on a professional to take down the fan and hang the pendant light, the room was completely transformed, and I couldn’t be more in love with my little eating space, which is shown here.
… Or keep your existing light, and give it a tiny bit of extra character
Anika Gandhi proves that just $100 can go a long way to improve a space. She tackled a ton of DIYs in this bathroom makeover, including a light fixture upgrade. To give her existing flush mount light a new look, she used a wire basket to create a funky lampshade. (Another clever rental-friendly redo in this project? Marble contact paper used to transform a vanity’s countertop.) See her full post for more DIY inspiration.