For many people, COVID-19 made home a far more common place to be. Even while much of the world is starting to move on from the pandemic, you might still spend considerably more time at home than before. It’s natural to begin feeling a little sick of it.
As the world starts to recover, it’s worth upgrading your apartment, giving it a change to reflect this “new start.” But where do you begin, and what are the most important changes to make?
Here are post-COVID upgrades - that are rental-friendly – to completely revamp your apartment.
1. Upgrade Your Doorknobs
Doorknobs are usually overlooked, but they’re a vital way to change the look of a room. Better yet, they’re uncomplicated to replace, taking 10-20 minutes or less.
You can store the old doorknobs and swap them back out when you move from this apartment. Great options include different colors, a more modern appearance, or elegant designs that draw the eye.
For your front door in particular, high tech versions are ideal, so you can gain access to your home with the use of your phone, a fob, or a code. Doorknobs with cameras will even provide added security, as well as convenience in checking on who is knocking.
2. Swap Out Light Switch Plates and Lighting Fixtures
In that vein, lighting fixtures and light switch plates are two great changes to make when spicing up your apartment rental.
Switch plates are even simpler to replace, and low-cost options can be purchased in bulk, so you can swap out all the ones in your home. You can choose among different colors, patterns, and detailing. From elegant, to modern chic, to themed toward each person’s bedroom, light switch plates can have fun designs that draw attention to every area of a room.
For lighting fixtures, you can swap out normal ceiling lights with rustic, art-deco, Victorian grace, cartoonish pops of color, or any designs beyond. They will add significantly to a room’s style.
3. Add More Lighting Overall
It’s worth going the extra mile to add more lighting throughout your apartment. This can literally brighten up a space and make it seem bigger, more welcoming, and more convenient for your activities indoors. In fact, Environmental Research and Public Health found that added lighting in a home can improve mood, visual performance, and safety.
As such, if you lack many windows, or natural lighting is in short supply because of your apartment’s placement, more indoor lighting is a great way to make your apartment seem modern, lively, and better to live in. As an advantage, you can take those added lights with you to a new apartment when you move.
Try to add lighting to upper, middle, and lower areas of your apartment for a more welcoming glow. This can include new fixtures in the walls and ceiling, as well as short or tall lamps for different areas.
4. Try Out Upgraded Faucets, Sinks, and Shower Heads
Upgrading your larger appliances, like the dishwasher and refrigerator, may not be in your budget (or the realm of what your landlord will allow). However, smaller components, such as your faucets, sinks, and shower heads, may be just fine.
This is a great chance to combine style and convenience. You can swap out a boring, standard shower head with an upgrade that offers a variety of settings, from water pressure levels to spraying style. Certain types even help save water without limiting the comfort of a good shower, ensuring you can enjoy lower utility bills.
For faucets and sinks, you can play with styles and shapes. Try picking between colors, like gold, silver, rose-gold, or a gradual shift of multiple hues. You can decide on builds that arch, detach with a hose, resemble birds or flowers, and more. This can dramatically change the look of kitchens and bathrooms.
5. Use Peel-and-Stick Flooring and Wallpaper
The broader appearance of your home can dramatically affect how happy and comfortable you feel in it. In fact, the Journal of Building Engineering found that a home’s design and layout affected the mental health of people compelled to stay at home during the COVID pandemic. That’s especially true if you’re also working from your apartment.
Peel-and-stick flooring and wallpaper are a well-known hack for renters who want to dramatically change the look of their home - without committing to something or investing in what might not be allowed, like painting or permanent wallpaper.
This type of flooring and wallpaper isn’t long-lasting, but remains clean and consistent for several months of careful use. That’s ideal for shorter-term rentals or a personal style that changes now and then. They’re very easy to remove once it’s time to move out, and you can mix-and-match your design tastes every few months if you choose.
Colors, patterns, and textures are limitless, and they’re simple to apply. With dedication, you could enhance your entire apartment within a day - and have it looking brand new!
6. Swap Out Blinds
Blinds are more than a way to keep out the morning sun or ensure your privacy in a bottom-floor apartment. They’re statement pieces and can dramatically alter the style and appeal of a specific room. According to Energy and Built Environment, they can also improve your air conditioning costs by helping to keep your apartment cool. That makes them important for your budget and your sense of style!
If you currently have whatever blinds came with the apartment rental, chances are, they’re fairly cheap and don’t adhere to any particular style. You can easily replace them with room shades, bamboo blinds, elegant chiffon, or even blackout curtains with pocketed designs that create pictures when the sunlight streams through!
This can help you create a vision for the home, working with your apartment’s décor rather than against it. They can also make sure that your home still feels beautiful and welcoming, even if you need to keep them drawn due to privacy issues or the summer heat. Best of all, you can easily swap them out with the stored originals if you move out, and recreate that style again elsewhere.
7. Use Rugs and Tapestries for Easy Room Changes
When avoiding permanent changes, rugs and tapestries are an amazing choice to entirely mix up a room. Rugs can be plush or simple, patterned or solid-colored, and add both pizzazz and comfort to your floors.
Tapestries may seem old fashioned, but they’re spread throughout noble history for a reason. They can display beautiful patterns, images, or phrases, add color to a space, and even work in lieu of painting walls different colors (depending on their size). Customized ones can even depict family photos or vacation pictures.
When hanging a tapestry, you can nail it into the wall (and fix it with spackle when you move out), or look into no-damage contact strips. Either way, you can use them to transform a simple or boring room into a stylish home.
8. Start With an Upgraded Rental
The bones of a home play the most important role in its comfort, functionality, and upgrading options. Perhaps it’s time to move because of pricing, location, or just a change of pace (as so many are eager for, after the stay-home mandate). No matter the case, choosing a place that’s upgraded or available for customizable upgrades is ideal.
It’s best to start off by looking at a more luxury rental option to move into. When a landlord or property management company is actively looking to create a “luxury” design, they’ll start you off with a modern aesthetic that you can easily build on top of, helping you achieve the perfect style.
Consider apartments that have unique floor plans or layouts, wall-space or flooring that complements rugs and tapestries, and fixtures that are either just your style or easy to swap out with your new upgrades from the last apartment. This is also a great opportunity to verify what policies allow you to customize the apartment to suit you.
9. Create a Connection With Your Landlord
Perhaps the most important element is creating a great connection with your landlord. Their policies can help you, and your upgrades can help them.
After all, many of these suggestions upgrade the apartment rental; a home with beautiful, designer doorknobs will look better than the next renter, with old fashioned knobs installed when the apartment was built 30 years ago.
If you consistently talk with your landlord and establish rapport, they’ll be more giving in allowing you to upgrade the rental, and you can make changes that improve the look of the apartment block to other possible renters.
Final Thoughts
COVID has made staying at home for work or recreation time more common for many people. These nine options are brilliant ways to spruce up your apartment – transforming a home you may feel too familiar with by now into a zesty hangout you’re excited to be in.
Better yet, these tips are changes that your landlord is likely to consent to - and even be happy about, since you’re putting effort into improving your rental! Just start with a strong modern base, and then build on top for a home that’s truly yours.
