Simple Apartment Upgrades
Upon entering your new apartment, you want to make sure there isn’t any damage from the last tenant before getting all your belongings in place. As you start organizing, you may realize there are some parts you want to change. While you may not be able to knock a wall down, there are plenty of simple upgrades you can make. Most upgrades don’t require that much money or tools. Some upgrades can even be damage-free if you use the right products. Just be sure to hang onto anything supplied by the apartment so you can take all your upgrades with you when you leave!
Switch the Lights
It’s normal to see mediocre lightbulbs or even less than adequate lighting in apartments. Fortunately, you can easily find new bulbs and purchase lamps that will fit your apartment perfectly. While you may be tempted to buy the brightest bulbs for the most amount of light, that isn’t always in your best interest. Lighting will create the atmosphere, so it’s important you use the right bulb for the vibe you want to give off. Bulbs range in color temperatures on a scale starting with yellow and ending with blue. Blue light is more stimulating, which will help you wake up, but may make falling asleep difficult. Yellow light is gentle and soothing, which works great for drifting off to sleep. Blue light is recommended for the kitchen and bathroom to help you cook and get ready for the day, while yellow light is great for your bedroom. Your living room can be a toss-up, as you may want yellow light at night and blue light during the day. Luckily, you can use a blue light bulb for the ceiling light and use a yellow light bulb in a lamp for calm light throughout the evening. Consistent lighting is great to help keep one theme through your entire apartment, otherwise mix up the lighting to give a different feel to different areas.
Photographs
Pictures are a great way to express yourself. Photos are like a window into your life, your guests will get to meet your family and friends, any pets you have, and even learn the places you’ve been. Use photos to give people an idea of what you like to do with your life! Our pictures tell others a lot about who we are.
Pillows
Is your living room looking stale? Does your couch blend into the wall? Why waste money on a new couch when you could just use some pillows to accent what you already have? You can easily find pillows that work with the design theme you picked out, or you can mix-and-match your pillows with your furniture to make your chair or couch a focal point in the room!
Plants
Plants are one of, if not the, best upgrade you can make. Aside from being living decorations, plants breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen, which is great for us! Contrary to popular belief, there are plenty of plant species that thrive indoors. Plants are a great way to challenge yourself, as some are harder than others to care for. If you aren’t much of a green thumb, start with a few, low maintenance plants before working up to the complex, difficult plants. A few classic apartment plants are the pothos, philodendron, peace lily, and succulents.
Carpets and Rugs
If you live in a newer building or luxury apartment, you probably noticed your gorgeous hardwood floors as soon as you moved in. These are great for cleaning and don’t require much work to upkeep. The only downside is they make it hard to get cozy and can be cold during the winter. Use a dynamic carpet or rug to add some flare into your apartment. Most people don’t think of the floor when they want to add an accent piece in their apartment. If you the carpet or rug you picked out is thinner than you hoped, throw down a rug pad. This will not only make it more comfortable, but will help to soundproof your floor.
Find New Light Switch and Outlet Covers
The covers of your light switches and outlets are a subtle way to increase the property value of your apartment. Since they’re relatively inexpensive, it’s a go-to way to make an otherwise bland area fun or luxurious. There are hundreds of designs, so finding one that matches the theme you’re running in your apartment is super easy. The beauty is you’ll only need a screwdriver, so if you have five minutes here-and-there, grab the screwdriver and switch them out. You could even swap the old out with the new while you wait for your Uber!
Kitchen Hardware
More often than not, people aren’t super thrilled with the stock hardware provided in their apartment. The truth is, you are more than welcomed to swap out your kitchen hardware to something you like better. Like the outlet covers, it takes little time and you might even be able to use the same screwdriver! Find some hardware you’ll be happy with for a while, as you don’t want to go out and buy new hardware in another couple months. Be sure to hang onto what the apartment supplied for you, so you can take what you purchased with you when you move out. Additionally, if you aren’t able to provide the hardware the apartment provided when you move out, you may have to pay a fee.
Get a New Showerhead
You will need more than just a screwdriver, but it’s not nearly as difficult to install as you may think. Find a showerhead that can disperse water multiple ways to give you the freedom of different water pressures. New showerheads are more likely to be more efficient, which will only help keep cash in your pocket when the water bill comes around. Similar to your kitchen, you can even swap out the hardware on the bathroom drawers and cabinets for more customization.
