These days, small apartment renovations can make a significant impact.
You’ve read at least 1,000 articles on LinkedIn about optimizing tedious tasks. You’ve spent hours on Zillow imagining what it would be like to move to Cody, Wyoming, and run a farm there (and be Kanye West’s neighbor). But you may also be dreaming of a complete apartment renovation, which would cost thousands of dollars that you don’t have.
During the pandemic, many people moved, but many others did not. Plus, your house must be pretty run down by now. Unless you find a new ghost apartment hidden behind the bathroom mirror or an adorable puppy comes to change your life, there are no miracles, but There are a few simple methods to give an outdated residence fresh vitality.
Bright lighting to set the right mood
Whether it’s a fun 80s-style cocktail party, a dreamy chillwave party or a gothic speakeasy, the quickest way to create a new atmosphere is with the proper lighting. And with the advent of high-tech LED lighting, like Gove, it’s even easier to make the right mood.
Wash the apartment and with a few devices, your apartment can be transformed into a James Turrell installation…
Treat yourself regularly with fresh flowers
Whether you buy a $6 bouquet of tulips at the supermarket or sign up for a regular delivery service like Urban Stems, flowers are an obvious way to bring novelty (and colour) to your room. Place them on your desk or the kitchen table, and they’ll wake you up before you’ve even had your coffee.
Bonus tip:
hang a simple bouquet of eucalyptus flowers from the shower head and give your bathroom a cost-effective and rejuvenating touch…
Redecorate the whole room, that’s all.
You don’t have to meet high design standards or pretend to know feng shui (but if you want to try, go ahead). Simply moving a couch or bed to a different location can open up a new perspective. In these hectic days, small changes can make a big difference.
Spend money on a tidy bookcase.
Like us, you probably see fewer friends and just read at home. And if you were like us in 2015, most of your books don’t have a home.
Perhaps they’re piled haphazardly on the floor. Maybe you’ve built “shelves” out of rough plywood and cinder blocks, and it looked pretty raw, bohemian and industrially chic. …… Hey, hey, hey. Sure, you have “real” shelves, but aren’t they the cheap IKEA shelves your ex-boyfriend gave you that are now as solid as the Tower of Pisa?
The first step is to get rid of the books you’ve already read and don’t want to read anymore. (And treat yourself to a natural bookcase after you’ve whittled down your collection? Or ask a friend’s unemployed carpenter to make a table to fit your room.
Bring visual surprises to your home.
Sure, you can easily change the look of a room by hanging a towering painting above the sofa. But maybe your budget doesn’t allow for that luxury (although you don’t have to be a millionaire to buy original art!).
Are you looking for something simpler? An old poster of an Italian movie (in a nice frame, because you’re an adult) will give you something new to discover when you have to decide what meal to order for the hundredth time in a row.
A large designer calendar also transforms a room. Is there a better way to immortalize the endless days of the pandemic? This gorgeous 1966 calendar by Massimo Vignelli is sold out until 2022… but there are still some quirky options, including a giant vinyl sticker that fixes the calendar.
Like Judy Chicago’s scarves, an artful scarf elegantly hung on the wall can give a room new energy. If you’re looking for something unusual, you can embrace the TikTok trend and add a breathtaking window to a windowless room with a digital projector…
Set attractive accents (walls).
Want something dramatic and lasting? Consider an accent wall in your living room or bedroom. Or, more discreetly, an accent door… Or an accent fireplace…
If all the walls in your living room are cream, pick one and paint it canary yellow or robin blue. Wallpaper isn’t cheap, but if you’re short on wallpaper space, you don’t need to spend a fortune… And wouldn’t this postmodern Beastie Boy wallpaper look great in your Brooklyn studio?
It’s possible to rip out the wallpaper and repaint the walls, but always ask your landlord for advice before making significant changes.
Decorate your apartment and its SSDDPS (same shit, different day, pandemic yet?) We’d be remiss if we didn’t remind you to buy renters insurance manhattan to protect all your stuff.