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Stumbling upon an unwanted house guest in your apartment is a fear of many renters. Finding a pest in your home — particularly one that is staying there without paying rent — can seem overwhelming and scary, particularly if it is an infestation.
Whether you are dealing with bed bugs, mice, or something in between, don’t let yourself bug out. Come prepared with the right tools and a game plan to handle the situation.
Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are oftentimes the most feared by renters and landlords, and can enter your home undetected through luggage, used furniture, and clothing. The actual bug is small and brown, about the size of an apple seed, and is most commonly found in your mattress. A strong indicator that you have bed bugs is if there are black and brown spotted stains along your mattress.
If you think you might have bed bugs, be sure to check your box springs, headboards, footboards, and any other furniture that is within 5-8 feet of the bed. Look in all nearby crevices, including books and outlets. When it comes to your bed, be sure to take off all bedding and wash it in hot water. Next, scrub your mattress with warm water and soap, and vacuum along the floor and baseboards.
In order to completely get rid of bed bugs, your landlord will need to call an exterminator to clear your unit. This is important because there might be other units in your building that are dealing with an infestation as well, and if those are not taken care of, you will continue to find bed bugs in your apartment. The cost of the chemical treatment and the exterminator is typically covered by your landlord, unless it can be proven that you brought the bedbugs into the unit.
Note that bed bugs will often leave itchy bites in a line along the skin. If this is the case for you, be sure to check in with a healthcare provider for treatment.
Mice and Rats
If you find rodents in your apartment, the first thing you should do is tell your landlord. Chances are, if a mouse or rat got into your unit, they could have gotten into other units, too. Though a landlord is usually responsible for the cost of ridding your apartment of rodents, check your lease to see if there are any clauses concerning pests and who is liable in those situations. Here are some things you can do to help the situation while waiting for an exterminator to take care of it for you:
- Try and find where the rodent came in. Track where the rodent enters or exits, and seal up any holes or cracks that it could have used as an entryway.
- After you find the entrance point, it’s important to clean — and keep your space clean — as these rodents can be attracted to food and trash you might have sitting out.
If you’re comfortable with setting a trap, this is an effective option. Most home improvement stores sell many different types of traps, including ones that are non-lethal. Once you get the trap, place it in an area of high activity — somewhere you have seen a high concentration of droppings, urine, holes, and gnaw marks — and check the trap often. If you are uncomfortable setting your own traps, then it’s best to leave this to the professionals.
Pantry Moths
If your flour or cereal has been smelling foul or you’ve been finding webbing inside of your boxed food packages, then you may have pantry moths. If this is the case, you will also find these larvae in your boxes of cereal, a cocoon somewhere near your dry foods, or even brown moths flying around your kitchen.
If you find that the food in your pantry is infested, throw it out immediately. Throw out any grains, any boxed or bagged foods, and use hot, soapy water to clean any unopened jars and cans. Be sure to check along the edges of cans, jars, and the seams of boxes for larvae and eggs with a toothpick.
Aside from the pantry, it’s important to clean your entire kitchen thoroughly in order to completely take care of the problem. This includes cleaning the inside of cabinets, the inside of your vacuum, and taking out the trash. You can make a natural and safe pantry moth repellent that contains water, vinegar, and peppermint oil. Bay leaves are also a known natural pest repellent, and can be placed all throughout your kitchen.
Know that pantry moths can take months to get rid of once you have them. If you are struggling to get rid of these pests, consult an exterminator. Pantry moths are usually a renter’s responsibility, but if the origin of the pest was outside of the renter’s control (which can usually be determined by the exterminator), this could change.
Once the pantry moth infestation is taken care of, it’s important to know how to keep them from coming back. A good trick is to put any grains in the freezer for a week or until you’re ready to use them, or invest in air-tight food containers to store grains.
Cockroaches
The first step in dealing with cockroaches in your apartment is calling your landlord. Just like with other pests, if your unit has roaches, another unit may have them as well.
With cockroaches, the best way to keep them away is to keep things clean. Cockroaches like nothing more than crumbs, darkness, and damp spaces, and they tend to be attracted to messier apartments. The good news about cockroaches is that purchasing a treatment yourself is simple: Chemical spray treatments and bait work well for indoor spaces, but remember to use bait with caution if you have children or pets in the apartment.
It’s wise to check for a roach nest if you find a cockroach, too. Cockroaches prefer warm, tight spaces, so check behind refrigerators, in crawl spaces, and kitchen cabinets. Tell tale signs of a roach nest are cast skins, egg cases, or dark smears.
Ants
If you find a trail of ants trekking along your kitchen window sill, getting rid of them can seem like fighting an uphill battle. But getting rid of them once and for all does not have to be time-consuming.
If you find ants, clean the entire area and the surrounding surfaces thoroughly. Check all your windows and doors to make sure they are properly sealed and there are no openings where they can enter; sometimes following the trail of an ant can help pinpoint where it came in.
In order to prevent ants from coming in, spray the areas you have found them with essential oils, a natural deterrent, or set out some ant traps.
General Tips
While finding ways to solve your apartment’s pest problem is an important step in the process of getting rid of pests, you should always let your landlord know what is happening.
Chances are good that if you have some kind of infestation in your unit, someone else in the building has the same issue, too, so letting your landlord know about the problem sooner rather than later can save both of you time and worry. And if your infestation is bigger than you are equipped to handle, reach out to your landlord to see if they have an exterminator that can be sent out to help.
Many cities have specific rules for dealing with pests (especially bed bugs), so do some research and check out the renter’s laws in your area to confirm your rights and what to expect.
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When you have your own place, renovating and decorating on your own accord is relatively easy, considering the only person you have to consult is yourself. But living in an apartment is a different story.
Painting walls, hanging pictures, or changing the overall layout of your apartment are rarely things you can do without consulting your landlord. Not to mention that rules on apartment renovation and decoration may vary from building to building. However, there are still decorating options that will keep your landlord happy while satisfying your inner designer.
1. Utilize Temporary Wall Decorations
One way to change your apartment’s appearance is by adding art or pictures to your walls. Depending on your living situation, you may or may not be able to use nails, which is why removable wallpaper or command strips and hooks are the way to go. Either can be found at your local crafts or home-goods store. Plus, these little-to-no damage alternatives mean you can more easily change up your decorations, too.
2. Deck Out Your Floors
Areas that are often overlooked — yet so easy to decorate — are your floors. A quick fix that adds color and texture to your room is a rug. It does not matter if you have hardwood or carpeted floors, or a small or large budget — you can find an area rug in almost any size, price, and style.
A large living room can be tied together with a lush, heavy rug, while a small, plain room can be brightened up and made to feel cozier with a floor tapestry. You can even layer rugs if you can’t decide on a style or color just to add a little more variety to a room.
3. Utilize Mirrors
Mirrors can be used for more than just checking your outfit before you dart out the door. A mirror is a great way to make a small space feel bigger because of the reflectiveness of the glass. Try hanging a few different mirrors around your apartment to amplify your space, and if you cannot hang a mirror, find a standing mirror you love and lean it up against a corner.
4. Look for Double-Duty Furniture
Especially if you are living in a small apartment, storage space can be hard to come by. On top of this, if you can’t hang shelves it can feel like you’ve hit a dead end. A simple solution is to look for furniture that also doubles as storage. This creates extra storage while also introducing some new decor into your apartment.
As you look for different items to fill your apartment with, keep an eye out for coffee tables with hidden storage boxes, couches that fold out, sturdy media consoles, and nightstands that have multiple drawers.
5. Create Another Room
If you’re looking for a little more privacy or could use an extra room in your apartment, you don’t need to do a full remodel. Hanging up curtains is a great way to separate one large space, and if you’re worried about drilling into the wall, a folding screen is a great alternative. Plus, curtains or folding screens are easy ways to make your apartment feel a little more cohesive and sophisticated.
6. Refresh Your Kitchen
When decorating an apartment, many people tend to overlook the kitchen, yet it’s one of the easiest spaces to spruce up. Consider using a removable peel and stick backsplash behind your counters to add a bit of color and texture. Also, see if your landlord is comfortable with changing the cabinet and drawer handles for newer, more aesthetically pleasing ones.
Typically, you can do this with little to no damage. Purchase some colorful dish towels, a hanging fruit basket, or some elegant wooden cutting boards to use as extra decorations as well. When you purchase kitchen appliances and cooking utensils, think about how you can display them, not just how you can use them.
7. Play with Lighting
An often overlooked — and instrumental — facet of any apartment is the lighting. Whether your apartment is well-lit with natural or artificial lighting, you can still plug your personal style into your light fixtures by changing them to something you like.
If you have a lot of windows, think about investing in some curtains, folding blinds, or outlining the edges of the window with some decorative tape for an easy change. If you’re low on natural lighting, standing lamps will add to your apartment’s decor while lighting your room. And if you have pre-installed light fixtures, you can always change the shades on them or the type of bulbs in place, with your landlord’s permission.
Remember that you’ll need to replace any light fixture you change with the original fixture before you move out.
Decorating your rental does not have to be complicated or damaging. There are so many easy, cheap, and creative ways to decorate a space in order to make it your own, and if you’re ever unsure if a decorating decision is alright, check in with your landlord. If you think outside of the box when decorating your apartment, then both you — and your landlord — will be satisfied with the result.
As you decorate your apartment with these landlord-friendly tips, make sure you’re documenting any changes or pre-existing damages and using a checklist to protect your security deposit.
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Whether you have a balcony, patio, deck, or courtyard, it can be difficult to find ways to decorate that space in a functional and inviting way. This task is made more daunting if your outdoor area is smaller than you’d like. To make the process easier, here are some ideas on how to transform your apartment balcony, patio, or deck without causing any damage to your rental.
Evaluate Your Outdoor Space
Before you can think about decorating your apartment balcony, you should start by assessing the space and its purpose. Why were you excited to have an outdoor space when looking for apartments? Do you like to be outside in the morning or in the evening? Is it a social or solitary space? What’s the temperate or seasonal climate?
All of these questions will impact how you think about your outdoor space before you even start decorating. For example, if you enjoy spending relaxing mornings outside alone, you might want a small table and one or two comfortable outdoor chairs. If, however, you want to host cocktail parties outside, it might be wise to have multiple seating options that can be easily stored when your guests aren’t around.
Thinking about your climate is another aspect to consider, as what use to decorate your space, such as plants or different fabrics, will need to be able to withstand extreme heat or cold. This might determine whether or not you invest in a canopy for shade or an outdoor heater if you want to enjoy your outdoor space in any weather.
Find Storage-Friendly or Compactable Furniture
Once you’ve evaluated your outdoor space, you can begin to think about what type of furniture you will want for it. If you’re dealing with a smaller space, like a small patio, deck, or balcony, you might feel limited as to what your options are.
Folding furniture is a great solution, and these do not have to be your typical metal folding chairs or camping chairs. There are many sophisticated options in the realm of folding furniture, including collapsable tables and love seats with faux-wood accents and comfortable cushions.
If you opt for non-folding furniture, it helps to have pieces that double as storage. Box coffee tables, couches with accessible compartments, and even standing shelves that double as tables can make the most out of a small space.
Skip the Furniture and Use Floor Pillows
If you don’t want to invest in outdoor furniture, or you want to make things a bit more comfortable and simple, look to floor pillows for a creative solution. They can be easily brought in and out and take up less space than traditional furniture might. They come in a variety of sizes, such as loveseat floor pillows or lounges that you prop-up in a corner. This can also eliminate the need for coffee tables as well, saving you more space and money.
Add a Rug
An outdoor rug can do a lot more than you might think if you’re trying to spruce up a small space. Adding some color and texture will not only make your outdoor space more visually appealing (and larger) but make it safer for bare feet, pets, and floor cushions. Make sure to invest in one that is durable enough for outdoor weather so you don’t ruin an indoor carpet.
Incorporate Some Outdoor Lighting
Depending on if you want to spend nights or mornings outdoors, incorporating some lighting into the space might be beneficial for you. The easiest way to do this is by hanging string lights through the rafters, on the walls, or along the edge of the floor. All of this can be done by hanging them on naturally-present hooks or loops. If none are present, you can use adhesive command hooks as to not damage or put holes in the walls.
If you have more space to work with, getting sturdy standing lights and incorporating candles, particularly those that repel bugs, might be a preferable option. You will probably need an extension cord to run outside of your apartment unless your outdoor space has outlets available. Because of this, you will need to be cautious of bad weather, which could cause electrical damage.
Add Greenery
Finally, adding plants to your outdoor area can make for a more natural, comforting space. Hanging plants, standing plants, wall planters can all be smart options for decorating smaller spaces. Other alternatives to wall planters, which might require drilling to anchor them, are tall standing shelves.
Not only do plants serve as a decoration, they can also be an organic way to give your outdoor space some privacy. Large standing plants can serve as a fence if your deck is next to others. Alternatively, a small outdoor space might be an opportunity to start a small garden. Using a windowsill planter for herbs, vegetables, or flowers is a great start.
Just remember that the plants you want to invest in are able to withstand your climate or harsh weather. Succulents, cacti, and ferns tend to be sturdy plant types that will thrive in rain, heat, and even colder weather. Otherwise, be comfortable with changing your plants out depending on the season, or bringing them indoors when conditions are too extreme.
While decorating a small outdoor area might not seem worth your time, there are so many ways you can make it your own. Whether you want to entertain guests or keep it to yourself, being creative with your decorative choices will help you to make the perfect outdoor space.
As you decide on outdoor decor, make sure you know what’s allowed in your lease. Follow these guidelines to ensure you don’t lose your security deposit over decorating damages.
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Growing herbs indoors is a great way to keep classic culinary herbs on hand any time of year.
If you have a small apartment, you might think you don’t have the space or light for an herb garden. Maybe your countertops, window sills, and other surfaces are already packed, or your kitchen gets less light than a cave.
Don’t count yourself out — growing herbs indoors doesn’t take much space, and your plants will still get the light, water, and legroom they need.
Ready to get your hands dirty? Here’s how to start your apartment herb garden.
Best Herbs to Grow Indoors
If you love Italian cooking, you might lean toward basil and oregano. Maybe you dream of homegrown cilantro for your favorite Mexican and Thai dishes, or mint for cocktails.
These are all popular choices for indoor herb gardens:
- Basil
- Chives
- Cilantro
- Dill
- Mint
- Oregano
- Parsley
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Thyme
Whatever you choose, carefully read each herb’s care instructions. Some herbs start better from seeds or young plants; others can grow from a leaf cut from another plant.
Do you own pets? Check whether the herbs you want are toxic to animals. On a related note, your cat would probably appreciate a catnip plant.
Each herb will grow differently. Mint grows quickly year-round, for example, while basil is in its prime for several weeks, and then it’s best to plant new seeds.
Before you start your herb garden, gather some recipes and research how to store herbs you won’t use right away.
Where to Grow Your Garden
You can grow herbs virtually anywhere in your small apartment because you don’t need natural light to grow herbs indoors.
Grow lights provide full-spectrum light to plants, unlike most home lighting. Grow lights usually have built-in timers, plug into wall outlets, and are available as floor and table lamps, clip-on lamps, or hanging lights. There are even self-watering grow kits with built-in grow lights.
That means you have a lot of flexibility on where you can grow herbs! If you have an area in mind, odds are you can make it work.
Creating Space for Your Indoor Herb Garden
Space is at a premium in small apartments, but there are plenty of crafty ways to make room for plants.
- Use suction-cup pots or shelves on windows
- Put plants on the rungs of a stepladder
- Hang planters from wall hooks
- Place a stool or tiered shelf by the window
- Get a vertical garden frame for the wall
- Hang planters from the ceiling
- Try a wine-bottle grow kit
How to Care for Herbs
The key to healthy plants — and a delicious harvest — is following care tips for each herb, available online or at a garden center. We cover the basics below.
Add light
Natural light: Generally, herbs need at least 6 hours of sunlight. South-facing windows get the brightest light, while east- and west-facing windows are a little cooler and get fewer hours of consistent light. Your herbs will probably be a mix of bright-light and low-light plants.
Grow light: Generally, keep grow lights on for 12–16 hours. Even if you get a lot of natural light, grow lights are a great option for winter, when there aren’t as many hours of sunlight.
Water regularly
Needs vary by herb, but a good rule of thumb is to water when the soil feels dry 1–2 inches down. Track how often you water so you don’t overdo it — or get a self-watering grow kit.
Watch out for pests or disease
Plant your herbs in individual pots, and don’t crowd them together. Every time you water, check for common pests like spider mites and mealybugs or diseases like mildew and root rot.
Follow these tips and you’ll go from starting an herb garden to enjoying fresh herbs in no time.
Want more ways to get creative with a small apartment? Interior designer Kathryn Cherne shared her favorite ideas for decorating small spaces.
And if you’re looking for a new place with more natural light, check out the listings on Avail.
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Small rental units have their perks — lower rent, less to clean, and sometimes a better location. But figuring out how to decorate a small space can be daunting. Between deciding where to put furniture and limited (or no) storage space, it’s helpful to have some decorating basics on hand before you start.
We rounded up some of our best decorating ideas and consulted Kathryn Cherne, interior designer and owner of Chicago-based firm Design Inside, to give us some of her favorite tips for decorating small spaces in any apartment.
Small Living Space Ideas
Since it’s easy to get overwhelmed, Cherne recommends keeping the idea of “zones” in mind as you plan the design in your living space — particularly if it’s a small one without clearly defined rooms or spaces. Zones can help you define each section of your home (like the living zone, dining zone, entry zone, etc.) and help guide your design method.
Once you’ve identified your zones, you can start making decisions about what’s going to go in them.
“I always like to get a sense of a client’s organizational needs first,” Cherne said. “I’ll figure out what needs are not being met and go from there.”
Living Room Storage
The main living area of your home is a good place to start. A cluttered floor or cluttered surfaces can make a small room look even smaller, and inefficient storage takes up space you don’t have.
Cherne recommends closed vertical storage to her clients working with a small space, since it allows them the most flexibility for storage and hides anything they don’t want displayed. Vertical storage works particularly well in small living spaces, in the form of open shelving or closed shelving (or a mix) that blends into the wall and is multi-purpose.
Be mindful of fire sprinklers in your unit as you put together your vertical storage. Cherne advises her clients to leave about a foot of room between the sprinklers and any furniture or structure as they decorate.
Living Room Furniture
While many people lean towards choosing a few, smaller pieces to decorate their small space, it’s not off-limits to use a single, larger piece of furniture instead. Bolder pieces draw the eye, and a larger couch in a smaller room can help make the room look more spacious. If you have the room, “floating” the couch (leaving a walkway between the couch and the wall behind it) can help make your space feel bigger than it is.
Glass coffee tables and other transparent pieces can also help make a room look larger, as do exposed legs on couches, chairs, or console tables. Just make sure you don’t overdo it on the glass furniture — too much of it can limit that feeling of spaciousness.
If you’re not ready to commit to furniture that will work in your small rental space, consider renting your furniture, instead.
Rugs
The bigger the rug, the better. A larger rug helps make a space look bigger, and Chrene recommends a rug that stretches underneath the coffee table, couch and chairs. That said, if you’re trying to create two “zones” in a single space (like a living area and a dining area), don’t use one rug for the entire area. Separate rugs, or just one rug, can create a feeling of separation and add spaciousness.
Wall Color
Traditional decorating rules say that small rooms require light-colored walls. And while light walls can help a room look more spacious, decorators haven’t ruled out dark paint altogether. The experts at Apartment Therapy condone dark walls in a small room, as long as the room has plenty of quality, layered lighting on the ceiling, at eye-level, and on the walls.
Chances are, your rental unit will have light-colored walls to begin with, so they’ll be easy to work with. If you do want to paint the walls in your rental, be sure to check with your landlord first.
Decorating Your Small Bedroom
For ideal aesthetics, a bed should be positioned against the wall immediately opposite the door. In a small space, this isn’t always possible, but getting creative with your furniture and storage can help open up some room.
Bedroom Furniture
Floating nightstands or shelving work particularly well in small spaces, since they don’t touch the floor and help create an open feeling that small bedrooms often lack. If there isn’t room on the floor next to your bed, try fixing a narrow ledge to the wall to act as a nightstand.
Bedroom Storage
One of the worst things about smaller bedrooms is the lack of closet and storage space, but this doesn’t have to be a deal-breaker.
“We are in a brave new world of bedroom storage,” said Cherne, who recommends utilizing under-bed storage (either built-in or rolling) as well as above-bed storage. Similar to the open shelving units that line the wall around a TV, Cherne designs shelving that lines the wall above a bed, acting as a built-in nightstand, bookshelf, and storage. Similar systems are available at Ikea, or you can build one yourself.
Mirrors
Mirrors are one of the best tricks for opening up a small space, but their use isn’t limited to the bedroom. A floor mirror is perfect for rental units, and can be propped up in the corner of a room to give the illusion of more space. Cherne recommends placing a floor mirror perpendicular to your window so the natural light reflects and bounces back into the room.
“Even though you may not need a floor mirror in a certain corner of the house, it does all sorts of visual tricks to enhance the space,” she said.
Tiny Bathroom Decor
Rental bathrooms can be grim places, especially when they’re tiny. But with a little makeshift storage and some distracting color, you can transform the worst looking small bathroom into something you want to be in every day.
If you’re lacking countertop space, try placing a low, narrow shelf at the edge of the vanity (in the space behind the sink and underneath the mirror) that can be used as a makeshift countertop. Floating wall-mounted cabinets over the toilet can hold towels and other bathroom necessities, and if you don’t have towel racks, rope hooks or adhesive hooks for towels can help.
If the bathroom is from a certain era (pink 60s-era porcelain, we’re looking at you), Cherne even recommends playing it up with decor that compliments the theme. And if you really hate what you’re working with, she recommends plenty of artwork to distract the eye.
If you’re looking for a spa-like feel in your rental bathroom, we have tips to make that happen here.
Start With the Basics
To avoid getting overwhelmed, focus on the foundations first. Decide on the bigger pieces you need and how you’ll manage placement and storage in each room before you decide on the smaller things.
“Don’t be worried about the accent pillows if you don’t have a bed,” Cherne advises.
Make sure you check with your landlord to find out what your decorating limitations are before you start. Once you have the foundations covered, keep these tips in mind and you’ll be able to navigate any small rental space that comes your way.
If you’re in the market for a new place, check out listings in your area.
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While rental apartment bathrooms tend to be designed for functionality over relaxing and rejuvenation, it’s possible to make your space more spa-like with affordable, non-permanent upgrades that won’t kill your budget — or forfeit your security deposit.
A good luxury spa engages the senses while relaxing the body. Here are 5 ways you can create a spa-like atmosphere in your rental apartment bathroom on the cheap:
1. Quiet the visual noise.
You know what you never see at the spa? Clutter. Instead, everything looks clean and organized with soothing colors and open spaces to rest your eyes. This is a tricky one at home. The bathroom is second only to the kitchen in terms of the number of small things it has to store. These 2 low-cost upgrades can help.
Stash your stuff.
Move less attractive items or things you don’t need every day to a storage space where they won’t be seen, such as in a cabinet under the sink or in simple storage boxes made of cloth or natural materials that can slide onto a shelf.
If your bathroom’s biggest hurdle is a lack of storage space, get creative about what could help. IKEA sells a spice rack that’s lightweight enough to hang without nails, and versatile enough to act as a towel rack and a shelf. A narrow wire frame rack that fits in like scaffolding over the toilet also provides extra storage without bulk or installation.
Swap branded bottles for simple containers.
Branded packaging is designed to be eye-catching in the store, but it’s not a look you want for a relaxing bathroom. Get reusable cups, jars, and containers to transform your store-bought products into a cohesive collection.
2. Introduce natural elements.
Wood, stone, cotton, and bamboo are often featured prominently in spa interior design schemes. It’s not hard to incorporate the peaceful feeling of being in nature with a few small touches.
Bring in some greenery.
The humidity of the shower makes bathrooms surprisingly well suited to growing plants. If your bathroom has a window, the combination of indirect sunlight, humidity, and a temperate indoor climate means that air plants (“Tillandsia”, if you’re fancy) can practically take care of themselves by drinking the moisture out of the air. They don’t even need soil to grow.
Snake plants and philodendrons also do well, even in lower light bathrooms, and can help purify the air as they beautify your space. If your bathroom is windowless, you can still add some greenery with vases of eucalyptus branches, which last longer than flowers (about 3 weeks) and give off a relaxing scent.
Treat yourself with texture.
Bamboo mats are a trendy way to add a natural texture to the bathroom. They also never wrinkle, dry faster than fabric mats, and save you some quarters if your building doesn’t offer in-unit laundry.
Springing for new towels can add a luxury feel to your skin and your space. Since hanging towels can take up a lot of wall space in small bathrooms, choosing a neutral tone or a bold punch of color can have a big impact on the overall feel of the room. Shop for linens in January, February, and August (when college-bound students are dorm shopping) for the best discounts.
3. Try on luxury finishes.
With a rental apartment, it’s unlikely the hardware and countertops you get are always going to be your style. If you’re the DIY type, try these 2 temporary upgrades on for size:
New drawer pulls.
Etsy, big-box homeware and hardware stores, and even Anthropologie sell single drawer pulls in a variety of styles. Since most drawer pulls are affixed to the drawer face with a screw or 2, it’s easy to unscrew what’s there and replace it with hardware that’s more your taste. Just be sure to safely store the original pulls so you can put them back on before moving out.
Recover a vanity with removable contact paper.
It’ll take a little measuring and some patience, but applying a marbled contact paper to your bathroom countertops can have a dramatic impact on the sophistication level of the room. Contact paper is water resistant, easy to clean, and removes without residue, so it’s a great option for personalizing a space without violating the rules of your lease.
4. Use the right color light.
In most rental apartment bathrooms, lighting tends to be limited or unflattering. Either way, you’ve got options to fix it.
Double the daylight with a well-placed mirror.
If you have a small window or a window that’s only letting in indirect light, hanging a mirror adjacent to it is a great way to increase its impact throughout the room.
Pay attention to color temperature.
In interior design, lighting falls into 2 camps: ambient lighting (typically referred to as “soft”, “low,” and “warm”) and task lighting (often called “bright”, “white,” and “cool”). The difference lies in color temperature. Ambient lighting tends to skew more yellow in tone. Task lighting has a blue cast and more accurately approximates daylight.
In the bathroom, you want that daylight look around the mirror. It’s better for grooming and makeup, since it shows you what you’ll look like out in the world. To find it, look for bulbs that are close to 6500K, which is the Kelvin rating of natural daylight.
5. Splurge on something extra.
A spa experience should feel restful, restorative, and a bit indulgent. When creating your own spa space in your apartment, that last element is easy to achieve if you focus on what would be the most meaningful upgrade to you. Here are some ideas:
Treat yourself to a silk robe. And affix a small hook to the back of the door to hang it.
Get a small tray to extend over the tub. It’s amazing how much more relaxing a soak can be when you don’t have to keep leaning over the edge of the tub for your book or a beverage.
Relax with music from a shower-safe speaker. Consider this an upgrade from the ol’ put-your-phone-in-a-mug workaround.
Hang a framed photo of a place you’d like to visit. Artwork can elevate your space and your mood.
For more tips on making your rental feel like home, check out our renting-friendly decorating suggestions to ensure your space looks great and you get your security deposit back.
The post 5 Ways to Make Your Rental’s Bathroom Feel Like a Spa appeared first on Avail.
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