15 easy ways to freshen up any apartment

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

If you live in a rented apartment or don't want to do a big renovation, there are tricks that can help you quickly update your scenery.

1. Change fixtures and lamps

Old-fashioned lamps or dim, dusty light bulbs in them kill the interior. A stylish floor lamp by the sofa, a large and bright lampshade for overhead lighting, a futuristic table lamp will immediately make the room more modern. And the new bulbs are brighter. Choose warm or cool light to match the shades in the room. With it, you can carry out zoning: a separate lamp for the recreation area, for the desktop, and so on.

Maria Pletneva

The modern interior is very refreshing with vintage light - crystal chandeliers, double floor lamps from the 70s, sconces in the Stalinist Empire style. Sometimes you can use only the plafond, and the very base for the chandelier can be taken as a modern one. In our apartment, I had to make friends with the Soviet crystal chandelier with the rest of the interior. The idea came to buy a second one on Avito. It turned out very harmoniously. But in things with history, the main thing is not to overdo it. For a room or a small apartment, one large and one small object will be enough.

2. Place vases with flowers and herbs

Fresh flowers refresh the interior. Get some pretty vases and don't let them gather dust until a birthday or a bouquet-giving holiday. Buy your own flowers for your home from time to time. Your apartment will immediately look more elegant, and a floral scent will appear in the room. Spicy herbs will help to refresh the interior of the kitchen: get rosemary, basil, thyme, mint and other culinary plants.

3. Hang up a note board

A sticky note board is a handy tool for leaving reminders for family members and not forgetting your own to-do list. It looks great and adds coziness. In addition to notes, you can pin up concert tickets, vacation photos, child's drawings and various cute little things.

4. Refurbish an old cabinet

If there are old wardrobes in the rented apartment, start updating them. Remove the remnants of old paint and varnish with sandpaper. If the wood looks good on its own, oil it. It will add color but preserve the texture of the wood. If the cabinet is made of chipboard, paint it completely. By the way, drawers can be painted inside too - multi-colored look cute and stylish. If there is no furniture at all, you can buy a used wardrobe and transform it.

Maria Pletneva

Professionals take a lot of money for restoration, but everything can be done at home. The first method: remove the top layer of varnish or paint with a grinder or sandpaper, then paint the furniture with interior paint, stain, colored varnish, wax or oil. There is another option, it is easier and less costly: do not sand anything, cover with an adhesive primer for better adhesion of the paint to the surface (especially for repainting from dark to light), then with chalk paint and a finishing layer of varnish or wax. Furniture restoration is a time consuming process, but worth it, because this is furniture with a rich history. Unfortunately, nothing remained of my great-grandmothers, but I bought old furniture on Avito and in antique stores.

5. Update rugs and rugs

Old trampled carpets - minus one hundred to the interior of the house. And also dust mites and all sorts of unpleasant insects start up in them. Get rid of old carpets and appreciate: maybe the room will look better without them, for example, if you paint or simply polish the floor with wax. Change the rugs in the bathroom, get a cozy rug by the bed, which you will step on when you wake up.

6. Decorate walls with unusual objects

Walls do not need to be decorated with paintings or framed photographs. You can hang a beautiful hat, a guitar or ukulele, a collage of plates bought on a trip, a garland with lanterns, a wicker panel - the choice is limited only by your interests and imagination.

Maria Pletneva

Nowadays eclecticism is very popular - mixing of styles. So you can use everything for wall decoration: straw plates, oriental or vintage grandmother's carpets, compositions from small mirrors, different in shape. Clothes on small wooden hangers look very stylish and cozy in the children's room. The idea is important in the decor. For example, in our living room I have hung vintage photographs of our area and house, decorated in mat. With these pictures I wanted to show that Moscow was once different. Think about what you would like to express to you - an apartment can tell more about the owner than his style of dress.

7. Pick up beautiful textiles

The beauty of the interior can be achieved by the unity of textiles. Buy an interesting tablecloth or napkins for your plates. Throw new cushions on the couch. Hang nice towels in your bathroom. Buy new bedding or a cozy knitted blanket. Textile items do not have to be the same color - they have to be combined with each other.

8. Paint the tiles in the kitchen and bathroom

Old tiles should not be removed if they fit well. It can be painted. For this, paint for rooms with high humidity is suitable. Old tiles will need to be well washed, sandpaper it and primed. The paint itself can be applied evenly to the entire tile, or you can create patterns using masking tape. At the end, the result is fixed, for example, with water-based acrylic varnish.

Maria Pletneva

You can paint the tiles in the bathroom white - this will expand the space. You will need an adhesive primer, chalk paint, and a water-polyurethane varnish. A new mirror or curtain will help freshen the room. There is an interesting trick: hang a double curtain rod and two curtains. Outside the usual fabric, suitable in style, and on the side of the shower - waterproof. In the interior of the bathroom, order is important. Storage baskets will help to maintain it: cosmetic jars will go into them from open shelves.

9. Change the curtains

Curtains are the easiest way to express your favorite style in the interior. Laconic white, beige or gray curtains will add a touch of Scandinavia. The curtains in vibrant colors with prints and patterns are an element of the Caribbean style. Blinds will bring severity, and vertical ones will also create the effect of high ceilings. There are many different options for window decoration: roller shutters, Roman fabric curtains, translucent or, conversely, blackout - not letting in light.

Maria Pletneva

When we moved to a new apartment, all finances were spent on buying a kitchen. And the curtains of my dreams remained in the photo of one French site. When I got tired of looking at my neighbors in the evenings, I bought the most budget curtains, cut off the top loops from them, took rivets from a craft store, and made the loops from faux leather that I found in my parents' attic - my grandfather also used it to upholster a chair. Over time, leather straps for curtains appeared, I have been collecting them for a very long time. So I managed to get beautiful curtains and save money.

10. Hang shelves or place shelves

A stylish shelf is an interior decoration, which is also good for its functionality. But just do not heap everything that lies badly on it at once. Then it will cease to be an element of decor. Climbing plants, vases, several books that can be placed vertically or in a stack, framed photos look beautiful on the shelf. The shelf should be different in color from the wall. Another option is a shelving unit with several shelves, on which you can also arrange various cute things.

Maria Pletneva

Interior details are important, but a home shouldn't be turned into a museum. Use one or two accent objects that will draw attention to yourself, and let the rest complement them. Don't be afraid to mix vintage pieces with something ultra-modern. For example, a loft-style concrete kitchen and a vintage wall-mounted coffee grinder that your great-grandmother could spin. Take inspiration from flea markets and expensive interior stores, new IKEA catalogs and retro furniture on Avito. This will help shape your taste and find the most suitable options.

11. Paint the doors

In order not to start a big renovation with the installation of new doors, try to bring the old ones back to life. Remove the paint from them with sandpaper and pick up a new coating. For style consistency, it is better to make all doors the same. Doors of white color or natural shades look good in the interior: wenge, chestnut.

12. Hang the mirror in the picture frame

Mirrors add space to the room, and their spectacular framing adds style. You can buy the simplest inexpensive mirror and place it in a beautiful picture frame. You can buy a ready-made frame or make it yourself. For example, from shaped plastic panels, spray-painted, wooden baseboards and other materials.

Maria Pletneva

You can make the room more spacious with light walls and a minimum of furniture. Curtains will help to visually increase the height of the ceiling: hang the curtain as close to the ceiling as possible, and the curtains themselves should be 3 cm below the floor. This technique will erase the boundary between the floor and the wall. Vertical stripes on walls, curtains, paintings and even textiles will also "lift" ceilings. You can draw it yourself - you only need paper tape and paint residues. Another design trick is to paint the ceiling and upper 20 cm walls white. This will visually erase the border between the wall and the ceiling. In this case, it is better to paint the walls themselves in gray, beige or another contrasting color.

13. Renew the headboard

The upholstery can be changed on the soft headboard. Wooden - Renew with paint or varnish. If there is no headboard, it can be made using additional pillows, wooden boards, fabric, decorated with plywood boards. In fact, anything can be placed in the headboard - from tree branches to mirrors.

14. Change the kitchen apron

If it is not possible to change the old kitchen set, a new apron will help to refresh the room. It will also protect the wall from splashes of grease or juice. You can order a panel made of thick glass, artificial or natural stone, ceramics, plastic. Ordinary tiles can also play the role of an apron - lay out the space from the countertop to the beginning of the cabinets for it. If the material allows, the old apron can be simply painted.

Maria Pletneva

Sometimes it is enough to change the handles on the kitchen set to transform the kitchen. New textiles refresh the interior well. Change towels, lay a runner on the table, and put a straw or ethnic rug on the floor in the cooking area: boho style is now popular. Things made from natural materials add coziness, for example, a wooden bracket, boards, dishes, brushes. For order on the countertop, you can make a composition from what you use every day: use cutting boards, forks, spoons, knives, oils, spices, coffee, tea. For example, I poured the detergent into a pretty jar. Transparent dark ones with a black pump from gels and soaps will do. Use vintage copper, glass, or enamel dishes to decorate open shelves. It is possible to modernize the Soviet enamel by writing in black paint through a stencil.

15. Replace sofa and pillows

An old sofa may have a solid frame, but has faded, worn upholstery. To avoid buying a new one, drag the old one. True, this possibility is not provided in all models. If you're unlucky, you'll have to get a new one. But it's worth it: replacing the couch changes the room a lot. Small pillows will help add coziness.

There are many opportunities for redesigning an apartment on Avito. Here, different craftsmen place their work: you can buy decorative items made of wood, textiles or stone for little money. Also on Avito they sell furniture in good condition at a low price, which is no longer needed by the owners. And on the site you can find different specialists: they will help you to pull the old sofa, paint the walls or do other work.