Updating Your Apartment on the Cheap

How can you update your apartment on the cheap, when you’re on a budget and your apartment manager is picky about changes? Fortunately, there are hacks for that!

You’ll be surprised at how a few simple changes will make your apartment feel completely different. Here are a few tips to update your apartment stylishly and on the cheap:

1. Updating lamp fixtures and adding tabletop and standing lamps will add height and depth to all rooms. Choose light fixtures with primary colors, birds or flowers. Use standing lamps to add height and spread light throughout a room. Tabletop lamps create ambiance, with an intimate feel for conversations and reading. If you have an old wine bottle you treasure, you can easily make an unique table top lamp out of it. Two wine bottle tabletop lamps on side tables will add symmetry and culture to your living room.

2. While updating light fixtures, take a look at your light switches and power outlets. How old are they? Are they up to electrical safety standards? Are the sockets baby-proofed? Make the switch for safety and style!

3. Extend the life of a beloved piece of furniture. Learn to upholster chairs and couches yourself. Even if you’re not a wizard with a sewing machine, you can do this! Plus, you choose the look and get control over every step.

Alternatively, add stylish chairs and couch covers. Throws and blankets with new pillows quickly update your living room with pops of color and make it feel cozy, too!

4. Select efficient and stylish kitchen hardware to save money over the long term. Install new knobs and handles, which are functional and meet your style standards. Improper kitchen cabinet handles and drawer knobs, as well as use of kitchen space, are often among the top problem areas in living spaces. It’s one of those annoying things that you frown over all the time, but feel like you have to live with when you don’t.

5. Not looking forward to remodeling the bathroom? Who does? Simply changing your toilet seat and replacing your toilet paper holder will make your bathroom feel new again. Changing a toilet seat is easy and the new seat could cost as little as $10. Just adding a new color scheme by switching out the shower curtain and rugs is a simple change with a big feel.

6. Do you stub your toe on your bed every time you wake up? Bulky furniture isn’t fun to move or clean, and it consumes space by sheer weight and volume. Make your bed out of wood pallets for a light, rustic and natural look. Push the bed against a wall painted with a mural design of your choice, such as a tree. Go a step further and make clothing shelves and nightstands.

7. Check your heating and cooling. These systems are pivotal for maintaining the comfort of your home throughout the cold winter months, as well as the hot summer months. Inspect and replace your furnace filters at regular intervals to ensure longevity. It might also help to have a professional come out and inspect your systems once a year.

8. Focus on minimalism. Have old, bulky furniture or electronics taking up space? Sell what you can and donate the rest. You’ll also earn money to invest in important hardware or fixture upgrades.

Remember — bigger isn’t always better! When you opt to work on smaller projects at a time, you get a lot done. It’s amazing what a small change does for a space, especially when you replace items that are impractical.

These apartment updates look simple, but make a big difference in your living space’s appearance, without breaking the bank to do it. From new lamps, fixtures and pillows to DIY furniture, these changes are a simple investment if you want to make your apartment feel new again.

Savannah Hemmings

Savannah Hemmings is a personal stylist and lifestyle blogger. Her work has been featured in Hello Giggles, Bustle, Thought Catalog and Lucky Magazine. Like her tips? Check out her blog, SincerelySavannah, for more fun stuff! Twitter: @savhemmings