After a grueling day of work, you head home to your apartment and just want some rest and relaxation. Unfortunately, seeing your room cramped with dirty clothes, old movie posters, and dirty walls makes you think that maybe it’s time to give your apartment the renovation that it needs. You may think it would cost you a fortune to overhaul your apartment, but it’s possible to do it on a smaller budget. There are numerous design tips for a tight budget; you don’t need to spend every last penny in your piggy bank.
Here are some of the clever home design ideas to help you fix up your apartment, even with a tight budget.
Brush and clean
Dirty walls? Your apartment does not need a new paint job. Get out the brush and soap and start cleaning that wall. A new paint job for your wall would cost more (and many landlords don’t allow renters to paint), so make sure to clean it regularly. If your wall has too many holes in it, check with your landlord and see if it’s OK to fix it up yourself by using a wall putty to cover the holes, sand the putty after it dries, then repaint.
Use magnets for hanging
Here’s a clever DIY trick to keep your home clutter-free: Hang a magnetic strip on your drawer or at the back of the medicine cabinet door. Use it to hang your scissors, hair clips, pins, tweezers, and other metal objects, keeping them organized and in a safe place.
Hang your flip flops
Shoes or slippers may use up a large part of your room and make it look cluttered, especially if you misplace them. To avoid cramping up the shoe rack with your slippers, try hanging them with a hanger. Here’s how to DIY your slipper hanger: If you have wire hangers at home, you could easily bend the left and right sides of one in the shape of a hook. You could decorate or paint your hanger or add ribbons, depending on the room personality you want to achieve.
To give your apartment a more sophisticated look, hang a tower handle at the back of the door at just about 12 inches above the ground. This is where you could hang your slippers without having to use up too much space. You could even place this bar inside your closet door.
Store your books under the bed
If you have plenty of books and are hesitant to throw them away, store them under the bed. It’s a good way to add a design element if you have a plain-looking bed. You could also display some of your favorites on your nightstand to add a bit of personality to your room.
Also, you could turn your books into a designer sofa. If you have an old chair at home, you can start by placing compartments at the bottom and covering the legs of your chair so it looks like a cabinet. Make sure you do not cover one side of the chair, so the books could be seen. Not only are you saving space, you are also showing your personality through your own designer chair.
Intelligent organizing
Don’t just stuff everything inside your closets. If you do, you’ll just end up with more clutter. Use tags and boxes to help organize your things that go into your closets. Keep the things you use every day close by and convenient to access, rather than tucked away in the back of the closet. You could also try using transparent boxes so you could easily spot the things inside. This will save you the time and effort when you’re looking for something.
Less is more
Apartments often have limited space, so be choosy as you buy furniture. Go for pieces with dual purpose other than those with single usage; for example, try using a storage ottoman as a coffee table. Less furniture definitely opens up space in your apartment, too.
Stick with color
Black and white is classy, or you may want to play with different colors. You can also use the colors to organize your clothes and shoes in the closet or under the bed or organizing supplies in your kitchen. This makes it easy to find things and gives your apartment a neat, organized look.
Organize your hats and scarves
If you have hooks installed at the back of your door where you hang all of your hats, you may find the hats fall whenever you open the door.
Here’s one clever idea to keep your caps from falling and to keep them out of sight: Attach the ring binders to a hanger and hang your hats or scarves on the binders.
Have a laundry bin
The major thing to keep your room presentable is to keep it clutter-free. You may leave dirty clothes on the floor whenever you change, and that’s the way the clutter starts. Put a laundry bin or clothes hamper near your door or bathroom so you can easily throw dirty clothes inside.
Sound like too much to handle? You can do many of these things in a weekend. And remember that you may already have many of the materials you need in your home. Do not be afraid to repurpose things and throw away other things that have been sitting around and never get used. Remember that less clutter means more space. And don’t worry about the budget; these tips are budget-friendly and shouldn’t be too much of a hit to your wallet.
