How would you describe your bathroom? Are the first words that spring to your mind boring and outdated? Then it's time to make some easy, inexpensive upgrades that will have a big impact on your bathroom space! When your lease is up you can even take some of these upgrades with you.
Dated faucets and cabinet knobs are a dead giveaway to how old a rental bathroom is; chances are that they have not been updated since the bathroom was built. Consider replacing your sink faucet and cabinet pulls with something more modern and less generic. This bathroom vanity from Centsational Girl looks fabulous with those updates. The maintenance staff at many apartment communities are usually more than happy to help, too! You can see the huge difference in this before and after picture from Thrifty Little Mom.
You would also be amazed how different faucets and cabinet pulls look with just a fresh coat of paint in a more contemporary color! Look at how much better this faucet from Centsational Girl is than its original color! That gaudy gold bathroom doorknob could use a fresh coat of paint, too, as you can see in this picture from The Penny Parlor.
Framing your plain, builder's grade bathroom mirror is another easy, inexpensive way to update your bathroom. There are tons of different tutorials online but our two favorite looks are the ones pictured below from Passport 2 Design and Shanty 2 Chic.
You can also talk to your leasing office about painting your cabinets and linoleum vanity top. While some communities will nix the idea, others would encourage you and even reduce that month's rent for improving their property. You would never know this vanity by We Lived Happily Ever After wasn't really granite. And this before and after cabinet picture from Coffee, Caramel, and Cream will convince you to paint your bathroom cabinets!
You would be amazed at the difference between a typical straight vs. curved shower rod! A curved shower curtain rod will give you much more space in the shower, making it feel like a luxurious hotel bathroom instead of a rental apartment. If you're afraid of the bathroom space a curved shower rod would eat up, be sure to check out the Rotator Rod, the curved shower curtain rod that rotates! It is perfect for small bathrooms because it simply flips into the shower when you finish bathing, taking up no bathroom space.
Do you have any advice for making small rental apartments more luxurious? What do you think of these ideas? Tell us in the comments section below!