On the topic of rental restrictions: in my first apartment, it was explicitly stated in the contract that I couldn't use nails to hang art (or anything) on the walls. So I went with command strips. Turns out when I pulled the pictures out, it ripped part of the drywall. So now I had to patch holes larger than my hand and paint them. I should have just used nails.
Oh my gosh. While on this topic!!! I went to remove 4 year old command hook stuff and the glue stuck to the wall!!!! It’s not coming off and I quickly took off all the old command hooks. Going to take them off after a year now so the glue doesn’t stick 🥲 But yeah, thumb tacks are a lot easier to fix. But also the rule is dumb. I’m drilling furniture to the walls - I have toddlers.
As a realtor in SoCal for over 30 years (property management and owner as well) I would agree with this video. Make your place your own. What owners want is residents (tenants are commercial property renters) to be happy and if you want to paint a wall or change things, go for it. What I would suggest is to use common sense. Don't paint really dark colors on the wall, don't burn the place down, don't go crazy with holes (suggestion is to patch holes and sand them before leaving), don't take down walls and basically don't destroy the place and everyone is happy. Remember to turn the breaker off if changing a light fixture and use the water shut off if changing the faucets. Again RUclips is well informed information so search for what you want to do and be sure to check out the many videos on renter friendly makeovers. Most of these people have the do's and don'ts and the best products to use. Enjoy!
One added suggestion- if you swap out any hardware or fixtures make sure to save and store them properly, unless your LL gives the go ahead to dispose of them since you’ve likely upgraded their property.
One thing you can do if they do not allow painting is to take a small sample of the current wall paint using an xacto knife and take that to any paint counter and have them match it. You can either use that to paint over your walls when you move out, or as a touch up while you are living there. It's not usually EXACT, but it is close enough for no one to notice during a walkthrough.
I’m here as a landlady and my experience is that tenants usually either don’t know what they’re doing when it comes to painting or they just don’t try their best to do a great job. Sadly, what they usually do has to be done OVER 😢😮
I don't ever ask permission. This management company took over like 2 years after I moved in. They have no idea what the house looked like and they manage so many properties that they have no idea what it looks like between visits. We'll paint it back to boring gray when we leave. We are here long term and I have already painted multiple times. I have changed out faucets also. And I'll leave them when I leave. They are way better quality than what was there and am I really gonna fuss over a faucet after it's been used for a few years when I'm moving out. We put in attic steps also. It was horrible to get in and out for storage. We paid for and installed the steps. I'm sure not removing them when I leave. It's a upgrade they can keep.
I usually rent long term, so I want the house I live in to be my home. I change everything that can be changed back. It's easier to ask forgives than permission (sorry landlords). I paint, put up backsplashes, hang pictures, hang wallpaper. upgrade facets, upgrade hardware, garden.... I have even updated worn broken pavers in the backyard. My last landlord told me I wasn't supposed to do that but then asked me to leave the upgrades before giving me my deposit back.
That's my thoughts. I figure in them keeping security deposit, keep things impeccably clean, and when I leave I put back what was there. I have painted every rental I have ever had. I'm nearly 60.
We have a landlord and their management property to go through so there's restrictions upon restrictions. But we've always just gone straight to the landlord and asked, "hey can we put in a shelf here?" and we offer to leave it when we move out and he's always said yes. Simply asking for what you want goes a long way. I love your suggestions, there are so many things I want to try now that I never would have thought of. Thanks for the informative video!
I’ve done picture frame trim all over my apartment and I have to say, I did my whole floor plan and it really made me feel like the premium I pay monthly held some substantial value as my home now feels upscale. Great choice for an upgrade and my whole 1900 sqft apartment cost me about $300 between trim and tape
@@brandon17760 I used poster tape. You can grab it at lowes for around $5 a roll and it doesn’t require a whole lot. I put it sparingly on the trim pieces and it mounted extremely well. I have since bought a home and moved, removed all the trim and was able to get clean mess free walls with no trouble to my deposit
@@Chuckprest oh well that's good at least, I've always wanted trim like that but all I could think of was Velcro and it wouldnt look right it would be raised up off the wall haha so thanks for the information I appreciate it!
@@brandon17760 absolutely! Go with the polystyrene option. It’s lighter. Really easy to install. Even though I now own my home I’d probably still opt for this method. Easy to change when I’m over it :)
Great video & advice. And I have done a lot of those things and can attest they were well worth the effort and price. When I replaced this crazy broken down “crystal” chandelier in my dining room with a beautiful, simple $300 pendant several people told me I was crazy. Now it’s six years later and i have enjoyed it every day. Works out literally to (posh) pennies a day 🤣😆
I liked the idea of removable tiles. So I tried three brands on my old bathroom first (in the house I own). Even using a blow dryer on the tiles did nothing to cleanly remove the tiles. I now have to sand and repaint the “experiment” area of my bathroom. Glad I tested, before using in my apartment.
I know that you mentioned bathroom accessories, but may I just accentuate the absolute necessity of replacing toilet seats ? Thank you for your videos, which are an uplifting inspiration.
For those who can't paint their walls, they now also sell peel and stick wallpaper in solid colors, fabric soaked in fabric softener also acts as peel and stick wallpaper (you can also use a few clear thumbtacks at the top and base of your fabric panels if you don't want to use the fabric softener method.
Corn starch and water works great as well. I did that to a window with fabric and it peeled right off when it was time to move. I just had to wipe off the residue with a wet cloth and it was clean. Just Google corn starch wall/window fabric
I use double sided tape for everything, even to hold my garments in place. But it had not occurred to me to use it for moulding 🤯 My flat is about to get fancy! 😃
I'm wanting to do upgrades in my small apt. These are some great ideas. Mgmt Co told me that if it's an improvement, I don't have to put it back the way it was. I'll be in the apt until I die & I want it to be comfy for me.
I've always painted my rental homes after checking the brand and colour/shade of the walls as I move in. My last landlord was actually saddened that I'd painted back over a wall that I'd put a geometric rainforest landscape on, because he'd figured it would be a major "selling" point for the next tenant. I tend to just ask before I sign anything: "hey, so, if I'm living somewhere, I'm gonna make it my own. Happy to put back anything you want me to at my own cost if I ever move, but I desperately wanna live here and this will totally sell it to me". Never, ever failed so far.
this was sooooo helpful for me. i’m not in a rental apartment BUT i do live with my mother and we own our home. she’s gets nervous about expensive damage or home improvements so i’ve been trying to find renter friendly upgrades that won’t give her an anxiety attack 😂 THANK YOU.
Lol, you are not old tired and damaged!! You are beautiful and wonderfully made! 🤗 Thank you so much for these tips and for being such a intelligent inspiration! ❤️
just want to let you know how much ive enjoyed your content! they are so immensely helpful. i recently moved to an (rental) apartment that i feel like i'll be staying at for quite a few years and your videos are a huge help when deciding on decor & renovations. there's no reason for putting up with ugly fixtures/walls just because i am renting! i am currently painting my walls off-white with a flat finish on a very yellow and shiny base. i asked my maintenance person and he said most likely they won't even notice since the company manages so many properties and they all have different paint colors. i also noticed how badly the previous paint job was done, there are paint drops and weird textures everywhere. this is my first time painting walls and i am already doing a much better job!
Great video! I saw a girl adding peelable white stickers all over a massive electric blue kitchen (why, why making a kitchen electric blue??). It looked incredible but wow, that must have taken her ages! I also completely agree with you about being reasonable! I have tenants and as long as they return the property as before, I have no problems with them making it their own while they live there. Those rules are there to avoid people going overboard, but that kind of people do what they want anyway 😬
How about people who make the apartment better than before? I am afraid of making some changes because I can't return it "as before". I am not going to put the ugly tap or ceiling lamp back in (I will throw the trash away and leave the ones I bought - I am not going to store the trash in the limited space I have and go through the work of replacing the new tap with the old, corroded one). And I would not be painting the ugly yellow wall I made fashionable neutral light gray color (which in my opinion is a color all apartments should come in - light grey or white, it is neutral and fits all kind of styles and furniture, you never know who is going to live there) that ugly yellow color again...
When I lived in a rented room (landlord's home) he was strict on the 'no nails' to hang my pictures. I came up with a solution in the form of an 'A' support made from bamboo canes and raffia. The cross over at the top was for hanging and the horizontal cane was where my picture rested. The legs of the frame were pulled slightly away from the wall to stop it toppling over. The 'look' was unusual and impressed my landlord who was actually trying to made things difficult for me.
I sincerely appreciate it! You alleviated a great deal of my burden as I moved to a petty old-style apartment! I'm not the only insane person here remodeling outdated rental properties:):)
8:29 i love that you said this "make my home the way i want it in the time i live there" because like.. exactly. we should enjoy our time while living in our home. we've just moved into our first house as tenants & I've been wanting to stick some things on my walls but at the risk of using adhesive tape & I'm so scared of ruining the walls and losing out on the deposit we paid. our contract does say we're fine to drill things into walls as long as we fill the holes back up, but obviously taping can rip wallpaper off and cause some more damage than a drilled-in hole. we do have the intention of leaving the house to it's original state (or much better in fact) when it comes to the time we leave so will probably just give it a go and enjoy my time while I'm there. especially that our landlord is really lovely & is happy for us to do what we like as long as we're respecting the property and the neighbours around
It all depends on where you live. If you live in a social housing property, many of them give permission to do more major stuff, like replacement kitchens etc....in the UK that is! We rent and have what they call a 'home for life' so we spend quite a lot on it, knowing we will be here permanently....
My mother lives in a similar housing property in America, they won't allow her to decorate her area. They said bluntly it's their house not her home. So she must keep plain white walls with no objects hanging. It looks very depressing.
I live in the Netherlands and as long as it seen as a upgrade from what is there (which it most likely is) you can do whatever you want. Want to redo you whole bathroom? Do it. Kitchen? Do it.
A note on peel and stick, they usually don’t like to come up very easily afterwards. Even command strips, I have had some come off easily and others did not and left decent holes in the drywall.
Honestly? The last tip - creatingwarmer light - is, in my opinion, the most impactful element of my living quarters. Cold light casts such a harsh glare that all the beautiful fixtures and wallpaper in the world won’t fix.
EXACTLY what I wanted to watch today! I’m moving into my first own rental on Nov 2nd and even though this unit is in absolutely great shape, I’ll definitely swap out the hardware and maybe even faucets. Also really into picture frame molding. And I’m thinking about painting 😅 I can’t wait! Thanks for a great video, as always!
Don't touch any water or electric-related things. EVER. If a professional doesn't do it (and you can't show the landlord a bill for REPAIRS), the old AND the new faucet belongs to him! If I found that you swapped out hardware without permission, I would terminate your lease. I am a zero-tolerance LL. You want to change faucets? Buy your own place.
You can also tack wallpaper or even fabric to the wall so you don't have residue to clean. Just be advised, don't use a wallpaper with a water activated adhesive, as overtime humidity could cause it to adhere itself. Also, be conscious of heavily dyed fabrics leaving dye stains.
I did this in my bathroom with red thumbtacks to match the red & white border. It looked really nice…when the property manager did the yearly walk through. The 1st thing she said is “you know you’re not allowed to use wallpaper.” I advised her to look closer…it’s thumbtacks lol
Some great suggestions there. I've definitely done the shower head and also installed a bidet. Some things I've done myself is to replace lighting with smart bulbs (RGB of course). I've also used "damage free" hanging pieces almost everywhere to hang items, pictures, paintings and even shelves. Using accent rugs can also be good for color and cable management.
I love this lady. When I moved in to my rental house, it was horrible but slowly by slowly am improving it and watching this video has given me more confidence and insight. 😎😉
Just recently (like...last month) moved into a new apartment, and some of these tips I might just use when we can afford them, like the cabinet hardware, and maybe (hopefully) some new faucets and backsplash tiles
Yeah my landlord owns 5 properties and hates updating our units or adding security cameras so I don't feel bad about painting besides they've been through a few times and all they care about is passing fire and safety regulations. Though I also learned they did a shoddy job on electric when I went ahead and replaced an old light fixture because I couldn't find bulbs to it which is always semi concerning. My favorite was the outlet that was grounded with a nickle.
My plan for my first place def is to update their faucets. They are ugly. My potential landlord told me he is very flexible and from what I have seen, the guy likes to make a buck and look good so I think he will be happy with it 😂 With that said everything I install I plan to take back and reinstall his old stuff. If he wants it, he'll have to pay or give ma a discount lol
Great video, I agree with everything you have said, as I have been a landlord, now renting and like you have the same ideas of how you should keep a property in good /better than when you moved in condition. I started by changing the electric fire to a "living flame" gas fire to make it more cosy with landlords ok. The electric fire just stored away. Its nice to get a further slant on other ideas from these type of video's.
That was really useful. I was thinking about using mouldings. I didn't realise you could get lightweight picture frame mouldings. Do you have a recommendation for the double-sided tape for fixing moulding to the wall?
I wish that the company that owns the apartment complexs, would update the cabinets and other things that REALLY NEED to be updated with how much rent I pay for. All apartments where I live need updates. They updated the offices, why not the apartments?
I would love to know about renter friendly solutions for wall decor. Luckily, my rental condo has nice tap fixtures, counters, hardware, and tile floors. Getting things on the wall and rugs might help with the echo. 😉
I'm not supposed to paint my apartment and I just did two weeks ago. It's okay because I'm planning to live here for at least another 5 years. So, when the time comes, I'll paint it back to its original color. I also added recessed lighting. 😅😊
Old, damaged and ugly 😱💔😭 Everyone feels like that sometimes and it's normal, and I'm hoping it was a joke, but just in case you are having one of those days: You do not seem like any of those things! I really enjoy watching your vids. You are smart and funny and gorgeous. Have a wonderful day 🖐
I think the "no painting" thing is meant to be enforced as needed. Most reasonable landlords who are confident in their tenant's abilities (or ability to hire someone) and their conservative tastes, will say thank you when you leave.
i’ve been renting apartments for 30 years. So many stupid leases. Ignore them. No nail holes? Use nails if you want to. When you move out stick a tiny bit of spackle in there or even toothpaste- or nothing. They’ll deduct money from your deposit. Because they’re going to anyway. Because they’re going to find a reason to deduct from your deposit. Recently, I painted my ceiling. It looks fabulous. I will not return it to the regular color when I move- too hard. I’m about to paint some accent walls. The white walls become depressing.
If you use any sticky then please take it slow. With one hand keep constant pressure on the sticky or hook. With the other hand, please pull the adhesion straight down with no angle. Importantly, do not do this in a single motion. As you pull down incrementally grab the top of adhesion you are pulling and stretching. Repeat that process going slower toward the end because you don’t want to pull the tip. (Lol.) I used dozens of the clear ones in my apartment. In my home I still use them when I’m unsure I like something somewhere. I’ll use the adhesions first to see if I like something for a week or more. Then, i make it permanent if I do enjoy it.
A recommendation I've had from my actual landlord's property manager is that if your contract says you're not allowed to put nails in the walls, you take an exacto knife, cut a little tent shape (an A without the crossbar) in the wallpaper, and you peel down the little tab a centimeter or so. Put your nail in the gap, hang your stuff, and when you move out, you just buy the smallest amount of wallpaper paste you can find (or bootleg it with some other glue that dries clear), and you glue the tab back up.
That's if the apartment comes with a wallpaper... :( My apartment has "no nails" rule and the "beautiful" yellow color painted wall (the ceiling is the same color, duh) is full of holes previous renters left (some not filled, some half filled, some filled but peeling half of the wall off with a slight touch). I am not allowed to paint or put a wallpaper on it (I asked the owner to allow me to put a plain, neutral color wallpaper there because I couldn't look at the holes - he didn't agree). Posters and command hooks are also a no-no. Eventually I put a peel-and-stick grey brick-like texture on a part of the wall that ASKED for someone to do something with it (it hides the old holes perfectly and adds a industrial touch to the room, visually toning the yellow color on the other walls). It can be easily removed and leaves no marks. I shown it to the owner by peeling a part of the texture off and putting it back on when he was visiting. What the owner said? "You put something on the walls against the contract, so I might not return your deposit when you move out". But my flat owner is a weird guy. Well, judging what previous people living here did with the walls I am not that surprised. But he should allow me to renovate that place. I even offered doing that at my cost - walls soundproffing included (the noise was a huge problem for me at first, now I am kind of used to it but it still bothers me sometimes). :( And I still got a no so I had no choice and the peel-and-stick makeshift wallpaper is all I could do. :(
@@Astrid-88 That sucks! My apartment also has a "no nails" rule, but the landlord and building super don't care so long as when we move out we patch the holes (I only used one nail to hang up a heavier frame, everything else is Command strips/hooks). We don't even have to paint over it because the building super will either repaint the walls or touch-up any marks, but some landlords threaten to take away the security deposit for a scratch that could be removed in 2 seconds with a magic eraser.
@@kevinadams9468 Well, if it was MY property, I would realise people should be allowed to make spaces that are functional and pretty to them and thus not have a "no nails"-rule. Though I should clarify that my above statement more accurately should be "no marks on the walls" rather than "no nails" - rental contracts in Sweden are usually not that obstinate.
@@Astrid-88That stinks! I get the wish to preserve your property, but the idea that a rental somehow isn't a home and shouldn't be decorated/made functional really irks me. It's like these landlords have forgotten what it's like to be a tennant.
these are good tips. i'm glad you didn't edit out the part about pushing back on our rental restrictions. it shouldn't be a controversial opinion. basically every human being will be likely to take great care for the land we live our lives on. it's WEIRD how one class of people can decide whether how much we are "allowed" to. we should be allowed to shape our living space to suit our well-being, and to make this late capitalist hell -- in which the concept of property ownership is literally destroying the earth and all those who inhabit it -- more bearable. if your landlord doesn't give you back the deposit for something as petty as a different color wall, they are probably just assholes (or a corporation/property management company).
I totally get painting walls. I’ve almost always did it myself when renting. So when I got to the stage of property manager, I let my tenants paint… They got paint all over the carpets, and did such a terrible cover up job (they had black accent walls throughout the apartment) that I ended up having to completely repaint, and get the carpet removed. It was an extremely costly lesson. Their damage deposit didn’t come close to covering the costs.
Agreed. There are two issues: taste and skill. If the tenant has "unusual" taste (black walls) or is unskilled (paint everywhere) it can end up costing you more to fix it.
I’m a land lord and I always but Mohen faucets they are good quality and functional. Being cheap with stuff like that doesn’t pay long term. Cheap faucets leak, leaks lead to plumbing repair cost cabinets and vanities getting wet and if not reported they rot. Cutting corners feels good on the wallet the day you spend money but down the road it bites you in the ass.
Is there any concern that if you do these rental friendly things, when inspection time comes every 3-6 months and they have to visit, would you get kicked out for having these changes ? Even if it’s as small as a hardware change or double sided trim
Moving is stressful, exhausting and often expensive. My issue is when having to move, there's so much to do in the new place, (plus totally cleaning the old place and meanwhile paying rent in both places during the transition)- the last thing I want to do is repaint the old walls.
I live in an old pre-war building (1929). Cannot use peel wallpaper in my unit because it still has the original wallpaper from the 1930's, but it has been painted over hundreds of time. I imagine if I put up that type of wallpaper, it would remove the original, which would make the wall look awful. At least that is the horror story I have heard from former tenants. Something to consider in older buildings.
I will add that large houseplants (real or faux) make a big difference in a home. I killed all my houseplants in my first apartment. That was 30 years ago. Technology has changed a lot. You can buy a regular standard sized bulb that is a plant light. You can add it to any lamp. You can even find recessed lighting plant lights. The downside is they are not warm and the light is quite bright. I swapped out the bathroom light bulbs for a plant light and I dont mind the brightness because the plants and even the light are so cheery!
You can cover those cabinets with peel and stick, though -- Contact paper or the like.
Год назад+5
as a landlord. just return it equal or better (ask me if you can leave x change). as long as the change is not to specific it's totally ok (it's harder to rent custom apartments because everyone likes different things) I had one tenant add molding throughout the house. nothing to over the top. it looked beautiful and he even did some accent color walls. I now charge more for that apartment due to him
I always leave my apartments in pristine condition, partly because of pride, and partly because I want all the deposit back. The only time I ever got the full deposit back is when I followed the realtor through the walk-through. She pointed to things like a dirty spot on the kitchen counter, that will be deducted, she said. I squirted it with Fantastic, wiped it up. There we go, I said. I did that with all her nitpicky things in the apartment and there weren’t many. That’s the only time I got the full deposit back. I am always too exhausted and worn out from moving to do the walk-through at the end.
One thing I always upgrade is toilet seats. It sounds silly, but contractor grade flimsy plastic cheap seats look awful in the nicest decorated bathroom. Solid wood or porcelain options aren't too expensive and make a huge difference
Nobody makes holes in a rental property for "cable management", they do it because the home is from the dark ages before the internet so they can have a cabled connection which is stable unlike wifi.
On the topic of rental restrictions: in my first apartment, it was explicitly stated in the contract that I couldn't use nails to hang art (or anything) on the walls. So I went with command strips. Turns out when I pulled the pictures out, it ripped part of the drywall. So now I had to patch holes larger than my hand and paint them. I should have just used nails.
Yes sometimes command strips do a lot more damage 😅
the no nails thing is stupid, my landlord also tried to make me do this, after i`d put the nails in...i never did.. hes a jackass
Use a hairdryer to soften the glue before you remove 😊
I’ve found that if you pull the strip straight down along the wall, no angle whatsoever, and take it slow, the hook comes off cleanly.
Oh my gosh. While on this topic!!! I went to remove 4 year old command hook stuff and the glue stuck to the wall!!!! It’s not coming off and I quickly took off all the old command hooks.
Going to take them off after a year now so the glue doesn’t stick 🥲
But yeah, thumb tacks are a lot easier to fix. But also the rule is dumb. I’m drilling furniture to the walls - I have toddlers.
As a realtor in SoCal for over 30 years (property management and owner as well) I would agree with this video. Make your place your own. What owners want is residents (tenants are commercial property renters) to be happy and if you want to paint a wall or change things, go for it. What I would suggest is to use common sense. Don't paint really dark colors on the wall, don't burn the place down, don't go crazy with holes (suggestion is to patch holes and sand them before leaving), don't take down walls and basically don't destroy the place and everyone is happy. Remember to turn the breaker off if changing a light fixture and use the water shut off if changing the faucets. Again RUclips is well informed information so search for what you want to do and be sure to check out the many videos on renter friendly makeovers. Most of these people have the do's and don'ts and the best products to use. Enjoy!
Wise, thoughtful advice!
One added suggestion- if you swap out any hardware or fixtures make sure to save and store them properly, unless your LL gives the go ahead to dispose of them since you’ve likely upgraded their property.
One thing you can do if they do not allow painting is to take a small sample of the current wall paint using an xacto knife and take that to any paint counter and have them match it. You can either use that to paint over your walls when you move out, or as a touch up while you are living there. It's not usually EXACT, but it is close enough for no one to notice during a walkthrough.
Why are you trying to get around the lease? Just pay your rent and stop working the system.
@@kevinadams9468 You sound like you have a favourite flavour of polish
@@ButterflyScarletlmmfao 😂
@@kevinadams9468lol at the boy whos never rented an apartment yet. when you grow up, get back to us
I’m here as a landlady and my experience is that tenants usually either don’t know what they’re doing when it comes to painting or they just don’t try their best to do a great job. Sadly, what they usually do has to be done OVER 😢😮
I don't ever ask permission. This management company took over like 2 years after I moved in. They have no idea what the house looked like and they manage so many properties that they have no idea what it looks like between visits. We'll paint it back to boring gray when we leave. We are here long term and I have already painted multiple times. I have changed out faucets also. And I'll leave them when I leave. They are way better quality than what was there and am I really gonna fuss over a faucet after it's been used for a few years when I'm moving out. We put in attic steps also. It was horrible to get in and out for storage. We paid for and installed the steps. I'm sure not removing them when I leave. It's a upgrade they can keep.
I saw on tik tok if u use painters tape on the wall first then attach your command strip it will protect the wall and still hang.
this is so smart omg
I love that idea. Thanks
I usually rent long term, so I want the house I live in to be my home. I change everything that can be changed back. It's easier to ask forgives than permission (sorry landlords). I paint, put up backsplashes, hang pictures, hang wallpaper. upgrade facets, upgrade hardware, garden.... I have even updated worn broken pavers in the backyard. My last landlord told me I wasn't supposed to do that but then asked me to leave the upgrades before giving me my deposit back.
That's my thoughts. I figure in them keeping security deposit, keep things impeccably clean, and when I leave I put back what was there. I have painted every rental I have ever had. I'm nearly 60.
We have a landlord and their management property to go through so there's restrictions upon restrictions. But we've always just gone straight to the landlord and asked, "hey can we put in a shelf here?" and we offer to leave it when we move out and he's always said yes. Simply asking for what you want goes a long way. I love your suggestions, there are so many things I want to try now that I never would have thought of. Thanks for the informative video!
You do it the right way! Thanks for being a good tenant.
I’ve done picture frame trim all over my apartment and I have to say, I did my whole floor plan and it really made me feel like the premium I pay monthly held some substantial value as my home now feels upscale. Great choice for an upgrade and my whole 1900 sqft apartment cost me about $300 between trim and tape
What kind of tape did you use? Thinking of doing the same
@@brandon17760 I used poster tape. You can grab it at lowes for around $5 a roll and it doesn’t require a whole lot. I put it sparingly on the trim pieces and it mounted extremely well. I have since bought a home and moved, removed all the trim and was able to get clean mess free walls with no trouble to my deposit
@@Chuckprest oh well that's good at least, I've always wanted trim like that but all I could think of was Velcro and it wouldnt look right it would be raised up off the wall haha so thanks for the information I appreciate it!
@@brandon17760 absolutely! Go with the polystyrene option. It’s lighter. Really easy to install. Even though I now own my home I’d probably still opt for this method. Easy to change when I’m over it :)
Did u have to paint or caulk it as she said in the video?
Great video & advice. And I have done a lot of those things and can attest they were well worth the effort and price. When I replaced this crazy broken down “crystal” chandelier in my dining room with a beautiful, simple $300 pendant several people told me I was crazy. Now it’s six years later and i have enjoyed it every day. Works out literally to (posh) pennies a day 🤣😆
I liked the idea of removable tiles. So I tried three brands on my old bathroom first (in the house I own). Even using a blow dryer on the tiles did nothing to cleanly remove the tiles. I now have to sand and repaint the “experiment” area of my bathroom. Glad I tested, before using in my apartment.
A heat gun is what I've used. The vinyl becomes so pliable and come up super easy!
I know that you mentioned bathroom accessories, but may I just accentuate the absolute necessity of replacing toilet seats ? Thank you for your videos, which are an uplifting inspiration.
For those who can't paint their walls, they now also sell peel and stick wallpaper in solid colors, fabric soaked in fabric softener also acts as peel and stick wallpaper (you can also use a few clear thumbtacks at the top and base of your fabric panels if you don't want to use the fabric softener method.
Never heard of the fabric softener. 😎 Cool
So you soak it and paste it up while it's still wet? And then it peels off when you need it to?
That's such a great idea if it works 😅
Corn starch and water works great as well. I did that to a window with fabric and it peeled right off when it was time to move. I just had to wipe off the residue with a wet cloth and it was clean. Just Google corn starch wall/window fabric
Just know peel n stick wallpaper won't work on a textured or uneven plastered wall.
@@dahmeneekah I saw it done with laundry starch.
I use double sided tape for everything, even to hold my garments in place. But it had not occurred to me to use it for moulding 🤯 My flat is about to get fancy! 😃
I'm wanting to do upgrades in my small apt. These are some great ideas. Mgmt Co told me that if it's an improvement, I don't have to put it back the way it was. I'll be in the apt until I die & I want it to be comfy for me.
I've always painted my rental homes after checking the brand and colour/shade of the walls as I move in. My last landlord was actually saddened that I'd painted back over a wall that I'd put a geometric rainforest landscape on, because he'd figured it would be a major "selling" point for the next tenant. I tend to just ask before I sign anything: "hey, so, if I'm living somewhere, I'm gonna make it my own. Happy to put back anything you want me to at my own cost if I ever move, but I desperately wanna live here and this will totally sell it to me". Never, ever failed so far.
That’s the law where I live. You can paint an any which way you want as long as it goes back to white or creme (the way it was before)
this was sooooo helpful for me. i’m not in a rental apartment BUT i do live with my mother and we own our home. she’s gets nervous about expensive damage or home improvements so i’ve been trying to find renter friendly upgrades that won’t give her an anxiety attack 😂 THANK YOU.
Lol, you are not old tired and damaged!! You are beautiful and wonderfully made! 🤗
Thank you so much for these tips and for being such a intelligent inspiration! ❤️
👏🏽💕
just want to let you know how much ive enjoyed your content! they are so immensely helpful. i recently moved to an (rental) apartment that i feel like i'll be staying at for quite a few years and your videos are a huge help when deciding on decor & renovations. there's no reason for putting up with ugly fixtures/walls just because i am renting!
i am currently painting my walls off-white with a flat finish on a very yellow and shiny base. i asked my maintenance person and he said most likely they won't even notice since the company manages so many properties and they all have different paint colors. i also noticed how badly the previous paint job was done, there are paint drops and weird textures everywhere. this is my first time painting walls and i am already doing a much better job!
Great video! I saw a girl adding peelable white stickers all over a massive electric blue kitchen (why, why making a kitchen electric blue??). It looked incredible but wow, that must have taken her ages! I also completely agree with you about being reasonable! I have tenants and as long as they return the property as before, I have no problems with them making it their own while they live there. Those rules are there to avoid people going overboard, but that kind of people do what they want anyway 😬
How about people who make the apartment better than before? I am afraid of making some changes because I can't return it "as before". I am not going to put the ugly tap or ceiling lamp back in (I will throw the trash away and leave the ones I bought - I am not going to store the trash in the limited space I have and go through the work of replacing the new tap with the old, corroded one). And I would not be painting the ugly yellow wall I made fashionable neutral light gray color (which in my opinion is a color all apartments should come in - light grey or white, it is neutral and fits all kind of styles and furniture, you never know who is going to live there) that ugly yellow color again...
Love the intro statement. Sooo many YT vids claim to be renter friendly and they're just not! Thnx for keepin' it real :)
When I lived in a rented room (landlord's home) he was strict on the 'no nails' to hang my pictures. I came up with a solution in the form of an 'A' support made from bamboo canes and raffia. The cross over at the top was for hanging and the horizontal cane was where my picture rested. The legs of the frame were pulled slightly away from the wall to stop it toppling over. The 'look' was unusual and impressed my landlord who was actually trying to made things difficult for me.
I sincerely appreciate it! You alleviated a great deal of my burden as I moved to a petty old-style apartment! I'm not the only insane person here remodeling outdated rental properties:):)
8:29 i love that you said this "make my home the way i want it in the time i live there" because like.. exactly. we should enjoy our time while living in our home. we've just moved into our first house as tenants & I've been wanting to stick some things on my walls but at the risk of using adhesive tape & I'm so scared of ruining the walls and losing out on the deposit we paid. our contract does say we're fine to drill things into walls as long as we fill the holes back up, but obviously taping can rip wallpaper off and cause some more damage than a drilled-in hole.
we do have the intention of leaving the house to it's original state (or much better in fact) when it comes to the time we leave so will probably just give it a go and enjoy my time while I'm there. especially that our landlord is really lovely & is happy for us to do what we like as long as we're respecting the property and the neighbours around
Buy your own.
It all depends on where you live. If you live in a social housing property, many of them give permission to do more major stuff, like replacement kitchens etc....in the UK that is! We rent and have what they call a 'home for life' so we spend quite a lot on it, knowing we will be here permanently....
My mother lives in a similar housing property in America, they won't allow her to decorate her area. They said bluntly it's their house not her home. So she must keep plain white walls with no objects hanging. It looks very depressing.
I live in the Netherlands and as long as it seen as a upgrade from what is there (which it most likely is) you can do whatever you want. Want to redo you whole bathroom? Do it. Kitchen? Do it.
A note on peel and stick, they usually don’t like to come up very easily afterwards. Even command strips, I have had some come off easily and others did not and left decent holes in the drywall.
I agree, and I'm skeptical about the removal of double sided tape without taking chunks of drywall. It's always been a problem for me.
Please never leave us again!!!!!!!!!!!!
Honestly? The last tip - creatingwarmer light - is, in my opinion, the most impactful element of my living quarters. Cold light casts such a harsh glare that all the beautiful fixtures and wallpaper in the world won’t fix.
I hate the blue tinged lighting!
EXACTLY what I wanted to watch today! I’m moving into my first own rental on Nov 2nd and even though this unit is in absolutely great shape, I’ll definitely swap out the hardware and maybe even faucets. Also really into picture frame molding. And I’m thinking about painting 😅
I can’t wait! Thanks for a great video, as always!
God bless you and your move! Congratulations!
Don't touch any water or electric-related things. EVER. If a professional doesn't do it (and you can't show the landlord a bill for REPAIRS), the old AND the new faucet belongs to him! If I found that you swapped out hardware without permission, I would terminate your lease. I am a zero-tolerance LL. You want to change faucets? Buy your own place.
I would also suggest the video on the renter friendly bathroom upgrade you did a while ago! Thank you for all the tips! 😊
You can also tack wallpaper or even fabric to the wall so you don't have residue to clean. Just be advised, don't use a wallpaper with a water activated adhesive, as overtime humidity could cause it to adhere itself. Also, be conscious of heavily dyed fabrics leaving dye stains.
I did this in my bathroom with red thumbtacks to match the red & white border. It looked really nice…when the property manager did the yearly walk through. The 1st thing she said is “you know you’re not allowed to use wallpaper.” I advised her to look closer…it’s thumbtacks lol
i thought about molding for my room, never thought about taping it up.... so informative!! thank you!!!
Some great suggestions there. I've definitely done the shower head and also installed a bidet. Some things I've done myself is to replace lighting with smart bulbs (RGB of course). I've also used "damage free" hanging pieces almost everywhere to hang items, pictures, paintings and even shelves. Using accent rugs can also be good for color and cable management.
I love this lady. When I moved in to my rental house, it was horrible but slowly by slowly am improving it and watching this video has given me more confidence and insight. 😎😉
Just recently (like...last month) moved into a new apartment, and some of these tips I might just use when we can afford them, like the cabinet hardware, and maybe (hopefully) some new faucets and backsplash tiles
Exactly the compendium of tips I needed to share with a family member. Thank you!!
I’m with you. I’m gonna paint. I don’t care what that contract says.
I don't have a rental but love all your suggestions. I may become a landlord at some point though. Love your videos
Yeah my landlord owns 5 properties and hates updating our units or adding security cameras so I don't feel bad about painting besides they've been through a few times and all they care about is passing fire and safety regulations. Though I also learned they did a shoddy job on electric when I went ahead and replaced an old light fixture because I couldn't find bulbs to it which is always semi concerning. My favorite was the outlet that was grounded with a nickle.
Amy Sedaris calls giving up the deposit for creative license to paint and hang pictures a "Personality Fee" 😂 Her home is so cute! 🐰🌸
i've always painted and always got my deposit back, in all cases i was told it looked better!!!
My plan for my first place def is to update their faucets. They are ugly. My potential landlord told me he is very flexible and from what I have seen, the guy likes to make a buck and look good so I think he will be happy with it 😂 With that said everything I install I plan to take back and reinstall his old stuff. If he wants it, he'll have to pay or give ma a discount lol
Why there are so few videos like this 👐🏻 thank you
Great video, I agree with everything you have said, as I have been a landlord, now renting and like you have the same ideas of how you should keep a property in good /better than when you moved in condition. I started by changing the electric fire to a "living flame" gas fire to make it more cosy with landlords ok. The electric fire just stored away. Its nice to get a further slant on other ideas from these type of video's.
That was really useful. I was thinking about using mouldings. I didn't realise you could get lightweight picture frame mouldings. Do you have a recommendation for the double-sided tape for fixing moulding to the wall?
You can cut the trim yourself at Home Depot/Lowe’s. They have a box and saw ready. Even tons of scrap molding for pennies ¢
😱 omg I'm obsessed with crown molding in my home, luckily my landlord is allowing us to do whatever we want in our home
I wish that the company that owns the apartment complexs, would update the cabinets and other things that REALLY NEED to be updated with how much rent I pay for.
All apartments where I live need updates. They updated the offices, why not the apartments?
Omg it’s so annoying, they’ll have the most enticing glamorous offices, but then the apts are womp womp womp
The last time we painted a rental, the landlord loved it and asked us to leave it. 💁♀
How great that you had an appreciative landlord- that’s unfortunately rare
I would love to know about renter friendly solutions for wall decor.
Luckily, my rental condo has nice tap fixtures, counters, hardware, and tile floors. Getting things on the wall and rugs might help with the echo. 😉
“Tap wear” sounds so fancy 💁🏾♀️
I'm not supposed to paint my apartment and I just did two weeks ago. It's okay because I'm planning to live here for at least another 5 years. So, when the time comes, I'll paint it back to its original color. I also added recessed lighting. 😅😊
Old, damaged and ugly 😱💔😭 Everyone feels like that sometimes and it's normal, and I'm hoping it was a joke, but just in case you are having one of those days: You do not seem like any of those things! I really enjoy watching your vids. You are smart and funny and gorgeous. Have a wonderful day 🖐
Great tips!! I'm so tempted to try wall moulding...
Great tips, first time I’ve heard about wallpaper murals and double sticking trim to the walls. Suggestions on dated ceiling fan with lights?
Really original ideas, especially the moulding 🤯
I think the "no painting" thing is meant to be enforced as needed. Most reasonable landlords who are confident in their tenant's abilities (or ability to hire someone) and their conservative tastes, will say thank you when you leave.
This deserves way more views!
i feel like an easier way to do that picture framing thing is to just get big ass frames and spray paint them white or any color you want ig
i’ve been renting apartments for 30 years. So many stupid leases. Ignore them. No nail holes? Use nails if you want to. When you move out stick a tiny bit of spackle in there or even toothpaste- or nothing. They’ll deduct money from your deposit. Because they’re going to anyway. Because they’re going to find a reason to deduct from your deposit. Recently, I painted my ceiling. It looks fabulous. I will not return it to the regular color when I move- too hard. I’m about to paint some accent walls. The white walls become depressing.
It would be NICE if they actual showed "rentals" in these type of videos
Yeah, who gets a rental that looks remotely like these pads?
I'm not that landlord just did full upgrade new faucets too and professionally painted ....not in the 0% group lol
Great tips! I have done a couple, and you just gave me extra ideas.
If you use any sticky then please take it slow.
With one hand keep constant pressure on the sticky or hook.
With the other hand, please pull the adhesion straight down with no angle. Importantly, do not do this in a single motion. As you pull down incrementally grab the top of adhesion you are pulling and stretching. Repeat that process going slower toward the end because you don’t want to pull the tip. (Lol.)
I used dozens of the clear ones in my apartment.
In my home I still use them when I’m unsure I like something somewhere. I’ll use the adhesions first to see if I like something for a week or more. Then, i make it permanent if I do enjoy it.
I love your humor!
A recommendation I've had from my actual landlord's property manager is that if your contract says you're not allowed to put nails in the walls, you take an exacto knife, cut a little tent shape (an A without the crossbar) in the wallpaper, and you peel down the little tab a centimeter or so. Put your nail in the gap, hang your stuff, and when you move out, you just buy the smallest amount of wallpaper paste you can find (or bootleg it with some other glue that dries clear), and you glue the tab back up.
That's if the apartment comes with a wallpaper... :(
My apartment has "no nails" rule and the "beautiful" yellow color painted wall (the ceiling is the same color, duh) is full of holes previous renters left (some not filled, some half filled, some filled but peeling half of the wall off with a slight touch). I am not allowed to paint or put a wallpaper on it (I asked the owner to allow me to put a plain, neutral color wallpaper there because I couldn't look at the holes - he didn't agree). Posters and command hooks are also a no-no. Eventually I put a peel-and-stick grey brick-like texture on a part of the wall that ASKED for someone to do something with it (it hides the old holes perfectly and adds a industrial touch to the room, visually toning the yellow color on the other walls). It can be easily removed and leaves no marks. I shown it to the owner by peeling a part of the texture off and putting it back on when he was visiting. What the owner said? "You put something on the walls against the contract, so I might not return your deposit when you move out". But my flat owner is a weird guy. Well, judging what previous people living here did with the walls I am not that surprised. But he should allow me to renovate that place. I even offered doing that at my cost - walls soundproffing included (the noise was a huge problem for me at first, now I am kind of used to it but it still bothers me sometimes). :( And I still got a no so I had no choice and the peel-and-stick makeshift wallpaper is all I could do. :(
@@Astrid-88 That sucks! My apartment also has a "no nails" rule, but the landlord and building super don't care so long as when we move out we patch the holes (I only used one nail to hang up a heavier frame, everything else is Command strips/hooks). We don't even have to paint over it because the building super will either repaint the walls or touch-up any marks, but some landlords threaten to take away the security deposit for a scratch that could be removed in 2 seconds with a magic eraser.
Why the obsession with violating the rules? This is not the 4rd grade. If it was YOUR property, you would feel differently.
@@kevinadams9468 Well, if it was MY property, I would realise people should be allowed to make spaces that are functional and pretty to them and thus not have a "no nails"-rule.
Though I should clarify that my above statement more accurately should be "no marks on the walls" rather than "no nails" - rental contracts in Sweden are usually not that obstinate.
@@Astrid-88That stinks! I get the wish to preserve your property, but the idea that a rental somehow isn't a home and shouldn't be decorated/made functional really irks me. It's like these landlords have forgotten what it's like to be a tennant.
these are good tips.
i'm glad you didn't edit out the part about pushing back on our rental restrictions. it shouldn't be a controversial opinion. basically every human being will be likely to take great care for the land we live our lives on. it's WEIRD how one class of people can decide whether how much we are "allowed" to. we should be allowed to shape our living space to suit our well-being, and to make this late capitalist hell -- in which the concept of property ownership is literally destroying the earth and all those who inhabit it -- more bearable.
if your landlord doesn't give you back the deposit for something as petty as a different color wall, they are probably just assholes (or a corporation/property management company).
Wayfair has nice peel and stick backsplash tiles.
Any suggestions of brands of peel and stick wallpaper that remove easy?
This video needs more love, thanks for the tips ✨🥰 Now I’m not THAT afraid about making painting an option
I totally get painting walls. I’ve almost always did it myself when renting. So when I got to the stage of property manager, I let my tenants paint… They got paint all over the carpets, and did such a terrible cover up job (they had black accent walls throughout the apartment) that I ended up having to completely repaint, and get the carpet removed. It was an extremely costly lesson. Their damage deposit didn’t come close to covering the costs.
Agreed. There are two issues: taste and skill. If the tenant has "unusual" taste (black walls) or is unskilled (paint everywhere) it can end up costing you more to fix it.
Love the advice and honesty!!❤❤
I’m a land lord and I always but Mohen faucets they are good quality and functional. Being cheap with stuff like that doesn’t pay long term. Cheap faucets leak, leaks lead to plumbing repair cost cabinets and vanities getting wet and if not reported they rot. Cutting corners feels good on the wallet the day you spend money but down the road it bites you in the ass.
Is there any concern that if you do these rental friendly things, when inspection time comes every 3-6 months and they have to visit, would you get kicked out for having these changes ? Even if it’s as small as a hardware change or double sided trim
You are beautiful. Keep rocking it girl!!!!!
I love your beautiful top!
More of rental friendly videos like this please 😍🙏🏼
Moving is stressful, exhausting and often expensive. My issue is when having to move, there's so much to do in the new place, (plus totally cleaning the old place and meanwhile paying rent in both places during the transition)- the last thing I want to do is repaint the old walls.
Oh, Alexandra Gater's "Treehouse apartment" kitchen! :D The one with pink subway tile and hexagonal cabinet pulls.
Dang, you can afford an apartment that have cabinets with door pulls!? What a flex. lol
I live in an old pre-war building (1929). Cannot use peel wallpaper in my unit because it still has the original wallpaper from the 1930's, but it has been painted over hundreds of time. I imagine if I put up that type of wallpaper, it would remove the original, which would make the wall look awful. At least that is the horror story I have heard from former tenants. Something to consider in older buildings.
I will add that large houseplants (real or faux) make a big difference in a home. I killed all my houseplants in my first apartment. That was 30 years ago. Technology has changed a lot. You can buy a regular standard sized bulb that is a plant light. You can add it to any lamp. You can even find recessed lighting plant lights. The downside is they are not warm and the light is quite bright. I swapped out the bathroom light bulbs for a plant light and I dont mind the brightness because the plants and even the light are so cheery!
You can cover those cabinets with peel and stick, though -- Contact paper or the like.
as a landlord.
just return it equal or better (ask me if you can leave x change). as long as the change is not to specific it's totally ok (it's harder to rent custom apartments because everyone likes different things)
I had one tenant add molding throughout the house. nothing to over the top. it looked beautiful and he even did some accent color walls. I now charge more for that apartment due to him
Definitely great reminder
I always leave my apartments in pristine condition, partly because of pride, and partly because I want all the deposit back. The only time I ever got the full deposit back is when I followed the realtor through the walk-through. She pointed to things like a dirty spot on the kitchen counter, that will be deducted, she said. I squirted it with Fantastic, wiped it up. There we go, I said. I did that with all her nitpicky things in the apartment and there weren’t many. That’s the only time I got the full deposit back. I am always too exhausted and worn out from moving to do the walk-through at the end.
I always like your suggestions and Ideas.
Lots of love 💗 you are the best
very informative! thank you so much!!
Beautiful!!! Thank you so much!! Is there a way to add pulls if there are not any? Still keep renter friendly
I’ve never ever had a positive experience with any command strip, double sided tape, etc . Everything always falls within a day. Any suggestions
Very late on this video wish I would’ve seen this sooner. 😂 you had me at certified plumber now 😂😂
This was great, thank you
Best channel 😊
Love your videos.
Wow great video thank you
Valuable, thanks!
you are adorable..thanks for the amazing tips! 😊
One thing I always upgrade is toilet seats. It sounds silly, but contractor grade flimsy plastic cheap seats look awful in the nicest decorated bathroom. Solid wood or porcelain options aren't too expensive and make a huge difference
Amazon has peel and stick molding
Nobody makes holes in a rental property for "cable management", they do it because the home is from the dark ages before the internet so they can have a cabled connection which is stable unlike wifi.
The last two leases I've signed had "no stickers of any kind on any surface" rules. I think they are very much not a fan of peel and stick wallpaper.