Just because you rent absolutely does not mean that you have to settle with an ugly apartment. Take a look around and consider, “if I owned this place, what would I change?” Chances are you would come up with a pretty hefty list of things you would like to change both aesthetically as well as functionally. Piece by piece you can update your bathroom into something that you can actually imagine choosing for yourself. Just short of taking a sledgehammer to the walls and gutting the fixtures, this Update Your Rental Bathroom series will transform your bathroom into one of the most luxurious rooms in your apartment.
Never fear your place certainly has the capacity for change whether your bathroom is dated and feels like a throwback to the decade in which you were born, or worse, your bathroom has that standard uniform apartment feel. More often than not rental units are equipped with cheap, standardized features and appliances. Take a stand and do something about it! You know, without investing (dumping) money into updating a place that isn’t your own, or running the risk of infuriating your landlord.
Ugly Mirror – You can look past a less than appealing shower, sink, or flooring, but every single time you or a guest visits the bathroom, the mirror will be an object of focus. Phoenix apartments are virtually guaranteed to be equipped with those crappy sheets of mirror attached to the wall by those gravity defying clear plastic brackets. Cover that ugly, cheap sheet of glass with a framed mirror of your own. Simply hang it above of the current glass for an instant visual upgrade. Sometimes large framed mirrors can be pretty pricey, so you may want to run to Home Depot and pick up a few pieces of precut frame molding to frame the existing reflective glass. A few nails, a little paint and you’ve got an up and coming contemporary bathroom!
Boring Flooring – The spectrum of apartment bathroom flooring can range everywhere from the horrors of yellowed, ancient linoleum, to tile, all the way to hardwood. Whatever the case it is what it is so lets make it work. If your situation is really bad, the more floor coverings you’re able to pull-off the better. If you have particularly hideous flooring, keep the coverings simple to deflect attention, and add your pops of color and patterns to your linens or art in the rest of the bathroom.
A few tips: Bamboo mats dry quickly, are quite trendy, and will keep your feet warm in the winter months. Also try to find mats with a sticky or adhesive backing to prevent slippage when you step out of the shower. Try to avoid those shag toilet-hugging floor mats; talk about a bacteria and odor sponge!
Start your updating process with these two major points and be sure to check back soon for more ways to update your rental apartment!
