This Interior Designer's Brilliant Hacks For Fixing "Ugly Apartments" Are Going Viral, And They're Game-Changing For Anyone With Beige Carpets

If you've ever rented an "ugly apartment" — you know, the ones with questionable wall-to-wall carpeting, appliances that consciousness similar they were manufactured successful the Roman Empire, and finishes that disgust you to the psyche level — you cognize however achy it tin beryllium to marque it genuinely consciousness similar home.

Truth beryllium told, successfully decorating a rental with less-than-ideal finishes tin look altogether impossible. I cognize from idiosyncratic acquisition surviving successful New York City, the superior of questionable apartments, that astir location decor tips and strategies thin to absorption connected blank-slate spaces alternatively of the ones that consciousness similar they're stuck successful the 1900s. Although converting these spaces into aesthetically pleasing abodes tin feel hopeless, it really mightiness beryllium much attainable than you'd imagine.

In 2023, interior decorator Tommy Landen Huerter went viral connected TikTok for this nonstop reason. In his video, which has present been viewed adjacent to 1 cardinal times, Tommy offers plan tips for radical with, arsenic 1 commenter specifies, "ugly" apartments, featuring everything from '80s-core oak cabinets to achromatic appliances and beige carpeting.

"I get it, not each apartments are cute," Tommy says successful the video, "but there's ever things you tin bash to improve." These are immoderate of the ugly-turned-stunning flat tips that commenters astir resonated with, on with a fewer that Tommy shared with BuzzFeed directly.

Just to reiterate: These are all renter-friendly! (And adjacent though they're geared toward a precise peculiar benignant of apartment, these tips tin beryllium applied broadly successful astir homes.)

1. Plain and simple: layering. Layer successful lots of decor. As Tommy says, you'll marque it "more of a canvas" by incorporating objects you mightiness not expect successful a kitchen.

2. Swap retired the hardware connected your room cabinets for pulls and handles with much modern finishes.

3. If your room is backsplash-less, Tommy suggests investing successful a peel-and-stick backsplash, which tin beryllium easy installed without immoderate specialty instrumentality oregon expertise and nutrient "very convincing" results.

ROOM #2: The surviving room.

4. Contrary to fashionable belief, you can (and should!) enactment a rug implicit carpeting. "It tin marque a large difference, particularly if the carpet is bad," Tommy says.

5. And since lighting tin marque each the quality successful however we comprehend a room, some successful the prime of the fixture and the airy it produces, don't beryllium acrophobic to power retired your ceiling airy fixtures.

But importantly: Choose your fixtures wisely, and bent connected to the aged ones truthful you tin swap them backmost connected move-out day.

6. Beyond ceiling lights, it's important to furniture and diversify the different lighting elements you person successful your room. In different words: Yes, you request airy fixtures beyond your ceiling lights to springiness the country magnitude and character.

In his video, helium recommends a brace of budget-friendly spotlights arsenic uplights, since "you tin instrumentality them anyplace and they marque a immense difference." But your different airy fixtures should beryllium a operation of level lights, array lamps, oregon different airy sources for the astir decorative touch.

7. Pay attraction to the smaller details that mightiness not alteration a abstraction connected their own, but tin marque a monolithic quality erstwhile paired with each the different tiny elements.

8. Hang creation successful your bathroom, "especially if you person pieces that mightiness consciousness excessively bold for different spaces successful your home," Tommy added.

9. And finally: Optimize the items you'll usage to store and signifier your worldly for the astir "spa-like" results.

For much renter-friendly location decor advice, you tin travel Tommy connected TikTok and Instagram.

If you effort immoderate of these plan hacks successful your ain home, fto maine cognize however it turns out! And if you're a renter, what are the astir game-changing, renter-friendly upgrades you've made to your space? Tell maine each astir them successful the comments below.