Rental Remodel You May Not Own Your Apartment, But That Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Make It Your Home

Many people hesitate to invest in changes they can’t take along when they move from a rental apartment.

Not only would it mean spending money they won’t recoup, but in most cases tenants are expected to put things back the way they were when they leave. That means additional expense in removing any improvements. Furthermore, most landlords will balk if any structural changes are made.

What’s a frustrated home decorator to do? Fix things up anyway, but be savvy about what you do, suggests decorator Gillian Drummond.

When she moved into her rental apartment, Drummond took her own advice. She repainted at her own expense, bought new window treatments and shades even though they may not fit a future home, built in a table in the breakfast nook, and covered the washer and dryer with a counter to gain more working surface.

“I can’t take most of these improvements with me, but they weren’t all prohibitively expensive and my surroundings are very important to me,” says Drummond, who recently relocated to Greenwich, Conn., from Wilmington, N.C.

Drummond has been a decorator for about 30 years, so her expertise is much greater than average. However, what she did can be duplicated by those with less experience.

“Someone in a rental should look at how long they are planning to stay and how important their surroundings are to them,” the decorator says. “The longer you will stay the more it pays to do some redecorating, because the cost isn’t that great.”

Especially if you do it yourself, painting is the most effective inexpensive way to give a room or a whole apartment some life, color and character. Wallpaper is a little more labor-intensive and expensive but can be an even better decorative improvement.

“A foyer, bath or small room doesn’t take too much paper,” Drummond says, “and you get a lot of results for not a lot of effort and expense.”

After paint and wallpaper, Drummond gives high marks to those who add decorative window treatments rather than simply leaving well enough alone with the miniblinds or roller shades that often come with an apartment.

“If you won’t be there for a long time, choose something simple like floor-length fabric panels for each side of window,” says Drummond. “Many mail order catalogs have inexpensive window treatments that are reasonable.”

Using wall decor and accessories is also highly recommended. Both can be easily moved to another location, so whatever is purchased can certainly be reused. Repairing the walls when you remove the wall decor takes only a small can of spackle to fill any holes left by nails or screws.

Sometimes it pays to call in a decorator to get the most out of a rental apartment.

“There are ways to create a partition so that it can be taken apart without any real demolition,” says Joan Halperin, a decorator in New York.

Halperin closed off the dining area of her rental apartment to create an office. The low part of the temporary wall is a 10-foot-long storage buffet built in four modular sections and covered with a laminate top. The upper section of the partition consists of four mirrored door panels that are installed on bifold door track mounted on the ceiling. Should she move, Halperin will take down the panels and the track and separate the cabinets to be used elsewhere.

“Most of my clients own their apartments,” says Halperin, “but about 10 percent of them are renters and they usually do want built-ins. They always ask me: ‘What do I do when I move?’ I tell them that anything that is put in can be taken out.”

Halperin suggests building in modules to make it more likely you can use storage units in another location. She also uses plywood instead of sheet rock to create partitions.

“By building in a material that can be removed and that doesn’t ruin the walls or floor or ceiling to which it is attached, you can easily return the apartment to its original look and take your improvements along when you move,” Halperin says.

Both decorators point out that if you make it nice enough, chances are the landlord and the next tenant will beg you to leave your enhancements right where they are.