Five Easy Peasy Ways to Upgrade Your Pad
When I made the move from my shiny and sleek downtown apartment to my cozy and vintage suburban flat, I knew I was in for a bit of a reality check. Gone was the stainless steel and granite and in was the 70’s rust-brown and linoleum. But I was hunky-dory with that.
I’ve lived in many places in the last 13 years and I’m no stranger to the older home. In fact, after living in a high-rise penthouse, warehouse condos, and a house nearly 100 years young, I learned I liked my homes like I like my men. Older and distinguished with great stories to tell. Of course with all those stories of times gone by come leaky faucets, creaky floors, and dingy walls (on the apartments, not the men). It’s what we refer to lovingly as “character”, right?
Well, the “character” of my current flat needed some help. Like whoa.
When I signed the lease of my new Shorewood digs, I had three stipulations. First was a bathroom redo. Done. The second was a kitchen redo. Done. The third was the option to paint. Done and done.
I completed all of the above on my teeny lil’ DIY budget and all with my two manicured hands. I love my flat now as its updated charms still shine with character for days. Sure, the creaky floors are still there and painting trim and cabinets aren’t exactly a party, but knocking the dust off of a classic and revealing its sparkle is worth every chipped nail and sore back.
I love tackling a good home project big or small. However, I know not everyone has such a lenient landlord or the time to tackle in-depth DIY dilemmas. So I thought I would share with you my top five ways to easily update your vintage home without too much effort or sifting through your toolbox.
1) Replace your toilet seat. Yup. Your bottom touches that sucker and well, we don’t need to get into the nitty-gritty, but your butt deserves better. A simple replacement seat will only set you back $15 and will not only give you grunge-less piece of mind but will look so much better. Nowadays toilet seats have gone stylish and high-tech. You can get one with fancypants hardware accents or with a soft closing lid. You’ll only need a screwdriver to install and it will take less than 10 minutes.
2) If you have an old chandelier cramping your style, hook it up with some funky bulbs. When I owned my gift shop we used this trick and got compliments for days. Simply screw in round, frosted bulbs instead of your fake flame variety for a modern take on a classic. You can get a set of four bulbs for under $4.
3) Like the toilet, showers are one place you don’t want any ick. You also don’t want a dingy nozzle looking you in the face, spurting out who knows what. Switching out the showerhead is one of the easiest and exciting upgrades ever. The variety of showerheads out there will amaze you and you can go with your simple standard or up the ante with a rain head or hose attachment. Guests always comment that they love my (old, vintage, leaky) shower because the showerhead is just so dang cool. And I did it all by my girly self.
4) If your home or flat has a standard ol’ kitchen faucet and you yearn for the fancy spray features of a modern spout, you’re in luck. For under $10 and without the help of a plumber you can upgrade your dishwashing experience. Head to Home Depot and look in the aisle with the plumbing and drain items. Snuggled in there is the Bubble Stream Swivel Spray attachment. You simply unscrew your existing faucet tip and screw on this sucker and you’re done. Turn on the water and you instantly have a faucet that not only swivels all around but with a pull down transforms the standard stream to a forceful spray.
5) Many rental properties will not allow you to paint your face off. But it never hurts to ask, especially if you have it written into your lease that you will repaint at move out. Of course if you own your pad, you’re golden. Let’s get thee to the paint aisle and transform your space. It’s pretty obvious that paint will make a definite change. However I encourage you to think beyond beige and cream. Try colors bolder than you would have and you may surprise yourself. For example, my dining room is black. Sounds shocking, right? Nope. It’s elegant as the day is long and whenever anyone sees it we’re in Compliment City and I’m the mayor. Go bold, go black, go bright. It’s only paint.
There you have it folks. Five easy ways to make your house a home. Whether it’s an oldie but a goodie or a slick new place, a few simple lil’ tricks will make it feel like a million bucks.
