How to transform the interior. How to update the interior of an apartment

  • 29.08.2019

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Tired of how terrible your bed looks? Annoyed by the creepy carpet on the floor? Looking for a way to organize all your belongings? Hate bits of dust collecting on your furniture? Are you embarrassed by all the things that clutter your room? If you want to change the look of your room, this article is for you.

Steps

    Before you start doing anything, go through all your things. Divide them into 4 piles: keep, throw away, donate and decorate. Leave the necessary things, get rid of garbage and papers, distribute unnecessary things to friends, relatives, and charities. This step is very important because it will declutter the room and get rid of unnecessary clothes.

    Paint the walls! This will significantly change the look of the room. If you don't want to paint the walls or re-wallpaper, if your parents don't allow you to do this or you don't have the money, don't worry and move on to the next step. But if you have the opportunity to change the appearance of the walls, that’s great! Choose a color that you like and that will go well with the rest of the things in the room. Some people like to leave the walls the same color as they were, while others prefer to change the color. Whatever you choose, prove yourself! If you are arguing with your parents about what the color will suit your room, look for a compromise. Do your parents want pink walls, but you prefer black (or vice versa)? Paint the walls pink and add black accents!

    Buy new furniture if you can afford it. Do you really have to leave that kid's locker in the corner? Hardly. Go for new furniture! We recommend leaving a bed, wardrobe, bookshelf, bedside table and desk in the room. Color match all your furniture to make the room look neat (but if you want the room to have a mixed feel, choose completely different furniture).

    Buy something for the bed. Buy new bedding, and if you want your bed to look girly, add some new blankets and some throw pillows at the headboard. If you prefer minimalism, change only the bedding. Do whatever you want. Just because you are a girl does not obligate you to have a girl's room.

    Buy a couple of chairs. So that your friends don't have to sit on the floor when they come to visit you, you will need chairs - this will make both you and your friends comfortable. You can buy a bean bag chair or a folding round chair. Even an ottoman will suit you, especially if there is storage space inside. Try to match the chairs to the tone of the rest of the furniture.

    Buy several small rugs. If you have carpet on the floor, you won't need rugs, but otherwise they will be a good addition to the furniture. If your room has parquet or laminate flooring, place a rug next to your bed so you can put your feet on a warm carpet in the morning rather than an icy floor. Remember that with all the variety of colors and textures, rugs also serve as a reflection of your personality.

    Free up storage space. Allocate a place for all things in the closet or in the drawers of the chest of drawers or desk. Buy special storage boxes and hide them under the bed. This will help keep everything in its place.

    Shelves! You can put a variety of things on the shelves: sports awards, photographs, books, etc. Buy several shelves and fix them where you want - above the bed or above the desk.

    Mirrors! Mirrors exist not only for girls who like to pay a lot of attention to their appearance. If you use cosmetics, you will need a good mirror - this will make it easier for you to apply makeup. You can buy a full-length mirror so you can check out your outfits as well. Buy a mirror with an unusual frame - for example, with pieces of multi-colored glass glued to it.

    Hang a cork board on the wall. On it you can post your photos, photos of friends, relatives, pets and other little things like concert tickets and postcards. If you already have a chalkboard but don't like it, paint it a color that matches the rest of the room. Its color should not be too dark. You can also wrap it with some beautiful fabric or buy a ready-made board like this.

    Make the room truly yours. Hang posters of your favorite bands or celebrities on your walls. Post photos of relatives and friends. Fill the room with things you love - art projects, your sketches, whatever you like. If you are creative, hang or display your own drawings or paintings. Let the room fully reflect your personality. After all, she is yours!

  1. Put all your children's things in a drawer and hide them, unless among them there are things that are especially dear to your heart. If you have things you don't need or won't use, donate them to charities.

    • Decorate the room so that it reflects your inner world.
    • Remember to keep the room clean and tidy. Remove debris from the floor, clean out cabinets once a week, and dust and vacuum at least once a month.
    • Make a clear plan before you start remodeling a room. Use a planner if that's more convenient for you.
    • Fresh ideas for decorating a room can be found in magazines and on the Internet.
    • This point is very important! If you have animals in your room, clean the cage or aquarium at least once a week. If you have animals with a strong odor (such as turtles or rabbits), use an automatic air freshener, but do not place it too close to the cage, as it is harmful for pets to inhale the particles contained in the air freshener.
    • Try to choose a color scheme that looks organic and not garish.
    • if you have bookshelf, arrange books by color, by author or by series.
    • Remember that you may not be able to recreate the interior you saw in a picture or on TV. Don't try to copy everything down to the smallest detail. Get creative and make the most of your room.
    • Buy a dressing table with a mirror and put your favorite perfume and a few different cosmetics on it.
    • Don't copy your friends' interiors. Be yourself!
    • If your parents won't let you buy a new bed, at least buy a new bedspread and pillows.
    • If you have a good spatial imagination, draw a picture of how you want your room to be to make it easier for you to remodel it.
    • If you want to dedicate a room to a specific theme, instead of using an animal theme or something similar, it is better to choose some kind of consistent color scheme. This will make it easier for you to choose furniture and the room won't look too cluttered.
    • Do something with your own hands. You can make a mirror from mirror paper and cardboard; You can cover the stable storage case with a blanket, add a few pillows, and you have a sofa ready.
    • Place relaxing scented candles around the room. Surround them with nice rocks because rocks don't burn.
    • Remember that you will be living in this room for a while, so be serious about decorating it. Don't use the first wallpaper or furniture you come across unless it's part of your personality.
    • Apply some vanilla extract to the bulbs and turn on the light. A pleasant smell will form in the room, and you will feel warm and cozy there.
    • Allocate a separate place for cosmetics. If you have a free desk or dresser drawer, put all your cosmetics there so that they are easy to find. Try to keep cosmetics close to the mirror.

One of my friends, a talented artist and designer, who worked for about 10 years in different cities of France, shared interesting design techniques. They will help the interior look expensive while completely minimum costs both in terms of budget and time.

If the interior has long lost its luster and looks a little shabby, then it’s time to change something. And it doesn’t matter that there are additional financial expenses for repairs, even cosmetic ones, are not included in the family budget.

Quick repair

"Piggy Bank" Useful Tips» has prepared 27 design tricks for you, how to update the interior in just 1 day. Watch and get inspired!

  1. Try painting old linoleum in trendy colors.
  2. Analyze all the pros and cons of the original arrangement of objects in the apartment. Perhaps the chairs that were bought for the kitchen will perfectly complement the interior of the living room, and the chair from the living room will add coziness to the bedroom. Try rearranging the furniture.

  3. Hang mirrors in simple frames on closet doors. After that, paint the frames in the main color of the door so that they look like they are built-in.

  4. From old remnants of fabric that have not yet been used, you can sew original covers for pillows and bedspreads or decorative napkins.


    And if needlework is not your thing, use ready-made textile products, for example clothes. A bright light dress on the wall will lift your spirits and remind you of summer.

  5. Use curtains to hide unsightly storage areas that often become cluttered.

  6. Fashion trend in interior design- focusing on one wall in the room. This technique will allow you to give a new mood to the bedroom with minimal effort. Cover the head of the bed with wallpaper that contrasts with the rest of the interior in color or texture, or you can place a photo panel with an interesting pattern.

  7. Braid the curtains. This simple technique will create coziness in the room.

  8. Fast refresh the familiar interior You can also use contrasting curtains. The easiest way to choose bright textiles is to follow the principle of contrasting cold and warm shades.

  9. Combine different curtains.

  10. An old refrigerator can be easily decorated using metallic adhesive tape or spray paint.


    A can of paint and self-adhesive film are simple but convenient tools for turning an old household appliances to a new one. And, of course, your imagination and hard work!

  11. Don’t hide books on closed shelves of bookcases, because they can become an excellent element of room decor.


    The unobtrusive presence of books in various corners of the apartment makes the interior more comfortable and gives it an intellectual chic.

  12. This technique will help you organically fit the equipment into your interior. To do this, hang the TV in a picture frame.

  13. Use a dessert rack to store household chemicals in the kitchen. Looks quite unusual, doesn't it?

  14. Disguise an unsightly vent with a rubber mat and metallic paint. Wonderful find!

  15. Hang curtain rods over your bed to create a canopy. And rest like the Shamakhan queen!

  16. It doesn’t matter how much time is left before the New Year, you can create a festive atmosphere in your apartment now. To do this, take out glowing garlands - additional lighting has a positive effect on your mood and will enliven the interior!

  17. Make an accent - a colored ceiling.

  18. Wall finishing wooden planks suitable in any room.

  19. Repaint old furniture. The design depends entirely on the flight of your imagination!

  20. Remember the souvenirs brought from other countries, the shabby carpet, vintage chest or a plaster bust of a leader inherited from his grandmother. All this can serve as interior decoration and create a fashionable eclectic atmosphere in the room.

  21. As you know, nature does not have bad weather. So why not ask her for help? Creating seasonal charm...


    Use vases or other containers to decorate your home with colorful accents that match the seasons. In spring it can be flowers, in summer - fruits, in autumn - compositions of leaves, in winter - coniferous branches.

  22. Use volumetric vinyl stickers, which imitate mosaic tiles, in order to update the apron in the kitchen. Change is wonderful!

  23. Inexpensive decorative frames will be an excellent solution for switches and sockets.

  24. Nothing lifts your spirits more than the happy and smiling faces of family and friends. Rummage through old albums, transfer your favorite photos from hard drive on paper and come up with interesting compositions. Hang your favorite photos on the walls.


    You can decorate the wall with a variety of frames or create a collage of an original shape. Any experiments are welcome.

  25. There are probably some green spaces in your apartment. Build new original “houses” for them that will please the eye and become the highlight of the interior.


    Give free rein to your imagination and give new life to tin cans or a tea set that you have never used.

  26. Wrap exposed wires with suede tape. Of course, this is quite painstaking work, but the result is worth it. It looks very unusual and attractive!

  27. An additional shelf, decorated with decorative overlays, will give the kitchen cabinets a solid look.

Most of us are accustomed to considering the interior of a house or apartment a static concept. We made repairs and for the next few years we enjoy its immutability and monotony. And if there is a desire to change the usual appearance of the surrounding space, then we are often faced with a lack of time and money.

With these design ideas you can make changes in the house depending on the mood and wishes of your family. Changes are always for the better!

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How often do you want to add some zest to the interior, but you don’t like anything in the stores or don’t want to spend money on it. But you can create cool things yourself without spending exorbitant sums. Today we have collected for you some simple and inexpensive ideas that you can bring to life with your own hands.

We are in website We share with you ideas for creating things at home without any problems.

1. Make your shower tray comfortable and beautiful

A great idea for those who are tired of a dull shower tray and want to add something new to their bathroom without resorting to radical measures.

2. Composition of photographs for an empty wall

Sometimes even avid lovers of minimalism want to decorate their walls with something. A collage of photographs is just perfect for such an occasion. You can create such a decoration without spending a penny, because every home has glue and favorite photographs.

3. New life for rugs

If you want to get something new and an old carpet, then this method is just for you. Thanks to a few simple steps with paint and tape, you can turn it into a designer one, creating on it your own individual design that no one else will have.

4. Transform your bench

Such a bench will not require large expenses, and at the same time you can turn an old and unnecessary thing into a new and cozy one. Throw a few decorative pillows on it and you will have a wonderful piece of furniture.

5. Additional surface

Very often the bathroom lacks shelves and cabinets, but there is a lot of space that can be used. This is the option we offer if you do not have enough free surfaces. Such a shelf, firstly, will become another place where you can put various baskets and jars, and secondly, it will be an addition to the interior.

6. Stylish holder for books and magazines

Regular cabinets, drawers and coffee tables not your option? How do you like this holder for books and magazines? It will not require a lot of time and materials to make, and your own style will definitely be visible.

7. Updating the wall without breaking the bank

To add zest to your interior, you don’t need to buy what is sold in all stores or follow some of the latest trends. To give your home its own personality, you can add details that you build with your own hands. For example, cover a wall with a similar wooden panel, which looks simply amazing.

8. Hide radiators behind interesting panels

Open radiators do not add coziness to any home, unless, of course, they are something special, made to order or bought for a lot of money. But you can solve this problem without spending a lot of money on it; it’s enough to make panels like these, which will also make your room even more comfortable.

9. Expand the functionality of a regular rack

You can make this multifunctional sofa from an ordinary shelving unit. To do this, just turn it over and put one large pillow on top - no one will guess that before it was an ordinary vertical rack.

10. Turn ordinary tiles into masterpieces

Nowadays, tiles with various patterns are quite popular, so why not make them yourself from the old coating, so as not to re-tile the floor or walls? This method of transformation is quite simple and accessible, and the end result is a picture from which you can’t take your eyes off.

11. Spruce up your window

You can add a cozy atmosphere to your room and make it special by simply changing a window that looks faceless and boring. And with this frame it looks much better.

Owners of rented apartments are divided into two categories. The first prefer to renovate their housing with high quality and equip it the necessary equipment. They don’t allow couples with small children, cats, or smokers into the door; they charge prices above the market price, but it’s nice to live in such rented apartments.

The owners of the second type rent out ruined apartments: those they inherited from their grandmothers, renovated and furnished from the time of the Moscow Olympics. And the tenants’ proposal to make repairs at the expense of the rent is met with a categorical refusal. It turns out that such an apartment can be made pleasant to live in, even if nothing in it can be repainted, re-glued and thrown away.

Hide things

The feeling of clutter is created primarily by the abundance of small objects. We pack the owner's inheritance into boxes and try to find a place for it on the mezzanine, under the bed, or place it in a niche between the ceiling and the upper cabinets of the kitchen unit.

Failed to hide everything? We move the sofa half a meter from the wall, install stacks of boxes flush with the back along the entire length of the seat, cover the resulting structure with a wide board from the nearest construction market or a ready-made shelf from IKEA - we get a functional console. Using boxes in a similar way, you can organize a continuation of a computer desk or a column stand for a giant flower pot. So that the boxes do not irritate with their appearance, they can be covered with a mirror film - let them dissolve in space.

Make a rearrangement

Start with the wardrobe and the wall: they should be next to the wall where the interior door. The fact is that voluminous objects make the space visually heavy, so it is better if they are not visible from the entrance.







Modify the furniture

Almost any closet can be enhanced with beautiful fittings; visit your nearest Zara Home or one of the interior decor stores. A simple replacement of handles can sometimes save even a hopeless kitchen set. Just in case, don’t throw away the old ones: if the owner doesn’t like the update, when you leave the apartment, return the furniture to its original state.

Spend some money replacing the shelves in your lower kitchen cabinets with drawers. You will be surprised: much more items fit into the drawer, they can be seen at one glance and they are easier and more convenient to use. The sizes of the sets, especially in older apartments, have a standard width of 40-60 centimeters; the filling for them is sold in any modern kitchen showroom.

Ugly kitchen table An attractive tablecloth will cover it. Shabby computer desk can be modified using plexiglass: press it with something that will be pleasing to your eye - beautiful wallpaper, wrapping paper or even a collection of substrates from McDonald's trays.

Beautiful plaid and decorative pillows, removable seats on chairs will help hide ugly upholstery upholstered furniture. And new bright bed linen doesn’t even need a bedspread.

Decorate the window

Naturally, you can and should change the curtains. It is not necessary to buy any special designer textiles; it is enough to simply replace the old Soviet tulle with modern curtains. Be sure to place several pots of lush greenery on the windowsill. There are a lot of low-maintenance plants on sale: for especially forgetful gardeners and those who often go on business trips.







Change the light

Most often, apartments in the old building have a single chandelier in the center of the room. Living with such lighting is uncomfortable: there is either little or a lot of it, no matter what bulbs you screw in. Replace the push-button switch with a rotary rheostat: you can control the brightness of the lamp.
Try to avoid overhead light in the evenings: it mercilessly emphasizes all the shortcomings of the apartment. Lower floor light, on the contrary, will help create a chamber atmosphere. The more local lamps (floor lamps, table lamps), the better - just forget about the existence of general light.

Arrange your bathroom

Did you know that shower heads are sold as a separate product? To replace them, you don’t even need to call a plumber: unscrew the old one along with the hose and screw on the new one. It would seem like a small thing, but how nice it is to finally wash yourself in the shower with normal pressure.

Shabby walls and peeling paint can distract attention. For example, a mirror in an intricate frame, a curtain with an original print, bright rugs, high-quality towels, and finally. All that's left to do is put it in the bathroom living plant. Bamboo shoots, for example, do not need natural light, and they tolerate enormous humidity very well.

Don't place furniture along the walls: try to define zones. For example, a sofa in the living room can be turned across the room or you can highlight the dining room by moving the dining table away from the wall.
Walls with old wallpaper can always be disguised with posters or large-format paintings. In general, you can hang anything on the walls: place a collection of hats mixed with mirrors in the hallway, and photographs from travel, old records and engravings in the living room. The denser the hanging, the less the walls are visible.

And the most main advice: Do not treat a rented apartment as temporary housing. Decorate your house for the holidays, buy beautiful accessories, bring things back from your travels - in a word, do everything you would do in your own apartment.

Masha Yashina

interior designer

I myself have had to rent a house more than once, and I know firsthand the difficulties of living in such an apartment. So, let’s imagine that you were able to wash and clean everything that was possible as much as possible, got rid of what the owners agreed to part with, and made a rational rearrangement. I advise you now to go to the store and buy a bed with a normal mattress. Yes, yes, transporting a bed from apartment to apartment is not so easy. But it’s still more pleasant to sleep on something that’s truly yours, and most importantly, of good quality and quality.

It is better to cover up peeling walls and worn wallpaper as much as possible. If the owners do not allow you to drill into the walls, purchase a gallery mounting system. Paintings, posters, fabric panels with your favorite designs - it’s up to you to decide what to hang. Scary drill holes will be covered with thin metal profile right up to the ceiling. In the end, it will be easier to repair the holes when leaving; at a height, the flaws are not so visible.
In general, textiles are your savior. Start with the windows, change the curtains. Once, instead of spreading organza, I hung thick canvas on the windows, which artists stretch on a stretcher. Thanks to its structure, it created architectural folds, and the windows in this frame began to sparkle.

The impression of the kitchen can be changed by lowering the lamp lower above the table. Such a light source will show only the most beautiful and cozy thing in the room - a table with a beautiful tablecloth. Even if there is only one lamp and hangs in the center of the ceiling, this is easy to fix: replace the original pendant with a long wire and fix it in the right place on the ceiling so that the lamp itself is exactly in the center of the dining area.

Do the owners prohibit re-pasting the wallpaper? The most effective solution in such cases is to buy a lot of linen or cotton fabric and hang it on the walls. Firstly, you will hide everything that is unpleasant to your eye, secondly, it is easy to hang personal decor and photographs on the textiles, and thirdly, this will radically change the atmosphere of the room. You can fasten the material either with pins or by carefully nailing it to the upper plinth. Don't forget to vacuum when necessary.

Among the purchases for a rented apartment that you can take with you, I would recommend a screen. You can hide behind it something you don’t want to look at, but you can’t throw it away. You can also use it to store clothes that you don’t want to put away in your wardrobe yet or plan to wear tomorrow. The second item is a chest - an atmospheric object in which you can hide a lot of things.
An unnoticed but powerful part of our perception of space is aromas. Remember the feeling after fresh wet cleaning, when not only the eye is pleased by the absence of dust, but also the nose feels the pleasant light smell of the cleaning product. For us, it is automatically associated with cleanliness. It’s the same with the interior of an apartment: by choosing a scent that is pleasant to you personally, you can make your temporary place of stay much more familiar.

No - old photographs and paintings, yes - personal decor! I have a 15 cm copper Buddha head brought from Thailand. She helps me make every new place of residence my own, soulful one. This thing is a symbol. I highly recommend having at least one such object. Good luck with the move and settling in. Remember that home is not a place, but a feeling.

Text: Svetlana Volina
Illustration: Nastya Yarovaya

Repairs are easy to start, but difficult to stop. If you are not yet ready for large-scale transformations in your apartment, but you are tired of the usual environment and your soul requires something new, take advantage of several simple tips interior renovation services that will help you transform your home without breaking the bank.

1. Before changing anything in the environment, free up your field of activity. Walk around your apartment and take a critical look at your belongings, from small trinkets and clothes to large pieces of furniture. Are you sure you need them all? Perhaps some of them are outdated, have lost their appearance, and the time has come to part with them?

When you get rid of old and non-functional items, the apartment will be easier to breathe, and you will also have space to implement new ideas.

2. Change the curtains. Window decoration has big influence on the mood in the room, so you can transform the room by simply replacing the curtains. Depending on the texture of the fabrics, the choice of color and the “style” of the curtains, the room can be made more elegant, bright, energetic, or, conversely, created a relaxing atmosphere.

A highlight in window decoration can be unusual accessories for curtains, for example, tiebacks made in the shape of flowers or children's toys, pendants made of colored beads, hearts of homemade embroidered ribbons and even leather belts. The main thing is to maintain a sense of proportion and follow general style premises.



3. Textiles in general open up many opportunities for interior renovation. By changing the covers on the furniture, “changing” the sofa cushions, or throwing a new blanket on the bed, you can easily and quickly change the appearance of the room.


Handmade fans should pay special attention to sofa cushions. Rich patterns, decorative pillowcases made using the patchwork technique, cushions embroidered in oriental style, and so on - all this will help create new accents in the interior.

Replacement flooring is associated with great difficulties, but laying a bright rug on the floor in the living room or bedroom is not at all difficult. Like curtains or pillows, it will also help set the mood in the interior.


4. Lighting, as is known, has a significant impact on the perception of the interior. It is not necessary to change the main chandelier in the room (although such a change can also be useful), but you can add light by hanging sconces on the wall, install one or two table lamps or a large floor lamp, or accentuate individual elements, for example, highlight a shelf with memorable souvenirs.


5. Paintings, posters, wall panels, family photographs, as well as vases, figurines and other accessories will decorate the interior, create a bright accent in the design of the room and diversify the familiar environment. These may be new things, but sometimes it is enough to outweigh an existing painting or rearrange a vase so that they are again in the spotlight.



Interesting interior stickers will help you create a new image or simply add a humorous touch to everyday life.




6. Undoubtedly, rearranging the furniture will help you survive a small housewarming party. When familiar objects change their location, the effect of novelty is created. However, these changes, like any others, should be for the good, so it is important to think through the functional arrangement of furniture, carefully measure the room, draw up a clear plan and only then begin to implement it.

Effective way- repaint the walls. This will require some effort, but when minor scuffs and scratches disappear under a layer of paint, the room will take on a fresh, updated look. In addition, the impression of the interior will completely change: it’s as if you are in another house. As a last resort, “cosmetic procedures” can be limited to one wall, for example, by painting it in the color of your favorite carpet and creating new color accents.


A similar technique is also used with wallpaper. If you don’t want to re-paste wallpaper throughout the room, you can buy 1-2 rolls and paste them on one section of the wall. Just don’t forget: for the experiment to be a success, you need to choose a color and pattern that will be in harmony with other furnishings.

Finally, you can repaint the mirror frame or legs dining table and stools, decorate with decoupage or paint old chest of drawers, reupholster sofas and armchairs, replace handles on cabinet doors and much more. Let your imagination tell you what other changes are needed to create a cozy, memorable interior, and good taste will help you move in the right direction.