easy things to do to spruce up an old house or apartment

We live in an OLD apartment. It was built in the 1920's. So many of our friends also live in these old houses. The hubs found this apartment for us, before we got married. I never even saw it until we moved in! I moved 2,000 miles east to be with the hubs. He did a great job, even though at first I was not that impressed. It was pretty nasty when we moved in. I guess the old tenant died of a heart attack (they tell us it didn't happen here...eek!). We moved in a week before all of our stuff got here, while it crossed the U.S. in our ABF truck. After having lived here for over 2 1/2 years, we have definitely done a few little things here & there that really make our house a home.

Here are some simple things you can do. You don't need to do them all in one day, but over time.

1. Clean. I mean with some elbow grease!- Everything makes a huge difference when it is sparkling. This is an obvious first step.

2. Order.- Organize your house! We're talking about furniture people. In these old houses, mine especially, the floor plans are way retarded. We moved in & put everything just where we thought was good. Boy, were we wrong. After a year we thought we'd change things up. We moved furniture around, a million times & found the perfect fit to make the rooms the most inviting and open. Make changes until you get everything in the perfect order.

3. Wall decor. Picture frames, paintings, mirrors, signs, wreaths, anything.- Hang things on your walls! Take advantage of all that blank space. I've been in a lot of houses where there is really not much on the bare white walls. It is such an empty, boring feeling. If your walls are painted, less wall decor is okay. Remember rooms need COLOR! A mirror will definitely make a smaller room feel bigger too.

4. Paint! Paint! Paint!-If your landlord will let you. This is one of my biggest regrets. I never even thought to paint until we were expecting our baby. I wish I would have painted every room. It truly makes all the difference! And do it early, so you can enjoy it longer.

5. Take something old & make it look new.- Slap some new paint on an old piece of furniture. Change the color of your coffee table. Spray paint all of the picture frames in your house (or just one room) to white or black (or whatever color you prefer). You'll be surprised at the big difference this little change will make, especially if you have painted walls.

6. Changing fixtures.-This one can get pricey, but it doesn't have to and it will really make all the difference. Change the shower head in your bathroom, we did for like 10 bucks & we lOVE it! If you want to put a little more money into it change some of your light fixtures or towel racks when you move in, so you can enjoy it longer. Be sure to save the old ones in the basement or somewhere so you can put them back & take your new ones with you when you leave.

7. Decorative window treatments.-This too can get pricey, but again, it doesn't have to! Put up window treatments other than just boring old blinds! Thankfully our house didn't have blinds when we moved in, because if it did chances are good the hubs would say "forget cute curtains, just leave the (ugly) blinds." Don't get me wrong, I like blinds. I love the nice wooden ones, but the cheap plastic ones are not my favorite, especially when you can do so much more for the same price or less! It's all about bargain shopping, because I know curtains can get expensive. Look at places like TJ Max or the clearance wracks at Target. The second best option is to make some! I know some people don't have a machine or don't know how to, but learn how to, it's well worth your time. I have 16 different window treatments hanging in my house that total about $120 dollars. That is really not bad for that many.

Love this color scheme. I personally am not a big fan of the floral curtains, but I think this room works, because the furniture are solids. This room isn't too busy, as far as patterns go, like a lot I'm starting to see these days.

8. Add dimension to a room.-Mix things up in a room, especially on the walls. Picture frames are great! But, adding a shelf, sconces, a clock, a wreath or whatever that sticks out from the wall a little bit will help fill a room and add variety.

9. Rugs-If you have all hardwood floors, like me, or just some ugly-not-so-comfy carpet, get a rug or two. Again, these can be pricey too, but buying them at discount stores will save you money. And don't forget, these aren't things you need to have all in one day. We have tan carpet that we put over our hardwood floor in our living room to fill most of the room and on top, in the center of the room we placed a great rug that has a bunch of different colors that really ties our room together. Rugs are fun so don't be afraid to get a fun or spunky pattern, just focus on the colors of the rug.
We have this same style of rug under our table. It keeps the room looking clean & crisp. It's great, but the downfall is it can stain easily.

This one is HUGE! I just love how elegant this room looks.

I especially love shaggy rugs! They are so soft & go great in any room.
10. Floral & Greenery.-Add some fake flowers, greenery, garland or whatever to add a little to a room. Micheal's is a great place to find this stuff. They have quality flowers and are reasonably priced. Not to mention, you can always find great coupons. A little TIP: You can use JoAnn's coupons at Micheals & vice versa, except for on fabric at JoAnn's. Throw the flowers on a shelf, in a vase, in a jar or an old can, or on a wreath. It really gives the room something extra.

Adding little things here & there to a room will really give it that extra touch!