(Zandy Mangold)
HOLD FAST: IKEA is great for finding affordable yet stylish storage options, like this PAX system, starting at $170.
IN VOGUE: Shah (left) used Home Depot shelving to create a dedicated space for shoes and accessories; Novogratz updated a boring white wall with wallpaper made using models’ headshots. (Matthew Williams)
FOR SPECIAL SECTION — HOME STYLE — RENTAL RENOVATION — CREDIT: IKEA — (
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New York City is home to more than 8 million people — and nearly 70 percent are renters. For most city dwellers, renting is a way of life. Therein lies the conundrum: How can you personalize your pad without spending lots of money or upsetting your landlord?
Top design experts Vern Yip (of HGTV’s “Urban Oasis”), Stephen Fanuka (of DIY Network’s new “Million Dollar Contractor” and the soon-to-be-published book “What’s a Homeowner to Do?”) and Bob Novogratz (of HGTV’s “Home by Novogratz”) are here to offer renovation tips that will make your place really feel like home — even if you don’t own it.
And we checked in with a real-life New York renter: stylist, fashion designer and blogger (ashahslife.com) Nausheen Shah, who just moved to a petite West Village pad. Using a few clever design tricks, Shah transformed her 425-square-foot studio space into what she calls “my own little French chateau.”
PAINT AND MIRRORS
Paint is probably the single biggest way to alter the look of your abode, but Fanuka suggests an easy (and cheap) way to make an impact. “Don’t paint all the walls. Pick one wall, choose a color you love and highlight that wall. Be bold. [But] make sense of the color relating to what’s in the room.”
Shah did exactly that in her studio — keeping the walls neutral except for one, for which she chose a dramatic dark gray. “I paid the super $400 before I moved in to paint the walls white [they were cream] and one gray. Yes, I’ll have to pay him again to repaint when I leave, but I’m very particular.”
Another good idea for small New York apartments is to use mirrors: Yip swears by them since “mirrors have the ability to expand a space and bounce light.”
But Yip doesn’t hang them on walls. Instead, he takes advantage of the empty, generally unused surface of a door, especially a hall closet door. “You can buy adhesive mirror tiles, or have a mirror custom cut for you — it’s not expensive — then attach it to the door using mastic.”
WINDOW DRESSING
Window treatments add color and texture to a boring white room, and best of all, “You can take them with you when you leave,” Novogratz says. “Plus, you can install them cheaply. I look for vintage fabric for drapes.”
Shah opted for a double curtain (look for a kit with two rods) to change up her living area without changing her curtains.
“White linen curtains are on the inside, and heavier, dark-gray ones are on the outside,” Shah says. “The gray gives it warmth, and I pull them in when it’s winter. And in summer, I can pull them back and just use the white.”
KITCHEN AND BATHROOM FIXES
Short of replacing a sink or appliances, how can you give a face-lift to your kitchen or bathroom? For a quick update, Novogratz suggests swapping out the hardware on kitchen and bath cabinets with a more modern style and lining the cabinets with bright paper.
For a more significant improvement, consider changing the plumbing fixtures. “Think about how many times a day you deal with faucets,” Yip says. “For a couple hundred dollars and in an hour or less, you can swap out a showerhead or faucet and it will make a monumental difference.” Your super might be willing to do it, or since it’s a small, relatively easy job, hire a plumber.
Another big gripe is grout: “People disregard the importance of clean grout lines,” Fanuka says. And it’s not just aesthetics. “Over time, grout falls out between the tiles or it dissipates. By replacing your grout, you will avoid any liabilities of your water getting down to your neighbors below and you will have a cleaner-looking bath” — all for less than $30.
STORAGE
Just about every New York City renter has lamented the lack of closet and storage space. While it might be tempting to hire someone to customize your closet, Yip advises against it.
“It’s easy to design your own closet with systems like elfa at the Container Store,” he says. “The drawers and shelves are easy to put together, and they are easy to take apart. And since it’s made up of standard components, not customized ones, it can go to your next rental.”
Says Novogratz: “We’ve done high-end storage, but I really like the storage systems at IKEA, too.”
In Shah’s apartment, two actual closets hold her clothes and coats, but she needed room for all her shoes and accessories. So, she took advantage of a small space off the kitchen and created what she calls her “styling closet.”
Shah explains, “I installed shelves from Home Depot and added a curtain to section the area off from the kitchen. I didn’t want to be cooking right next to my Louboutins.” She estimates she spent less than $500 for the shelves, supports, curtains and curtain track.
LIGHTING
Of all the things to overhaul in your apartment, our experts are in agreement: Change the lighting.
Install dimmers and replace that standard ugly ceiling fixture with a pendant light. Novogratz recommends a colorful Tom Dixon pendant, which can run around $500, though you can find similar styles at IKEA for around $30. “You don’t need to be an electrician to change a light fixture,” he says.
Shah splurged on a glamorous black chandelier she found on the Bowery (she paid $700) and a medallion plate for $120. With the help of a friend, she installed the light, being careful to turn off the circuit-breakers first and correctly connect the wires.
But if you don’t feel comfortable hard-wiring a light fixture, don’t fret. Yip suggests putting a hook in the ceiling, then hanging a chandelier-style light and running the cord over to the wall, where you can simply plug it into an existing outlet. “This also works when there’s no junction box, or if the box isn’t where you want it to be,” he says.
As for dimmers, Fanuka notes that by “dimming that overhead light, you can create different moods, enhancing the ambiance of the room.” And they cost as little as $10.
Again, if you aren’t handy, Yip suggests hiring an electrician to put dimmers on all the switches. “It’s worth it,” he says, “then you don’t need lamps, which take up precious space.”