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1. *Easily* install curtains with NoNo Brackets, aka curtain rod brackets that fit onto your existing blinds so that you don't have to fool with drilling any holes and having to spackle them later or (!!!) get charged when you move out of your rental.
Promising review: "This bracket is awesome and was extremely easy to install. We were able to hang curtains over our vertical blinds in just a few minutes and didn't even need any tools. Great product!!!" —Amazon Customer
Get a set of two from Amazon for $19.95 (also available in brown).
2. Or if you're more than willing to drill some holes, put curtain rods 6–12 inches above the tops of your windows to make your ceilings feel taller.
Trust me, it won't look weird! Just remember to account for that extra needed length when buying curtains.
Get two curtain panels from Amazon for $29.99+ (available in two sizes and 10 curtain patterns).
3. Brighten an icky floor with a grout pen so you don't have to stare at the stained grout and imagine what it used to look like. Grout takes up a teeny bit of space but, as you can see from the pics, makes a huge impact!
Promising review: "We moved into our new home, and the shower had a really yellow grout. Cleaning didn’t do anything, and I saw this grout pen online. What a saver! Otherwise, I would have just hired someone to replace my shower. I used this grout pen, and my husband was so impressed :D The tip loses its shape fast, but just pull out the TIP AND FLIPPED IT OVER, and you’ll have a new tip." —jennifer
Get it from Amazon for $8.99.
4. Use a velvet slipcover to give your ragged old couch a complete new look. Plus, the slipcover comes with straps to keep it in place so you don't have to futz with it all the time. Now that your couch is in your apartment, you don't wanna fool with hauling it out, then a replacement.
Promising review: "I have never been so excited about a slipcover. Total transformation of our couch and love seat. I was worried about it not working on our leather couch, but it stays on really well due to the straps and the separate cushion covers. LOVE." —Brian/Liz
Get it from Amazon for $42.49+ (available in five sizes and 13 colors).
5. And consider a stretchy arm chair slipcover to help transform that perfectly fine (but hideous) chair you found on Facebook Marketplace for a song.
Promising review: "Before and after putting it on. I couldn’t be happier. This chair has been through and lot and I just wasn’t ready to pry with it. The cover was easy to put in and so soft." —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $23.99 (available in 21 solid colors).
6. Or perhaps you could use some washable dining chair slipcovers so you can make actual use of that dining set your aunt is offering up for free but isn't quite your style. Reviewers say they're super easy to use and work on various sized chairs.
Promising review: "These arrived yesterday and they was so easy for me to put on. Only took about 10 minutes for six chairs. From nasty white chairs to a nice gray and white cover. I LOVE THESE SO MUCH THAT I WILL BIY MORE TO CHANGE OUT MY COLORS FOR CHRISTMAS TIME AND ALL HOLIDAYS. Well worth the price we payed. I’m in love with my new chairs now. IT WAS MY HUSBANDS IDEA FOR ME TO BUY MORE. ❤️" —lisa browning
Get six from Amazon for $34.99+ (available in 35 solid colors and prints).
7. Kick the blinds to the curb and get some privacy without the cord (it can be dangerous for kids and pets!) by applying a window film that'll still let in SO much light. I did this to my bathroom window and congratulate myself for it every day.
Promising review: "I have a weird skinny window in my house where no normal window covering works. People walking on our community trail can see up into our upstairs bathroom when the light is on and it's dark outside. Not a good plan at all. So I used this window film and cut different-sized circles and placed them on this window to interrupt the view into the house. Worked perfectly! Very easy to use." —Marsgard
8. Use a bottle of leather conditioner to revive your leather couch that just so happens to fit perfectly in your oddly shaped living room. Welcome to your next project while you catch up on the latest ep of your fave true-crime podcast!
Reviewers note that using this may darken the leather, so keep that in mind!
Promising review: "Excellent product! So happy I tried it! I wore kitchen gloves and smoothed a thin layer of the product all over the couch, instead using of the cloth. Went way faster and I didn’t waste product soaked up by the cloth." —Kristie
Get it from Amazon for $16.99.
9. Swap out one of those weird long pillows (sorry!) for a ~streamlined~ door draft stopper to keep gusts from coming in under the door. It'll just look like a natural part of your door so other decor design choices (like that cute welcome mat) can shine!
Promising review: "So easy to set up! All you do is peel tape and adhere to a CLEAN and DRY door. Also looks great, I don't even notice it. I had a huge gap under my door. I could smell and hear everything from the hallway. Smells, drafts, and sound all are less of an issue now." —Brit B.
Get it from Amazon for $9.99 (available in four colors).
10. Buy a straight-back couch or loveseat so you won't lose major floor space to a deep seating option.
Get it from Amazon for $402+ (available in six colors and also as a loveseat).
And be sure check out our guide on the best places to buy a sofa online.
11. Or just place a few upholstered chairs for cushy seating in place of a huge couch in case you're scared one would swamp your space.
Promising review: "Oh, she’s cute alright. Really great piece, well made, super comfy, and love that it’s designed for small spaces. The ottoman tucks away perfectly! I’m in love with it more than I thought I would be. One thing to note is don’t lean super forward...the chair isn’t very heavy to begin with so if you lean too far forward, the chair will tip forward with you. Other than that, it’s perfect!" —Rosanne Chan
Get it from Amazon for $277.56.
12. And think UP and OPEN for big items like a bookshelf to lessen the cramped feel of a small space.
Get it from Amazon for $129.99+ (available in several finishes)
13. Upgrade your storage ottoman from the plain box you bought for your dorm with a fancier version that'll hold junk you don't want people to see while giving them something to marvel at on the outside.
Get it from Amazon for $94.86+ (available in nine colors).
14. Or better yet, invest in a Frankenottoman with built-in trays you can also use as a coffee table!
Space is key and if you have the tops turned over onto their tray sides before someone comes into your apartment, they won't be able to see all the crap you've stuffed inside the ottoman!
Get it from Amazon for $92.14+ (available in four colors).
15. String up some (truly easy) under-cabinet lights to bring a modern touch to any outdated cabinets that you wish you could replace. This'll instantly make your kitchen look *so* expensive.
Promising review: "I had my doubts but I thought, what the heck, for the price I'd give them a try. I am in real estate and known as a lighting snob. The first thing I look at in a kitchen if there is under cabinet lighting. These are so nice (it helps if you have a lip at the bottom of your cabinets) They are a true white, very bright, and I was lucky they were just the length I needed. I just ordered a set and had them shipped to my mom's as her halogen transformer which is buried in a wall, fried and I drives me nuts that the workspace on the counter is dark. I can't wait until I make the 250-mile drive to install them. I may buy more just to use at our listings!" —pauly
Get a 10' strand with 60 lights from Amazon for $20.98.
16. If you pine for stainless-steel appliances, you can cop the look with some stainless-steel-effect contact paper to get you the modern look of fresh appliances for chump change. OK this takes a little more work, but look at that payoff!
17. Borrow a little air space above your go-to outlet with an outlet shelf *just* large enough for your electric toothbrush. Here's to a tidier sink!
FYI, it installs like a regular outlet cover. Of course except with the wonderful shelf. Can also be installed so the shelf is below the outlet.
Promising review: "I absolutely love this thing! I have much less clutter on my sink thanks to this. If there's anyone not sure if it will fit due to an object, all you need is 1.25 inches of space between the edge of your existing outlet plate and the piece of furniture. I have a GFCI with a standard wall plate." —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $10.99 (available in four colors).
18. Make your kitchen sink's corner work for its dinner with a corner sponge organizer — it'll fit a surprising amount of dishwashing essentials in such a tiny space instead of them cluttering up your cleaning zone.
This is also a better option than an organizer that hangs over your faucet because the weight of those can mess with your water flow!
Promising review: "This fits our sink perfectly! It's not too big and holds a sponge and two bottles of soap. We have a standard apartment sink and it fits perfectly, it also holds very well. We have it suctioned on the sink not the counter." —Erin Johnson
Get it from Amazon for $17.99.
19. Cover up dings and discoloration on door frames and molding with some wood scratch cover so everything will blend in like normal. Also, it requires no sanding or refinishing! Cue to you on the prowl for more wood surfaces you can fix up.
Promising review: "I can't believe how well Old English works! I recently purchased a home where a dog previously lived and had horribly scratched the woodwork. I thought I may have to sand and refinish the woodwork around two doors. Old English saved me a lot of work! " —Behold Behold!
Get a three-pack from Amazon for $19.09.
20. Use wood polish and conditioner that'll revive all sorts of wood surfaces and furniture in your home with some patient rubbing. Reviewers have used them to zhuzh up front doors, kitchen cabinets, wood floors, wood furniture, and just about any other wood surface.
Enhances the natural beauty and depth of grain on finished *and* unfinished wood. For use on antiques, dining tables, kitchen cabinets, wood doors and trim, etc.
Promising review: "Very impressed so far. Just tried this stuff on one of our kitchen cabinets and it really did a nice job. The cabinets are 15-year-old cherry-stained hard work cabinets (oak, maybe?) and are scratched deeply in certain parts from the previous owner's dogs. 20 minutes after applying this product and wiping it off, I can't complain at all about the results. It looks great in the picture, and even better in real life where you are not focusing on staring at imperfections. In addition to helping tremendously with the blemishes, it also leaves a nice glossy shine on the cabinets, making them look clean and fresh (not over the top glossy and fake). For the minimal price, I can't complain at all. Finally, I used about a 1/3 of an ounce to do the 36" double base cabinets and the 36" wide drawer, so I believe the 16-oz bottle will last quite a while." —Patrick Gallagher
Get it from Amazon for $9.98.
21. Tuck stray cords outta the way with cable clip organizers because you need your phone charger by your bed but you don't have to trip over it or make it take center stage.
Promising review: "It was always a pain to reach down the side of my bed to reach my chargers, not to mention the wad of cables I’d have to sift through just to charge my phone. I finally searched for a solution and came across these. They’re great! They’re really easy to stick on and they stay in place. I haven’t had an issue of them falling off. Whenever I need to charge a device they’re right next to me, easy to reach and untangled. I definitely recommend!" —Nelis Perez
Get a six-pack from Amazon for $6.97.
22. Tidy up a modem-y mess by hiding it behind a bookish disguise as a decorative touch that's more useful than anyone could expect. You have no say where your modem hooks up, but you *do* have say about how you'll disguise it.
23. Distract from an unsightly lighting chain or cord you didn't pick out with an electrical cord cover that'll look like it's just part of the decor.
Promising review: "Easy to use, matches my wall color perfectly. Love the way it looks and how it hides my cords." —Devron Wall
Get it from Amazon for $14.95+ (available in 27 colors).
24. Put down a luxe-looking runner in a hall or in front of your closets to help create a sense of *fawn-cy* space without hurting your budget. I own this very runner and love it every single day that I walk on it!
Seriously though, the folks who live below you will thank you for the extra cushioning for foot falls!
Get it from Amazon for $22.95+ (available in 10 color combos and a variety of sizes).
25. Mask the storage horror show underneath your bed with a sharp bed skirt to coordinate with your bedding.
Even the minimalists should get on board with this. Just go for one with clean lines like this one! I went a few years without one and then was floored by the difference it made in hiding all the stuff I shove under my bed. And I store A LOT of stuff under my bed!
Promising review: "I could not get it to fit right at first for some reason. Probably because I was having a bad week and wanted something to be angry about. When I was in a better state of mind I got it and laughed at how simple it was. Fits well and covers the mess I am hiding now that I went up to a king." —Dennis E. Marquardt
Get it from Amazon for $9.99+ (12 colors, sizes twin–king).
26. Recover ugly throw pillows with cute velvet shams that'll cost less than a horde of brand-new cushions would.
Also, if you can't find an exact measurement match for your throw pillows, you can go down a couple of inches: The pillows will just look overstuffed, like you spent a couple hundos on them.
Get the two-pack from Amazon for $12.99 (available in 33 colors and 12 sizes).
27. Mount a floating bookshelf as a clever excuse to display your to-read pile and get around any weird room layouts or lack of storage space.
Promising review: "These are so much fun! We ordered the small size, which fits standard hardback books (approximately 5–7 hardbacks in my experience). They're a great way to add some extra storage to our very small home, and we've placed them in our hallway so people ask us about them all the time. I'd highly recommend!" —LaBuenaVidaMere
Get a set of three from Amazon for $29.98 (available in two finishes and two sizes).
28. Invest in a faux houseplant you can just admire without having to worry about actually taking care of it. Let's concentrate on your water intake.
Promising review: "Awesome quality! Less expensive than purchasing in store. Perfect height for what I needed. I purchased the basket from Amazon as, well. Everyone compliments this plant when they come over!" —Ashley McTaggart
Get it from Amazon for $26.90+ (available in four sizes).
29. Clear up some counter space and put your farmer's market haul on display with a charming fruit hammock.
macraYAYmacrame is an Indianapolis, Indiana-based shop that makes a variety of cool macrame accessories.
Promising review: "Beautiful and functional! This is the perfect addition to our beachy kitchen. We spray painted the hooks matte black to match our other hardware. It’s so cute!" —Melissa Wilkes
Get it from macraYAYmacrame on Etsy for $33.
30. Embrace the power of a large-scale mirror! It'll bounce light from your windows around your space and make it feel more open because, well, installing a new window ain't happening.
31. Opt for a bistro table instead of a regular-size pedestal table for a dining room fixture in a smaller footprint.
32. Make better use of space with a couch clip-on table for that side where there's zero space to squeeze in a side table for your beverages and the remote. Shoutout to weird room layouts!
Get it from Amazon for $19.99.
33. Put in a fresh new set of switch plates that'll help 'em blend into those (hopefully!) freshly painted walls, even if the landlord painted the switch plates to match (YOU CAN STILL TELL). Can you screw in a screw? Then you can handle this transformative swap.
And if you're especially petty, you can copy my move of saving said switch plates with a piece of marked duct tape so you know where you put 'em when you leave. This was one of the first things I did in my current apartment, thus rendering the switch plates barely noticeable — which is how I like them!
Get a 10-pack of plates for plugged outlets for $10.19 and a variety of switch plates from Amazon.
34. And consider an electrical outlet cover with a power strip so you can take full advantage of your square footage in your living room and scoot your couch flush with the wall. Just a few inches can make a big difference!
Promising review: "I have an outlet outlet above our mantel that’s meant for a wall-mounted TV. We have a large painting covering it. We wanted to use the plug to power two Wi-Fi speakers on the long mantle. The thinness of the plug is perfect behind the painting. The power strip is hidden by a mantle clock. So, we have our two speakers to either side and no visible wires. This product may not work for every application, but for us, it’s 10 stars." —Amazon since '97
Get it from Amazon for $29.95.
35. Stick on a USB-powered LED light strip to help improve your TV-watching experience by bringing in a bit of ambient light to your personal theater.
36. Employ a rust stain-removing gel to remove rusty stains and discolorations from the previous tenant that bleach hasn't cut through just yet. It's time to feel like you're ACTUALLY clean after a shower.
Promising review: "I. AM. Shook! The previous tenant kept this apartment NASTY. I moved in the day he moved out and was scrubbing this nasty drain for months to no avail. I let this sit for an hour and came back just to peek and wow. The difference is crazy. Now I feel better about taking baths in my own home. Amazing. 9/10 because the instructions says rub lightly. I tried that way first and almost thought it was a dub (Meaning it wouldn’t work lol) But it definitely worked after letting it sit." —Julia R.
Get it from Amazon for $16.10.
37. Get luxe with a faux-sheepskin rug you can throw on your ugliest arm chair and turn into your throne where you'll wield the most important of decisions, like which series to binge-watch this weekend.
38. Treat yourself to a nice lil' sticker that'll double as an affirmation on your bathroom mirror for those days when you're feeling pretty meh.
39. Add a bundle of fresh eucalyptus to your shower to provide some luxe-feeling aromatherapy when it teams up with your shower steam. Also it just LOOKS nice.
It's put together and sold by Eucalyptus Blooms, a small woman-owned shop based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Promising review: "Exceeded my expectations!!! I received my bundle quickly and it was packaged well. Very fragrant and I appreciated the hook that was included with the bundle to hang it right in my shower. I am definitely enjoying the aroma of eucalyptus as I shower." —Mcjunkinst
Get it from Eucalyptus Blooms for $13.49+ (available in three sizes).
40. Get to know this marble lookalike of self-adhesive film because a bath remodel is not in the stars but you can fake a new countertop on the cheap. All ya' need is this and a bit of patience.
Promising review: "I used this adhesive film to turn two cheap IKEA tables into less cheap looking IKEA tables because I'm not made of money, but I would like others to believe I am. Super simple to use and you get a ton of it for the price. I was really pleased overall. The pattern actually looks like marble, not a weird pixel-y repetitive pattern so that's great as well. Also it was delivered same day which was miraculous as my DIY initiative tends to fade approximately 48 hours after I discover a project I want to do." —Spencer House
Get it from Amazon for $14.30.
Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.