Apartment Makeover Before & After
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I recently gave one of my rental apartments a makeover to make it habitable for a new tenant. My long-time tenant moved out and the massive job of cleaning and “renovating” it began. We did repairs due to water damage and uncleanliness, and general “wear and tear”, as well as minor updates and paint. You may be faced with a massive job like this and looking for some inspiration. If so, read on.
Apartment Entrance Hall Makeover...
The first thing one noticed when entering the apartment was the smell. I’m not sure what exactly caused the odor – dog urine or fly feces (plus something else?) – probably all. It took a long time to eradicate the foul smell with cleaning of all walls, trim, floors, heat & cold air vents and light fixtures. And of course, painting.
We decided to tidy the vent area by the front door by enclosing the ducts in a little wall, making a little shelf in the process. The light fixture was changed out for a more modern and easier to clean one too.
The stairs were previously blocked off at the top, so they went nowhere.
Doing repairs and cleaning before painting...
Unfortunately, my previous tenant had a very hard time keeping up with cleaning. That meant that some things that were beyond cleaning had to be replaced. (aka. The toilet that would not come clean despite numerous attempts!)
There had also been a problem with mice chewing on a door and some trim. The occasional mouse coming in when the weather gets colder may be normal, especially in older homes, but if a place is kept clean there will not be an infestation. In the four years I lived in this apartment I only ever saw one mouse.
Water damage - Before repairs...
For whatever reason, sometimes my tenants don’t like to tell me when things get damaged or broken. Water leaks are the worst because they cause the most damage.
Ceiling repair in 2nd bedroom/office begins...
Ceilings - After repairs & painting...
In the 2nd bedroom/office the ceiling was redone with drywall. It was made as level as possible first with shims in the strapping and was raised to its original height. The top of the wall was finished off with plain trim and painted white like the ceiling to give the illusion of crown molding.
The door to the kitchen had been opening the wrong way, so we changed it around. It was also brought to my attention that the window latch was broken so I got that fixed too. Finally, the screen was washed and re-installed.
The stains on the kitchen ceiling were covered with several coats of Cover Stain by Zinsser and then completely repainted with two coats of ceiling paint,
Flooring Before...
All of the flooring was showing a little worse for wear. The hardwood flooring had already been sanded as much as it could be the last time it was refinished. The kitchen, hallway and bathroom peel and stick tiles were coming loose and showing wear. Even the laminate in the master bedroom was separating in places and damaged in spots.
Flooring After Makeover...
I decided to replace all the flooring with luxury vinyl planks that resembled wood. Having one flooring throughout makes the space appear larger and the vinyl planks are waterproof and easy to clean. Some spots on the hardwood flooring required leveling first.
Apartment Living - room Makeover - Before & After...
The very worn living-room floor was covered with the new vinyl plank flooring. Cleaning, and paint on walls and trim made it like new again.
Apartment Kitchen - Before...
I already mentioned the stains on the ceiling and the worn-out tiles on the floor. Unfortunately, the worst was the filthy cabinets and drawers. The sink cabinet doors were the worst for water stains and were warped. I thought I might have had to replace them again, but my contractor was able to “fix” them. I also considered painting them white. Before I went to all the trouble of doing that, I attempted to stain the sink cabinet doors. They actually turned out okay, so I decided to just re-stain them all and finish with a satin polyurethane. Some of the lower cabinets and drawers were lined with a grey & white chevron liner too.
Unfortunately, the over the range microwave and fan weren’t working and the stove was burnt and filthy. I was able to get a new stainless-steel microwave for over the stove and a good used stainless-steel stove. The fridge wasn’t that old and still worked perfectly. It just needed a good cleaning.
Apartment Master Bedroom Makeover...
The master bedroom was in the best shape of all the rooms. It just needed a good cleaning, painting and the flooring changed out. We did put new sub-flooring down though. I decided to change the electric baseboard heater and thermostat too for a more efficient one. The light in the closet also had to be re-tightened.
Bathroom Before Makeover...
In the original bathroom there was a fake tile paneling on the walls. I had previously painted white over the dated pink flower “tiles”. As I already mentioned, I couldn’t get the toilet clean, so I had to replace it. The cabinets and vanity sink were not in great shape either. My plan to redo this room changed a few times. I had another little vanity & sink & medicine cabinet that I was going to use. Then I discovered that the sink wouldn’t fit the vanity. I also had a pedestal sink that might have worked, but I couldn’t find any cabinets to replace the old ones and thought there should be more storage.
After the paneling and old medicine cabinet were removed the drywall had to be fixed. I found a good buy on a new vanity and sink that had more storage than the last one. The ancient ceiling fan was replaced with a newer one and I got a new vanity light with all the bathroom accessories. Finally, I also realized that the little medicine cabinet I had was too small and it needed a bigger mirror.
I found the perfect sized mirror at the Salvation Army. The electric baseboard heater was replaced with a smaller, more efficient one and the thermostat was also replaced.
Apartment Makeover completed...
Here are some of the After pictures.
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