Moving into an assisted living apartment gives you the best of both worlds — the chance to enjoy all the comforts of home without the hassle of doing maintenance and making costly repairs. Once you move in, it's a good idea to update the decor to match your personality and sense of style. Here are 10 ways to make your mark without making permanent changes.
Curtains and pillows aren't the only decorative items you can make out of fabric. If you want to make your mark on a new apartment without leaving permanent changes behind, think outside the box. Strategically draped fabric can serve as a colorful room divider, or you can turn a piece of fabric into a work of art by wrapping it around canvas. You can even turn your living space into an art gallery by framing fabric scraps and hanging them with no-damage adhesive strips.
Don't underestimate the power of putting out a fresh bouquet of inexpensive flowers every week. Carnations, daisies and freesia will brighten up any room without breaking the bank. If you have allergies, try a potted succulent instead.
You may not be able to paint or remodel an entire room, but you can update drawer pulls, light fixtures, cabinet pulls, shower heads and other fixtures to make your apartment match your personal tastes. Swap outdated drawer pulls for something made of chrome, replace a domed light fixture with a mini chandelier or install a rainfall shower head to turn your daily shower into a spa experience. Just remember to put the original fixtures in a safe place so you can replace them when needed.
Temporary wallpaper is a convenient option for anyone who wants to change the color of a wall without painting it or hanging up traditional wallpaper. Instead of doing the painstaking work of pasting the wallpaper to the surface, all you'll have to do is peel off the backing and stick it to the wall. Temporary wallpaper peels off easily when you're ready to move out, eliminating the need to worry about damaging the walls in your apartment. To make your living space more modern, use temporary wallpaper to create an accent wall. Since you'll only be covering a small section of the wall, feel free to choose a bold color or unusual pattern.
Fort Collins is known for its vibrant arts scene. Bring some local flavor into your assisted living apartment by displaying paintings, sculptures and photographs made by local artists. If you can't hang paintings on the walls, try displaying one on an easel. Use your coffee table, end tables, counters and other surfaces to display sculptures and other small objects.
If you need more space to display your treasures, turn your kitchen cabinets into display cases by removing the doors. To make the cabinets more attractive, attach a piece of fabric to the back of each one. You can do every cabinet in the same color or mix things up by incorporating multiple colors into your decorating scheme. When the display area is ready, decorate it with figurines, books or other collectibles.
If one of your rooms is painted a color that doesn't appeal to you, try using large pieces of furniture to cover as much of the walls as you can. A strategically placed entertainment center or shelving unit can cover a lot of space, hiding the unappealing color and giving you more room to store your belongings.
Washi type comes in a variety of colors and patterns, making it extremely versatile. You can use this type of tape to add an accent pattern to one of your walls, cover up scratches in baseboards or make cabinet doors and drawer fronts more attractive. If you want to move, the tape peels right off without leaving any damage behind.
Just because you can't rip out the flooring doesn't mean you have to live with floors you don't like. If one of the carpets doesn't match the rest of your furniture, shop for an area rug large enough to cover it up. Area rugs are also ideal for covering up tile, linoleum and vinyl that have seen better days. Just remember to secure each rug so it doesn't create a tripping hazard for you and your guests.
Area rugs make sense in living rooms, bedrooms and dens, but they're not a great fit for bathrooms and kitchens. In these rooms, you need a surface that's easy to clean. If you don't like the flooring in your bathroom, cover it with removable flooring tiles. These tiles stick to the existing floor and then peel away when you're ready to move, making it easy to get the flooring you want without causing any damage. Removable flooring tiles are also easy to clean, making them ideal for bathrooms and kitchens.
Remember to talk with the assisted living staff before you make some of these changes, such as adding removable flooring tiles, to make sure this is allowed. And don't be shy about reaching out to loved ones or staff for help if you want to move a heavy piece of furniture or tackle some other larger task.
