Man shares tips on how to turn a messy house into a cozy place

The protagonist of our article today rented an apartment that was cheap but in need of a nice renovation. With the permission of the owner of the property, the tenant could make the changes he wanted and throw away any piece of furniture, except the refrigerator. To follow the process and monitor expenses, the renter created a Telegram channel in order to share the step-by-step process for a cozy home. It took him about two months and spent approximately R$1,000, and even got some objects for free.

We, from awesome.club, we were fascinated with the transformation of the apartment and brought the report of everything he did to succeed in this “undertake”. We hope you can take advantage of some of the tips for remodeling your home when you need it.

The entrance hall was covered with adhesive wallpaper. The plan was to paint the site a uniform color. Some pieces of the paper were loose, so I decided to carefully cut them off. However, the adhesive ended up peeling off, so I had to remove all the coating. Then, I came across the wall all cracked, so I applied plaster to smooth it out. Finally, I painted one part gray-brown and the other part light gray. Thus, I managed to disguise a small pantry that was on the left.

As a sideboard, I used a record player that was already in the apartment. Afterwards, I bought a simple mirror and got a vase with dried flowers as a gift from my followers.

I put all the old furniture up for donation. Almost all small items found their owners in a short time. Some people even insisted on paying me, so I managed to scrape together around R$500 for repairs. It took me a few weeks to get rid of the large objects, until I hired a team of porters for R$250 to take the furniture to a thrift store. Also, I had almost no need to level the walls, as there were three to five layers of wallpaper glued directly to the concrete. But I admit that removing them was not easy at all, I had to pull them off with a lot of force. The curious thing is that, underneath, there were newspapers launched in 1978. The next step was to prepare the walls: with the help of paint rollers and spatulas, I applied the primer and spatula to fill in the deep cracks and level the surfaces. Lastly, I pasted a wallpaper with a slight relief painted in light gray and highlighted the fourth wall with a paper with a tropical print. I had to adjust this last one according to the measurements, so I ended up cutting about 60 cm from each strip of it.

I installed some shelves and a coat rack in place of a built-in wardrobe. That corner got darker and deeper, which made the room feel more spacious.

The bathroom walls were covered with adhesive wallpaper, and its pattern made the space visibly smaller. So I decided to paint them white in two coats. I gave special focus to the central wall and painted it like the entrance hall, in a dark color. I paid R$250 for a plumber to install a new toilet. Now, he is no longer glued to the wall as he was before.

The tiles in the bathroom were stained with cement that wouldn’t come off. We managed to get it out with a simple cement remover. We let the product work and, after two hours with trowels and brushes in hand, we managed to leave the floor looking presentable.

Afterwards, I decided to renovate the part of the wall on top of the tiles. The underside of the siding was painted over with a furniture polish that wouldn’t wash off, so I used a stain remover. The result exceeded all expectations: the paint started to peel right after I used the product. I had to apply it four times with a solvent. On the first try, the varnish absorbed the remover and felt like rubber. Soon, I discovered a layer of enamel underneath and another layer of original paint. However, he managed to level the wall and paint it the desired color.

I put a sink, a stove, a washing machine and the owner’s fridge next to each other. The old cabinet with sink didn’t fit because it was too wide, so I bought a new one for R$130. I also bought a worktop to cover the top of the washing machine. Also, I painted one wall a light gray and the other a dark color. The tiles were a little crooked, but they gave the kitchen a certain charm. Finally, I hung some cupboards with shelves and added lighting underneath.

Assembling the cabinet with sink was quite a job. It was the most rotten thing I’ve ever seen. The flex couplings were thin iron tubes that burst soon after they were installed. I had to change them and put in a new faucet.

Finally, I paid BRL 300 for the countertop, paint, a curtain and an adapter to connect the washing machine drain hose to the sewer pipe. The result exceeded my expectations again. I even managed to get all the dirt out of the fridge, which I was the only item forbidden to throw away, and leave it very white.

What did you think of the transformation of the apartment? In your opinion, was the effort worth it or should the rent always be renovated at the owner’s expense? Comment!