It's no surprise most renters don't want to spend extra money upgrading rental apartments that they will eventually move from.

Most apartments are repainted or offered to be repainted upon signing a new lease. Renters will live with so so kitchen and bath fixtures, tiles and cabinetry and it's rare you'll hear about a tenant re varnishing or painting their floors (although my friend in NYC went for it!). This article focuses on topical fixes that renters can make all in a day's shopping, and they can take with them if / when they move. Your apartment might not be your dream home, but that doesn't mean you have to live in mediocre style.

Depending on your landlord's tolerance and the terms of your lease, there are many simple, inexpensive decorative fixes you can make to give your apartment a renovated, personalized and stylized look.

If you don't want to paint yourself or think a personalized color will be too much to deal with upon move out (i.e., too much of a drag to repaint), see if the apartment can be delivered white.