Clever decor finds and styling tricks to make your space look expensive on a budget.
Tap a style to see how it looks on a renter budget. Drag to scroll.
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Standing in Home Depot for the fourth time in two weeks, I asked the clerk what EVP meant. He said the same as everything else. Here's what 4 weeks of research taught me.
Sliding cabinet door tracks only need full replacement if four earlier checks fail. A 10-minute diagnosis that saved me $30 in parts I did not actually need.
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Vintage bathroom accessories for renters: 7 picks under $40. Thrift store mirror, reproduction faucet, no-drill towel bar, and 4 small items for a 5x8 studio.
My first Astoria apartment had white grout and lost me part of my deposit. My second Astoria apartment had black grout and looked great after two years. Here is what I learned.
I spent 45 minutes on my hands and knees with 'professional strength' cleaner from the grocery store and nothing happened. Here is what pro tile cleaner really means.
An unmarked ceramic dish cracked at 400 degrees during Thanksgiving in Astoria. Here is the answer to can ceramic go in oven — and the markings to check.
I bought a 12 inch cast iron at the Bushwick flea market and could not fit it on my stove. Here is why a 20 cast iron pan (8 inch) is right for most renters.
I ruined my first non stick pan with steel wool at nineteen. Here is the routine I use to make one last two years in a rental — and the three mistakes that kill most pans.
I broke a chef knife tip trying to debone a chicken in Sunnyside. A boning knife would have cost $15 and saved the knife. Here is what the knife does.
I ground the serrations flat on my Astoria bread knife with a pull-through sharpener. Here is the tapered-rod method that actually works — and the test.
I bought a $60 flea-market set of these knives that lasted two years and a $25 big-box set that lasted four months. Here is how to tell which is which.
I tested five sofa cleaners on two sofas. One worked on leather, one on fabric, two ruined fabric. Here is what to buy and skip before you lose your deposit.