Redecorate your apartment in Toronto: a how-to

So, you did it. You’ve packed your boxes like a pro, lined up an apartment, and set off. You moved to Toronto! But that is not the end of it! It’s time to put the finishing touches on this new chapter in your life. Yes, it’s time to redecorate your apartment and give it your personal touch. Of course, you could drop fat stacks of cash for someone else to do it, but where’s the fun in that? Do it yourself, and get a soft feeling of satisfaction whenever you look at it. Bask in the fruits of your labor!

A person holding a sheet of craft paper surrounded by flowers. — What are you waiting for? Think about how you want to redecorate your apartment today!

Prepare your space for redecoration by washing it thoroughly

Hey, it’s far better to redecorate your apartment when its clean, right? You wouldn’t want to hang your art next to dusty walls or put a throw rug over dirty floors. The sheer foot traffic on moving day is bound to dirty up a spotless place. After all, wiping your feet on the mat whenever you needed to pick up yet another box was hardly the priority. There’s really no need to go full Mr. Clean for this, but a clean slate isn’t complete without a clean house. There’s no shame in looking up cleaning tips if you’re stuck on where to begin – cleaning can be a daunting task!

Redecorate your apartment by painting the walls

People might not realize how effective the wallpaper or wall color can be on your mood. But, you literally spend all your time indoors surrounded by the color of your making. Black, or just overly dark colors, can make a room feel small and claustrophobic, and light colors can open it up. Red would stimulate your emotions (both anger and passion!) while a gentle blue would soothe them.

A bunch of wall color swatches to help you redecorate your apartment. — Think about what kind of feeling you want each room to have when redecorating your apartment, and paint it accordingly.

The practical concern

Are you renting? Some contracts state what colors you can paint the rooms. Unfortunately, some contracts forbid it completely. Some contracts can let you go wild, but demand it be back to what you found it when you leave. A good idea is to stick to light shades you can easily paint over. Keep that in mind when picking the color for you. If you’re renting an apartment, you should stay away from wallpaper. It’s a big deal to remove, giving you another problem to deal with when moving. Make sure to check what your contract says about paint before you begin!

The creative concern

No one is really stopping you from painting your apartment electric green. But, maybe they should? An important step when you redecorate your apartment is to match your paint to your furniture. A lot of people choose to stick to white. And sure, it’s a good choice. It goes with everything. While you can’t exactly call it trendy, it remains a popular choice because of its flexibility. But consider other shades when redecorating your apartment. There’s no need to limit yourself. Maybe a sweet apricot color, to make your kitchen seem warmer. A minty light green to spice up your living room, giving it a modern air. Lavender, for a more delicate look. Feel free to get the swatches from the paint store and put them to furniture, to see what matches the most.

Wall art of a mint skinned woman with pink lips and yellow sunglasses. — Are you an artist? Do you want the wall to be your canvas?

Are you overwhelmed by all these choices? Feel free to browse Pantone for a color that catches your eye. There’s also an app to randomly generate color swatches. It has the option to lock specific colors, see the colors how a colorblind person would, and even get colors from a cropped image. Take a picture of your furniture, get its color, and see how various choices look against it.

Redecorate your apartment bit by bit by adding details

And yes, emphasis on bit by bit. It’s far better to pace yourself than to realize you’ve made an expensive mistake and now have a set of turquoise zebra print curtains and nowhere to put them. Think about how what you’re buying matches with what you already have when redecorating your apartment. Or don’t, if that’s your style. But just be aware of not thinking about it. Yes, yes, feel free to use this as an excuse to spend hours browsing Pinterest. We all know you want to. There is no shame here, only tiny decorative jars and fairy lights.

Two cats lounging on rugs. You shouldn't consider a cat JUST to redecorate your apartment, but if you research cat owning go for it. — A cat doesn’t count as a detail…but consider a cat anyway.

Think about what kind of styles you’ve always liked…then use redecorating your apartment to copy them shamelessly

Rugs, rugs, rugs! There is no overstating how much a rug adds to the room. It’s the perfect finishing touch. Oh heavens no, you might say, it’s a real dust magnet, so you have to vacuum it a lot! Well, yes. But the dust will be there with or without the rug. The rug just nets it all in one convenient place, making it far easier to clean the apartment in total.
Pillows make everything cozier. Decorative pillows make your couch look more inviting. Chair pillows make your chairs more comfortable. Bed pillows are perfect for lounging and sprawling. If you want to add a more personal touch, you could sew the pillowcases yourself out of colorful fabric!
Don’t be afraid of tiny colorful cups or teapots or anything similar. Life is not a Wes Anderson movie, but there’s no reason your apartment shouldn’t be. Embrace the colors.
Mirrors make your room look bigger. Find a statement mirror, or make a statement mirror by gluing things to the frame. Make it a centerpiece of a room, and relish in how it makes the room way more open.
Go trawling through antique stores and secondhand stores. You never know what you can find, and for a very affordable price. Antique stores especially can have some really cheap artwork. Very useful to redecorate your apartment with.