Best Ideas & Tips about Apartment Renovation in NYC

By: ROS Team

Covid-19 knocked at our doors unexpectedly and brought all life to a standstill. Those who were renovating their homes had to take a pause as well. Though the virus still remains in the air, the city is open for all kinds of activities and people are already resuming their renovation projects.

To assist you in your cause, we have brought some of the best renovation ideas and practical tips for you.

Give it a glance before you start renovation at your home.

Apartment Renovation Ideas:

Here are Some of the Best Ideas to Renovate your Home:

1- Make a New Layout:

The most significant change you can bring to your apartment is by changing the basic layout of your apartment. For that purpose, you may remove some of the partitions or may build new walls to create a different look.

Note: instead of designing your new layout by yourself consult an architect to give it a professional touch.

2- Expand the Living Room:

You may do an experiment by combining the dining room with a living room or going for an open kitchen would bring a completely fresh look to your interior.

3- Add More Rooms:

Another approach is to make new partitions to create isolation between rooms. You may add an extra bedroom or a bathroom as well.

You need to follow the local laws when you aim to add extra room such as you need to make sure the room fulfills the dimensions set by the NYC building authorities.

4- Give Kitchen a New Look:

The kitchen is becoming smaller day by day as optimization remains at the center of the design. If we look at the trends, separate kitchen is fast losing popularity. Instead, the open kitchen is in vogue these days. If you have a separate kitchen in your apartment, then combining it with the living room by removing the partition is a good idea.

5- Replace:

If you have saved some dollars for the renovation and have a separate allocated budget for this purpose then getting everything replaced is a fascinating idea.

6- Restore:

On the contrary, if you do not have a sufficient budget for replacing all the interior items, then restoring some of them while replacing others makes a good equation. For example, if you have certain broken items of furniture, take them to a carpenter and get them fixed or if tiles of the floor have cracks then you may change cracked tiles instead of replacing them all.

7- Add More Closets:

You always run out of space in NYC apartments. So, while you plan to do some renovation, adding more closets is the most practical idea. Once you have more storage space, you may store some of the exposed items there to give your apartment a pristine look.

8- Work on Minor Details:

Besides these major changes in your apartment, you may work on the minor details of the apartment which works equally well. Changing the bathroom accessories, adding more appliances in the kitchen, looking for different textures or door designs, etc.

Now, let us give a glance over some of the best tips for renovation:

Tips for Renovation:

1) Take Decision Confidently:

Executing a renovation project involves a lot of decisions. You will be taking some of the decisions in advance while others you have to take at the spur of the moment. Those sudden decisions might involve risk and consequences but once you have started your project, you need to stand tall and firm and take every decision with confidence.

2) Take Multiple Rates and do a Comparison:

Before actually buying items or hiring a contractor, reach out to several shops or people in that particular field. Do not be hasty in making a decision. You are already doing renovation from your saved money and by treading on the extra mile you may actually save some extra bucks.

3) Buy Quality:

In the name of keeping your budget within limits, do not compromise quality over quantity. In fact, regardless of the area, compromising on the quality never turns out to be a wiser decision.

4) Keep an Eye on the Latest Trends:

Most of the time, renovations mean keeping up with the latest trends and styles. What is in fashion is a million-dollar question and you shall keep yourself educating time and often if you nurture the dream of renovating your home to the finest.

Is Apartment Renovation Legal in NYC?

While you may do any experiment with your furniture or accessories, a change in structure is subject to permission by the concerned authorities.

If you plan to add an extra room or remove the partition of the kitchen, you may not execute the plan on your own instead you have to follow the following procedure:

1. Get a Design from a Professional Architect:

To execute your plan, you need to make a start by hiring an experienced architect. One thing you need to take care of here is that every architect is not capable of doing alterations, so make sure to get the right man for the job.

architects discussing on plans

2. Get Approval from Building Management:

Once done with the new map and possible changes, bring in the plan to a building management’s notice. Let them know why you are doing this and how you will execute your plan.

You cannot pursue your goal without getting a green signal from them. Get their signature on the application or other letter you have submitted to their office.

3. Approval from the Department of Buildings (DOB):

You cannot pursue both approvals in parallel as your application requires the signature of building management before being submitted to the department of the building office.

They have professional people as an architect who reviews those plans and give their opinion.

The moment they get satisfied with the purposed plan and sign the document then you may actually execute your plan.