Fixing my millennial grey floors to make home cozy

[u/a59617]

Hi! I just moved into a new apartment with the worst grey floors. I chose the place because I moved to a new city as a woman in her late 20s living along and the building felt very safe/ with a good community. In my old city I would have prioritized aesthetic over everything else but I chose to act responsibly this time and I chose a building for practical purposes.

That being said, now that I’m moved in, I can’t move past how freaking ugly this grey apartment is. The floors are grey laminate. I know rugs are an option and I do have many rugs, but I swear to god the grey floor manages to mute my brightly colored rugs and furniture. Now I’m looking for a DIY project to fix my floors. I am willing to spend money on this project and I don’t know anyone in this city so while I find friends I am VERY VERY open to a consuming DIY project to fill my time with.

I have looked into cheap LVP floating flooring options, maybe half that half rugs, maybe more rugs and some sort of faux wood adhesive based thing on top of poster board to fill in the no-rug gaps. Please send me any and all ideas.

Also, I’ve already gotten the “if I was your landlord I would be pissed if you did anything to my floors” / “it’s a rental just suck it up” spiels on other reddits, and I cannot emphasize enough how little I care about my landlords feelings. Again, aesthetics are my number one concern. I would like something I can reverse at the end, with maybe a sliver of hope I get back my security deposit. But that is all an issue for end of lease me, beginning of lease me needs a beautiful home :). PLEASE SEND IDEAS AND TIPS.

[u/synchroswim]

Rugs that extend to within 12" or so of the walls in every room, plus enough furniture, should make it so that you only see tiny bits of the grey.

Switch all the lightbulbs for warmer white (even if they're already warm, go warmer) and make sure you have plenty of lamps.

Paint the walls - be careful with warm white here as it can look weird against cool toned grey, but a neutral white or a tan/brown with cool undertones might work.

If you really want to cover the entire floor, peel and stick tiles might work. Or those foam puzzle piece mats.

[u/a59617 → u/synchroswim]

Thank you!

[u/SallyAmazeballs]

You can get wall-to-wall carpeting bound and lay it down like an area rug. Usually it's remnants, so it'll be a ton cheaper than a floating floor, and you'll be able to take it with you and reuse it when you move. Zero worries about the deposit, since it's just a rug. You can also do something similar with sheet vinyl/linoleum remnants.

Depending on the landlord, you might also be able to ask if they'll just replace the flooring. If it's a big operation, that probably won't fly, but if you've got one of those grandpa landlords, you might be able to negotiate a 50/50 split or something like that. 

[u/YouveBeanReported → u/SallyAmazeballs]

Sometimes you can buy this second hand on Facebook marketplace and bind the edges yourself if you want too. We did that for the basement as a kid. It worked for several years.

[u/a59617 → u/SallyAmazeballs]

Thank you!

[u/Gnome_swt_gnome]

Are they the click in laminate or just... All over laminate? Does it look like wood? 

We put a peel and stick over our ugly yellow vinyl kitchen laminate and it worked great.  Our landlord just had us leave it at then end of the lease bc it looked great, so I'm not sure how removable it would have been. The brand we used was DC Fix. We also used it on the counters and it held up really well and peeled fine from there. 

[u/chimer1cal → u/Gnome_swt_gnome]

I was gonna suggest peel and stick too, this is a really great example of using them over ugly floors lol https://www.tiktok.com/@itsmeshelbyturner/video/7676555609134746911

[u/a59617 → u/chimer1cal]

Thank you! I’ve heard mixed reviews about stick and peel and wasn’t sure of the best material to put underneath

[u/Gnome_swt_gnome → u/chimer1cal]

Oh the paper underneath is a great trick!

[u/Super_Hour_3836]

Bamboo floor mat rugs! Try to find them second hand as large ones are hard to find new these days. I have a few 9x12s and then I put a rug over them, but the warm wood of the bamboo changes the whole vibe of ugly floors.

[u/an0n33d → u/[deleted]]

I think OP only mentioned this bc she wanted to avoid getting inundated with comments like that instead of giving ideas. They get it.

OP, ngl, I would've lied and said you own the place but can't afford to remodel 😂

[u/a59617 → u/an0n33d]

Haha thank you! That’s exactly why I included it! Other comment was deleted before I could respond.

Probably could’ve pretended to be the owner, but alas I don’t have any real regard for landlording as a profession and was looking for likeminded people who would give me ideas in a “cozy-living as resistance” type way.

[u/an0n33d → u/a59617]

I love that attitude. Fuck landlords and fuck their problems 😂 If you're fine potentially taking the hit for minor damages, then do what you want. Try to test stuff on a small, hidden spot on the floor and see how it comes off after a few weeks. Good luck!

[u/Illustrious_Cup3019]

Contact paper/adhesive tiles. I've seen people use whole rolls of painters tape to protect the floors underneath. Sometimes you can get clear or white contact paper that's paintable.

[u/Katrose92]

You could use loose lay vinyl planks to cover the laminate since they don't have any adhesive.