• Business Insider spoke with interior designers about how to make an apartment feel more luxurious.
• Choosing a focal point for symmetry can make a room feel more elegant.
• Long curtains and well-placed mirrors are great tools for making a space feel larger.

Making a small apartment feel personalized, cozy, and luxurious can be tricky. Many renters struggle to find ways to make an apartment feel like home without doing major renovations and potentially violating the terms of their lease.

That's why Business Insider asked interior designers for tips on making a rental feel more luxurious without making big changes. Here's what they had to say.

Choosing a focal point to decorate around can make a room feel more elegant.

Decorating around a specific element, like a fireplace or a piece of wall art, can bring symmetry and unity to a room.

According to interior designer Tommy Kebbson of Kebbson & Co., this can instantly make a space feel more elegant.

"Even small adjustments like placing lamps on either side of a sofa or balancing artwork on both sides of a wall can make a significant difference," he said.

Kebbson also told BI that a symmetrical space doesn't mean all elements have to be identical. Lamps and art can be complimentary without matching perfectly to achieve a balanced, cohesive look.

Use curtains to make your ceilings feel higher.

Jennifer Jones, principal designer at Niche Interiors, suggests using curtains to trick the eye into thinking your ceilings are higher than they are.

"Mounting tall drapery panels above windows is an easy way to make your small space feel instantly larger," says Jones. "The trick is to pull your eye upwards, which emphasizes the height of the space and makes the volume seem larger. Drapes also add softness and sophistication to a space."

Mirrors can make an apartment feel bigger and brighter.

Mirrors are a great addition to any room — and not just for touching up makeup or putting an unruly strand of hair back in place.

"A well-placed mirror can reflect natural light and make the space feel much larger and brighter," interior designer Laetitia Laurent of Laure Nell Interiors said.

Laurent told BI she likes to position mirrors opposite windows and in dark corners to draw light to those areas and add a sense of depth to the room.

"In smaller rooms, even a large statement mirror can work wonders, acting as both a functional piece and a design element that enhances the room's overall flow," she said.

Don’t underestimate the power of a rug.

Aside from making cold floors feel more cozy, area rugs can also help add structure to an apartment with an open floor plan.

Kebbson said he uses rugs to subdivide rooms, and finds this method especially helpful when designing a studio apartment.

Interior designer Vicky Floros also emphasized the importance of rugs and said they're good items to splurge on.

"Rugs act as the anchor of a room and can make or break a space," she told BI. "While there are many budget-friendly options available these days, this is one item worth investing in, as it can completely transform the look and feel of your room."

It's wise to choose multifunctional storage pieces and furniture.

When creating a luxurious feel in an apartment, Elissa Hall, lead designer and founder at EDH Interiors, suggests using pieces of furniture that "serve both form and purpose," like a convertible couch or a storage ottoman.

"For a recent project, I included a custom-built shelving system that acted as a room divider, offering storage and space definition without sacrificing the open atmosphere," Hall said.

• Dan Weiss, 79, earns up to $47 per hour on Taskrabbit assembling furniture in Minnesota.
• Weiss, a retired mortgage manager, joined Taskrabbit in 2021 for both the income and structure.
• He completes tasks almost daily, earning $3,000 to $5,000 monthly and supplementing his retirement.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dan Weiss, a 79-year-old Tasker on Taskrabbit in Oakdale, Minnesota. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I joined Taskrabbit in 2021 and have completed nearly 1,200 tasks at around $47 per hour for my services in Ikea furniture and general furniture assembly in and around Minneapolis.

I have a bachelor's degree in business administration and management and two master's degrees. Before I retired in November 2014, I managed several residential mortgage branches for a major bank.

Retirement was fine initially, but I quickly realized I needed to add structure to my life. Now, I fill my days building furniture, meeting new people, and supplementing my retirement income.

Going from 100 MPH to zero was a very abrupt change for me

One can only do so much gardening and reading without feeling unfulfilled.

I stayed "retired" for about six months and then had to find something that gave me more enjoyment and provided additional income to avoid chipping away at all of my retirement savings, which I began saving for in my mid-40s.

Before Taskrabbit, my other part-time jobs included stints at Costco, customer service work, and driving for Uber and Lyft.

I read an article in my local newspaper about a young woman who had discovered Taskrabbit. It intrigued me, so I immediately went online to create a Tasker account and have them run a background check on me. That was completed in a matter of days, and I was ready to go.

I've now been Tasking for 3 years

I've always enjoyed assembling things, but there was a learning curve. Although I had previously worked with Ikea furniture, there was much to figure out about some of the "tricks" associated with Ikea products.

I made over $47,000 in 2023, my highest year in earnings yet. I average $3,000 to $5,000 in earnings monthly. I could live on my retirement savings if I had to, but Taskrabbit income helps.

I do tasks almost daily

I complete between one and three tasks daily, averaging about four to five days a week. Most of my tasks are no more than a half-hour away, but I spend a fair amount of time driving. I can expense the mileage and gas.

My time spent with clients is highly enjoyable. I meet people from all walks of life and find their stories interesting. I enjoy this aspect of tasking the most.

I've realized how fulfilling and also challenging retirement can be

The lack of structure and income flow in retirement is challenging. We're told to save, save, save for retirement, and that's what I did. When I made the change from saving to spending, I was mind-blown. It didn't feel comfortable or natural.

Taskrabbit has allowed me to continue to generate income while also providing structure and allowing me to maintain contact with a variety of people.

I've discovered the importance of superb reviews in growing my business

When I was young, there were no such things as digital reviews. Today, they're critical because everyone checks them before booking a service or going to a restaurant. I secure generally excellent reviews by doing the following steps:

• Always communicate openly with your client. Confirm the date and time and set expectations in advance.
• Arrive on time or slightly early. If you will be late, even by a few minutes, it's important to let them know.
• Upon arriving, be friendly and cordial. A handshake usually gets things off to a good start to establish a line of trust.
• Be efficient and ensure the task is completed properly and precisely. Having the correct tools is also mandatory for this aspect of the task.
• If there are problems such as missing or defective parts, let the client know as soon as possible and provide suggestions on how to remedy the problem so as not to add stress to their plate.
• Thank them for the work opportunity and share how they can save you as a favorite for future tasks, leave a review and, if they choose, tip you, which happens about 25-40% of the time. I'm very focused during the actual task, but if the client engages me in conversation or has questions, I stop and focus on them.

I expect to continue to task as long as the compensation is commensurate with the job

I will continue to do this as long as my body holds up.

Tasking has given me both fulfillment and help funding trips and vacations. My wife and I love Maui and intend to return soon.

I'm still in the planning phase of deciding on our next vacation destination. There are many other places that we wish to visit while we're still healthy and relatively mobile.

Are you a retiree with a side hustle who wants to share your story? Email Lauryn Haas at [email protected].