Q&A: What upgrades should I make now that I own?

Exploring what small changes make the biggest difference.

New for 2025, Q&A is an advice column of sorts for paid subscribers. Once a month, I answer a reader’s question about living small and invite the community to weigh in with ideas too.

Q: After renting our apartment for three years, we recently had the extreme privilege of buying our unit. I had been a lifelong renter. The type who never put holes in walls to hang a thing because I didn’t want to deal with the arguments over security deposits.

So far we hung peg-style racks for towels in the bathroom (there was never a towel rack on the walls?!). I would love to hear from the Living Small community about what changes people have made or would make if they owned their homes. I’d also love to hear about small changes that have made a big impact on making lives more beautiful and functional. — Naila

A: First of all, I’m sending you huge congratulations! Becoming a homeowner is such a major accomplishment. You must be so excited to customize your home, but often making that down payment is such a huge hurdle that there’s not a ton leftover to renovate with.

I have a few ideas for what small things I would do to make a big impact on a small apartment, which I’ll share below. But I would love to crowdsource this one, as Naila suggests. Can everyone think about the small changes they’ve made that had the biggest impact and share them in the comments below? I bet that the Living Small community will have a ton of ideas.

First, fix the basics. One thing that I’d recommend doing now that you own your place is asking the super or management company to fix anything that is their responsibility: Windows that don’t open all the way or are impossible to close, a front door that slams crazy fast, a buzzer that has never worked, water damage from leaky bricks outside–take your list to management and request it be addresses. It can take some work to get a condo or co-op to tackle these little annoying things, but getting them fixed will feel so good.

Maximize your storage space. I did very little to the first apartment I ever owned, but there was one place I made an investment that paid off.