The apartment that architect couple Jordan Meerdink and Shalini Amin rent in Ridgewood, Queens, had a lot going for it—picture molding running across the walls, transom windows above the doors, a tin ceiling in the kitchen.

“But everything was kind of hidden,” says Jordan. One of the transom windows was completely painted over, and the walls were a pale yellow, linen-like color that was not doing the garden-level apartment any favors. However, seeing the potential, they made a deal with the landlord: If they took on the labor of repairs and upgrades, he would provide the materials.

All told, the couple estimate they transformed and outfitted the apartment for a total of $5,000, thanks to a combination of smart shopping, DIY hacks, and salvaging. “We’re pretty good at trash-digging,” quips Jordan, noting that nearly all of the raw building materials they used were found.

The front door of the 627-square-foot railroad-style pad opens to a foyer in the middle of the unit, which the couple uses as an office and storage space. The dining and kitchen areas are off the right, along with the bathroom and access to a private backyard. To the left is the living space and beyond that, the bedroom.

The first thing Jordan and Shalini did was replace a “saloon-style” door separating the living space from the foyer with a 12-panel wood-and-glass door that matches the French doors to the bedroom. After that, they patched and repaired the walls, painting every room with Benjamin Moore’s Super Hide Ultra White in flat to brighten the space and hide any imperfections.

Then, they moved room to room, starting with the bedroom. Here, they added new window treatments and wall-mounted shelving. They upgraded the ceiling fan by swapping its deep red blades for white ones, and the fluted, tulip-shaped light shades for Edison-style bulbs (two other ceiling fans got the same treatment).

Jordan cleaned and repaired the transom window, which, they were delighted to discover, was still operable. “All of the mechanisms and hinges were completely painted over,” says Jordan. “I waited for a thunderstorm, and smashed out decades of paint every time there was a big crack of lighting.”

Shalini describes the couple’s style as “modern with a little African flavor,” reflective of their deep connection to the continent: She’s from Malawi, and Jordan’s brother lived in the Congo, South Sudan, and Rwanda for 15 years. The couple also spent a month after architecture school traveling through Tanzania, Zanzibar, Malawi, and Uganda on a research trip.

It’s an aesthetic they worked to bring into every room. In the bedroom, a midcentury-modern walnut bed frame and nightstands are paired with a mudcloth blanket and pillows made by Jordan's sister.

A teak-sapele shelf made by Jordan and a chest of drawers display personal touches like Salvador Dali elephants that Shalini bought on a trip to Pamplona, Spain; a woven basket the Stellenbosch region outside Capetown, South Africa; and a box made of indigenous Malawi cedar, brought home from the foothills of Mount Mulanje in Southern Malawi.

The apartment has no closets, but it came with a freestanding wardrobe cabinet in a deep burgundy shade that the couple politely asked their landlord to remove. In its place in the middle room, they built out a storage wall with open shelving and three white closets that better fit their style.

They also added several pieces made by Jordan: a wooden bench, a worktable made of butcher blocks the couple rescued from a dumpster in Bushwick, and wall hooks made from the scrap pieces from other projects.

carved antelope horn from the Majete Wildlife Reserve in Southern Malawi's Chickwawa district, a wooden sculpture from an installation designed by Shalini. A small wooden stool carved by artisans in Uganda’s Kitanyata region near Murchison Falls doubles as a plant stand." layout="wide" credit="Shalini Amin & Jordan Meerdink" photoUserId=""/>

The couple also fashioned the modular wall shelves in the living room, which they hung on the only wall without picture molding, though it proved to be a challenge. “That wall was an absolute pain,” says Shalini. “We tried to paint it after we sanded it, and the whole first layer of the wall just fell off.”

It’s in the kitchen where the couple’s creativity and DIY prowess really shine. Originally, it suffered from lack of counter space, and the range and refrigerator were just floating in the room. They added a stand-alone pantry and built a wooden box around the refrigerator to connect the two, and added countertops to either side of the range made from salvaged butcher blocks.

To tone down the cherry-red cabinets and hide the builder-grade laminate counters, the architects covered them with matte-black contact paper that cost $14 per roll at Home Depot. “It looks like soapstone,” says Jordan—and two years in, it’s still holding up. They also swapped a garish, fluorescent light fixture for a sleek black pendant, and added a stainless-steel backsplash behind the range.

Jordan and Shalini’s rental-friendly design choices prove that you don’t have to drop serious cash to give a dark, dated space an entirely new look and feel—as long as you’re willing to use some elbow grease.

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Related Reading: 12 Easy Ways to Upgrade Your Rental Home

Project Credits:

Architects and designers: Jordan Meerdink and Shalini Amin