1. Check with your apartment management team FIRST

It’s mentioned above, but this is one step you cannot skip: make sure that you are allowed to paint your apartment walls and confirm what the rules are for paint types/colors. You may be allowed to use any flat latex paint as long as you agree to return your apartment back to its original wall colors before you move out—or the rules may be slightly different for your home. CHECK FIRST.

2. Select your paint color

Thinking about going bold and dark, or light and fun? The sky’s the limit on paint colors. To make sure you’ll like yours long term, plan on getting several paint swatches and post them on the walls in the room(s) you want to paint. Check them out both in natural light (if the room has windows) and artificial light, and at different times of day. You’ll want to love your new color for a long time, so choose wisely!

A word about finishes: for most walls, you’ll be looking for a flat or low-luster finish for your latex paint. If you’re thinking about a paint with glossy finish, know that they’re easier to clean (a bonus!) but they highlight every flaw in your walls, so you’ll have to be extra diligent when you prepare your walls (see the next step).

3. Prepare your walls

Most people think they can breeze through this step quickly, but don’t be fooled: a properly prepared wall will make or break your painting project. So take your time here. Fortunately, most apartment interiors are painted fairly frequently, so you should be able to wipe down your walls with minimum fuss. Repair any holes, remove any dust or grime, and you’ll be good to go!

Note, you’ll want to tape over any permanent wall fixtures that can’t be removed, but make sure they are dust-free, first.

4. Assemble your materials

Here’s what you’ll need for a great paint job: painters tape, a paintbrush, a paint roller (possibly on a pole), enough paint for your job, a tray for your paint, and a liner—a liner isn’t required, but if you’re planning to re-use your tray, a long strip of aluminum foil torn off and pressed into the base of your tray can help extend its life through several paint jobs. You may also need a ladder. Make sure it’s sturdy!

5. Tape. Tape a lot. Do not skimp on the tape.

Sticking painter’s tape along every trim and baseboard, along your ceilings and around every permanent wall fixture may seem like a tedious drag (and, okay, it is a tedious drag) but it will make your actual painting process go MUCH faster. You won’t have to paint slowly and carefully around every corner or edge—because the painter’s tape will keep your edges nice and neat. USE TAPE.

6. Start high, work your way down – and think thin

Either standing on your ladder or using your roller pole, start painting at the top of the wall, and work your way down. This way, you can cover over any drips or splatters.

Also, consider covering your walls with two thin coats of paint vs. one heavy coat. Don’t overload your brush or roller, either (dip it into your paint no more than a third of the way up your bristles or, if you’re using a roller, until it is very lightly covered). This will ensure the paint goes on evenly. Don’t worry about your first coat looking like it didn’t cover everything enough—that’s what the second coat is for!

Note: you can paint the trim first OR paint it after the walls, but most novice painters prefer to touch up the trim after the walls. And if you’ve done a good job with your tape, you may not need to paint your trim work at all!

7. Clean your brushes immediately!

Once you’re finished with your paint job, you’ve got one job left. Wash all your equipment—tools, brushes, rollers, trays—thoroughly and dry them to ensure you can keep using them for several jobs to come. Just need to take a break for awhile? Seal your brushes and rollers in airtight plastic bags to keep them from drying out—because once that paint dries, it’s there to stay.

That’s all there is to it! Good luck on your painting project (AFTER you’ve checked with your apartment management team), and here’s to a more colorful year!

The post How to paint your apartment walls like a pro appeared first on BRG Apartments Blog.

BRG leaders were joined by Boone County officials and representatives from the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce for the groundbreaking at the northeast corner of Areo Parkway/Rt. 18.

“It is great to have a diversity of housing available to potential and current Boone County residents," said Boone County Judge-executive Gary Moore. "This tremendous project is another example of the growth we are experiencing in Boone County.”

Parkway Trails is located in the heart of a vibrant area of Boone County, accessible to shopping, restaurants, entertainment, interstate highways, golf courses, recreation, highly-rated public schools, dog parks and waking, hiking and biking trails. Monthly rents will start at $950 with pre-leasing beginning in the fall and move-ins scheduled for early 2022.

"Parkway Trails fills a need in the marketplace for attainable, well-built, quality housing that features great amenities at a reasonable price," said. BRG Apartments Chief Operating Officer Don Brunner. "We appreciate the support we have received from the Boone County Fiscal Court and we are honored to be part of this growing and wonderful community."

Parkway Trails' amenities include:

• 1- and 2-bedroom apartments with plank flooring and modern finishes
• Swimming pool
• Fitness Center
• Cyber cafe
• Clubhouse
• Outside exercise equipment
• Bike trail

"As Northern Kentucky continues to grow through economic development opportunities across region, Parkway Trails is the kind of attractive residential development that is critical to providing the attainable housing needed for our booming workforce," said Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President Brent Cooper.

BRG Apartments is locally owned and operated with experienced property managers. Based in Kenwood, the company owns and manages apartment communities in Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, Dayton, Lexington, Georgetown and southern Indiana.

13031. company has grown through purchasing existing apartment communities. Parkway Trails is the first community that BRG built from the ground up.

"This is a great location with tremendous exposure," Brunner said. "The Northern Kentucky market is booming. And we wanted to be a part of it by providing good, quality attainable housing for the market."

Brunner said BRG said the company is scouting other potential development sites in Boone County.

"We are looking at additional land in Boone County right now," he said. "We hope this is the first of many new developments for us here and in the tri-state area."

The post BRG APARTMENTS BREAKS GROUND ON PARKWAY TRAILS IN BOONE COUNTY appeared first on BRG Apartments Blog.

1. Trade out your dull, dim light bulbs for brighter, whiter options

Most of us grew up with the low wattage, yellow or warm white bulbs, and that’s what we’re used to having in our rooms. But today’s lightbulbs offer a full range of different bulb styles, from incandescent to LED, and can even be better for the environment than your current lighting. Visit your local hardware store to pick up a few and try them in different rooms of your apartment to see what you like better. Another option? Trade the use of your standard overhead light for a variety of fun lamps with fantastic shades to create a bright landscape of color and light perfect for your design style!

2. Go pro with color

Whether you pick up a few new, bright prints that pop with color to create focal points in your space, add some bold throw pillows, rugs or blankets, or paint the walls (if your apartment community allows), color is one of the most sure-fire ways you can choose to brighten your space. Don’t want the permanence of paint, even if your apartment allows you to change your wall colors? Consider today’s wildly popular peel and stick removable wallpaper in whatever patterns and shades speak to you. A quick afternoon’s work can completely transform a drab, boring room into a show-stopping space…and one you can easily convert whenever the mood to renovate strikes again!

3. Lose the clutter

Nothing lightens a room as much as the visual peace that comes from an area that is clean and tidy, without piles of stuff sitting around. Decluttering your home takes focus and sustained commitment (it’s all too easy for those stacks to return!) but once you’ve walked into a fully tidy room, you’ll appreciate how much better you feel. Make it a goal to keep clutter to a minimum throughout the winter season. Regular cleaning serves the same purpose. By leveling up your cleaning game, you’ll keep your whole apartment looking fresh and sunny.

4. Try out your green thumb

Even if your history with keeping plants alive is sketchy, this is a great time to try bringing a few plants home. Set them near your windows and make them a part of your daily or weekly home maintenance routine! They can bring unexpected vitality to nearly every space.

5. Make your windows work for you

Windows let the sun shine in, but are yours working as hard as they could to keep your space bright? If you can remove the screens from your windows (which you won’t need during the winter months anyway), consider doing so. Or, simply lighten up your window treatments, trading heavy shades for lighter, gauzier curtains. You can always revert to heavy shades at night, when you are trying to keep the cold air out, and the warm air in!

These are just a few ways to turn your home into a bright and cheerful space, no matter how dark and dreary it is outside. Here’s to a winter that keeps you smiling, the whole season through!

The post How to brighten up your apartment this winter appeared first on BRG Apartments Blog.

1. Assume the worst, and plan accordingly

This seems unnecessarily harsh, but particularly in our current highly unsettled environment, you should err on the side of being too cautious when it comes to taking care of your roommate. What if that individual did have a potentially life-threatening disease, one which resulted only in mild symptoms for her, but could hit you harder? It pays to be prepared by stocking up early on all the items you might need to care for a sick person, including disinfectant, gloves, bleach wipes, over the counter flu/cold medicines, Tylenol or other fever-reducing pain reliever, a thermometer, isopropyl alcohol, and enough food/toiletry supplies to hunker down until your roommate is feeling better. Also, figure out a plan to ensure your roommate will have plenty of reading material/access to the internet or TV access in their room, ideally before anyone falls sick.

2. Practice sensible self-care

Though you want to make sure your roommate knows you are present and taking care of them, it’s best to limit your time in close contact. Avoid being face to face (even if you have a medical-grade mask, which are often hard to find), and stay out of their room as much as possible—while they stay inside. You can both deep clean that bedroom once everyone is feeling better! In addition, make sure you’re getting plenty of sleep, are eating healthy foods and getting exercise, and are drinking lots of water. If you can get outside and into the sunshine on a regular basis, that’s also a great idea!

3. Keep the rest of the apartment (and yourself!) extremely clean

Speaking of cleaning, use this time to deep clean the rest of the apartment, sanitizing all surfaces and washing your own hands frequently. Avoid touching your face until you’ve thoroughly washed your hands after you deliver anything to your roommate’s room or after doing their laundry or handling their dishes. Washing your hands for at least twenty seconds should become almost a meditative routine for you—do it early and often! If soap and water isn’t available, you can use an alcohol-based hand rub, but soap and hot water is best.

4. Watch their symptoms carefully

Most likely, your roommate will recover after several days or a few weeks of mild to moderate symptoms, but if you’re their primary caregiver, it’s important to watch them to make sure they don’t need more help. This list, provided by the CDC for adult flu sufferers, is a great one to keep handy. Seek medical care if your roommate experiences any of the following:

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
• Persistent dizziness, confusion, inability to arouse
• Seizures
• Not urinating
• Severe muscle pain
• Severe weakness or unsteadiness
• Fever or cough that improve but then return or worsen
• Worsening of chronic medical conditions

Caring for a roommate when they’re sick is an incredible act of service, and you should be commended for taking it on—while caring for yourself, too. Here’s wishing you and all you know a safe and healthy Spring!

The post How to care for a sick roommate while staying healthy appeared first on BRG Apartments Blog.

How do you make sure this next year is your best year ever? Follow these tips to set New Year’s Resolutions that are right for you!

Cut that resolution in half!

Whatever goal you really want to achieve, start with a smaller milestone—and in most cases, start my cutting your eventual goal right in half, or reducing it until you absolutely know you can achieve it. For example, if your goal is to lose fifty pounds…and you haven’t lost fifty pounds in more than ten years…cut the goal to twenty-five pounds, or even ten. Whatever goal makes you think “I can totally do that,” that’s what your resolution should be. Then, once you’ve achieved it…do it again and again until you reach your ultimate goal. You want to rack up the wins early and often in the coming year, to build your momentum for success!

Change one behavior at a time

Continuing on with the weight loss theme, it’s tempting to think you’ll stop eating fast food, begin an exercise plan, join a gym, and start cooking all your meals at home at the same time…but that’s a ticket to almost immediate failure. Pick one habit or behavior to start with, and keep at it until you have it mastered. For example—resolve to replace three fast food meals a week with a home-cooked alternative, and then cook a big meal at home you can freeze into three small containers. That way, you’ll have dinner (or lunch!) already made for those three meals, and can eat out guilt-free the rest of the week if you’d like. You’ve won! If you do that for a solid month, you can take on a new behavior or maybe cook two big dishes at home to freeze and replace six total fast-food meals each week. It’s all about small steps!

Talk about it (to a safe audience)

Talking about your goals can be tricky, but if you have a safe group who will support your dreams, it’s fantastic to have someone with whom you can share the journey. Be careful, though! Not everyone will want you to change, so if you find you don’t have support the need from your friends or family, find new cheerleaders—at the gym, online, or at work.

Be kind to yourself

We all want to achieve all our goals in the first month, and then coast the rest of the year—but that’s not likely to happen. When you miss a gym appointment or deadline, or find yourself doing that ONE thing you were trying to avoid, decide right then it’s not the end of the world—or your resolution. Get back on track as soon as you can (like the very next hour or the very next morning) and resolve to continue your journey!

Plan your rewards

With each of your small milestones gained, it’s important to reward yourself. Those rewards can be simple—buying (and reading!) a new book, taking a walk in a beautiful park you’ve never visited before, getting together with friends for a celebratory breakfast, or posting an official success announcement on your Facebook shared group—but these mini-celebrations can help keep you positively motivated. Different rewards work for different people, so experiment! Keeping track of your success and honoring it will help keep the journey fun.

Whether you set New Year’s Resolutions or not, here’s wishing you a healthy and happy New Year!

The post Setting New Year’s Resolutions the right way! appeared first on BRG Apartments Blog.

Keep your body cool and hydrated

During the summer, we all tend to perspire more, which means you need to pay extra attention to hydrating effectively. Water is the best choice, but any drink without caffeine or a lot of chemical additives can help! In addition to drinking more water, consider changing up your clothing style to looser, thinner materials that breathe, such as cotton. The more comfortable—and cool!—you feel, the better your body can adjust to rising temperatures.

Have it made in the shade

One of the easiest ways for it to lower the temperature in your home is to close your blinds when the sun is directly hitting your windows—especially if this is during a part of the day when you’ll be at work or running errands. Blocking the sun’s powerful rays can reduce the strain on your air conditioner and keep your home feeling like a cool oasis, no matter how hot it gets outside.   

Enjoy those long summer evenings

With the days getting longer and the sun setting much later, why not try switching up your exercise routine from early morning to early evening? It’s a great time to enjoy long walks along nature trails or to visit metro parks, as both are usually less crowded. Add to that the cooler temperatures and usually breezier conditions, and it’s a perfect time to get outdoors!

Did someone say “pool”?

One of the best amenities of most larger apartment communities during the summertime is, of course, the pool! Take advantage of yours, whether you get in a morning swim when the pool first opens, drop by for a quick refreshing dip after your work day, or enjoy the later hours of the pool’s operation. Even a short plunge will lower your body temperature and melt away the day’s stress, making you feel like a kid again. Even better, swimming is great exercise, easy on your joints and good for your heart.

Hit the gym (especially if you’re new to working out!)

What’s one of the best times to join a gym, or to get the most out of your community’s fitness center? That’s right, summertime! Most die-hard exercisers venture outside during the warmer months, which means that fitness centers are often far less crowded, giving you access to the best machines as you figure out what kind of exercise regimen works best for you. You might even try a few fitness classes if your community offers them, knowing that you’ll get more personal attention with a smaller group. Even better, by working out in an air-conditioned environment near plenty of water, you can monitor your body’s reactions to exercise more easily than if you are battling weather elements too. Then, once fall rolls around and indoor fitness centers get more crowded, you’ll feel far more comfortable hitting the gym no matter how busy it is! 

Summer doesn’t mean you have to suffer through your own personal heat wave. By working with the season and making choices that support your body’s needs, you can enjoy the long hot days and cool summer nights all summer long. 

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