Are you living in a rental home or apartment and feel restricted in decorating it up and putting your own mark on it? Do you like to make your rental more into a home where you can relax and be inspired, but don’t know how to do it? Then you are not alone, rentals comes more restrictions than a property you own. We have therefore added some tips here that can help you in putting your mark on your rental. Even without actually leaving a single mark when you move out.
Here are out top tips of what you can do to your rental to make it into your home:
1. Measure the space and add furniture that fits
Start with measuring out the space you have to see what you are working with. This will give you the basics for what’s possible to bring of furniture into your rental. If you have existing furniture from another rental, then start with figuring out how the measurements of your furniture will work with the measurements of the apartment/home. If some of the furniture is too big for the space or you are struggling with making it fit with your space, sell it. Having furniture that is too big for a home or just doesn’t fit will make you struggle to get the most out of your rental and making into your home.
Draw up your measurements on a piece of paper and fill it with the furniture you have decided to bring. Make sure that you give the items enough walking place around them. Ideally one meter / 40 inches if this is is a high traffic area. You should be able to move easily around in your rental.
2. Adapt to the current color scheme
One of the big disadvantages with a rental, is that you can’t paint your home. To make your rental feel put together and like your home, I would recommended to work with the colors that are already in the rental. This will include the color on the wall, the floor color and kitchen cabinets. When you have a list of the existing colors, go to Pinterest and search for “color combinations” . Find a combination that you like or that works with the furniture you have. This will be the base for what you are bringing in. You can also search for interior inspiration with your wall color included.
If some of your furniture does not work with your wanted color scheme, try to cover the furniture with fabric or a blanket that suits the color scheme. Or you can look for the right rental that has the colors that works for your existing furniture.
3. Add furniture/items that makes it convenient
A rental that feels like your home, is a home that works for you and your lifestyle. Make sure to add furniture and items that makes your life easier on a daily basis. It can be a door mat, hooks, side table for your coffee or kitchen island or a kitchen trolley. Make sure that you pay attention to when you have a need for something in your home and then try to find an item or a furniture that can help.
Having a home that works for you is key to making a rental into a place that feels like it’s your home and not someone else.
4. Prioritize lamps to create atmosphere
Who have not seen rentals where the overhead light is the only light in the room? Too many times to be legal. Lamps are key to create ambiance in a home and making it cozy. To have a rental feel like your home, you need to have an atmosphere that makes you relax and happy and lamps play a key role in achieving this. Try to add lamps like table lamps and floor lamps to the different areas like next to a sofa, next to a reading chair, on the kitchen counter and in dark corners. Make sure that you pick light bulbs which create a soft light to make the home feel more “homely”.
5. Add textures and layers
Another great tip to making a rental into a home, is to add textures and layers. This is to create depth to a space and will enable the space to feel more homely. Examples of this can be blankets/ throws, rugs, pillows, table mats, table cloths, decorative items like vases and boxes and baskets. Adding textures and layers will make your home look like you have lived there for a while and therefore will feel more like you own it.
6. Focus on what makes you smile
Your home is a representation of you, even if it is a rental. Therefore make sure that you bring in items to your more that you really love or make you smile. It can be a candle you love, photos of your friends and family, a coffee mug that represent you or a coffee table book of a passion or topic you are into.
Try to mix the items sutterly into your home, they can be added to your coffee table, side table, on a kitchen counter, on a desk in the hallway or on the bedside table in a bedroom. Have an eye on your color scheme when adding these items. They should be able to blend to what’s already in the room.
7. Take your time while decorating
Sometimes, it takes time for you to see what you really need to add to your rental to make it into your home. It takes time to understand a home and its space. Therefore, do not be afraid to change your mind and allow yourself to experiment with moving around on furniture. It can be that you want an office desk in another room because of the light, or that the high traffic areas need more room to move around quickly.
Do not stress of having it all perfect and in order within days or weeks, take your time to look and analyze your space and do it on a regular basis. This will enable you to reach your goal of a rental that feel like a home.
These were my tips of how to have to make a rental into your home. There might be a lot of restrictions to a rental, but you can still achieve in making it into a place you feel at home.
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