You’ve recently settled into a rental home. You want to decorate it but there are so many restrictions. How can you make it feel like home without breaking the rules? Here are 6 options for decorating a rental home.
6 Options for Decorating a Rental Home
Furniture Palette
Although some landlords do allow you to paint the wall colors, most rental homes do not allow you to paint your house. When you are restricted by the oatmeal-colored walls most rentals have, it can be hard to make a rental space feel like a home. There is hope, however. Just because you have a rental doesn’t mean you can’t have a color palette throughout your home. Instead of painting walls, use your furniture and wall decorations as the color palette. Go to the paint store and pick out color combinations you love. Instead of using those color chips to paint your walls, use those colors to pick out your furniture, rugs, curtains, and wall decor. You can carry a color theme throughout a home simply by picking a color and moving it from room to room. For example you may have a teal buffet in your dining room. Add a pop of this lovely color in your kitchen with a tea kettle in the same color family. Add counter stools in a similar color family and finish the look with teal pattern curtains. What’s great about this is you can take the furniture with you when you move.
3M Strips are Your Friend
Many rentals have very strict rules about the number of nails that you can put in the walls. Don’t let the nail limit deter you from filling your walls with pictures and paintings and decor that represent your style. Use 3M strips instead of nails. This technology is amazing as it attaches securely to the wall without the use of nails. When it is time to remove the strips, simply follow the easy removal instructions and you’ll find that it removes quite easily. It leaves no residue and causes no damage to the walls. Use these handy mounting devices and save the nails for the heavy duty pieces.
Rugs
When you’re in a rental, you have little say over the quality and style of the floors of your home. If you find that your floors are less than lovely, invest in a large area rug to cover the unsightly tiles or laminate. You can even place large rugs over carpet. It is amazing what a beautiful rug can do for the overall look of a space!
Make Temporary Updates
Do have an ugly light fixture that is driving you crazy? Replace the lamp cover with something you love. You can do the same for ugly blinds or curtain rods. If you don’t like the knobs on the kitchen cabinets, simply replace them with knobs you prefer. Be sure to securely store everything you removed in your garage or attic. When it’s time to leave you’ll need to take the time to replace everything. This solution is a time investment, but it may be worth it to have a house that feels more like a home.
Temporary Wall Treatments
If you love accent walls, you don’t have to give up your decorator’s dream just because you are renting. There are many products on the market today that help temporarily adjust the look of a wall. There’s peel and stick wallpaper, washi tape made for walls, chalkboard vinyl, and removable duct tape. You can take a drab wall and turn it into something quite stunning. Since it’s temporary, you don’t have to worry about damage to the walls or losing your deposit when you move out!
Here’s a great video that shows how to apply chalk wallpaper.
Repurpose Furniture
When you rent, you may get stuck with some pretty interesting furniture pieces that are a permanent fixture in the home. For example, many older homes have a wet bar. The only problem is that you don’t drink; at least, not enough to have a wet bar. You do, however, have small children. Turn the wet bar into a craft corner. The shelves are perfect for storing art supplies and a you’ll find that built-in sink is pretty convenient for washing hands. Perhaps you’ve inherited a butler pantry. Repurpose this cabinet and counter space meant for silver and fine china into a workspace for that scrapbooking hobby of yours. When confronted with a challenging piece of furniture, try to think outside the box.
Renting can be a great way to stay within your budget. With the right tricks, you can make your rental feel cozy and welcoming. If you want to sell your current home to rent, we’d love to help. Ben Buys Indy Houses buys houses in AS-IS condition in the Indianapolis area. Contact us for more information.
