Cleverly Creative Ways to decorate Your Rental

Guest Post

Living in a rental is so much different than living in your own home, but it’s still the only option for lots of people around the world. Some of them can’t afford to purchase a property, others don’t like being tied to just one location, and the third love changing homes from time to time, which is why renting is the perfect scenario for all of them. However, just because you don’t own the space you occupy doesn’t mean you can’t decorate it in accordance with your own personal taste and make it feel more like home. You will, of course, have to consult your landlords first and make sure they’re on board with your ideas, but you’ll be able to do so much as long as you’re creative and know what you want to achieve. If you too are thinking about spicing up your rental, here are some of the ideas you could explore.  

Replace cabinet knobs

Being surrounded by hideous kitchen cabinets is one of the worst feelings in the world and something that will definitely kill all your willingness to prepare three home-cooked meals every single day. And while you probably won’t be allowed to replace or repaint your cabinets, you might be able to do something about them: replace the knobs! This is an easy project you can complete in a matter of minutes, and all you need is a screwdriver, new knobs, some ingenuity, and your kitchen is going to have a brand new look straight away. You can do the same with drawer pulls and handles, thus updating the look of every corner of your rental, but do remember to keep those original knobs in a safe place, just in case your landlord insists you install them back again before you move out.  

Repaint the walls

To be honest, this technically isn’t a small project, but it’s still much simpler than most people think. Even a layperson with no previous experience can do a pretty decent job painting walls as long as you give them a brush and a bucket of paint, and direct them towards an empty wall. This means you can repaint your entire rental in a matter of days with some help from your friends and introduce a massive change this way. Now, when it comes to arguing over this with your landlord, things could go either way – they can let you do this, understanding it’s a fair proposal on your part and even cover the costs, or they can forbid you to repaint the walls and insist you change nothing in their property. If the latter happens, you might want to consider other ways of introducing some style and elegance into your rental, or just move somewhere else.  

Add a new rug

In case your landlord is being stubborn about the paint job, you can find an alternative and, instead of focusing on the walls, focus on the floor. Sure, installing new flooring would be too expensive, and there’s no reason why you should be the one financing it, but adding a new rug is a rather affordable and amazingly efficient idea. Rugs are great for updating the aesthetic feel of your place and adding a new layer to it, and they’re particularly useful in the winter. This is when one of those warm floor rugs might come in pretty handy, especially if you’re a fan of walking barefoot, so get one of those as soon as you can. Ultimately, you can always roll them up and take them with you when moving to a new place.  

Small details mean a lot

In the end, don’t forget that decorating your rental is about the décor – and some of the nicest and most appealing décor is quite small, affordable and easy to incorporate into any living space. Insisting on big and space-consuming décor pieces might not be an option in a rental since you won’t have enough space for these, nor will your landlord be happy you’re introducing that many changes into their property. That’s why smaller and smarter decorations are much better, and some of the most popular and affordable ideas you need to explore include potted faux cacti, scented candles, string lights and lanterns. You can also try making your own coffee tables and floating shelves, as these will show all your guests just how practical and skillful you are, but you’ll still be able to take these with you if you ever decide to leave your current rental.   Unlike decorating a home of your own, decorating a rental requires a lot of planning and thinking ahead, as well negotiating with your landlord. But, if you do it in a creative and cool way, they’ll certainly agree to all your suggestions, and you’ll be able to make your rental nicer and homelier than it ever was!