Rental-Friendly Decorating Hacks

Congratulations, you have a brand new place to live! Whether you’re a student living in accommodation or moving into your first rented apartment, you want to make it suit you. However, most rental properties have limitations on what you can do. Here are some rental-friendly decorating hacks on how to make the space your own.

Think Cozy and Creative

You don’t want to risk your security deposit by painting things you shouldn’t or hanging picture frames on the wall. But how do you create a cozy and creative space for yourself without doing those things? It’s time to get cozy and creative. Think of the things that make you feel happy. Is it fluffy blankets? A bookshelf filled with your favorite titles? Candles and scented diffusers? There are lots of cheap and creative ways to make your home cozy without doing anything too big.

Fairy lights are a lovely way to add a warm glow of light to your room, hang them above your bed or drape them across your bookshelf to create a homey feel. If you buy a bookcase, you can also use this as a way to be creative, you could paint it different colors, and add some plants and photographs of people you love. Pillows, cushions, and blankets are another way to make your home feel like yours. Drape a fluffy blanket across your sofa and it will keep you warm in the winter months and make it a cozy experience, also, buy a few different blankets, so you can swap them around.

Let there be light!

Personalizing lampshades is a great way to bring some fun to your new home. You can take a plain lampshade (make sure it’s one you buy yourself and not the original one that came with the apartment), poke holes in it to create a unique image and you will love the beautiful pattern it creates on your walls and ceiling. Another way to bring more light and warmth into your home is to buy a salt lamp. The calming orange glow of a salt lamp will make you feel at home in no time and the great thing about salt lamps is that they have many benefits for your health and wellbeing too, which is a bonus!

Add some greenery

Plants are a wonderful way to brighten up your new home. Not only do they look pretty, but plants also produce oxygen and will give you the same calming feeling you get when you go for a walk outdoors. However, if you are anything like me and would forget to water real plants! Then a small number of artificial orchids or a Fejika or two on your bookshelf will also brighten up your space.

Rugs, curtains, and bedding

Another great way to do some rental-friendly hacks to personalize your living space is to buy some luxury rugs for your floors. The carpet in rented accommodation tends to be cheap and low quality and if you are lucky enough to have wooden floors, it’s great, until you walk around with bare feet in the middle of winter! Go to your local homeware store and pick up a variety of colorful rugs with different textures to customize your home.

Curtains are another great way to add some color to your home. If you already have a curtain pole in place, then you’re good to go. But if you don’t, you can always talk to the homeowner or landlord if you feel adding curtains will add more privacy and block out more light in your home. And finally, bedding! This is a fun one and it’s the best way to add some personality to your bedroom. The great thing about bedding is that you can buy a few different ones and change them around every month, depending on your mood or season. I have fleece bedding for winter and flowery bedding for spring.

Turn your house into a home

So, those are some rental-friendly decorating hacks to turn your house into a home. You don’t need to paint the walls or drill holes into the walls to make a space your own. A few other things you can do are add candles and reed diffusers to leave your home smelling lovely, hang up some string on the wall with temporary glue dots or damage-free wall strips and use small pegs to showcase some of your favorite photographs or buy some foldable storage boxes with funky designs to add some color to your room (I have done all of these in my own rented apartment to make it feel like home).