Renting Realities & Solutions when it comes to Decorating
We have readers that we hear from who are constantly moving (and renting homes/apartments), due to having military lifestyles, a spouse with a job that requires them to be in different states or countries for various amounts of time, or even just because they have chosen to rent their home in a perfect location/neighborhood, instead of buy or own at the moment.
These are both great options, because there’s no permanent damage to anything after you’re done; PLUS it helps set the stage for the rest of your decor, accents and colors. Obviously the wallpaper will have a lot more of a commanding presence, so take that into consideration when picking out the rest of your rooms items. Oversized mirrors will really help make your space appear larger, and also reflect anything else, design wise, going on in your space.
So I have to ask…
Are you a renter who has overcome the “renter’s rut” when it comes to decorating? Have you found a great way to customize or personalize your spaces, without adding paint, trim or changing much of anything… but simply adding MORE!?
I’d love to know if you have any tips or tricks to share with other fellow renters. I KNOW they would appreciate them!
Stacey says
Great ideas for anybody. ๐
Unknown says
My husband and I rent our home, as do both our parents and grandparents. Our reason is to never be in debt. It's a great feeling when you don't have that burden. That being said, the people that my husband and I rent from know our reasons and are very willing to let us make changes. We can paint the rooms any color, except black and they have no problems with letting us change light fixtures or door knobs. We just give them the items we replace. My husband works in carpentry and has also taken on bigger home projects, such as knocking out the old, small closets in our bedroom to build a huge walk-in. In May of next year the kitchen will get gutted and completely redone. My husband and I did the layout and will manage the manual labor while our landlord pays the materials. It's a winner all around. We get an updated kitchen and the value of the house increases for our landlord and she doesn't have to pay for labor, saving about 50% of the cost.
Melanie@Crafty Cupboard says
We've been renters for 8 years so far (and more years to come!) and I am finally fed up with succumbing to the rut. I mentioned once before that I didn't read home reno blogs because they "didn't apply" but I decided I was only doing myself a disservice and setting myself worse limitations than I actually had- there are so many ideas that home decorating bloggers like yourself have that can be implemented by renters. We typically have much smaller budgets which makes decorating hard too, but seeing fresh spins on thrifted pieces, or revamping existing furniture has made a big difference in how I see my space. The half flat/half eggshell painted walls are just an unsightly physical barrier to me now, but what hangs on them (command strips are my friend!) and what fills the space between walls has become more significant. With such a tight budget it goes really, really slow but at least I know that all that effort and hard earned money can be easily moved into our next rental! It has been really, really slow going but with patience, I am happily looking forward to having a beautiful rented place to live, if you can ignore the cheap cabinetry ๐
…and, we happily endure the dry 118 degrees for 6 1/2 months of 60-80 degree weather ๐ We always pity those moving in during the summer, though. Must be a shocker.
Anonymous says
Gallery walls filled with colorful art can really make an impact. At my last rental I hung an entire gallery wall with 3M tape so as not to leave any holes. Huge different, lots of pops of color, zero wall damage.
And I agree – textiles that you can take with you, from table linens to drapes and throw pillows can be your best bet!
Jessica Elise says
Hello, I am new to the blog and haven't been on for a few weeks. Tonight I thought I would check back in because we are getting ready to move to Ogden to a boring apartment and I was feeling depressed about how I was going to make it feel like home. Lo and behold this great article was right in front of my face! I feel so much better about our situation and found so many lovely ideas. Thank you so much.
STAYC @ Lacy and Crew says
So glad to know I'm really not alone in renting! We can paint our walls which is a huge blessing but there's other things I wish I could change or redo (like our kitchen, the floors… I could go on…). I will have to try the large mirrors and your print/pattern mixing suggestions! ๐
Lacy & Crew
Courtney @PrettyCheap says
This is so funny because I'M a renter and I have a love-hate relationship with the challenges it causes when it comes to decorating!
My favorite thing I've done so far is use electrical tape to spruce up a boring white wall. It's SUPER fun and I love it! It's on my blog ๐
Thanks so much for sharing these tips, from a long time renter, they're all true!!
Have a great day,
court
Cascadeis says
I love living in my rental apartment… I might not have the most interesting walls (even if my partner and I were lucky enough toget to choose the walls and floors for some rooms, if only from a small selection of "neutral" wallpapers and plastic floors) but I've chosen a color or style for each room and now have a home that fits me perfectly.
The soft grey walls in our office have been transformed by some plants, a vase with a fake rose, japanese art and curtains and lots of beautiful romantic-looking storage. And our bedroom is on it's way to becoming a simple elegant and relaxing space (I hope) instead of a boring room with five(!!!) boring white closets and simple striped walls.
I love having these boundaries when I'm organizing and changing things, it makes it more of a challenge. But of course it also means I'm stuck with these really ugly dirty-looking greenish grey walls in the hallway…
But I really love living in a home where I can call someone else whenever something stops working!
Unknown says
I can never pull anything together but I'm getting better from your blog. Love the way you make a house a home!
shelley says
The living room has too much going on . Which area is the focal point? The sofa or the gallery wall ? It's hard for the eye to know where to go. Sofa table behind and the chairs vignette . I'd let the photo wall be the star and simplify all other areas ๐
House of Smiths says
I guess this would be a classic case of opinion vs. opinion, because I LOVE all the color, and our set-up above WAS the edited down version ๐
The neutral base of walls, rug and furniture give the space SO much neutral base, that if I were to go much more simple, I'd lose the personality that I wanted to give this area.
For me, with my loud, outgoing personality and decorating style, having these bold pops of color that lead your eye from one area to the other help make you see the WHOLE space, not just one area!
Funny that you mentioned so many spots all in your comment, because that's what I was hoping to accomplish! NOT just have people focus on the gallery wall ๐ haha!
Isn't it funny how everyone's decorating style and "mission" is so different!?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
shelley says
Shelley vs. Shelley lol ๐ Thanks for letting me put in my two cents!
Alexis says
totally funny!!