When you are a tenant that is renting a home or an apartment, you may be apprehensive to decorate your space. Why decorate a space when your stay there is only temporary or you don’t own it? Well, it’s still your home, even if just for the time being. Nobody likes to stare at bare walls or to live in a place that doesn’t make you feel at home. You shouldn’t hesitate to decorate your rental, and there are many solutions to work around any restrictions in place by your landlord. Here is a simple guide to decorating a rental home.
One of the most important things to keep in mind when decorating a rental home is to pick versatile pieces. Don’t pick things to decorate a specific space, as you may move in the near future and not have any need for that specific piece anymore. For example, find a sofa that can be both left or right facing so it can fit in any home layout. Another thing to keep in mind is picking out a theme or a color scheme. A little can go a long way when things match and go together.
Rental Friendly Upgrades
Rugs
Some home decor is going to be much more rental-friendly than others. A rug can help bring a room alive and decorate a large empty space. It doesn’t get more simple than laying down a rug either. Whether you want to break up large areas of carpet or cover up a harder surface, rugs can bring color and design to a room while being super easy to take with you when you move.
Plants
Plants can help fill space in your home as well. Whether you want a real plant to bring life to your home or a faux plant to simply use as decor, some greenery is always a nice touch to a room.
Throw Pillows and Blankets
Throw pillows and blankets are great ways to decorate a room while not having to worry about the moving process or if they’ll fit in your next home. Color-coordinate pillows and blankets with the furniture they’re on or the other art in the room to tie everything together, or choose something bold to pop against the rest of the room.
Furniture
Don’t go cheap on furniture just because you’re worried about taking it with you when you move. Odds are if it fits where you are renting now, it will fit in your next home too. Just try to avoid buying oversized items. If you buy a massive dining room table, it may be harder to transport or fit in another home. When you’re thinking of rental living room decorating ideas, think about how you want to feel when you’re at home. Don’t pick out a cheap, uncomfortable sofa just because your stay is temporary if that’s not what you want. Be happy with what you choose and what you come home to.
Lighting
The lighting fixtures in rental homes or apartments aren’t always the best. Bring your own light to the room using floor lamps, table lamps, or LED light strips. Not only can you increase (or decrease) the light in your room, but you can find a lamp that helps decorate your space as well. Lighting is one of the easiest upgrades to make in a rental home. Too many apartments or homes don’t even have lights built into some rooms or spaces and make bringing your own lamps essential. These days, you can use smart bulbs or light bulbs with different levels of brightness to control the level of lighting that you want in your home or room.
Curtains & Shower Curtains
Shower curtains can change the way your bathroom looks too and are a great way to decorate a smaller bathroom with limited counter space or wall space to work with. Or, take a step up in decorating your rental home by adding some curtains. Curtains can help hide those boring horizontal blinds that most rental homes use, or bring a design and color to an entire wall space. But before you hang any curtains or curtain rods, make sure you know more about the rules in your rental regarding what you can or cannot do to the walls.
Rental Wall Decor
Most people that struggle with rental decor ideas are worried about what to do with their walls. Hanging pictures in a rental can be a pain as some landlords have rules against absolutely any holes in the wall. If your lease states that you can hang wall art as long as any holes are patched, then it may be much simpler for you. Patching nail holes is relatively easy, and many leasing offices have extra paint that you can use for free to paint over any wall repairs you may have done. If you can’t make any holes in the way, maybe consider using peel and stick decor or decals to help fill the empty spaces on the walls. Command strips are a great alternative to hanging wall art if you are trying to avoid nail holes. Not all wall art has to be hung up using a nail.
It’s always worth the ask to see if you can paint the walls in your rental as well if you’re looking to bring more color to your home. Some landlords will see neutral colors on their walls as an actual upgrade to the property and be completely fine with you painting and leaving the color when you move. In some leases, it may state that painting is fine as long as you repaint the home white when you leave. This may be a pain, but at least you still have the option. In this case, consider painting an accent wall to bring color to a space and make it less white and bland. By only painting one wall, having to repaint at the end of your stay is much less of a hassle. If you can’t paint at all but still want to do something different, you can find peel and stick wallpaper to help add some life to your walls.
Deca Property Management
If you’re looking for a property management company around the St. Louis area that will work with you to make your rental feel like home, look no further than Deca Property Management. Established in 1990, Deca Property Management delivers customized services to meet your unique needs and those of your property. We understand how important it is to feel at home, and we strive to provide extraordinary customer service to our tenants. To learn more about renting with Deca Property Management, call us today at (314) 631-3306 or visit us here to view our available rental properties.
