Living in a rental apartment is not always ideal. The chances of finding a flat that is affordable and decorated in your style are quite small. So, the next best thing you can do is decorate your rental to make it feel like your own. Sure, you may not be able to change things like some furniture, wallpaper, and flooring, especially if you’re on a budget, but you still have a lot of options.
So for your convenience, we put together this guide to provide you with simple techniques and ideas while still making sure you will get your security deposit back at the end of the lease.
Let’s start from the ground up. A few rugs can truly tie a place together. And they are really easy to move, so it doesn’t matter how often you change the place you live. Aside from their aesthetic appeal, they offer practicality. It’s cozier to walk on a fluffy rug, and if the floor is wooden, they will bring the noise down both for you and your neighbors.
Another option you can go for is rollable wooden mats. They are way easier to keep clean than a carpet and lend a modern look to any room while creating a cozy atmosphere in the home.
Rentals often come with furniture, and it may not always fit your style. This doesn’t mean you can’t make it your own. Lining your cabinets and shelves is a quick way to give them personality and cover any spots that may be present from wear and tear.
Another option with furniture is thrift store shopping and backyard sales. You can grab pieces for cheap, and with a little extra inspiration, you can make them your own in no time. Storage is often overlooked when it comes to style, but it can help a lot. Putting all your favorite books, knick-knacks, and possessions on display will immediately make a room your own.
Get some quality sofa covers and throw pillows on them. It would work even better if you’d matched them to your rugs and curtains. That’s a decorative combination that can turn around any room.
Some of the walls might need refreshing, and landlords tend to be lenient toward sprucing up with fresh paint, as long as it’s nothing too crazy. However, you can get creative with wallpaper without applying it to the wall. Just grab a frame big enough to cover an entire portion of the wall and stretch the wallpaper of your choice onto it, then prop it up. Putting it behind a heavy piece of furniture that will help it stand against the wall is a good idea.
If you don’t feel like doing DIY projects, a wall tapestry would do a fine job and will lend just as much cozy feel to your rental as a rug on the ground. Why not have both, in fact?
As we mentioned before, a good set of drapes for your windows to hide the vertical blinds that often come standard with lease homes is a great idea.
As for wall art, we generally do not recommend putting nails or drilling holes in the walls, as that can put your security deposit in jeopardy. We’ll talk a bit more about that in a minute. However, if those are already present, by all means, use them! You can, however, use the shelving and surfaces of the furniture to prop up paintings against the wall.
There’s not much to be said about lighting but this in no way diminishes its impact. A good-standing lamp isn’t hard to transport from place to place, but you’ll appreciate the atmosphere it can create. The same goes for any sort of mood lighting that isn’t a ceiling lamp.
The ceiling lamp itself is also a subject of decoration. Paper light shades come in different shapes, sizes, and colors nowadays and are extremely easy to install on all kinds of fixtures. String lights on your window frames can do wonders
Nothing says abandoned property with no soul more than an apartment that is filled with unnecessary clutter and dirty surfaces. Even if you still don’t feel like it’s your home, try to clean up regularly. It will help you get to know the place and you will avoid dirt build-up that is so hard to remove. At the end of your rental period, one of the things you will probably have to do is hire a company for an end-of-lease clean so that you can prove to your landlord that it’s been professionally cleaned. However, even they sometimes cannot remove years of grime build-up. So to avoid all of that, just keep it clean and tidy. Let your temporary home breathe.
To preserve your security deposit intact, we suggest following these simple rules: