5 tips to elevate your rental space
Either you are a student who rents a dorm room, or just rent an apartment of some kind, no matter who is the owner of the place, you would want to feel at home in your living space. But sometimes the lessors come up with quite drastic rules and don’t allow any long-term changes in the place. Which, of course, is understandable from their point of view, but what about you? Aren’t you allowed to feel welcomed and cozy in your own house? Do you have to tolerate the interior that the owners of the place chose and fight the feeling that this place is not really yours? And what if the interior is just awfully tasteless?
Luckily for you, there are some ways to elevate your rental space without breaking the rules and making any drastic changes. Or, by making them reversible, so, hang in tight, because we will tell you all the tips and tricks!
- Upgrade the floor
Floor is an important element in the grand scheme of interior design, but sometimes the flooring can be a complete eyesore. So, if you have a hardwood floor and the surface is just a bit scratched or has other small damages, you can minimize the damaged look by just covering the surface with a fresh layer of varnish. Hardwood floors actually have to be varnished regularly, in order to protect the surface from further damage (depending on what kind of varnishing you use), for example water, scratches, and heat damage. All of these things won’t do as much harm if the floor has been processed with a high quality varnish. Also, not only the durability will increase - the varnish will make the floor look fresh, almost as if recently installed.
If you have other material flooring, or just don’t want all that hassle with varnishing, we can recommend investing in rugs (also, if the landlord allows, you can give carpet some thought). Rugs can help you hide the imperfections that the floor has and serve as an interior decor element (rugs are especially popular in bohemian and Scandinavian interior design). Also, rugs will prevent any further floor damage. An especially good choice if you have pets that can accidentally scratch it and thus deprive you of deposit money.
Overall, rugs create the feeling of depth in a room, add texture, and colors. Rugs can make the whole room look cozy and welcoming. Also, you can enrich the interior by choosing the right colors, you can make the space look wider (get light colored rugs) or warmer, more comfortable (get rugs in darker tones). And the best thing is that rugs are not that expensive, you can even make one yourself, which means that you can change them whenever you want! To a different color, shape, texture - all of these qualities of a rug are important in order to create a different atmosphere in the room and shake up the interior a bit.
- Use wallpaper in creative ways
Wallpaper is the oldest trick in the book when talking about transforming an interior. No, don’t be scared - the wallpaper we’re talking about is not a long-term commitment like the traditional wallpaper is. This is a wallpaper that is basically a match made in heaven for renters, interior design enthusiasts, indecisive souls, and those who just enjoy a good piece of wallpaper. This wonder product that we are talking about is peel and stick wallpaper, also known as removable wallpaper! This wallpaper, as the name implies, can be removed with ease (it works like a huge sticker, which you can easily apply to the wall as well as take off without damaging the wall), which means that, when you move out, the apartment will look just the same it did when you moved in! This is especially good news for the new parents who want to make the room for their baby a bit more special but are not allowed to paint the walls or apply traditional wallpaper.
Also, since we are talking about removable wallpaper, don’t draw the line at the walls. For example, you can stick a beautiful design wallpaper on your closet, coffee table, doors, or bookshelf! The options are as limitless as is your creative mind! By decorating furniture with peel and stick wallpaper, you will bring a new life to those pieces of furniture and create a fresh, new vibe in the old interior. And note that the wallpaper won’t leave sticky residue on the furnishings after you take it off, so you’re good to go!
There are various magnificent, elegant, and simply beautiful designs available for you to choose from. For a more vintage and romantic interior we can suggest looking at some of our floral wallpaper designs. If you want something more down to earth, geometric patterns, simple line designs, art deco and Scandinavian wallpaper designs would be the better match for you. We also have a separate section for kids’ room wallpapers, so check that out too! And, if you are daring enough, you can transform your bathroom by applying, for example, wallpaper with tile design, or a marble, which also looks good in powder rooms.
- Use houseplants
Bringing in more and more plants indoors is not just the newest trend driven by the eco-thinking youth - plants have never really lost their popularity and have been included in many different interior design styles throughout the years. Plants have the ability to make your interior more lively and welcoming. And not only that - using plants is a wise way to make the interior a bit more colorful! For example, white walls go hand in hand with various greens that flourish in beautiful, bright colors throughout the year.
Houseplants are an affordable solution if you are bored of the plain, draining and depressing interior which you cannot change even for the smallest bit. Also, it is a well known fact that plants filter the air and produce oxygen, which is vital for us, so not only will your interior improve, but also your health and well-being!
You can buy yourself a potted houseplant, or plant one yourself (some plants can grow from their leaves, roots, as well as seeds, of course). Planting of course, is a cheaper option, but take in mind that it will also be a lot more time consuming. Though this challenge might evoke some new talents of yours - Who knows, perhaps you are the owner of the greenest fingers out there, but are not aware of that yet. For starters, you can try with the easy level, which is growing healthy and strong monsteras, spider plants, aloe. And even if all that can possibly go wrong, goes wrong, there is no need to worry - plants can be easily recycled, or you can just give them away. It’s not like with a weird, expensive statuette, which you would have no clue where to put after it has bored you out. So, houseplants - the ultimate air filter, decoration, and positive vibe amplifier. There can be no objections against houseplants from your landlord's side!
- Use colorful decorations
To bring more life and personality into the interior, you can use different decorations and art pieces that represent your inner world the best. You can go to different stores to scout for the perfect piece that would do the trick, you can decorate your interior with the things you like and enjoy, or, if you are a gifted person, create your own decorative elements.
You should also take care of one unique decoration in your home - your statement piece. This is the item in your house that catches the eye first thing you walk inside the house. Your statement piece can be a unique decoration, piece of furniture, unusual lighting element, a statue - basically anything that grabs the attention because of one's beauty and uniqueness. Taking care of your focal point piece will help you bring most of the focus away from the defects in your rental space and make it feel a bit more sophisticated.
Even your practical every-day things can be used as decorations if you put your mind to it. Think about it - if you buy patterned and textured throw pillows, instead of dull, colorless ones, you will instantly create a playful vibe in your home. Even the little things count! Change your kitchen towels to something brighter, something that stands out. Basically, to add an edge to your interior, pay attention to the small details like towels, curtains, pillows, bedsheets, dishes, and even your house slippers - all of these things can change the whole atmosphere of your home. Take care of these things!
- Invest in wall art
Wall art is what brings balance and harmonizes the interior, though only if you choose the proper color palette, one that is used in your interior. Your options here are to simply just buy the wall art pieces you like, for example, canvas and paintings, or, again, you can create something yourself, for example a gallery wall. Make one from different postcards that you have received, photographs, your own paintings, maps from your trips - basically mix up
different pieces of interesting paper that have some personal value added (or the ones you just think will look pretty). Gallery walls are easy to create and it is possible to achieve various results. You can create a really sweet and cute gallery wall with the photos of your loved ones (friends, pets, family), an elegant and tasteful one with different artworks and cutouts from fashion magazines, or just pick a color palette and create a gallery wall with random pics in the chosen tones.
As a wall art decoration, you can even create wall art with wallpaper (no matter traditional or removable). Just cut out pieces of beautiful design wallpapers and put them in beautiful frames! For a more sophisticated look, you can choose a golden frame, for example, but for a classy, elegant look - a black wooden frame. If you are not allowed to drill holes in order to hang the frames, try alternative options, for example, use sticky tape or mounting putty to stick the art pieces to your wall.
For a modern look, get yourself some posters with your favorite movie designs, or music band logos. If you think that posters are a thing only teenagers put on their walls, take a peek at framed posters - the fancy, elegant looks will definitely change your mind.
- Final words
It doesn’t matter if you rent your apartment for a long time or a shorter period of time - it’s still your home and you should be able to feel that way too, despite what your landlord allows you to do or not. A poor looking interior with different defects is not a reason to just accept the fate that you have to live in a place that looks the way it does.
We all deserve comfort and to feel the heart-warming relief when we get home after a long day. But is it really your home or just a place you stay at? If you think that the latter sounds more like your situation, take our above-mentioned 5 tips on how to elevate your rental space and make it your home. We wish you the best of luck!
