Simple Ways to Make Your Rental Place Feel like Home

Creating your home away from home is easy.  With a few swap-outs, fresh new paint, and ample of lightings, you can make any place into a beautiful living environment to soothe your soul and personality.  Here are simple ways to help you make any rental room feels like a nurtured home without forfeiting your deposit.

1.      Paint is the fastest and cheapest way to create a good mood in a room.  Choose one wall in the main living space and repaint it a color that you borrow from your favorite item.  Steer clear of stark whites or primary colors.  The accent wall will break up the rest of the room and make all the art work or personal framed photos on it feel special.  It is also easy and inexpensive to repaint before you move.

2.      Select easy to care for houseplants.  Nothing can compare with real greenery for a lived-in feel.  Arrange plants near a window or where they won’t be in your way, or hanging from a ceiling hook.  Plants are inexpensive way to decorate. Take good care of your houseplants and they will live to see your next place with you.

3.      Dress up your windows.  Many different types of window treatments are on the market and cover all of the possibilities between casual and elegant.  Adding drapery panels around the window frames the view and instantly finishes the look of any room.

4.      Use mirrors to enhance the light and the view.  Making space work is part illusion, and lights and mirrors are two key tools of the illusion trade.  A mirror hanged above a dresser to reflect light from the window, making the room feel more spacious.  In room large or small, a light in front of a mirror is a good thing.  It creates a reflection that makes wattages go farther and enhances the perceived space.  A word of caution about mirrors:  Check what they reflect.  Stand in the mirror’s place and look around.  To prevent startling people as they walk by, tilt the mirror slightly up or down to change the perspective, and put a tall plant in front of it so the refection isn’t only of ceiling or floor.

5.      Replace light fixtures.  Change the covers to suit your personal taste, and then swap in the old fixtures when you are ready to move.  Buy imaginative lamps; it is an easy way to try out a new look or theme.  Use layers of light; they are a key in a room’s design.  Use different types together to create a bold statement, or use them alone to achieve a particular effect.  Remember to put your lights on dimmers so you can set the mood for working, entertaining, or relaxing.

6.      Use area rugs.  They are portable and cover multitudes of sins such as cold tile floor, scratchy wood floor, old linoleum, or worn out carpet.  Choose classical colors and patterns’ motifs with designs derived from nature that would go with many different type of décor.  Buy pure wool that is tightly hand woven, flat-weave, and reversible rug for durability and longer wear.    

7.      Display your family photos.  Make your space feel more personal by going through those boxes and boxes of photos you have stored away.  Buy inexpensive frames for them.  Buy a floating mantle from your local hardware store and fill it with framed photos.

Make your rental room reflect your taste.  Make it personal.  Decorating it should be about making your space feel super-comfortable and a place that you can’t wait to come home to.