Your home is a reflection of who you are. Your design choices, from your furniture selection to your art collection, reveal pieces of your personality, values and lifestyle. The freedom to express yourself through your decorating style can be somewhat stifled when you’re a renter. Despite limitations set by a lease, you can still customize your living space to accommodate your needs and preferences.

 

Adding Personality to Your Home

The key to decorating a rental is to focus on reversible upgrades — changes you can undo and pieces you can take with you when you move. Go with decorating ideas that are temporary but effective at making your place feel like a home.

• Apply peel-and-stick wallpaper. They’re simple to install and remove and don’t leave a mess behind.

• Hang artwork and pictures using paint-friendly adhesive strips

• Add plants in each room. If you feel like you’re not up for a lot of plant care, check out these varieties that are simple to care for, like Aloe, the ZZ plant or the Chinese Money Plant.

• Lay down a chic area rug. Depending on the room, area or throw rugs really bring a lot of personality to a room besides absorbing sound and creating warmth. Rugs “ground” a space, meaning, without a rug to anchor them, pieces of furniture appear to be floating off the floor.

• Swap out kitchen and bathroom hardware.

• Hang fresh window treatments.

 

Decorating With Kids in Mind

Kids’ bedrooms are their sanctuaries. Ask for your children’s input in designing their rooms. They can add personal touches with accessories such as fairy lights, throw pillows and wall decals. 

 

To make shared spaces kid-friendly, focus on separation and storage. Designate an area of the living room as a play-space. Use a rug or a piece of furniture to delineate from the rest of the room. Woven baskets and storage ottomans serve as functional yet stylish storage solutions to contain kid-created clutter.

 

Designing a Functional Home Office

Even if you do not have a separate room for a home office, you can still create a space that is suitable for working remotely. For the most productive environment, opt for minimalist furniture that allows for organization and reduces clutter (which can help you keep those stress levels under control) and ample room to work without appearing cumbersome. Arrange your work table or desk near a window, if possible, to bring in natural light. Having a designated office space in your home helps you separate work and home life and reduces distractions.

 

Maximizing Space to Entertain

Multipurpose furniture is your secret weapon to carve out space for entertaining. Expandable dining tables, sleeper chairs and portable kitchen islands let you host a crowd, then fold back up once your guests leave. Also, STO-A-WAY mattress foundations provide you with furniture-grade drawers for extra storage. In fact, the storage provided by STO-A-WAY means you could easily eliminate a dresser in this space, allowing you to open it up without sacrificing anything in the process. This could help turn a smaller guest room into a more relaxing area for your friends and family.

 

Your Lawn and Outdoor Area

Many times, part of the rental agreement you sign designates you as being responsible for the upkeep of the lawn. It would be a good investment to get a professional landscaping company to help create an outdoor area that is not only beautiful, but that will be low maintenance for you over time. They can also advise you what plants, trees, and shrubs will work well for you ground and light conditions and give you advice on how to trim, fertilize, and maintain them.

 

A space to entertain outside provides extra room for dinner parties if your indoor space is limited. Lawn chairs and tables, a barbecue grill and some outdoor string lights or tiki torches can make a charming place for your guests to mingle and socialize.

If you have children, there are lots of outdoor play sets that don’t have to be anchored into the ground like traditional swing sets do.

 

Living in a rental does not mean you’re confined to a bland, impersonal space. With a little imagination and resourcefulness, you can create a homey environment that serves your lifestyle needs.