Tips to personalise a rented home
I moved to the UK some years ago, and since then, I have been living in rented flats. So, I know the struggle of finding the right place and then moving into a flat full of other people furniture. It can be strange at first, because it doesn’t feel like home. But, while working within your landlord’s boundaries, you still have a lot of options to personalised and style your new home.
When renting, it is really important to consider if the house is complete furnished, semi furnished or empty. Obviously, if it’s empty, you are going to have a lot more freedom about the decoration. However, when you move into a new city and need to rent a place quick, you will probably do as me, and rent a furnished flat; especially, if you are moving into a different city and you do not have a clue on where to start.
It may be overwhelming at first, by there are a lot of ways to personalise a rented space with a tight budget and making sure you receive your deposit at the end. Below I gives some of the tips that I learned over the past few years.
Furniture and Storage
If you are working on a tight budget, investing in new furniture can be a little risky. It is always worthy checking your IKEA store for some pieces to start with. You can find a lot of different styles and it would help you to find some inspiration as well.
Also, try to check some second hand furniture shops. For my first rented flat in the UK, I was lucky enough to find in British Heart Foundation Furniture two cabinets for 20 GBP each! You can bargain some really cheap furniture that you can use directly or personalise when you have a little more time. You can find some DIY inspiration on my Pinterest board.
Example of reclaim furniture (Source)
Lighting
Generally, in a rented flat you are not allowed to change the position of the ceiling lights, but you can easily change the lighting. Using Warm LED bulb will help you save on the electricity bill as well as creating a warmer and calmer environment.
You can change the shades of the lights to control the mood lighting in your home. Updating the shades will create a more personalise room. You have a lot of different styles and options; for example a bold colour shade to combine with your soft furnishing to DIY shades made with scraps of fabrics for a statement piece.
Example of an easy DIY lampshade (Source)
Wall decor
One of the first rules of renting that I learned was that if you want to have your deposit back do not touch the walls. So the first couple of years we had plain a boring walls. However, when we decided to personalise the flat to make it fell more like a home, the first step was to decorate the walls, and it make a huge difference.
You can find on your local stores a lot of options to personalise your walls without making a scratch on the paint. You can use Washi Tape to create personalise design, or use Velcro to hang some wall decoration like paints or frames with family pictures.
Another option that is an absolute trend are the Wall Tapestries. You can use them to decorate the bedroom or the living room using some little nails or easy removable adhesive. In shops as Society6 or Redbubble you can find a lot of different styles from artist around the world.
Wall tapestry design (Source)
Soft furnishing
If you rented a furnished flat, like me, you won’t have much freedom on your palette scheme. What I did was to play with the colour of the sofa (a dark brown) and the walls (the standard magnolia colour) and create a colour scheme for the soft furnishing and decoration.
You can invest in a good set of beeline to create a more luxurious bedroom, or just to create a statement piece that you can take with you if you move again! You can find a lot of different qualities and styles on your local shops.
And, of course, play with throw pillows and blankets for the living room. They are easily replaceable, and it would give you a lot of freedom to change the decoration of your home. In online shops as Society6 or Redbubble you would be able to find some really special design made by independent artist around the world.
Throw pillow collection from Redbubble.
Plants
And finally, what better way to bring your rented home to life that placing real plants. Also, it would help creating a healthier environment, as you can read on my previous blog (X). You can find a lot of indoor plants in your local shops and.
Example of an indoor plants display (Source)
Do you have any other tips to personalise a rented place? Share your suggestions on the comments below or sent me some more inspiration using Pinterest or Instagram!
Desde que me mudé a Inglaterra he estado viviendo en casas de alquiler, donde cualquier marca en la pared o agujero de más puede hacerte perder la fianza. Al principio, es muy difícil adaptarse a vivir en un piso, con los muebles de otras personas (normalmente acumulados a lo largo de los años) y con las limitaciones de decoración que te pone la agencia. Pero al final lo que todos queremos es poder sentirnos en casa y para conseguirlo, a continuación de doy unos consejos para decorar tu nuevo piso y poder recuperar la fianza.
Busca en Ikea algún mueble que te ayude a tenerlo todo organizado, si tienes un presupuesto muy ajustado, visita mercadillos o tiendas se segunda mano y empieza algún proyecto DIY. Si no puedes cambiar las lámparas, cambia las bombillas para crear un ambiente más acogedor; también puedes cambiar las tulipas y darle otro toque a la estancia. Ya que no puedes hacer agujeros, decora las paredes con Washi Tape o Velcro para colgar cuadros o fotografías. Y por último, piensa que si no puedes cambiar el sofá, puedes cambiar los cojines, decide la paleta de colores que quieres y combínala con los muebles que no puedes cambiar.
