Being a military family who has moved into five “new-to-us” spaces in the last nine years, I feel like I’ve become a pro at getting creative and thinking outside the box in order to make each and every house feel like a true and meaningful home. Painting the walls and hanging art are two surefire ways to give a bland rental space some personality. However, every rental accommodation has different rules and policies about what you can and cannot do to the unit while you live there; if paint and nail holes are off the table, don’t despair! There are other things you can do to decorate your rental to give it some major function and style without risking your security deposit!
Upgrade Your Lighting
As a renter, you will most likely face some major lighting shortfalls. Ugly and insufficient light fixtures tend to abound in rentals; and all too often, there just isn’t a light right where you need one! Swapping out standard flush mount-, pendant-, and chandelier-style lights for something more in line with your personal style is a simple project for the handy renter, and it can work wonders for making a space feel more like home. Just make sure you store the original light fixtures and hardware in a safe place and put them back before moving out! Additionally, consider adding ceiling lights, track lighting, or wall sconces when you have ample expertise and access to crawl spaces/attics and electrical outlets. In our combined family room/playroom, there isn’t a single overhead light.
“Customize” Your Closets
Living in a rental that is perhaps a bit too small for your family often means you have to use every last inch the home has to offer. After years of being frustrated with wasted closet space, I realized that there were things I could do to make our closets hold more than just clothes! In almost every space we’ve lived in, our closets have been outfitted with (seemingly standard) wire shelving. I was so excited to realize the wire shelving was only held on by simple screws and anchors and was easily taken down. Even if removing a shelf isn’t an option (or you need that shelf space!), don’t hesitate to add additional shelving to give a closet even more functionality. Off-the-shelf cube units or floating shelves (pictured below) are an affordable way to multiply the storage in a room for just a few dollars and minimal effort!
Cover Up Ugly Flooring
In a rental, flooring can be really unpredictable. From stained carpeting, peeling laminate, cold tile and everything in between, rental flooring is often neutral and boring; and it can even be mismatched throughout the space. Adding graphic area rugs (even layering rugs over existing carpeting!) can not only help you feel better about what’s underfoot, but can add a major style punch that can come with you when you move.
Redefine Your Spaces
No home, unless you custom build it, is going to be ideally suited to the needs of your family. And especially in a rental, when you can’t knock down walls or make other major changes, you have to sometimes redefine spaces within the home so that it best suits your family’s lifestyle! In our current home, we don’t have a pantry. A freestanding wire rack in the adjacent laundry room was a great solution to this not-so-ideal situation!
In the same way, we repurposed an awkward nook in our hallway to be a family command center/drop zone. We don’t use our front door (where the actual coat closet is) for entering and exiting the house; instead, we use a side door. Repurposing an otherwise unused section of wall right inside the side door helps keep mail, shoes, jackets, and important papers corralled and organized right where we need them!
Crafting is a major hobby (and budding career) for me, so it was really important that I have a space to work and store all of my tools and notions. With only one spare bedroom in our small home, we chose to forgo the guest room in favor of an office and craft studio. Off-the-shelf cabinets from a big-box store nailed to the wall give the illusion of built-ins, but are actually completely removable when we move out. Carving out this creative space along a single wall in our spare room allowed us to use this space far more than we would have otherwise!
Pantry in the laundry room? Mudroom in the hallway? Kitchen cabinets in the guest room? Why not! Don’t be afraid to redefine areas in your space to be exactly what you need them to be!
Go Green!
More than any other item you can bring into your home, live plants are one of the quickest, easiest, and cheapest ways to give your space a “lived-in” feel! Look for inexpensive and sturdy plants, such as philodendrons, lucky bamboo, and fresh herbs, all of which thrive indoors in pots and planters and can withstand a decent amount of neglect! Up the style factor by getting creative with how you display your plants, utilizing a mix of planters (i.e., glass, ceramic, tile) and other unusual items (such as my blue hanging lantern!). If your home is feeling stale and one-dimensional, adding a plant will surely bring new “life” to your space!
Just because you live in a rental doesn’t mean you can’t give your space some personal style and improve its function. Even when painting and knocking down walls are forbidden, creative storage solutions, new light fixtures, smart furniture placement, and stylish accents (i.e., rugs, art, accessories) can all go a long way in making any sterile and impersonal space a true home. Still looking for ideas? Be sure to check out six additional ways to customize your rental!
