Make Your Rental Look Great

Tired of your rental’s ho-hum décor? You can spruce up your rental quite easily without breaking your budget. In what follows, we’ll give you ten tips on how to make your rental gorgeous. Best of all, many our tips are geared toward portable improvements that you can take with you to your next home.

1. Have fun with color. Most rentals allow you to paint the walls and/or floors. Take advantage of this and give your rental a splash of color. You might want to try painting one wall in a room a certain color to create a point of focus and to give the room more pizzazz. You could also paint a border around the tops of your walls with a stencil. Before you begin, check your lease for the rules on painting your rental. If you have to return the walls to their original color upon move-out, stick with lighter colors.
2. Hang out. Hanging various objects on your walls can create a unique aesthetic in your rental. If you have rugs, scarves, or other objects, try putting them on the wall for a fun effect. You could also try grouping mirrors or similar photos together on a wall.
3. Material goods. The right fabric can help tie a room together. You might put cloth on the walls and pin it up with decorative tacks. You might also bunch the fabric together to create a different look.
4. Use screens. Screens are a great camouflage for any unsightly objects you don’t quite know what to do with, such as vacuum cleaners, treadmills, etc. Angle a screen in the corner of a room for an exquisite, dramatic effect.
5. Break it up. If you have a combination bedroom/living room or dining room/living room, you might try breaking up the spaces to make things more intimate. Some designers suggest using an open bookshelf as a divider because it’s not too imposing.
6. Never underestimate mirrors. Do you want to make a small space look bigger? Mirrors are the answer. You can have a frame custom-made for the mirror you select so it complements your décor.
7. Let there be light. You can use low-voltage lighting fixtures as substitutes for existing lights or as supplements. You might try small track lights, spotlights, or hanging lights.
8. The illusion of the built-in. One idea that gives the illusion that you have had a piece built into your apartment is to purchase a bench seat and position it under a window. You can sandwich it between two bookshelves to give it an authentic, custom-made look.
9. Replace hardware. Doorknobs, cabinets handles, etc. in rentals tend to be drab and out-of-date. You can easily replace these with more interesting selections, and then uninstall them before you move out.
10. Even renters can garden. Try adding some green to your rental by making a garden on your deck or patio. You could use a whisky barrel or a large planter to get started.

Additional Resources:

• Interior Design 101
• Decorating Ideas: Cheap-Chic Tricks from a TLC Star