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Perhaps you’re not ready to buy a house yet: financially, physically, or mentally. So you know you’ll be in the renting game for a while. When your first walk in your rental, you see bare walls, clean appliances (hopefully), and carpet with fresh vacuum lines in them. Well, what to do to make this seem like home?
1. You probably can’t paint, or don’t want to because of the hassle. So you’re stuck with boring, white walls.
Tip– curtains, photos, artwork. Curtains are great for adding color (and privacy!). Photos add character (try a photo display shelf as opposed to putting individual frames. There’s less holes in the wall to patch up) Artwork serves as a conversation piece ( and makes you seem all art-y)
2. Ugly carpet/tile/linoleum
Tip– Meet the area rugs. be sure to buy the rugstopper to the back so they don’t slide as much. This is where decorating your walls come in handy as it draws attention away from the floors.
3. Outdated Lighting Fixtures
Tip– In most cases, you can switch them out no problem. Maybe with the help of someone handy. Lamps can be easily incorporated as well. I personally prefer neutral lampshades, just in case I want to move the lamp to a different room.
4. Furniture
Tip– Buy the “hard” larger pieces: sofa, dining room set, bedroom set, in as neutral colors as you can get. Colors that will go with anything and everything. This way, when you move, it’ll be a lot easier to buy the soft pieces (pillows, bedspreads, tablecloths, curtains) to coordinate.
5. Accessories
Tip– 80-20 rule. Invest in 20% of your pieces that you truly, truly love and will never part with. when you move, the other 80% can be “replaced” by shopping at discount stores, flea markets, or even making them yourself.