How To Make Your Rental Feel Like A Home
More and more people are renting for longer periods of time as mortgage are harder to get and down payments are bigger than ever. However, just because you don’t own the house you’re living in, that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t feel like home. In fact, just the opposite is true; the more homely you make it feel, the more relaxed you’ll be, and the easier it will be to plan for the future and make things happen. With that in mind, here are some useful tips to help you make your rental feel like a home.
Add Plants
A very simple and yet highly elegant way to make your rental feel more like a home is to add plants. Renting a home in Melbourne, Australia, means having access to some of the world’s most beautiful plants. From the eucalyptus trees that line the streets to the ferns and palms that thrive in the city’s humid climate, there are endless possibilities for adding greenery to your rental. You don’t even have to have real plants; fake plants will work just as well (although they won’t offer the air purifying benefits that a real flowers or plants would).
Having greenery in your home makes it feel much more alive and vibrant, and you’ll be happier to spend time there. It will feel comfortable and, even if you don’t own it, you’ll feel at home there, and that’s the most important thing of all.
Some of the best places to put these plants include:
- Windowsills
- Tables
- Hanging from hooks in room corners
- Bathrooms in general
Use Your Own Lighting
It’s a strange fact, but many rental properties aren’t lit very well. This could be because the landlord doesn’t live there and therefore doesn’t know what kind of lighting will work, and the tenants don’t know that they can change things where necessary (and with permission, of course). However, if you find that the lighting in your rental is making it hard to live there in a practical sense let alone when it comes to comfort, you can do something about it.
You can add lamps to your home to make up for a lack of lighting, and because these are not permanent items, you can choose them yourself and take them with you when you move. The great thing about lamps is that you can choose them to match your design aesthetic, although it’s always worth researching things first; you can find out everything you need to know about antique lamps, for example, and then you’ll have a better idea of what to choose.
Non-Permanent Décor
We’ve already mentioned the fact that lamps are non-permanent décor and therefore are the perfect way to make your rental feel like a home, but remember, there are many different pieces of non-permanent décor you could use; it’s not just about lamps.
Every piece of furniture or decoration you bring into your rental will make it feel more like your home, as long as you choose things that make you happy and that you’ll enjoy using or looking at. Take your time to select the pieces you love, and you can surround yourself with things that make you feel great. This could be sofas, bedside tables, art, kitchen equipment, or anything else. Everything you’ll take with you when you move should be themed around making wherever you happen to live feel like your home.