How to personalize my rental to make it mine
Is your rental home feeling a little dreary and tired?Does it still feel like it's not really yours and your belongings just don't fit in? Perhaps you're desperate to inject a little more of your personality into the space but don't know where to start, after all it's not like you can pick up a paintbrush and just go for it!
Take it from us, living in a rental home does not need to be drab! In fact, personalizing rental properties is one of Mondän's specialities. As the best online interior designers, we've given many rentals a facelift and have plenty of ideas to share with you to make your rental the stylish space you deserve.
With any interior design or home organization project it's best to start by making a good assessment of what's working and what needs to be improved. Mondän’s easy one-page brief will help you identify some of the issues you might be having. For example, we’ll figure out if you're struggling to find good storage solutions for children's toys or if your priority is creating an oasis in your bedroom.
Let’s start with a few simple things you can do to spruce up your rental space. And where better to start than with the walls? Is the paint colour horrendous? Or, is it painfully bland and you’re worried about hanging art in case you damage the walls? There are many beautiful removable wallpaper alternatives that are quick and easy to put up and have minimal risk of damage when taking them down again. They come in a variety of patterns from floral themes or cityscape murals to muted textural brick patterns, so there’s something to suit everyone.
Another quick fix that makes all the difference to dark spaces are window furnishings. Unfortunately, they’re often overlooked in rental homes, but life is too short to live with smelly old curtains. Mondäncan help you with custom window dressings that can quickly modernize the look of your home and add some pattern and texture if that’s what your space needs. The best thing is, you can take them with you when you leave.
Often, our Clients will come to us despairing about their‘ugly’ floors and of course, replacing floors is out of the question in a rental. You can’t take those with you when you go! Don’t worry, we have a solution for this too! We’ve used foam floor tiles very successfully in kids’ bedrooms and living areas where there’s a lot of foot traffic, and they’ve been wonderful. There’s lots of stylish colours to choose from and they’re easy to put down and take back up again. There’s also click-in engineered wood flooring that’s affordable and totally worth it if you know you’ll be in your rental for some time. But, if you’re just after a quick, inexpensive fix, then we love rugs! From a natural sisal to a heritage-style rug, there’s plenty of choice to really add some colour and personality to your home.
The next biggest change you can make is with lighting. Using floor or table lamps will brighten dark corners and you can even swop out the existing light features temporarily and change them back when you move.
Once you’ve covered all of those bases, you can get started on really personalizing your space. Want to display your artwork, but you’re afraid of damaging walls? 3M hooks allow you to hang up 10kg wall hangings (with multiple hooks) and won’t leave marks behind when you remove them. Large mirrors can sit on the floor to reflect light. You can play with your furniture using different textures and patterns with the upholstery or use throws and cushions. Then add some plants, your favourite magazines and/or books and some beautiful scented candles and you’ll feel right at home in no time.
If you’re not sure that these suggestions are going to cut it in your rental space, perhaps you need a pair of new, expert eyes to look at the room from a different perspective? Mondän has a great reputation for solving even the trickiest of problems. And we would love to help you turn your rental into a beautiful home that you’ll be happy to call yours for however long you'll be there.
Even if you just need to ask a quick question, hop over to our launchpad package and we’ll be right on it!