5 Tips for Intentionally Decorating Your Rental

The trouble with rentals is often that they just don't feel like ours. But no matter where you live, whether it's a one bedroom apartment or just a room or half of a dorm room, it's your space. It's where you eat and sleep and cry and laugh and stay up too late watching your favorite show.

You should be able to love your space, and your space should love you back. When you look around you should feel happy and at peace and in tune with yourself.

So whether or not you own the land it's planted on, this space is yours. It should look and feel that way too.

But as we all know, making that happen is easier said than done. Although the place is yours in it's own special way, someone else gets to make rules about what exactly you get to do with it.

And although that makes it a little trickier to personalize your place in the most intentional way, it doesn't make it impossible.

As a fellow renter, I get it. So I put together some things I've picked up along the way that help me make a rental look and feel more like a home that serves me and my family.

Communication is key

Communication might not be the first thing that pops into your head when you get all geared up to hit those pinterest boards, but it's really important to get on the same page with your landlord.

While some landlords won't even let you hammer a small nail (helloooooo Command Strips), others might surprise you and get totally down with you giving the place a little facelift. Think about it - a bit of TLC to the place will benefit you both in the end.

This is where I think a lot of people miss out; they live with ugly cabinets or outdated vinyl flooring because they assumed their landlord wouldn't let them touch it, when in the end all they had to do was ask.

Don't be afraid to ask.

Honestly, the worst that could happen is they say no, which really is nbd.

You don't need paint to personalize.

On par with my last point, make sure that you're definitely not allowed to paint. Many people just make the assumption that they can't paint the walls and never look back. Double check your lease, and if that's not clear, reach out to your landlord. They might limit your color choices, but many landlords actually don't mind you painting.

If you definitely can't paint the walls, don't lose hope yet.

Just like a statement piece of jewelry that you might wear with your little black dress, you can express yourself through statement pieces in your home too.

This could be as simple as a pillow with a fun pattern, or a bigger piece of furniture that really stands out.

One of my favorite statement pieces in our home is a antique orange velvet chair that my parents passed on to me. My step mom picked it up when I was a kid and it hence became my "princess chair."

Although a bright orange wouldn't be the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of my typical color palette, I love it! It's super unique, and really breaks up the cool tones that are prominent in my living room, and it has sentimental value to me.

So here's my ultimate point: don't just pick a bunch of pillows or a chair or a rug because you like it or because it's easy. Pick some simple things that you love, and then pick a few statement pieces to complement them. Things that are unique and stand out, and don't be afraid of color.

You can, yanno, actually decorate. And you should.

Unless you're a hardcore minimalist, having blank walls and nothing around you that inspires you is going to make the place feel like a box, not a home.

And I don't know what it is, but I recently realized that I have a lot of unfinished decorating projects in my house. The one room in my house that is closest to "done" is the room that makes me feel happiest. It's the room that inspires me the most. The room I want to spend the most time in.

And I had to ask myself - what if every room in my house felt like this? Why on Earth am I leaving it so long; what am I waiting for, exactly?

Take the time to turn each room in your home into a place you truly love.

Hang some pictures of your loved ones. Get rid of that nightstand that's totally not your style, and get something you actually love. Finish that home DIY project (or projects) you started a year ago. Hang some curtains.

On a budget? Hit the thrift stores, baby.

Actually, hit the thrift stores anyway because sustainability.

Get your art on.

And by on, I mean on the walls.

This carries over from my last point, but I wanted to give it special attention. Picking your art shouldn't be as simple as matching your color palette, okay.

Don't pick art just because it matches your comforter or because it was on sale at Ikea. Pick art because it makes you feel something.

When you pick a picture of your friends or your dog or yourself to hang on a wall, you picked it because it made you feel something. It makes you feel happy, or thankful, or nostalgic, or it makes you feel confident.

Art should be like that. This is something you're going to be seeing every single day. It should resonate with you.

And if you are picking it because of the colors, it should be because those colors make you feel calm or energized or joyful.

If you want something more personalized that you can resonate with, check out my art shop here. You can also make it super personal by creating your own art.

No nails allowed? Pick up some command strips, or pick larger prints that you can simply lean on the wall for a modern and trendy feel.

Simplicity is your friend.

Especially if this isn’t your forever home. However often you move in the future, it’s going to make it so much easier on you and whatever poor soul you know who owns a truck.

More importantly though, you need room to breath and so does your home. You want your place to feel spacious and peaceful, not cluttered and chaotic.

Pick furniture, decorations, and appliances that let your home breathe. You don't need the unnecessary stress of having to squeeze into your home because your things aren't practical for your space.

And if your space is in fact on the smaller side, some decluttering might be in order. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of tying your home together, it’s usually best to start by taking things out first before you start adding anything in.

When we own too many things that don’t really do much for us emotionally or even functionally, it’s just clutter. It’s taking up space and stressing us out unnecessarily. So when we get rid of all those things, we make space for the things that will actually make us happy or serve us well.

Action Steps

In the next 15 minutes ... Review what you're limitations are with the space. If you're unsure, go over your lease. If your still unsure, reach out to your landlord and just ask.

In the next week ... Start clearing out some clutter - things that don't serve you or bring you joy. Make room either give space to the things you already own and love or to bring new things in that you'll love.

Work on Continuously ... Start making your rental into a home that feels like your space. Over the next couple of months, hang pictures and artwork, replace things that you don't love with things that you do, and add a few statement pieces that bring your personality into your home.