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From interior design ideas for rented homes to expert tips on dos and don’ts – here’s all you need to know
“The house is rented, the memories are not.
The floors are leased, the feeling of being home is not!”
Living in a rented house vs an owned property can sometimes feel different. But that nowhere means a rented house can’t be home. After numerous house hunting dates, infinite online scrolling and deciphering broker queries, you finally find a house that you like. It’s got the perfect location and the best layout. However, do you feel like there is still something missing? We know what that is! A house doesn’t feel like home until you have designed it with the things that reflect your personality. Interior design for a rented apartment is about more than just choosing the right curtains!
Therefore, Design Cafe brings you the ultimate list of interior design ideas for rented homes. But before you jump into the list, here are a few things to consider first:
What To Do Before You Go Ahead With Rented House Interior Design?
- Take a close look at your rental agreement for any rules regarding house renovation.
- Double-check with your landlord personally to avoid any unwanted debates.
- Choose design plans according to the duration you are going to rent the house.
- Try to go for temporary design changes that are easily removable.
- Avoid designs that require any kind of major construction or modifications.
- Stick to a budget to make sure you don’t overspend on the interior design ideas for your rented home.
After you have made all the necessary considerations, you can go ahead and try out the following DIY interior design ideas for rented homes.
1. Upgrade A Rented House Interior Design By Swapping Old Furniture
If your rented house is furnished or you have carried furniture from your old house, one of the first interior design ideas for a rented home is to identify the things you don’t want and the things you want to upgrade. Make a list of the furniture sets you need in the new design and the ones that might not go well with the look that you have in mind. In case you have an old-style sofa set or chairs that are out of fashion right now, you can let them go. If you are into a rustic and industrial look, you can always paint the vintage furniture in contemporary colours. If you want to keep the old furniture, you can also plan your home’s entire design according to the type of furniture you already own. Think of it as an epicentre for the rest of your design plan.
2. Interior Design For Rented Apartments Can Be Made Exciting With Easy Wall Designs
Walls in your home matter the most – they instantly define the place! There are numerous temporary wall design options that can fit into your interior design ideas for a rented home. You can choose accent wall options for your living room by going with wallpapers in contemporary designs. Wallpapers are easy to install and remove and they are also budget-friendly. Identify the rooms where you’d like to have some wall drama. If a wallpaper isn’t your style, you can go with painting accent walls. Pick a bold accent wall colour for a house with a neutral colour palette to spice things up. Or if you want to dress up your walls subtly, you can always go with wall arts and paintings. Not just the living rooms, you can decorate your walls in the bedrooms and kitchen as well.
3. Arrange And Delineate Spaces To Modify Your Rented House Interior Design
One of the famous remarks about rented homes is the space issue, especially in urban cities where the rents are soaring high but the area is narrowing down. If you are facing such space issues and are lost about the interior design ideas for a rented home, this tip is for you! Design experts believe that small spaces need better arrangements to modify spatial definitions. So, arrange furniture sets as groups and place them as boundaries to shared spaces. For example, if you have an open living room with a dining area, you can segregate the areas with suitable furniture choices. This way, you will define spaces and create an outline for different areas, even if you have less space. You can also bring in new furniture sets or design elements to delineate spaces in your home. Bookshelves, jaali partitions, ottomans are some simple ways to divide areas into small spaces.
4. Indoor Plants Are The Ultimate Interior Design Idea For A Rented Home
If you want to DIY your rented home’s interiors, feel free to indulge in greenery. Adding indoor plants to interiors is easy and within budget. You can select plants from local nurseries and use some chic pots and planters to decorate your green marvels. Green plants help to upgrade dull balconies, the too concrete living rooms, a boring kitchen and even simple bedrooms. Plants bring a refreshing vibe to the house, letting you feel healthy and cheerful without burning your pocket. Make sure to choose the plant types correctly because you don’t want creepers or branches to mess things up indoors. Some of our favourite choices are ZZ plants, coffee plants, snake plants and peace lilies. They are easy to care for and great for homes.
5. Flooring Accessories Are Popular Interior Design Ideas For A Rented Home
A large part of your rented home’s look and feel depends on the flooring. You can’t do much about floor renovation; however, you can add some accessories to prevent the floors from looking dull. The first tip is, of course, to get fancy rugs and carpets. You can use rugs to layer dull floors in the living room’s seating area and in the bedroom. Rugs and carpets add instant decor to the place. There are many types and designs of rugs to choose from. For contemporary design themes, you can go for patterned, mosaic rugs. For a luxurious feel, you can add woollen rugs to your bedroom. In case you are up for it, you can also go for floor contact paper or cool decals to pep things up.
6. Dressing Up Windows And Doors Is A Simple Interior Design Idea For Rented Homes
With interior design for rented apartments, it’s common to feel like your options are limited. But, you can still take things into your hands without making any permanent changes. Dress up bare windows and doors with stylish window panels or trendy new window dressing units. You can go for geometric pattern curtains, gorgeous satin drapes or even rolling shutters, depending on the style of your home interiors. You can also jazz up your doors to create interior design statements. You can go for paints on doors or use different door designs like panelled wood doors or veneer finish doors.
7. Investing In Functional Modular Furniture Is A Quick Fix For Rented House Interior Design
Wardrobes are usually a part of rented house interior design. However, we all know that most of them are not visually appealing. So, if you are upgrading your rented home, don’t hesitate to invest in furniture, especially wardrobes and TV units. Let’s face it, even if you leave the rented home, these investments will be worthwhile even in your next home. Therefore, we suggest you explore functional and fancy wardrobes that would totally change your place’s look while adding value to your home. You can try a modular wardrobe and TV unit that doesn’t take up much space.
8. Renovate Your Rented Home’s Kitchen Interior Design With Updated Cabinetry
Just like the wardrobes and TV units, kitchen furniture needs upgrades too! And this becomes extremely important for rented apartments because the kitchens are either too cramped or too outdated. So, you can renovate your kitchen with some handy cabinetry solutions. You can go with easy door hardware changes such as new knobs and pulls that can totally redo the kitchen look. You can also repaint the kitchen cabinets or go for customizable cabinetry panelling for a more pleasant look. You can also add some rolling cabinets or modular storage shelves. You can also invest in kitchen wallpapers to further personalise the place. Don’t forget to add some under-cabinet lighting to illuminate the food corner.
9. Brighten Up Your Rented House’s Interior Design With New Age Lights
Rented homes come with only the most essential lighting fixtures. But that doesn’t mean you can’t light things up. Today, the home interior market is full of decorative lighting options. From LED work lights to floor lamps, countless light designs can redefine any place. So, go ahead and light up with fancy lighting interior design ideas for your rented home. While you are on it, you can also look at the old unwanted switchboards and plugs. You can safely renovate them by camouflaging the switches with paint. You can also add wooden radiator enclosures if your home has old-style exposed radiators. You can also choose fancy and versatile chandeliers to fill up the light in your living room. For the bedroom, we’d suggest going with some sleek pendant lights. You can also go for an acrylic board with fixed lights and patterns. It will bring a false ceiling appeal.
10. Personalise Your Rented Home Interior Design With Details
Make your rented house your home by adding personal elements that connect you with the place. This one is easy and doable. You can go with things like wall photos, wall paintings, family portraits, painted flower pots and refrigerator magnets. It creates a personal vibe so that it feels like you. The main goal is to add things to the house that instantly connect with you. So, feel free to design your rented home with your kind of elements. You can also use personal items like books, greeting cards and artefacts that resemble your living style.
A home is built with the memories of you living there. Bricks and mortar are just the frames that make a house. It’s your laughter and your specificities that make your home. So, follow your heart and go bold and create a place that feels like you. And if you want our help to guide you through your rented home interior design upgrade, get in touch with us and together, we will build you your dream home.
