Make your rental your own
Renting isn't always forever
We're always calculating when we move into a new home, especially if it's a rental. How long will I stay? How much money do I want to sink into a place I don't own? Is it really worth it to pay an electrician to install my chandelier?
Renters are notoriously frugal. They're willing to endure a few months or years with a disagreeable bathroom faucet if they believe the mantra: "I could be moving soon." Those five words are the leading cause of renter inertia, a condition that typically manifests itself as "milk crate as bookshelf syndrome."
So get over it. Unless you're a completeascetic willing to come home to blank walls and bare light bulbs, read on for tips on how to personalize, individualize and make your rental your own — even on a budget.
Plan before you move
"If I was going to rent," says Jennifer Randall, a Seattle designer and member of the American Society of Interior Designers, "I would be bringing my camera and snapping crazily before I moved in."
Randall says she is a big believer in planning. With photos in one hand to remember the specifics — from wall colors to window locations — and a tape measure in the other hand, Randall churns through her furnishings to determine what will fit in a new place and what won't.
Measure, measure, measure is the maxim of most designers.
"You want to make sure that your furniture fits through the doors and around the corners and that there's enough wall space for your artwork," Randall says. "Designers do the math."
But before you hammer a nail into the wall, review your lease documents or talk to your landlord to see what you can and cannot do. For example, does your lease permit you to change window treatments, replace light fixtures and paint the walls?
Color can make a world of difference
We all have an emotional, often-unconscious response to colors. Shades of yellow may connote cheerfulness, while browns may imply an earthy warmth.
If you can paint your walls, choose colors that pop, distract, soothe and confirm who you are and that make you comfortable in your own nest. Even an accent wall here and there can personalize a space.
A great place to work with accents is the kitchen. Pick an accent color or two and match it to your smaller appliances, such as your blender and toaster, as well as your dish towels. That small effort goes a long way. Bowls of fruit and flowers add rich, organic warmth. Patterned and colorful fabrics in pillows, throws and wall hangings add another dimension to a room.
Furniture with feeling
Familiar furniture, particularly pieces that have sentimental value, such as your grandmother's retro sofa, are a surefire way of getting comfortable in your new space quickly and making your mark.
Experts caution not to go overboard with pieces from the big home-furnishing chains, however. Those stores are great places to get inexpensive tables and chairs, but relying too heavily on chain-store furnishings could depersonalize your new home.
Designer Jennifer Randall suggests modular bookshelves, which can add character and personality.
"If you are a reader, you can line a room with inexpensive, component bookshelves to make a room look more like a library," she says.
These shelves are movable and show off your literary tastes.
Light and shadow
Light fixtures in rentals are often sad and generic. Purchasing and installing a distinctive chandelier, for example, can make a dramatic statement. Just remember to reinstall the original fixture before you move.
Great lighting, even in a subpar room, has an impact. Creatively using light and shadow to highlight your library or your family photos is an inexpensive way of putting your signature on a design. Floor-up lighting or backlighting also can add drama.
On the other hand, nothing expresses indifference more profoundly than cheap bathroom fixtures that cast poor light. Remember, you'll be gazing in the mirror every day. Consider style and utility when illuminating the bathroom. And get rid of those hideous, old-school, institutional fluorescent bulbs that cast everyone in a pallor. Environment-friendly illumination has come a long way since the 1970s.
Rugs redefine your rental
Blasé flooring and featureless, wall-to-wall carpeting are standard in rental units. After all, durability usually trumps design for most cost-conscious landlords.
Using area rugs, even over the carpeting, can transform a room by adding color, texture and warmth, as well as practicality.
Rugs can cover old, mismatched floors. They also can define areas such as conversational spaces and can be runners that lead from the entrance. You can always take rugs with you when you move.
You can rent your artwork, too
An inexpensive way of getting wonderful original art into your new home is to rent it. Several museums around the country, for example, have established galleries that rent paintings, sculptures and photographs at reasonable rates, often with options to buy.
You can find art-rental galleries in most major cities. The beauty of the arrangement is that you are often helping struggling artists without sinking a ton of money into purchases. You also can swap out your art every month, if you're so inclined.
To put a face on your space, literally, display photos of your friends and family. That warms up a room and draws the attention of your guests. Pictures are a great way for people to learn a little about you and for you to reveal more about yourself. So by all means, show off those vacation photos of you swinging in a hammock on a Tahitian beach. But don't go overboard.
Statement pieces
Art can be of a more personal and sentimental variety.
"Having familiar things around you is a wonderful thing, even if it's something from your childhood," designer Jennifer Randall says. "One of my friends had an old weird toy; it was one of those metal cars that you can ride in from the 1950s. It was on the entry table with two lamps, and it was wonderful."
Designers encourage their clients to exhibit their collections, from old apothecary jars to Guatemalan masks — anything that shows your interests helps personalize and define your space. More important, display objects that put a smile on your face.
Room dividers
Personalization is one thing. Privacy is another.
Part of the personalization challenge, especially in a small rental, is managing space so that your whole life isn't on public display. You don't want to see an unmade bed the moment you step through the door, and your guests don't, either.
Portable dividers are an inexpensive way of creating separation and organizing your space. Residents of studio apartments and lofts can use movable dividers to create the illusion of separate rooms.
You can find room dividers made of different materials with distinct designs, colors, shapes and sizes. A quick Web search will find decorative dividers made of Scandinavian spruce, shoji screens, Venetian dividers and other styles that can match your decor.
Bring the outdoors in
A frequent complaint of apartment dwellers is that they don't get to experience nature as often as they'd like. But even if your rental is in a leafy neighborhood, plants and flowers can provide a welcome respite from the rigors of modern life.
Houseplants are a great way to bring some nature into an urban setting and to put your horticultural mark on your place. There is something instinctually heartwarming about having leafy plants and bunches of flowers in your home. They not only accent a room, they also can provide an additional design dimension: fragrance.
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