Looking for inexpensive or temporary yet impactful design ideas to make your space your own?

In a rental? How to give your space your personality without permanency or breaking the bank!

So many of us have been there. You find a rental that you can afford, or it is in a location you desire, or maybe it has the necessary space you are looking for. Whatever your reason is for choosing this space, it lacks luster and has a few eye sores. Or maybe you own your home and you are not ready to make major changes but it needs a little love! Your home space is so much more important than what you may think to your overall wellbeing. Coming home to a place that does not function for you or is unsightly can be stressful and not allow you to actually relax! So what do you do?

As most of us know, if you rent, you are usually limited in your options for changes but believe it or not, there are actually lots of options that allow for temporary change to camouflage something or help create a functional space with your desired style. This not only is great for rentals, but also for people who own a home and have a tight budget, need some temporary improvement while deciding on a big project or to prepare a home for sale!

As I shared, the following suggestions can be used in a multitude of home situations, and by all means, fit it to your situation, but we will focus on rentals here. Before diving in, you need to first evaluate your space in an unbiased manner - REALLY look at the space! What exactly is it that you hate about the space (color, carpeting, lighting, space, dated)? What do you like (views, space, location, architecture)? Now take one space or issue at a time.

Subtle blue/gray with ample natural light to give a soft coastal feel and to keep the room open while contrasting the dark wood floors

Paint. This is one of the most obvious and impactful remedies! While this is often not allowed, do check with your landlord. Many will allow it if you are up to painting it back when you leave, and believe it or not, if it is a fairly neutral color, they often will welcome it! For those who find they are able to paint, this can make a significant difference in a space. it can change the mood, lighting, visual size, cover unsightly features, create a focal point and make a place look fresh. The trick with paint is knowing what mood you want to portray and how to capture it. Paint color selection can be a skill and understanding LRV - Light reflectance value - how much light a paint color will reflect, can be extremely useful. LRV is strongly influenced by how much natural light the room receives. Quick notes on LRV - it is based on a scale of 0% to 100% - 0% being black with no reflectance and 100% being the purest of whites. This scale is often on the back of the fan decks of paint colors. You can also google a paint color and it will give you the information. An example - Chantilly Lace is a very popular and beautiful white with a LRV of 95 and White Dove is another popular white with a LRV of 85. Both being white, the Chantilly is a little crisper and the White Dove is a little warmer. Maybe I will do a blog to help with color selection because this is one of the number one struggles of most clients

Delicate and simple, this chandelier draping over the soaker tub completes the relaxing spa-like feel with its soft lighting

Lighting. This is an often an overlooked feature to help create the mood and aesthetic of a space. Many renters feel they are stuck with what is there. In some incidences that is the case, but there are many ways around situations as well! I believe, and I am sure most if not all designers would agree, that lighting is so critical and essential in design to create the mood of a space. It can literally improve your life! You must know what the light is for. Is it to complete tasks, like over a side table by a chair where you read or do art? Nothing more frustrating than difficulty seeing! Is it an accent light meant to accentuate a focal point or is it primary lighting just to make sure you can see where you are going? Don’t be afraid to change out things either! If there is a dated light fixture over the dining area or the bathroom is lined with a line of globe balls over the mirrors change them! Hold onto the old ones and have them put back when you leave. There are so many affordable options that can help bring in both better light and update the look. Wayfair, your local hardware store, Lamps Plus and Houzz are just a few of the many vendors that have a plethora of options at all price points. Lastly, don’t forget your floor lamps. Be creative with this!

Window treatments bring so much character to a room and gives it a “complete” feel

Window treatments. Many places have the basic verticals or mini blinds to give you the privacy but there is no flare in that! Look at it as a positive. It allows you to have your privacy and darken a room so your decorative window treatments don’t need to do that necessarily unless you want it to be blackening for those rough mornings! If what is there just won’t do, basic 2-inch blinds are very affordable and you again can change these out and put back what the landlord had. Some landlords will reimburse for improvements like this. Ask! You can then dress it the window with a curtain or sheer that fits your mood and style. Blinds and sheers can be found very reasonable as well! You can also add height to your space by placement of the curtain/sheer above the window and draping to the floor to make the room look taller. Treatments add texture, color and some elegance!

Art. This does not mean just wall hangings, but all types from vases, sculptures, unique candle holders and of course wall hangings. This is one of the best ways to display your personality! You can find amazing pieces as consignment shops, thrift stores and Etsy to name a few. Sometimes it is from one piece you already have that dictates the design of the rest of the room. This, just like plants, can bring balance to spaces such as bookshelves, awkward walls or a long wall.

This is simple peel and stick wallpaper for an affordable price, this can bring in the detail needed to go with the chair rail. Easy to remove in a rental or

change when looking for a color update!

Wallpaper. Wallpaper has made a strong comeback from small niche areas to entire walls, rooms and ceilings. For a rental, there is some amazing products that are now peel and stick and look fantastic! We have placed this above chair rails, as the backdrop for a bed or TV wall, in the niche of open shelves, offices and coffered ceilings. Three of the many perks of this is that it is easy to remove, may take a little skill to install depending on the pattern, and affordable! Cover up that ugly wall, separate a space or make an accent wall. The options are endless!

Clearly we were not done with this project, as it still needed the hood and the corner cabinet doors which were frosted glass but this is a perfect example of a decal backsplash. It is Mother of Pearl and simply sticks on. It turned out beautiful and elegant for this clients condo space!

Decals. The kitchen is a main social place for most homes. Backsplashes can be beautiful and say so much for the kitchen. While it would be impractical to change that, there are decals, as shown above, in all sorts of textures that can be placed over a dated tile or a wall that simply has a 4-inch ledge backsplash. These have come a long way and can make a huge impact at the fraction of the cost and again, can be removed!

If the cabinets and drawers already have hardware, you can simply change them out for something more your style with the same holes. There is such a vast array of hardware online to choose from in every size imaginable.

Hardware. Door handles, drawer pulls and knobs and light switch panels. All can be changed and held onto until you move out! Drawer and cabinet pulls and knobs in a kitchen can give a quick inexpensive update. Change round door knobs to levered ones to the metal you would prefer. Outlet and switch cover panels can get worn and permanently discolored easily and are so cheap to replace! Just make sure it matches the outlet itself unless you are putting a metal such as brushed gold. It totally draws attention to the outlet when it is a bone outlet with a stark white plate! Yikes!

Use your space! Even with this odd shaped bend in the wall, rather than feel like you are losing space, use it! Found this perfect size dresser (used I might add and we just painted it) and it fit the vintage design of the space perfectly! Harmony of the space - from the rug, to the dresser to the bed post. That is the key to design!

Furniture. Choosing furniture or fitting what you have in a space needs to be determined by layout, size and usage! Functionality is so important. It can be so tempting to see an awesome piece that ends up being extremely uncomfortable or incompatible with the assigned desired use. You will just get frustrated. Do you want a minimalist look or maximalist? Whatever it is, let the furniture choices reflect that so it looks intentional. Just keep the design consistent and blend with all the pieces you pick. For so many, you have to work with the furniture you have and can only afford a few small pieces to help pull things together. In this case, focus on the other suggested features such as rug, window treatment and art to catch the eye of your guests.

Rugs! This is an example of a carpet piece made to be an area rug bound along the edges. This is a large area bringing the area rug cost into the thousands. With two dogs, this was not practical. At a fraction of the cost, the look is complete and functions perfectly for this family dynamic.

Rugs! A common unsightly feature that you as a renter are often stuck with is the flooring. Carpeting, dated tiles, odd color, and so on. Rugs are true statement pieces and can cover a multitude of sins. They can warm a space, mute a bright floor or bring color to a bland one. They can absorb sound (especially if on a second floor or like to play your music up a little bit). They can break up a space to make a room feel like two different spaces such a a dining and living room. We all know that rugs can be expensive but again, there are many local decor stores that have a wide variety for affordable prices such as HomeGoods if you are so lucky to have one of those around! Another awesome option is to go to a carpet store and have a rug cut and bound on the edges! Rugs come in so many designs, colors and textures now and they can also accommodate those odd sizes you may have. In the picture, this is a piece of remnant carpet bound and used in this living room.

Plants do so much from adding dimension, balance, color and a breath of fresh air - literally!

Nature. Bring in the outdoors. Plants literally bring life into your space. Faux plants can do the trick as well if you do not trust your green thumb and it is more practical for you. I will say though, faux plants, ones that actually look decent, are often more expensive than real ones. A Fiddle Leaf Fig tree, something very popular, I just bought live for $100.00 (7 foot and full) whereas the faux one I looked at was not nearly as full and was $350.00! There is something about taking care of something. Plants can often spark conversation and be a great filler for an awkward corner. They also can bring balance to a space with its varying heights and features.

I hope this helps in your design process! Every space is unique and almost always there is a way to work around it or with it! If you have any specific questions feel free to give a shout out to me! The more complicated the “issue” the more fun it is to solve! And don’t forget, HAVE FUN while doing this!