ARLA Propertymark gives top tips to make your rental property feel like home
ARLA Propertymark provides a selection of top landlord-friendly tips on how to make your rental property feel like a home.
Renting a house doesn’t need to stand in the way of your design aspirations, and although the majority of lockdown restrictions have lifted, many of us are still spending more time indoors. With more time inside, you may be thinking about the different ways in which you can make your rental property feel more like home. ARLA Propertymark shares some easy and landlord-friendly ways in which you can add some personality to your property.
Bright Lights
Lighting is an easy way to change up your home. An eye-catching floor lamp, twinkling fairy lights or a bold new lampshade can all change the feel of a room without costing too much money. Plus, these features are easily removed so will keep your landlord happy.
Mirror Mirror
Mirrors are another quick way to create an illusion of space and brightness in your property. They’re easy to find in lots of different shops and quickly alter the appearance of a room. If your tenancy agreement doesn’t allow to you make holes in your walls, try propping the mirror up against the wall instead for a laidback feel.
Rearrange things
It might sound simple but moving around some furniture to try out a new layout can dramatically transform your home. Try moving the couch to a different wall, adjusting where your armchair sits or even swapping rugs from one room to another to see how you can easily transform your space. Or maybe even change around the functions of your rooms, switching up your bedroom and your living room to change the atmosphere in those spaces.
Soft furnishing
If you rented a furnished property, your landlord’s choice of sofa might not be to your taste. However, sofa and cushion covers are a quick way to update this upholstery and bring your own personality into the room. As an added bonus, most of these covers are machine washable making cleaning up any spillages much easier.
Removable wallpaper
Most rental properties have neutral wall colours, but this doesn’t have to stop you from adding a little more excitement. Removable wallpapers offer the ability to add a fun accent wall in your home, or even up-cycle old wardrobes or beside cabinets by adding fun patterns or colours. However, make sure to do your research, look at customer reviews and even consider patch testing the wallpaper on some of your own furniture first to make that that it does peel off properly, doesn’t leave a residue, and doesn’t take any plaster with it. If you’re nervous about the wallpaper, speak to your landlord fist. You never know, they might actually be happy to let you paint your walls a different colour instead!
Bring the outside in
Plants can be a surprisingly affordable way to bring life into your home and given the ongoing lockdown restrictions, you wouldn’t be alone in seeking to bring some more greenery into your home. However, houseplants have also been found to improve your mood, reduce stress and increase productivity.[1] One study, from the National Centre for Biotechnology Information even found that patients in hospital rooms with plants experienced less anxiety, pain and fatigue.[2] You can sit your plants in pots on the floor, on bookshelves or kitchen countertops to bring some green into your home. If you’re worried about taking care of your new plant, succulents are a great, harder to kill, alternative.
Phil Keddie, ARLA Propertymark President, says:
“Making your rental property feel like home can seem a big job, but with the extra time you’re spending in your property, you can easily make some small additions that can instantly alter your home. Whilst your tenancy agreement may contain some restrictions, there are lots of alterations you can make that won’t break your agreement. There is also no harm in asking your landlord if you can paint a room or add a few pictures to the wall, you may be surprised by their answer.”
References:
1Royal Horticultural Society; https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=949&awc=2273_1594731838_109401a2ca9778910cf3a043f392d96e
2 National Centre for Biotechnology Information; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19715461/
Kindly shared by ARLA Propertymark
Main article photo courtesy of Pixabay
