A Tenant’s Guide to Feeling More at Home in a Rented Property

Beni Restea

In today’s housing market, many of us simply are not able to buy a home. Exorbitant list prices and stringent credit requirements are among the things that make owning a place of your own nigh-impossible, even if you have the help of a good real estate agent. Nevertheless, we still need a place to sleep, eat and call home. So what do we do? We rent. 

Make no mistake, renting has its fair share of pitfalls and drawbacks. Not the least of these is the feeling of impermanence and fragility that can come with renting; at the end of the day, your home is still someone else’s property. So how do you remedy this? Glad you asked! 

There are a lot of ways to make a rental feel more like your home, some of them quick and easy, others requiring a bit more time and effort. Regardless how much commitment they require, each of these suggestions will help you feel a bit more at home in your rental. Let’s get into it! 

Redecorate

A great place to start is with the decor of your rental, whether it’s a rented home or apartment. Decor can be a huge factor in making you feel comfortable in your home and can help you express your individuality more than almost anything else. 

The great thing about redecorating is that you are the one who decides how far you want to go in giving your living space a makeover. It can be as simple as hanging a few pictures and decorations on the wall to completely changing the look of everything in your home. 

Another great thing about redecorating is that it can be done gradually, and at very little cost if you’re creative. You don’t have to tackle the whole task at once, and if you’re strapped for cash you can simply buy one or two decor items every time that paycheck comes in. It’s easy, it feels great and it can make your home feel way, way more lived in! 

Repaint a wall or room 

One of the biggest and most common barriers to feeling at home in your rental is unappealing or dated paint schemes and wallpaper. Nothing really kills the vibe like a fading, peeling coat of drab beige paint or wallpaper that was considered ugly in the 70s. The good news is, you might just be able to remedy this problem! 

If your landlord approves, you can repaint a wall or room in your rental and instantly improve the aesthetic appeal of your living space and make it feel more warm and welcoming. If you choose the right colors for each space, you can vastly improve the atmosphere And best of all? It’s not even that difficult! 

Of course, this isn’t to say it will be easy, per se, but it’s not nearly as hard as many people think. There are plenty of great guides to DIY home painting, and entire rooms can be painted for very reasonable prices. Sure, you might make a mistake here and there, but those mistakes will just make your rental feel all the more like home. 

Upgrade your lighting 

Of all the things that make a home seem dingy and uninviting, perhaps the most ubiquitous is bad lighting. The sight of a cheap, dilapidated fixture hanging precariously from the ceiling and struggling to illuminate the room with its cold, blue glow is all too common in many apartments. Strangely enough, fixing bad lighting is actually really easy; it’s a wonder more people don’t! 

The best place to start when it comes to fixing bad lighting is changing out the lightbulbs. Lightbulbs that are cool in color are very common and can be appealing in the right fixture and room, but if not used properly often have the effect of making a room seem uninviting, especially if they aren’t bright enough. 

To fix this, you can simply invest in brighter, warmer light bulbs! These bulbs can have a huge impact on the way a room feels, and can make a huge difference in any room you place them in. What’s more, outdated light bulbs also consume a lot more energy than modern LED bulbs, so changing them out can make your house more like a home and lower your energy bill! 

If light bulbs won’t cut it, you may want to install some new fixtures. While this initially may seem a bit daunting if you’ve never done anything similar, it’s actually quite easy and simple. Just go to the hardware supply store, pick out some appropriate fixtures, and follow the instructions in the box! 

If you live in a home with outdoor areas, you can also up your outdoor lighting game! The options here are virtually endless. From solar powered lawn lamps to oil burning tiki torches and atmospheric string lights, the only limit is your imagination! 

Conclusion 

We really hope that these suggestions have given you some inspiration for making your rental property feel more like at home. These are just a few of the many ways you can go about doing this, but these ideas are a great place to start, and they aren’t too time consuming or expensive. So what are you waiting for? Go make that house a home!  

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