As every home-loving soul knows, the limitations of a typical rental contract can be extremely frustrating when you long to put your own stamp on your living space. But as Orson Welles said, "The enemy of art is the absence of limitations," and if you see the limitations of your situation as a challenge to be inventive and creative, you'll find you can cover all manner of sins and create a truly unique and beautiful living space without wasting money or making any permanent changes.
Indeed, “over a fifth of Britons live in private rentals and the number of parents in their 30s and 40s who are still unable to own a family home is sky rocketing,” as designer Katherine Ormerod says in her article on the highs and lows of decorating a non-permanent family home. So, it is essential as ever to learn about the raft of ways to bring character and style to a rental that are easy to undo when you leave. Why bother, you may ask? “Our homes are our sanctuaries, and they’re also the base from which we foster our mental health. If we feel disconnected and depressed by our surroundings at home, guess what? We feel depressed and disconnected too," says Katherine. Coupled with ideas from the House & Garden archive, we spoke with interior designers Clare Gaskin and Lonika Chande, as well as renters Zeena Shah and Medina Grillo to advise you best on how to decorate your rented space and make it your own - for the time being.
Know the ground rules
If you think that the space is in need of a fresh coat of paint, it's always worth asking your landlord or landlady if they mind if you take care of it for them. Some interior designers such as Joanna Wood offer special services for rental properties; people often assume that they can only re-furbish owned homes, she explained, but many landlords are more open to changes than you might think. Sticking to neutrals is often the best way to keep landlords happy, and provide a fresh and flexible backdrop for your real investments - the things you can take with you when you move. 'Repainting walls and cabinets to a good white like Benjamin Moore's 'Simply White' is a great way to totally elevate and transform a space without any renovating,' says designer Sarah Bartholomew.
Interior designer Clare Gaskin agrees: ‘check the terms of your lease first and don’t just assume that you can’t push things a bit. If you think you’ll be there for a while and want to change something, put it to your landlord and make your case as to why something should change. It can add value to their property after all. They probably won’t be willing to change the flooring or anything major like that, but if it is particularly bad, you can always offer to cover a third or half of the cost with them.’
Lighting is key
Lighting is a top priority, and is often neglected in rentals. Just like windows, lighting is something we often assume we have no control over but Clare and Lonika’s advice may change that thinking. ‘Light is often harsh and unsightly in a rental,’ says Lonika, something which Clare wholeheartedly agrees with, especially if every room has a single pendant. ‘Swapping out cumbersome shades for pretty rattan ones you can find on Ebay’ is one way Lonika improves the situation, and both are very keen on low level lighting instead of the single central bulb. For Lonika, it’s really important to ‘add lamps and create a bit of a mood,’ while Clare also mentions ‘uplighters to create washes of lights - they are an inexpensive way of lighting a feature, perhaps an artwork. You could be wanting to light where your plants are or increase the lighting in the room and make it more cosy and a nicer environment. There are ways to improve on lighting so do improve on it.’ For Clare, in fact, ‘lighting is the most important thing and always the best place to start,’ both in projects she works on and a rental scenario.
"Investing in small but spectacular signature lamps with fun shades will provide your space with personality," says Joanna Wood. "OKA offer great lighting at an affordable price - their IKAT lampshades are very much on my radar at the moment." Samantha Todhunter points out that "bleak central pendants never create any atmosphere and can be easily changed - a smart overhead light is an inexpensive and effective way to add instant ambience to a room and don't be afraid to be bold with scale it is impactful and might help detract from less appealing characteristics in a room." Large-scale paper lampshades can be an affordable and stylish way to replace the central pendant in a room.
As well as lampshades and other lighting fixtures, consider the light bulbs you're using, too: if you don't have a dimmer switch, "try lower wattages of bulbs or even a filament to get a good evening glow," recommend Jessica Gibbons and Kat Turner of Field Day Studio. Emily Henderson suggests watching a how-to on YouTube when switching outdated light fixtures for fixtures of your own choice, and pack away whatever you're replacing carefully so that you can put it back to the way it was when you move out.
Choose some key investment pieces
When renting, your money is best spent on the things that you can take with you to your next home; Harriet Anstruther recommends sourcing a few stand-out pieces of furniture for each space, creating an overall theme for your space by the harmony of your furniture choices. "Art works and home accessories work very well in this way too, drawing the eye to a subtle little story or surprise in every room." If your contract prevents you from putting up artwork on the walls, Andrew Buchanan (Director and Interior Designer of Joanna Wood's International Interior Design Practice) suggests some clever ways to get around this: "A great alternative is to lean paintings against the walls which also gives a more relaxed feel to a room - this can work brilliantly with larger pieces. Easels are another option that will aid in avoiding marks and holes in your walls."
MAY WE SUGGEST: A young designer's artful renovation of the ground floor flat of a Victorian terrace
Find ways to hide ugly flooring
Ugly flooring is one of the most common issues with rental properties. "When changing carpets isn't possible, invest in rugs," says Joanna Wood. "They are inexpensive ways of adding colour and excitement to any room. Personal favourites of mine come from The Natural Flooring Company or Crucial Trading." For situations where you want to hide a wall to wall carpet that is not a neutral colour, opt for a large, neutral rug to cover as much of it as possible without clashing. "Adding a simple sisal area rug can help protect wood floors or even help camouflage wall to wall carpet," points out Genifer Sohr of interior design company Pencil and Paper Co.
Dress your windows
Changing the window dressings in a room is a quick fix that can have a big impact. When you rent a property, things like windows are often ignored as you decorate and they often come with rather lacklustre blinds and curtains. Clare’s advice? ‘Check if you can take them down, if you need to store them or can just get rid of them and then look at really simple options.’ She suggests Ikea’s long unhemmed curtains and using the iron-on tape to easily hem them yourself to the right length. ‘You want curtains to be quite simple if you’re on a budget,’ Clare continues, ‘it doesn’t make sense to spend lots on this aspect in a rental scenario. Keep it really simple with lovely linens and cottons that hang beautifully.’ Lonika follows the same ethos, suggesting that ‘they don't need to be made to measure but Caravane and La Redoute have lovely coloured linen options that can be attached with curtain clips.’
Sarah Bartholomew recommends bamboo roman shades: "they're good looking and inexpensive plus easy to install." Genifer Sohr echoes her recommendation, saying “I think nothing makes a 'rental' feel homier than swapping out window treatments with simple and inexpensive bamboo shades. You can usually purchase these off the shelf from your local home improvement store and they will even trim them to your exact window size. They are easy to hang and add instant warmth and texture to any room.” A final word from Clare: ‘Don’t give up on your window - it’s a big thing in the flat, give it a bit of love and ask for it to be cleaned.’
How to wallpaper when you're not allowed to wallpaper
Clare Gaskin suggests that renters could ‘paint or wallpaper big boards or canvases in colours you love and leave them propped up - like leaning art that can become a feature. It’s a good solution for people who are really into colour or pattern and don’t want a magnolia box.’ In her rented flat (pictured at top), House & Garden's Creative Director (Interiors) Gabby Deeming framed lovely paper from Antoinette Poisson as a lovely way to affordable bring pattern. Medina Grillo, who runs a blog on decorating and penned the book Home Sweet Rented Home: Transform Your Home Without Losing Your Deposit, goes a step further: 'Removable wallpaper will change your life, and your bland walls. It can be a little expensive but it is well worth the investment. You don’t have to worry about lasting damage that may prevent you from get your deposit back, as its very easy to remove. Search shops like Etsy for some modern designs.'
For lovers of fabric, a rented property can seem to offer little chance for displaying swathes of your beloved prints and patterns, especially if it comes furnished. However, there are many ways around this. Clare Gaskin’s brilliant suggestion is investing in a screen or room divider: ‘Screens can be really useful as you can have lots of fun with them and cover them in your own fabrics - a trifold is particularly good as you can use three different ones or wallpapers.’ Lonika agrees, saying that ‘introducing lots of textured materials helps to make a space feel homely and loved’ and suggests upholstering a favourite chair in a fabric you love, as you’ll have that forever. Renters can also cover canvases in favourite fabrics and hang these, or if your landlord allows nails in the wall, Clare says ‘wall hangings are a great way to add character - buy a metre of fabric and hang it!’
Add colour with your soft furnishings
It's easy to forget the finishing touches, like bed linen and cushions, but choosing harmonious and high quality pieces here can really make a difference. Zeena Shah, a popular renter on Instagram who keeps her followers updated on her decorating process has a different solution: ‘As we can't paint the walls [in our flat] we've brought colour and pattern into the space with the furniture and decorative accessories. Cushions, throws and rugs are a great way to inject some colour if you're not sure where to start. Bolder items like a pink sofa can bring so much fun and character to a room.’
Cushions are one of the easiest ways to add some bold colour to your living space. "Don't underestimate the power of cushions," advises Andrew Buchanan. "They can instantly add flashes of colour to a space and make it feel more homely. Bernard Thorp have a bright collection of cushions that are printed linens, they work equally well in living rooms and to spruce up outdoor areas."
"For a fast track to updating your bedroom space, changing the sheets is almost as good as getting the emulsion out," say Jessica Gibbons and Kat Turner. “Consider layering up subtle neutrals in denims and linens and a mohair throw, or go for bold coloured cotton with and highly patterned bedspread. With plenty of scope to mix and match, bed linen is a great way opportunity to try something new and keep your bedroom looking as fresh as your sheets.”
Pay attention to the fixtures and fittings
A great finishing touch for any home, and one many renters may not realise that they can change, is the fixtures and fittings. "A great way to make a rental property one's own is to change the ironmongery on anything from kitchen cabinetry, bathroom cabinetry, wardrobe doors and entrance doors," says Abbie de Bunsen. "Ironmongery is like jewellery and can turn something simple and relatively ordinary into something special and memorable and upgrade the feel of the whole space." Another bonus is that you can take it all with you when you move, so the money isn't wasted.
Beautiful handles can be easily installed on simple kitchen cabinet doors: "They instantly draw the eye and the uplift the overall impact of the kitchen, reducing the impact of the kitchen doors themselves. By choosing something slightly unexpected the impact is increased and can divert attention even more. In smaller properties, it can be nice to repeat a design detail, such as the ironmongery to add cohesiveness," says Abbie de Bunsen. Harriet Anstruther also suggests "switching furniture accessories like feet, hooks, fabric, cupboard handles and so on to marry the overall theme."
Tableaux and charming accessories
Even if your apartment is yours to call home only until the end of your lease, it is still important to do up your space and let your personality shine through in the interim. An easy solution that doesn't infringe on your letting agreement? Creating and curating tableaux with pretty Consummate hosts (or just those who enjoy an evening tipple) can add great ambiance to a room with a kitted-out bar cart. Stocked with unique glassware, pretty bottles and silver cocktail utensils, your trolley cart is as pretty addition as any to a rented room. For avid readers, organising and prettifying bookshelves is an affordable, great way to decorate a space. Arrange your book collection in order of colour or genre, add small knick-knacks to empty spaces or use antique bookends to prop up your literature. Take it even further by painting the inner walls of your standalone bookcase as seen in this colourful Victorian in south London or as Beata did (above).
