It can be hard to think of a rented property as your home, especially if you’re only using it as a stopgap and don’t intend to be there for very long. However, it’s important for your mental health, your happiness, and your overall comfort to make anywhere you live as much like a home as possible, even if you’re only there on a short-term basis. Here are some ways it can be done in a rented property that won’t upset the landlord but will make your rental feel like home.
Indoor Plants
When you think of changing a property to make it feel more like home, your mind might immediately go to making big changes, such as painting the walls or installing new kitchen cabinets. These things aren’t always going to be possible in a rented property, but what will be possible – and what is a great idea, in fact – is adding indoor plants to your home.
Indoor plants are a calming presence in any home due to the fact that they add oxygen to the air, so adding them to your rental will make it feel much cosier and like somewhere you’ll be pleased to come home to. Even if you’re not someone who’s particularly keen on taking care of plants, there will be a low-effort option for you. Some of those options include:
Rugs serve a dual purpose in a rental property. The first is that they can cover up any flooring that you don’t like but that you don’t have permission to change. Depending on how long you have been in your home, the landlord might agree to installing new carpets if you want them, but this can never be guaranteed, which is why a rug can work wonders. Plus they’re easy to look after, as you will only need to vacuum them once a week, and if they need a deeper clean you can hire Londoncarpetcleaningltd.co.uk to do it for you.
The second reason to have rugs is that they inject a great deal of personality into your home. Rather than the neutral carpets that most landlords install in their properties, you can add a nice splash of colour to any room and show off your own style which will make the house feel more like home.
Change the Lighting
Although you probably won’t be able to change any of the major elements in your rented property (although, if you do intend to be there a long time, and if you have permission from the landlord, this isn’t out of the question), you can change smaller elements, and your lighting is one of these.
If you change ceiling lights, just make sure you keep the originals stored somewhere safe so that you can replace them when you leave and never change the style of lightbulb, as these will have been assessed as being safe. You can also add standing lamps to give a room a more homely, cosy feel.
