How to Make Your Rental Feel Like Home
Without Kissing Your Security Deposit Goodbye
Decorating a rental can be super weird. It’s like being in a long-term relationship with someone who won’t let you leave a toothbrush at their place. You want to get comfortable, you want to make it your own, but you’re terrified of doing anything that’ll make moving out a messy, expensive breakup.
The biggest offender? The walls. That soul-sucking shade of “Landlord Beige” that screams “no personality allowed here.”
But your home should feel like home, not a holding cell for your furniture. It’s time to stage a little rebellion. If you’ve got a weekend, you can transform your beige box into a space that actually feels like you.
Here are a few ways to do it, from the commitment-phobes to the go-big-or-go-homers.
Level 1: The Weekend Project That Changes Everything
If you do one thing, do this. A gallery wall is the fastest way to tell your story and cover a massive amount of that beige space. It’s personal, it’s stylish, and with the magic of Command Strips, it’s 100% damage-free.
What You’ll Need:
• A motley crew of frames (hit up a thrift store or grab a cheap set)
• Your art: photos, your kid’s masterpieces, postcards, cool wrapping paper, free art you printed online.
• Command Picture Hanging Strips (the variety pack is your best friend)
• Craft paper or the back of some old wrapping paper
• Scissors and painter’s tape
• A level (or an app on your phone—we’re resourceful)
The Plan:
1. Curate Your Vibe (Friday Night): Pour a drink and shop your own house. Gather all the things that make you smile and put them in frames. Don’t overthink it—if you love it, it belongs.
2. Fake It ‘Til You Make It (Saturday Morning): Trace your frames onto craft paper and cut them out. Use painter’s tape to arrange these paper shapes on your wall. This is your no-consequences rough draft. Move them around until you get a layout that looks good to you.
3. Make it Official (Saturday Afternoon): Following the Command Strip instructions (seriously, read them), stick those bad boys on your frames, press them to the wall, and let the adhesive cure for an hour. Then click them back into place. Boom. Personality, installed.
Level 2: The Bold Move (If Your Lease Allows It)
Now, for those of you whose lease has the magic clause: you can paint as long as you paint it back. If you have that green light, USE IT. Paint is the single most transformative thing you can do to a room.
• Create an Accent Wall: Don’t have time to paint the whole room? Just paint the wall behind your bed or your couch a deep, moody color like navy blue or emerald green. It instantly makes the space feel more expensive and intentional.
• Paint It Back Smarter: When it’s time to move, don’t just slap some white paint on and hope for the best. Take a chip of the original paint to the hardware store and get it color-matched. One good coat of a quality paint-and-primer-in-one will save you a world of headaches.
Level 3: The Finishing Touches That Look Custom
These are the little things that make a place feel polished and permanent, even when they’re not.
1. Swap the Knobs: Your kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanity probably have the most boring hardware known to man. Unscrew them! Keep the originals in a Ziploc bag, and install some new ones that you actually like. It’s a 20-minute upgrade that makes a massive difference.
2. Fake a Backsplash: If your kitchen backsplash is dated or just plain ugly, cover it with peel-and-stick tile. It’s a game-changer. It looks shockingly real, holds up to heat and water, and peels right off on moving day.
3. Hang Real Curtains: Ditch the cheap plastic blinds. Get a tension rod (no drilling required!) and hang a pair of curtains that go all the way to the floor. It’ll make your windows look bigger and the whole room feel softer and more luxurious.
By Sunday night, you won’t just be living in some random apartment. You’ll be home. A space that looks and feels like you, no landlord’s permission required for the best parts.
What are your go-to rental-friendly decorating hacks? Spill the tea in the comments!