This is a collaborative post.
It can be tough to make a rented property really feel like home. After all, you are always going to know that you don’t own the house and that you are more than likely paying someone else’s mortgage. However it is completely possible to make a house a home even if you are renting it rather than owning it yourself.
We are still renting at the moment but are keen to buy in the future. However, whilst we are waiting to do that, we are keen to make any property that we live in feel like home – and that is what we have been doing. I thought I’d share with you some of my top tips for making a house a home, whether you live in rented accommodation or own your own home.
Choose The Right Furniture
It is vital that you sit down and work exactly what furniture you need in your house. Before we moved in here, we knew we wanted a corner sofa for our new house and we wanted it reclining as well if it was possible. That worked out perfectly for us as it suits our living room perfectly and looks great!
There are many ways to choose the right furniture for your home – it is simply a case of planning, measuring and focusing on the essentials. Once you’ve sorted that out, then you can start thinking about the less essential stuff.
Get The Right Carpet
Now I don’t know about you but I love certain rooms to have wooden or tiled flooring and others I love to have carpets. It can be tough to work out what carpet to get – there are quite a few things to consider. Sometimes you may want a simple stand alone piece instead of a larger roll. In this case, it is a good idea to take advantage of remnants. Sites like Designer Carpet offer premium quality carpet remnants at a fraction of the price that you’d pay elsewhere. With a made-to-measure rug service, their customers can have a bespoke rug to match the aesthetic of their home and their own.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Keep It Fresh & Clean
Try to keep the colour scheme fresh and clean. You may not be able to paint any of the walls if you rent but you definitely can if you own. Keeping a home fresh and clean will really make a house feel homely even if there is some clutter around. Have the curtains open during the day, fresh flowers around and pictures to make it feel as homely as possible.
Pick The Right Soft Furnishings
It is important to remember that if you want a house to feel like a home, it shouldn’t look like a show home. This means adding your own little touch with the soft furnishings. Cushions, throws, bedding, ornaments – get your personality across with these items. Soft furnishings can be picked up in most places, even supermarkets such as Tesco or Asda, and really can make the world of difference to a room.
Add Some Art
Finally you could consider adding some art or photography. Putting up a piece of your favourite art or your favourite family photos is a great way to personalise a room and they can become a real talking point. I’ve talked about why I love wall art and why we always have some – we’ve got various canvases up in the house as well as prints with motivational quotes and even some scratch-off maps.
These are my top tips for making a house a home – how have you made your house more homely?
We stayed in a rented property for nearly seven years so we had to learn to be creative on how we could make our house a home. Your suggestions are spot on
I love this and we are moving very soon and will definitely be using some of these ideas in our new forever home
I’ve always felt that the best way to make a place seem a bit homier is with pictures, or collectibles or heirlooms that mean something to you.
I’m with you, I have some carpeted and some wooden/tiles in certain rooms but now I’m missing not having carpet in my bedroom
Furnishings are a great way to make a space feel like your own and things like rugs where you can cover up what’s there without having to replace carpets x
Lots of great tips! I like a carpet in the bedroom!
I definitely agree with your tips. My son is renting at the moment but has made his apartment really homely with nice rugs, cushions & accessories.
I think personalising your apartment with furnishings and wall art is the way to go. Also if you are allowed to paint the walls and / or wallpaper, it can make your home feel like yours.
Adding a few favourite pieces of furniture and then some finishing touches of rugs, throws, cushions and prints certainly transform a property to a home. I love all your advise and ideas.
I love your tips and agree you can definitely make a rented house a home, I did it for over 10 years.
I think that keeping your space lovely and bright by using clean and crisp paint on the walls and lots of colourful artwork and prints looks sooo nice. It definitely help make your space look more homely.