8 budget-friendly ways to personalise your rental home
<p>If you're one of the many who are living in a rented home or apartment, it can feel like an impossible task to personalise your home without upsetting your landlord or your wallet.</p>
<p>Don't let rental restrictions stop you from creating a home that feels like yours. Here are eight affordable ideas to help you create your dream home.</p>
<p><strong>1. Faux finishes </strong></p>
<p>Auckland-based renter, Andrea Warmington, didn't let living in a rental stop her from creating a stylish home. </p>
<p>"Sheet vinyl is an affordable way to change your floors; I bought "Cajou Oak" vinyl from Bunnings for my kitchen and bathroom," Warmington said. "It's not even stuck down - once cut to fit, it sits on top of your existing floors without slipping."</p>
<p>Want to cover a plain benchtop? Invest in removable contact paper or add a rustic touch to your home by covering an ugly bench with large chopping boards. Not only is this incredibly practical when it comes time to cook, but it can also easily be moved from house to house. </p>
<p><strong>2. Lean instead of hang </strong></p>
<p>Leaning art against a wall can look chic and easy to move to a new location if you ever feel like redecorating.</p>
<p>For art-lovers who are renting but still want to show off their collection, simply leaning art against a wall is a chic and easy way to display their favourite pieces without having to put any nails in the wall.</p>
<p>"It doesn't matter if you can't hang it up; I bought some long, low bookshelves for my living room that serve double-duty as a shelf for displaying framed prints and posters."</p>
<p>Bonus: this rental-hack makes it easier to move your art to a new location (without having to worry about precisely lining up the piece on the wall) if you ever feel like redecorating. </p>
<p><strong>3. Invest in nice things </strong></p>
<p>You don't need to wait until you move into your dream home to invest in beautiful furniture.</p>
<p>Warmington decided to invest in her dream couch to make her plain Mt Eden rental feel like a home soon after she moved in. However, she said great furniture doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg.</p>
<p>"I bought the wooden buffet in my living room for $80 on Trade Me, then painted it using an Indian inlay stencil set."</p>
<p><strong>4. Inject colour </strong></p>
<p>Add colour to your home without painting the walls by either investing in brightly coloured decor or sprucing up some of your pre-exisitng pieces with some DIY. </p>
<p>"I spruced up some bamboo baskets with orange paint and painted the frame of an old mirror bright pink," Warmington said. "You could also paint your furniture; the teal, orange and gold cabinet in my living room was once a utilitarian grey."</p>
<p><strong>5. Go Green</strong></p>
<p>Indoor plants can bring life to even the dreariest of rentals. They purify the air, add texture and are a great way to add greenery to your home if you don't have access to a garden. </p>
<p><strong>6. Soften things up </strong></p>
<p>You don't need to put up with the awful, old curtains that have probably been hanging in your rental house for the past 10 years. </p>
<p>"I swapped the plain curtains in my living room and bedroom for some delicately-patterned linen curtains," Warmington said.</p>
<p>What should you do with the original curtains? Take a leaf out of Warmington's book and save yourself from having to replace them by "carefully storing the original curtains so they can be put back when I move out". </p>
<p><strong>7. Rug up </strong></p>
<p>A simple way to add warmth to your home, as well as showcasing your personality and design tastes, is by investing in rugs.</p>
<p>With a wide variety of rugs on the market that cater to all tastes and budgets, this addition to the home can be as practical as it is stylish. </p>
<p><strong>8. Decals instead of wallpaper </strong></p>
<p>Want to bring some excitement to your walls without worrying about casing any damage? Decals are a great solution that is both stylish and easily removable. </p>
<p>Feeling crafty? Julie Stuart, the founder of Clever Poppy, created a chic and affordable DIY feature wall in her daughter's nursery by using washi tape. </p>
<p><em>Written by Natalia Didovich. Republished with permission of <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></strong></a>. </em></p>
