How To Make A Rental Feel Like A Home

    Home decor is something I have a lot of fun with and enjoy doing.  I love filling my house with the things I love, making it feel as cozy as possible and overall creating a sense of home.  I currently live in a rental apartment and have been for a little over a year.  Although our apartment is super basic and looks identical to the 200 other units in our building, I still wanted to make it feel like ours.  I put together a small list of things you can do to make a rental feel like a home that you truly love living in.

1. Use adhesive wall hooks to hang decor 
One of the crappiest things about living in a rental is the "no nail in the wall" rule.  I remember when I lived in my first apartment I was shocked that this was even a rule, ha! Luckily, you can buy adhesive wall hooks that will hold your pictures and wall decor without damaging your walls. At first I was hesitant to use these because I didn't think they would be able to support the weight of a heavy frame, but here we are a year and half later and all my picture frames are still in tact. Knock on wood!

2. Use the decor you already have, just rearrange it
A few weeks ago, when I was putting away our Christmas tree and decor I felt like our place really needed a revamp. I strongly believe in the power of rearranging your furniture and decor items around your house to create a fresh and different vibe. Instead of spending a bunch of money on new home goods try moving your couch, switching your prints in your frames around, or even just shuffle around your plants or candles. I promise you your home will feel totally different.

3. Buy second hand or DIY
Another way to make your rental feel like yours is buy everything second hand or even DIY a couple items. I have a hard time investing in expensive pieces of furniture and home decor while I'm living in a rental because what if I don't like it in my future house? I'm a planner and I'd rather spend my money on big items once I have a permanent house and I know it will look great in that space for a long time to come. So until then I try to buy everything second hand or at least at a discounted price.

4. Make inspiration boards 
I'm a total nerd and one of my favourite things to do is make inspiration boards for my apartment, room by room.  For example, I have a lime green couch, as you can see, and I wanted to buy new throw cushions for it. So I found a photo of my exact couch online and simply copy and pasted different pillow colours and textures to see which ones went best with my couch. I know this sounds so dorky but it does really help to see exactly what it is you are looking to buy and to create an overall vision of a room. Pinterest is also super helpful for this.

     I hope this has inspired you to love and decorate your home the way you want it to look and feel.  Even if you don't own the place you currently live in don't let that discourage you! Just have fun with it and you're bound to love the results.

    How do you make an apartment feel like a home? What are some of your tips?

xo Sara