Design 101: How to Decorate a Rental Property

Creating a space that feels like home can be difficult when it comes to a rental property. From tight contracts that prohibit cosmetic changes to ensuring you will receive your full bond back; it can be hard to truly make your mark on a space. But it’s important to keep in mind, creating a space that feels like a retreat and that you enjoy coming home is important for your own wellbeing. After all, it’s where we spend most of our time, from waking up in the morning to tucking ourselves into bed each evening.

That’s where we come in! Our in-house stylists have complied their top tips for decorating a rental apartment, house or property so you can live in a space you love without breaching any rental contracts.

Rental Living Room Decorating Ideas

Outside of the kitchen, the living room is one of the core spaces in a home. It is a conversational seating space where we watch shows, relax, entertain and more! So, making your living room a centrepiece in your rental property and infusing your personal style into the space will have a huge impact on the overall look and feel.

Enhance warmth and texture with floor rugs

A simple way to incorporate texture and warmth into your living room is through rugs. Whether you have space for a large floor rug or a simple floor rug, this can be used to pick up on elements already in the room such as the colours of your couch, cushions or artwork to create visual impact. Alternatively, they can be used to bring in new colours and textures to complement your existing living room design. Rugs are also easy to switch out with the seasons, as your tastes change or as you move into a new rental space.

Make visual impact with artwork

Another simple way to make a big stylistic impact without damaging your rental property is through artwork. Using simple heavy-duty peel-and-stick adhesive hooks, you can hang and display art and wall decor that speak to your sense of style. This is a popular way to adding that personal touch and can change the tone of your living room in seconds.

Add ambience with lighting

Lighting is key in the living room to create a cosy and relaxed ambience. Floor lamps and table lamps artfully arranged on entertainment units, side tables and empty corners can bring a warm glow to your rental property living rooms which can create an entirely new look and feel.

Create a cosy space with cushions

Finally, no living room is complete without some cushions! Mix and match different cushion shapes, sizes, colours and textures that add depth and dimension to your couch arrangement. From soft velvets to cosy cottons and luxe linen, find the perfect cushions to bring your personality into the space!

Bring in greenery with artificial plants

After greenery without the maintenance? Artificial plants and trees are a simple way to trick the eye and bring the outdoors in without the extra effort of remembering to water a real plant! Offering the same look and feel, premium artificial flora can refresh and brighten any space from the living room to the bedroom and beyond – plus it’s simple to transport between properties and doesn’t need natural light to thrive! Style in a plant pot in an empty corner or beside your entertainment unit to instantly elevate your space.

Rental Dining Room Decorating Ideas

A conversational area for hosting, entertaining and enjoying meals, the dining room is another core space within any home and rental property. From swapping stories with friends over drinks to plating up a home-cooked meal, dining rooms are a simple to transform with just a few finishing touches.

Invest in proper place settings

Nothing says ‘put together’ quite like coordinated place settings, but the beauty is they’re functional too! Protect your tables from spills, stains and marks by investing in beautiful place settings with placemats and coasters that tie into your rental property’s interior design theme to elevate this space. Bring in common colours and materials seen in the living room and kitchen to tie the dining room together.

Style stunning tablescapes with table linen

Whether you are an avid entertainer who loves hosting or simply want to elevate your everyday meals, table linen can instantly make your dining table look elegant. From napkins to tablecloths or a simple table runner, table linen can add depth, dimension, colour and texture to your dining room. Style together with your new place settings and you’ve got yourself a stunning tablescape with wow-factor!

Add a pop with florals

A centrepiece of the dining room table, a vase with florals can refresh your space and are easily swapped out with seasons or as your style changes. From single stems for a minimalist look or bunches of artificial flowers that will stay spritely and fresh, this is a simple way to create a stylish dining room for your rental property.

Rental Bedroom Decorating Ideas

The bedroom is where we come to unwind, relax and get ready for a good night’s sleep and it should evoke a feeling of restfulness and tranquillity. Particularly if you are living in a rental property share house, the bedroom becomes even more important as it also serves as a retreat for your own personal space. So, transforming your rental bedroom into a space you love the look and feel of is key.

Refresh the room with bedding

The focal point of any sleep sanctuary, the bed is what the eye its typically drawn to as soon as you enter a bedroom. Using this to your advantage, easily elevate your space by refreshing your bedding. As the saying goes, nothing feels as good as a fresh set of sheets and bedding!
Quilt covers and comforters are an easy way to incorporate new colours, textures, prints, patterns and fibres. Opt for a colourful quilt cover or a patterned sheet to bring a new focal point into the space. Or instead, revitalise your bedding design with new throw cushions or a set of European cushions to re-create hotel-like comfort at home.

Use stylish storage solutions

Whether you’re living in a compact rental apartment or a larger rental house, being smart about storage can not only improve the functionality of your space, but also the style. Our stylists recommend putting some thought into your storage options and choose more decorative storage elements to ensure it aligns with your bedroom’s design story. For example, for a minimalist or modern look choose wire storage baskets while coastal, farmhouse or bohemian designs could opt for woven baskets for a more organic aesthetic.

Bring in warmth with curtains or drapes

Something that is common in rental properties, is the current drapery and window covers aren’t often the most stylish or the most efficient. By making a simple switch and investing in some new curtains, you can revitalise your space and add warmth to your sleep sanctuary. Think luxe linen curtains for a breezy style or blackout curtains paired with a sheer curtain for extra depth and dimension.

Rental Bathroom Decorating Ideas

While bathrooms are mainly a functional space in the home, with the right design touches even rental bathrooms can become a spa-like retreat to indulge in your morning routine or evening regime in style.

Swap out bath mats & towelling for a cohesive look

The most impactful way to elevate your rental bathroom is through refreshing towelling and bathmats. By swapping out your existing bathroom linens for fresh matching bath towels, bathmats and hand towels, you can begin to create a more coordinated and cohesive look and feel to the space. Choose colourful, textured or patterned towel designs in a colour that matches the rest of your home styling to continue your interior theming into the bathroom.

Infuse personality through stylistic touches

Even if rental bathrooms are not the most exciting space to style, they still deserve some love with design elements to transform the room! Consider refreshing the counterspace with stylish soap dispensers, trays and a scented candle to bring the spa-like atmosphere to life.

Elevate the bathroom essentials

Don’t neglect the bathroom basics! Even a bathroom toilet roll holder, toilet brush and bathroom bin can add to your rental bathroom design. Choose colourful or uniquely shaped holders and bins that tie into your new bathroom towelling and stylistic touches to bring your bathroom design to life.

Our Top Rental Decorating Tips & Tricks

To avoid risking your bond when you are moving out of your rental property, it is important to double-check your lease for decorating restrictions before making any changes. We recommend confirming your updates with the property manager to get owner approval to maximise the chances of getting your entire bond back.

Another helpful tip is to keep any original fittings in a safe place and reinstall them when you move out. This is important if you are changing elements such as curtains. Be sure to store them all in the garage or in another storage space!

Finally, we recommend investing in decorative touches and stylistic elements that are versatile and can move with you to your next rental property. This includes things like rugs, artwork, towels, bedding and lamps which can create visual impact and tie your rental property design together, but can also easily be transported and styled in your new space when the time comes.

Find On-Trend Homewares & Bedding To Decorate Your Rental at Pillow Talk

Stuck on where to start? Or even inspiration to get decorating? Browse Pillow Talk’s rental-friendly selection of homewares and bedding to find the perfect pieces to make your rental property a home. Or for more styling help, visit your local Pillow Talk store and speak to our friendly staff who can provide tailored tips on decorating your rental property.