I am no stranger to moving. I moved into my first rental space when I was the young age of 17, I was about to start college and I was so excited. In the 13 years since then I have lived in 10 different house/apartments. You can say change is a pretty safe bet at our house! In all the moving and rearranging I have done, I have learned a few things when it comes to making a new space feel like home, no matter how long you plan on being there.
I received samples for this post. All opinions are my own.
When we first moved my husband thought it was silly to decorate and really get settled, knowing we would not be there long. I have since taught him how putting your own spin on a space is essential to making it feel like yours. We just moved to a completely new environment, so it is the perfect time to show you how we have made our house feel more like our home in the short time we have been here.
Hang Stuff Up-
I know it is a pain, but hanging up your pictures and things that make you smile always go the furthest in making me feel at home. Some landlords are super cool and let you put holes in the wall, some prefer you don’t. I use those sticky Command Strips because they are easy!
I love to have pictures of my family around my house, but recently I found the cutest shop ever on Etsy to help me put a new spin on our family portrait.
Little Rosa Shop makes your family portrait using wooden peg dolls. They are showcased in this beautiful white shadow box frame. I simply sent her a family photograph and described our family to her, simple things like hair length and color, to specifics like habits- my son only wears jeans, and favorite colors. The more details you give, the better the out come. I adore this piece hanging on this collage wall in our home. It will be a treasured keepsake of this time in our lives forever! Right now you can get 15% off your custom peg doll family portrait from Little Rosa Shop by entering the code AMOMSTAKE at checkout. Offer expires on 12/31/2015- these would make PERFECT holiday gifts!
These three pictures are photos my husband took. I framed them for his birthday with a quote from his favorite movie, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty. Even though these photographs are not of my family, I love that they are still something that hold sentimental value for me. They make me smile when I walk past.
Show Your Personality-
I used to think that your home had to be decorated just so and always be neat and tidy to feel put together, but I was so wrong. Having home that feels like you is so much more personal and inviting. Our family are not perfectly groomed. We would much rather have a messy house and spend time together than to be all buttoned up all of the time. Finding things for our home that represent our style and sense of humor is one of my favorite things to do.
I just hung a few text prints in our home that showcase our personalities. Fuzzy & Birch is a shop full of cheeky wall art and sarcastic cards that really let your sense of humor and style be displayed in your home. I absolutely adore our prints from Fuzzy & Birch, my favorite being the Sarcastic Guide to Laundry. Who really knows what all of those symbols on your laundry tags mean anyway? Our laundry room happens to double as the main bathroom in our rental, so adding some fun decor was a must! I also have one of their prints hanging in each of my kids rooms- they showcase their little personalities so perfectly. Head over to Fuzzy & Birch and find something just right for your home, enter AMOMSTAKE at checkout for 10% off!
With three small children who are always hungry, much of my time is spent in my kitchen. It is a space where I insist on having a little bit of fun with my decor. This set of 8 Funny Kitchen Towels from The Junk Drawer Design are currently on rotation and they always make me smile.
I am a song lyric junkie and these towels are just so “ME”. I get so many compliments on them and I love that they make my kitchen feel relaxed and fun, perfect for the nightly dance parties held there while we make and clean up dinner! Find your own set or buy one individually from The Junk Drawer Desgin.
Make A Statement-
Don’t be afraid to find a way to really make your space your own by adding something bold. You might feel restricted by rules or what is in style, but do whatever makes you happy, it is your home after all!
One of the best parts of owning a home is how quickly you can change the look and feel of a room by painting a wall. As renter you most likely don’t have that luxury. Our new place is fairly small, but I knew the first time I walked in that I wanted to do something fun with this central wall. Simple Shapes came to my rescue! I just WALLPAPERED this wall!! What?! I was so nervous, but it really was so easy and it only took me an hour to install by myself! They send you giant sheets of vinyl in whatever print you choose, plus instructions.
You simply stick the sheets up one at a time, matching the pattern where the sheets meet. The cool part is it is removable and reusable, so if you are a little off you can adjust your placement. Make sure you save the backing, then when you move again you can take it with you and use it in your new space. I chose this White Brick design, but they have so many amazing options, choosing one will definitely be the hardest part of making this amazing statement in your home. Find their affordable options here.
If you have been out and about in stores lately or perusing home design magazines you know that marquee letters are all the rage. I really wanted to include some in a bold way in our home, but I could never find the right letters or shapes that I wanted. I reached out to Junk Art Gypsyz and they came to my rescue! They make hand crafted, vintage inspired, and completely customizable JAG Marqueez and signz for your home. I chose to have them make our last name, Smith, out of distressed, natural metal. It is awesome and people constantly ask where I found it! Junk Art Gypsyz have a ton of options from colors to finishes to make your sign uniquely you. Find just what you have been looking for here.
These are just a few ways I really like to make our house feel like home no matter how long we plan on staying here. Being in a rental space doesn’t mean it can’t still reflect your personality and taste. There are so many options for changing things up without making any permanent changes to your home. Get creative and make your space your own today!
I love wooden peg people. We actually had peg people top our wedding cake.
We are always iffy to put a nail in the wall. You have made some cute and good tips thanks.
Adding some pictures or some framed photos is definitely a good idea. I love those framed dolls.
I love all of these ways to spruce up your house. That marquee would be super fun in a basement!
These are some great tips! I know I love the Command strips – make hanging things up so easily and mess-free!
We own a home so we’re able to decorate as much as we like but my daughters rent apartments and could benefit from these ideas. I just recently learned about removable wallpaper.
I would love to have our family portrait done using wooden peg dolls. I love to decorate. I like to do family photos on the walls.
These are great tips! I may have to look into getting some removable wallpaper!
I have lived in 10 apartments since moving out of my parents house and going to college. And in every single one I have hung stuff up. No one wants plain white walls, and photos and decorative pictures make a huge difference in the feel of a room.
Etsy has some of the cutest finds! I really like the marquee letters but our last name is so long that it would be huge and tons of lightbulbs. LOL
I tell you, we have had a couple of rental places and none of them felt like home until we hung our family photos. Hanging photos just makes it feel real and homey… 🙂 Thanks for sharing… Love these ideas
I think this space looks great! I love the tips you provided too like dressing up a space with something as simple as a kitchen towel or two.
Great ideas for making the space your own. I especially loved the funny kitchen towel.
I love the kitchen towels those are so cute and a great way to make the kitchen cozy! These are all great tips I always loved finding new ways to make my house cozy when we move.
I had never heard of removable wallpaper until I read your post – the fact that they are also reusable is just the icing on the cake. I also love the lighted sign. Great tips!
Love the idea of removable wallpaper! I had no idea there was such a thing! Looks super cute in your family room!
I am big on music lyrics as well, so the kitchen towels cracked me up! I think removable wallpaper is a brilliant idea!
I love the lighted signs. I also love how thoughtful that was of you to frame hubbys photos and quote.
When we were renting we did not hang pictures for that reason you stated, but I think we should have. It would be much more out space if we did and I would have liked it a lot better.
Adding personal photos really does make a rental feel like home!
These are great tips. You may not be allowed to do anyhing physical to the apartment, but you can do little things to make it your own.
I love what you did. It’s simple, but beautiful. This is the first time I heard about a removable and reusable wallpaper. I think it’s pretty cool.
My sister rents an apartment and the landlord won’t let them hang anything on the walls or paint them a different color (they are white). Isn’t that weird?
These are wonderful ideas. I love the removable/reusable wall paper idea. I have always want an accent wall but since I rent I didn’t want to paint it a color.
I REALLY like your style and touches you put into your home and that marquee, I want one!
Thanks for sharing I currently live in an apartment and this will surely help!
I LOVE the idea of the removable wallpaper. Wallpaper has certainly come a long way 🙂 I’ll pass that idea onto my sister who rents