Customizing Apartment Rentals

When moving into your typical apartment most of the walls will be a monotonous color such as white or off white, the flooring is plain or stained, bad lighting, etc. You want to make it feel like yours and home-like but owner of the apartment has stipulations that keep you from doing so. Some owners may allow you to paint the walls but have to approve the color first while others restrict you from making any changes. Before signing the rental agreement ask the owner if you would be allow to do any decoration or painting the walls.

If your landlord will not allow you to make changes to the apartment and you decide to sign the agreement there are things you can do without breaching your leasing agreement. With many apartments one of the major problems you run into is space to put all your things. If possible before you move get rid of anything that you no longer need or use. If you do not have a sectional sofa invest in one because it is easier in a small apartment to place smaller pieces of a sofa than a large sofa that is one piece. Use small sectional tables in your living room instead of a coffee table or large end tables. Mount your flat screen table to the wall if your landlord allows it.

In the kitchen you can use hanging baskets in the corner to store things. Get a table with a drop leaf so you will have a smaller table when there is only you eating at the table. If your king or queen size bed will take up most of the room in the bedroom opt for a full or twin size bed. Set plants on the windowsills if there are any, hang curtains that are light and bright, use vertical blinds, and replace the high wattage bulbs with ones that are LED or lower wattage to take the glare off the room. In the bathroom place a small shelving unit in the corner to hold your cosmetics and other bathroom supplies. Place colorful non-slip rugs on the floors.

If the landlord allows you to paint the walls opt for soft colors that make the rooms feel welcoming such as light blue, light green, light yellow, etc. Make sure that you ask your landlord if there are any restriction on colors. Many will not allow the walls to be painted in dark or vibrant colors. You also need to check to see if you can put nails in the walls to hang pictures, clocks, etc.