For many, the prospect of owning a home is a far-off dream, especially when the UK housing market has seen a recent price boom, with the average UK house price jumped nearly 6 percent in October.
This means more and more people are renting and although it may feel like you’ve got little control on how to make your personal space reflect your individuality, luckily, we’ve got just the advice for you.
Matthew Currington, Technical Director at The Lighting Superstore explains how you can make the most of the space you have in your rental, without upsetting your landlord.
X marks the spot
If you have multi functioning rooms in your property, it can sometimes feel a little claustrophobic, especially now, with people working from home more so than ever before.
To separate bedroom from office, try marking out your desk space with a rug. Placing this underneath where you work will create the illusion of a separation.
Try and find a space in front of a window to create your ‘office’. Natural light is proven to be the best booster for productivity and the view outside will make you feel less confined to your bedroom.
The same goes for hybrid living spaces. Use the furniture to mark out separate areas, like lounge and dining room. This will hopefully help you separate specific areas with particular tasks in your home .
Picture this
A feature wall is the perfect way to personalise your home and draw people’s attention, opening the space to make it appear larger. This isn’t always so accessible in rented properties, but there is a way to do it that’s landlord friendly.
The ‘washing line’ effect is a great solution. Use a piece of string and tie them to any existing features you have and use cute pegs to attach pieces to it. This allows more leeway to mix and match what you display and is completely cost effective.
Alternatively, hanging houseplants is totally on trend. Using a macrame, add these to high fixtures in a space to draw the eyes upwards.
Layer lighting
One overhead lighting fixture is going to make your rental feel infinitely smaller. It will create a stark light on one particular spot and cast shadows in the areas of the room that the light cant reach, minimising the rooms potential.
Adding a few desk and floor lamps around your bedroom or living space will add depth and make the room appear larger. Place them in corners where possible so every area is illuminated.
For your kitchen and bathroom, LED strips are a cheap way to add under cabinet lights. They expand the room as you wont always need the overhead light on – not to mention they are much more flattering!
On the ladder
If your rental is so small that you even struggle to add extra storage spaces, like shelves, cabinets and bedside tables, adding a decorative ladder can be a stylish way to store things using minimal floor space.
To replace shelves, you’ll need a ladder with flat steps to place your books or trinkets on. If it’s for hanging towels, scarves or ties, any ladder will do!
Either buy one ready to use if its time sensitive, or for a personal touch, get a cheap one second hand and restore it with your favourite colour paint.
Basket glory
When storage is lacking in your rental and your space is too small for adding a big piece of furniture, using baskets can combine functionality with style.
They are small and easy to move, so they don’t restrict your décor if you want to move the room around. If you have some built in storage, they could always slot into existing cupboards too, making the most of what you’ve got already.