We bought our first home in 2014, right before we got married. We loved it….for a little while. Then, in 2018, we decided to start truly listening to those inner tugs and moved from our acre, rural-area living to in town, side-by-side with our neighbors. Not to mention, since we weren’t completely aware of the longevity of this transition into “town living”, we moved into a rent house instead of pouring into the investment of a home. We’re crazy, we know. That’s nothing new.
What is new, is decorating a rent house. There is no “Oh let’s paint, get new lights, accent that wall with some floral wallpaper.” Don’t lie. We’ve all seen the new wallpaper trend and thought, maybe I should jump on this bandwagon. Maybe you didn’t. To each their own! However, there are going to be some boundaries when the actual house itself can not be “permanently” changed. (Yes, removable wallpaper. HOLLER! Time and effort for this short term living, not worth it in my husband’s eyes.)
So, what’s a girl to do? I want to enliven my home without enlivening my landlord to pay a visit, or take my deposit and more. Ha! Here are a few of the top ways we’ve made this home, our home, for now.
YOUR style and happiness
What tickles your fancy, very well may not tickle mine. BUT, that’s the point. At our house, we love words and inspiration. It reminds us who we are and why we’re here. I have them scattered around our home, and many pieces were grabbed on sale, on a whim, when they were spotted!
Cur [insert hand clap] tains
Odds are your landlord is going to expect nail holes from your pictures and curtain rods about windows. Most of the windows already had the curtain rods installed above them before we moved in. These bad boys can literally change a room. TJ Maxx, At Home, and Amazon have all supplied our home with color, shade, and an extra layer of “us” at all decent prices. The beauty in the interchangeability of the colors, patterns, lengths, etc. make this is a winner on updating any room without permanently changing it. Be bold. Hang up that pattern. If you don’t like it, find a new one. Don’t be afraid. There are no rules.
Themes: Overall and Rooms
Decide what you want your overall feel to be in your space. That theme should move from room to room. In no way does this mean the house has to look identical in each room. What it means is everything looks like it belongs in the same house. You can pick one color that you incorporate some how into each room. You can pick one painting that you just adore and make sure every room could house that picture. Our theme is a black and white base with a dessert overlaying theme. See? Bet you have never heard of that theme for a house. I SWOON over cactuses. Have ever since we decided to use that in our son’s nursery. So I make sure that I can place one in any room, in some way, and it work. The black and white base allows for random pops of color to make each room unique but still cohesive with the remainder of the home.
Rule of thumb for decorating
Miss Peaches herself, my mimi, always taught use to group in odd numbers. She made the most magnificent floral arrangements, and she would tell us countless times, it’s because ever flower was group with odd numbers. She would use 3 of these, 5 of those, and 7 of that. It will forever hang with me, because it works. This messes with my symmetrical minded husband some times, but this rule doesn’t meant 1 and 1 do not work. HELLO. Numero Uno is odd, too. So whether its books, pictures, floral, or a cluster of items on a table, make sure they balance out with an odd numbers of counter parts. The only place that this rule doesn’t apply to is the pillows. That number is infinity. Give me all the pillows. I don’t even care to see the actual couch and/or bed. Cue husbands nightly growl when removing said pillows.
Don’t be afraid and tackle the area of your house that doesn’t give you all the feel goods. Good luck! And remember, there is no wrong way to decorate YOUR home.