How to Make Your Rental Feel Like Home

Posted on February 16, 2023

Most of us will be living in a rental at some point in time. Granny flats, duplexes, tiny houses and studios are affordable ways to live that can make a great home for however long you need, but at times it can be challenging not being able to make aesthetic changes to the property or feeling like your just staying in someone else’s house. You’re going to want to pack your space with personalisations, passions and good vibes.

Having lived in many rentals myself, I’ve come to enjoy this challenge and have developed processes to move my life into a room. Here are some tips that can apply to both furnished and unfurnished rentals to enrich the change and make a space feel like your own.

1. First Thing's First, Relax

Although it can be easy to slip into perfectionism when trying to plan your ideal space, there’s no point having an immaculately decorated property if the end result evokes negative memories of stress. Moving is a big process, and it can be too overwhelming if you’re not giving yourself time to feel good about the design choices you make.

Opt for finishes that promote relaxation too. Go nuts with soft blankets, cozy pillows and whatever sources of comfort you need to feel good in your home.

Wondering Folk, totally getting it

2. Make, Or Grow, Something That's Yours

Once you’re moved in, creating something in the new home that has taken your time and care to make can build your connection to a property. Having a pot plant to nurture, a DIY project or even an artsy calendar could help switch the feeling of a room from hotel to home. By being responsible for the existence of an element of your home, positive feelings of achievement may come associated with the place, along with a sense of ownership.

3. Invite People Over!

You don’t need to wait for your ideal area to share it with others. Have your friends and family help set up your rental, or enjoy a house warming to quickly get building positive experiences in your space. By being the host/hostess for others, you’ll also feel your independence associated with the rental increase, helping you claim your place in the environment.

4. Distract From or Hide any Things That Aren't to Your Taste

In some cases you may be able to ask a landlord if you or they can make a change to a property, like requesting to put up your own curtains or add a nail in the wall, but if it’s not approved or not in your budget there are easy ways around it. Wall colour you don’t like? Cover it with a dividing screen, furniture, art or a mirror that you prefer. Cold tiles? Invest in some rugs. Ugly fixtures? Choose something more your style as the main feature of the room that draws the eyes elsewhere. Unappealing overhead lights? Buy some freestanding lamps or hang string lights around that can replace the light source with your own desired ambience.

A great solution for renters wanting to hang pictures and mirrors is temporary adhesive hooks, with an easy application and removal system that allows you to hang up to 3kg of your style without making a change to the property.

Something that may help make eyesores more subtle is, rather than contrasting them completely, try and select your own decorations to have near it that compliment the colour, shape or style of the problem, so it blends into the rest of your things. Get creative about how you can adapt a look that's not for you into a different aesthetic, and try and shift your perception of it by surrounding the space with good memories.

We love the shelves on this versatile timber room divider available at Bunnings

5. Designate Individual Spaces to Different Experiences

Even if you’ve moved into an open plan studio with just a bed and a bathroom it’s important to try and connect your life and passions with your home, which can be made easier by assigning little areas to different purposes. I have a corner that I tend to do my yoga in, another for music and another for reading. If you have the room to set up permanent spaces for different elements of your lifestyle like a home gym, library or art room, by all means do, but if not, even mentally aligning a desk, chair or patch of the floor to something you care about can increase your tendency to do that thing, as well as develop your associations of purpose and joy with your place.

Life doesn't get better than a Yin Yoga Mat to the left and some books to the right

6. Engage All Your Senses

This is a fun step. Don’t just rely on sight to feel at ease in a new home, get all your senses building positive correlations to the place. Light a candle you love, cook or order your favourite meal, listen to your favourite songs and have yourself a dance. Experience the smells, the flavours, the sounds and the feelings that make you happiest in your new place, and if you enjoy a candle, incense or oil diffuser often enough the scent can move in permanently along with you.

I'm at home when the room smells like sea salt and lemon myrtle thanks to Natural Necessity

7. Get to Know the Area

Whether you’ve moved across countries or streets, comfort in place is so important, particularly if you need a bit more assistance feeling at home. Try all the nearby cafes, diners, parks, beaches and shops - find what you like. Gradually develop a sense of belonging to the location, and be part of the community if you wish. It helps to return to the same places frequently. Maybe even be brave and engage with some strangers in friendly small talk, gain aquaintences and you’ll be a local in no time.

The beauty of granny flat rental is the concept that your shared land is built in with a mini community. The relationship between the main house and granny flat residents can be so helpful in life, which is why we promote a Reduced Rent For Service option that allows granny flat owners to advertise if they'd lower the rent for a tenant who'd take responsibility for something like the gardening.

8. Know Your Rights as a Tenant

Finally, something that can help you take mental and emotional ownership of your home is understanding the rights that come with your tenancy. Learning the legalities of renting may help you overcome a ‘guest mentality’. Needing a property owner’s approval for your decisions regarding the property doesn’t mean you’re needing their permission to control your own lifestyle. While you have a lease you have a home, so read into it to know the boundaries between the tenant, landlord and property relationships, with a lawyer if you can. You can also refer to the tenants advocacy to read about what you’re entitled to and seek support. Follow the links below to find your state’s guidelines.

NSW: https://www.tenants.org.au/all/taas

QLD: https://tenantsqld.org.au/need-advice/

VIC: https://tenantsvic.org.au/contact-us/

TAS: https://tutas.org.au/

NT: https://www.dcls.org.au/tenants-advice/

SA: https://www.syc.net.au/rentrightsa

WA: https://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/consumer-protection/tenancy-advice-and-education-service

Author and posted by Alysha de Ruyter.