I’ve always found myself feeling a little uncomfortable living in rental apartment. And I’ve lived in quite a few.
Sometimes the discomfort comes from furniture whose style you don’t like. Sometimes it’s the lack of thoughtful details. Sometimes it’s a difficult landlord or an agent who suddenly feels very distant when you actually need something. Still, when renting is a necessity, you learn to adjust and make the best of the space you have.
You spend most of your days there. You cook there, sleep there, drink your morning coffee there, or even work remotely. But because you know you’re not staying forever, it’s easy to start treating the space as temporary too, and avoid investing in making it feel more aligned with the way you live.
I never really could do that. I’ve always felt the urge to “dress it up” a little, simply so I could feel more comfortable and more at home in my own space.
You don’t need to renovate a rental to make it feel like home, nor do you need to spend a lot of money. In fact, some of the biggest changes have nothing to do with paint colors, new kitchens or drilling into walls. Sometimes, it’s simply about making the space feel more like you through little things.
Start with the things you can change
When you can’t change the floors, kitchen cabinets or bathroom tiles, it helps to stop looking at them as the starting point. Look instead at everything around them.
A rug can completely change how the room feels. Nicer bedding can make a bedroom feel less generic. A good lamp can make an otherwise ordinary corner feel warm in the evening. A vase with flowers on the table or your travel souvenirs will always be a nice touch-up.
These are the things I’d focus on first because they make a big difference with small effort and can come with you when you eventually move.
How can you make a rental apartment feel more like home?
One of the easiest rental apartment ideas is also one of the simplest: bring in more texture. Think rugs, cushions, throws, curtains and bedding – things that make a room feel lived in without making it feel cluttered.
A rug is especially useful when you’re dealing with flooring you wouldn’t have chosen yourself. It gives you something else to look at and changes the feeling under your feet at the same time. You don’t need one in every room. Sometimes one well-chosen rug in a room you spend most of your time in is enough to make a rental apartment feel much more yours.
The same applies to the bedding. Good bedding is one of those things you notice every day, even if you don’t consciously think about it. Natural-looking fabrics, a few cushions and a throw at the end of the bed can make a very ordinary bedroom feel much more personal.
Don’t underestimate lighting
If there’s one thing I would change in almost any rental, it would be the lighting.
The main ceiling light might technically do its job, but it rarely creates the kind of atmosphere you want in the evening.
Instead, add light at different levels. A small table lamp on a side table. A floor lamp next to a sofa. A reading light beside the bed.
You don’t need your entire room to be brightly lit. A few warmer pools of light can make the same space feel completely different after dark.
And unlike built-in lighting, these are things you can take with you.
Add furniture that makes the space feel intentional
You don’t need to replace all the furniture in a rental. Maybe you even can’t. So instead, look for one or two pieces that change the way the room works.
A small side table beside the sofa. A comfortable chair in an empty corner. A coffee table that gives the living room somewhere to gather around. A bench at the end of the bed or as an extra seating at the dinning table.
These pieces don’t have to be expensive or dramatic. They just need to make the room work better for the way you actually live.
Bring in some plants
Plants are another simple way to make a rental feel warmer and more lived in.
You don’t need to turn the apartment into a jungle. One larger plant in an empty corner, a few smaller ones on a shelf or something green beside a window can completely change the feeling of a room.
I also like that plants make a temporary space feel a little less temporary. They’re a small sign that you’ve actually settled in, even if you know you won’t be there forever.
And, of course, they come with you when you move.
Use mirrors and art to make the space yours
Artwork can be tricky in a rental, especially if you don’t want to make holes in the walls.
But you don’t necessarily need to hang everything. Lean a larger framed print against a wall. Place smaller pieces on a shelf. Use removable hanging solutions where appropriate or switch current artwork from the walls for the time being.
A mirror can also do more than simply give you somewhere to check your outfit. A large mirror can make a smaller room feel more open, while a smaller decorative mirror can become part of a gallery wall or sit above a console or sideboard.
The important thing is that the space starts reflecting your taste rather than looking like somewhere you simply happen to live.
Let everyday things become part of the room
I like homes that look lived in.
Books on a coffee table. A ceramic bowl where you actually leave your keys. A vase with a few branches. A basket for the things that otherwise end up on the floor.
These aren’t necessarily “decorations”. They’re things you use anyway. And that’s one of my favorite ways to make a home feel personal: instead of buying things just to fill empty space, choose useful objects that also happen to be beautiful.
What should you actually buy for a rental?
If I were starting with an empty or semi-furnished rental today, I’d rather buy a few things that could move with me than spend money trying to disguise everything I don’t like about the apartment.
My starting list would probably look something like this:
- A rug that works with more than one room
- A warm table or floor lamp
- Comfortable bedding
- A good mirror
- A small side table and/or a simple coffee table
- A few cushions or a throw
- One or two pieces of art
- A few plants or a simple planter
- A useful basket or storage piece
- A vase or ceramic object I genuinely like
The point isn’t to buy all of these at once.
It’s to slowly replace the feeling of “this is the landlord’s apartment” with “this is where I live”.
And if you choose pieces that you genuinely like, they don’t have to stay behind when you eventually move.
A few pieces worth looking at
For furniture and décor, I usually prefer looking for pieces that are simple enough to work in different homes rather than buying something purely because it fits the current room.
Kave Home is one place I’d look for this kind of furniture and décor, in this case particularly for smaller pieces such as side tables, lamps, mirrors, rugs and decorative objects. I feel this orange table lamp can be a statement piece in any living room. And isn’t this standing mirror a great choice – neutral enough to fit in any space, but still make a stylish addition in bedroom or hallway. I am sure this vase will make any rental apartment look like it should cost more. These are just few proposals, but you get the point, right? 🙂 If you want to invest in something larger, like an armchair – this beautiful artistic green chair would be my choice.
A rental can still feel like yours
You don’t need to own a home to make a home. You can make a rental feel warmer, calmer and more personal without changing the things you’re not allowed to change.
Choose the things you can take with you. Choose things you actually use.
And give yourself permission not to fill every corner. Because home isn’t really about how permanent the walls are. It’s about how the space feels when you walk through the door.
Keep exploring
The quiet joy of owning less – a different approach to making space at home.
Small apartment ideas that actually work – simple ways to make a small space feel better.
How I learned to travel with only a carry-on – learning to live with less, even when you travel
