Temporary, portable styling hacks from those in the know!
Big W offers these simple styling tips to upgrade your space without upsetting the landlord:
- With hanging light fixtures, a large floor lamp or table lamps, using yellow bulbs will increase the warmth and homeliness of your new place.
- Blockout curtains will not only refresh your room but will also leave you feeling more refreshed in the mornings.
- Pot plants, modern vases or a bedspread – green is a trend that’s here to stay.
- The bed is typically the centrepiece of the bedroom so dress it like one!
- Summer is coming and rental properties are just as equipped for summer entertaining. Update a moveable barbecue, refresh your dining set and if you’re entertaining outdoors, go for a natural look using a wicker placemat.
Design Duo team and The Blockwinners Alisa and Lysandrasay home décor items are your best friend when renting:
- Don’t hold back on throws, pillows and accents that reflect your style.
- Floor rugs are a great way to cover any old flooring you don’t like whilst defining your space.
- Artworks add personality and make the space unique, but look at options such as Command strips to avoid putting holes in walls when hanging your pieces.
- Plants add character and texture and make a house feel like a home.
- If you’re working with a small space, the less clutter the better. Use clever storage solutions such as floating shelves and timber hooks.
Bunnings says just because you’re renting doesn’t mean you can’t turn your house into a home:
- Plants are the easiest way to personalise your space. Indoor plants come in a range of sizes that handle varying light levels. Create a feature by making a terrarium or turn a sunny windowsill into an indoor herb garden.
- Usually painted in neutral colours, rentals are the perfect backdrop to make decorating statements. If new furniture is on your agenda, choose either neutral shades for a unified scheme or bold colours to brighten things up.
- Rugs add colour and help to cover up daggy or damaged flooring.
- Brighten up windows by hanging new curtains that better suit your style – but keep the old ones to re-hang when you leave. Blinds are another option but check with the landlord first before installing.
- Give the kitchen a café style with a chalkboard wall. Use double-sided tape to mount to avoid making any holes. Changing handles in the kitchen is another quick renter’s update.
- A wooden shoe rack is handy storage for the bedroom and also the living room or hallway entrance. Try a cube storage unit that can be designed to suit your needs.
Kaety Thompson, co-founder of Australian lifestyle store Oliver Thom, says there are a range of non-permanent items you can use to style a bathroom:
- Combine some of your favourite wellness products on a tray (e.g. scented candle, perfume bottle, body brush) which can be moved around the bathroom as you please, beside your basin or on a cedar-look stool.
- Include beautiful soft furnishings in a bathroom; linen towels and waterproof curtains can provide warmth and texture to a tired and cold space without having to change fixtures or fittings.
The team at Ikea had three words for us: colour, pattern and material:
- Limit your colour palette to three hues to creates a clean, cohesive look. Combine bright and neutral shades to create harmony and contrast.
- Add patterns and natural materials within your colour palette. The colours will tie them together, while the different sizes will help create interest.
- Texture brings it all together. Using natural materials like juke or rattan helps unite your palette and patterns while adding soft warmth.
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