How To Make A Rental Feel Like Home | Part ONE | 4 Easy Things You Can Do

How To Make A Rental Feel Like Home. Part One of Three. Follow along on this three part series as I take you along with me while we settled into our new rental. This post is sponsored by Linen & Hutch, Buschman Store, & Shabby Chic Shenanigans- All views and opinions are my own. Be sure to checkout @wearingmomjeans on instagram for behind the scenes!

If you've ever rented a house or apartment, you know that it can feel pointless to put effort into decorating. Especially if you know, you won't be there for more than 12 months. We just got out of a long term rental and are in a new place with a 12-month lease. While renting a home for your family can have pros and cons, one of the hardest parts for me was not being able to update things like I want. If I were to change what would seem like simple things like paint color or switching out fixtures would turn into a huge hassle to put everything back when we moved out.

When we first moved in, I tried to rationalize not hanging photos or decorating because we 'move soon' and wouldn't be here long term, but life is short. I choose to be committed to making the most of the next 12 months and wanted this space to feel cozy! I knew going in we weren't going to paint or be able to update any of the little things, so I really put effort into the little decor add-ins to cozy up the space. I'm happy I did!

Here are four little things you can do to spruce up your space and make it cozy too!

Cozy Up The Bedroom Space!

Before Photo of Our New Master:

After:

In our old place, we legit just had our mattress on the floor and were using the loft area for our room; It didn't have a window or even a door, so I was SO excited that we finally had a real bedroom! Funny story we used to have a queen mattress on a box spring, but for Christmas, my husband had surprised me with a King mattress... he thought that it would fit on our queen box spring. So that's how our bed ended up on the floor! We got a bed frame for the King but ended up waiting to put it together until we got into our new house to make it easier not having to move it twice.

Tufted Headboard: This has been on my dream list for a while! There is something about a headboard that just makes me feel like I've really arrived into adulthood. This one is available at Overstock.com Click here to shop!

Rug: We added a beautiful area rug from Amazon. I wanted to define the space. I loved the navy and cream colors of this one and figured it was a pretty safe color combo to hide stains that were bound to happen, having little kids (and a husband).

Nightstands: They were bright teal and used to be in our old living room as end tables, but they didn't fit in with our new living room, so I hired Shabby Chic Shenanigans to give them a makeover with a neutral grey color! I love how they turned out. I kept it simple on top with our Salt Lamps, which I love for nighttime.

The Quilt: It's from Linen & Hutch; it is PERFECT for summer or anytime here since we live in Florida. It's lightweight but cozy warm and buttery soft. This quilt is the perfect color pop to this neutral color pallet. I still am on the hunt for some cute throw pillow that will bring it all together, but I've yet to find ones that I love.

Faux Fire Place: I love this for our TV. We needed something thin for this space I love how cozy having a fire place in our room is. Perfect center piece.

Floor Plant: I love me some plants. I think I'm classified as a crazy plant lady now stay tuned for another blog post all about that! I got this baby at Walmart for $11. I love it. Super easy to care for I just water it once a week. I threw it in a super cute little fabric basket for some texture and to hide the ugly planter it came in! On this wall, I do plan on putting a full-length mirror but for now, it's empty!

Photos

You can cozy up any room with pictures. I love looking at these on my wall. I'm so happy with how this project turned out. Print YO Photos, people! There is a quote somewhere that says this is the most photographed generation but won't have any photos. We take so many pictures of our families, yet people rarely print them for the walls (or even just a photo album). I knew I wanted to do a black and white wall in my living room of some of my favorite moments. I DIYed the frames. I got them all from a thrift store and painted them white. I'll do a full post soon on that! I order all my prints from Nations Photo Lab they are fabulous make sure to get on their email list because they are always running fabulous sales. The Metallic paper finish is my all time favorite.

Kitchen Nook

Table Before:

Kitchen Nook After:

Our old place didn't have room for a kitchen nook, and we made our 'dining room' into an office, so being able to have a table and chairs to eat family dinner at was super exciting. I picked up this table from a local thrift shop and hired Shabby Chic Shenanigans to make it over for me! They did a fantastic job. I love how it turned out.

For chairs, I knew I wanted something more low profile since the space was on the smaller side. I didn't want anything that would over power to take away from the beauty of the table. I ideally wanted something lightweight that my toddler wouldn't have a problem getting up onto herself. These chairs are from Buschman Store and are everything I've dreamed of. They pulled the space together so nicely. I highly recommend this brand if you're on the market for chairs, they have everything from the kitchen table, bar stools, and even kids sets!

The center piece is just a little something I whipped up! Mason jar with some fresh floral pieces & a mini birds nest from the craft store.

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Plants in Bathroom

Checkout The Before:

After With Plants:

So the bathroom wasn't anything fancy, but I wanted to make my bath area a little sanctuary. I got some house plants that would do well in a bathroom setting and went crazy. The edge of the shower was a perfect spot for four plants in terracotta pots. I found these macrame plant hangers from Amazon and added some Golden Pothos plants to them. This might be my favorite spot in the house!

Hope you enjoyed this! Part two will include making over entry way & how to use area rugs to separate spaces on an open floor plan!

Follow along with me on Instagram for more @wearingmomjeans