Don't be a Resenter As a Renter

Unlike the baby boomer generation who could buy a house on just one wage, nowadays, the younger generations are finding it increasingly harder to get themselves onto the property ladder. Renting is at an all time high, especially in inner-city locations such as London, where the chances are that unless you’ve won the lottery or have held down a very well-paying job for a long while, you won’t be looking at buying a property outright any time soon. I know that this is certainly true for me and I don't even live in London!

This can make putting our stamp on things tricky, as well as our care for what we are meant to be keeping safe. There are certain limitations to being in let accommodation, including decorating styles, holes in walls to hang pictures and other decorations, and even hanging wallpaper ( I have also talked about large scale wall murals a few weeks ago), but there are some things to exude your personality that you may never even have considered.

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Plants For All Occasions

There is a whole lot that plants can give to a space that you may never have previously considered. Looking at your rental contract, they’re probably just about the only other living thing apart from yourself that you’re allowed to keep. Not a pet of sorts, but they still need attention and looking after. There are the obvious succulents, which have seen a massive rise in popularity over the past few years, and these are generally a good go-to plant for first-time plant owners as they require little watering and attention but still provide great results. If you’re looking for something a tad more dramatic, the Philodendron plant is one that heavily culturally referenced in prints on clothing, books and wallpaper currently, so you can’t go wrong with plonking one of these in a space that needs brightening up.

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Showing Off The Fancy

You may not have the space to specifically dedicate to what you’ve got to display, but that doesn’t mean that they need to hide away. You can get portable display cabinets from http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/storage-furniture/cabinets-sideboards/display-cabinets/ which don’t have to be fitted or fixed against walls, and ones that are specific for the item that you intend to have on show, such as bespoke wine racks from wineracks.co.uk. Instead of getting annoyed that you can’t do as much as you are able to do in terms of decorating and attached furniture to walls, simply look for the more free-standing option!

via Pexels

Stick On, Peel Off

With the boom of the rental generation come businesses who know that what these people are looking for are temporary alternatives to what would otherwise be long-term measures. This sounds complicated, but it’s really not. Want different tiles to go in the bathroom? No worries, stick-on ones to temporarily cover the ones that have already been laid down are available. Want/need a new carpet but aren’t allowed to put in your own? That’s fine - rugs are being made bigger and more affordable to cover this. You just have to have a hunt around for something that you may think is a permanent fixture that you can get charged for. Chances are that somebody has already thought of a rent-friendly alternative!

*A collaborative piece 

Wall Murals for the Home

I am a planner.  Always have been.  I like to plan things in advance so I know that whatever event I am going to, whatever task I am going to complete or decision I am going to make is as well organised as possible.

One plan that I have ongoing is the plan to move out from my mum's and into a flat.  This plan is going to probably take a couple of years to achieve, paying off outstanding debts and saving for things like rent and furniture.  But the timescale does not stop me from planning how I will want my new space to look like.

One of things that I have been thinking about is decoration.  Putting your own stamp on a place can be hard when you working around someones else's choice of carpets and wall coverings.  You cannot do anything about the carpet other than to make sure that your furniture does not clash, but the walls are something different.

Even if your landlord will not let you paint the walls and you are worried that too many nails in them will relieve you of your deposit, there are things that you can do.

I have been looking into wall murals.  I have seen a few of them around people's houses, my sister has one, and it made me wonder if that would be the way forward.  Here are a few of my favourites so far:

This is a very bold piece which would work well if you wanted to make a statement.  If you are working with a mostly white area as shown above, this would be a wonderful focal point.

This image makes me relaxed just by looking at it.  It would work wonderful on a large wall in the kitchen, or perhaps a small version in your bedroom for calming influence

This is an example of how you can use a huge piece, making a statement of the entire wall.  You could lie in the bath and pretend that you were on a beach!

This is my favourite, and one that I will keeping an eye on for when I move out myself.  I adore the way you can look over and thinking for a second that you are actually living in Paris.

All of these wall murals can be found at PIXERS  You can choose the exact height and wide of any piece that you want and some are also washable, perfect if you have a certain family member with sticky hands!