How to Make Any Space, Even a Rental, Feel Like a Forever Home

I’m a firm believer in your home being considered a home regardless of rental status. I’ve lived in my childhood home, a rental, for the last 23 years of my 24-year-long life. I see myself living in rentals indefinitely—that’s just the name of the game in New York City—and I’m okay with that. I don’t believe that you have to own a place for it to feel like it’s yours. 

Almost every person in my life has lived in a rental for over five years, some for over 20 years, and all have completely turned their homes into places that were truly them. I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of seeing all of these apartments and all of their iterations over the years, and so I think I’m more than equipped to tell you that you can make any space feel like a forever home if you put your mind to it. 

Invest in Furniture and Decor That Work for You

Renter-friendly hacks are readily available at your fingertips, with designers and content creators finding new ways to turn your rental into a forever home every day.

This can be as simple as actually splurging on the decor that suits your taste, rather than holding back out of the fear of moving within a year or two. Smaller changes like swapping light fixtures, adding peel-and-stick wallpaper, switching hardware also count.

“When thinking about a forever home of any kind, even if it’s a rental, we like to focus on function first,” said Abigail Shea, designer at Studio Eastman and member of TALD, a platform that matches clients with vetted interior designers for virtual consultations and full-service design. “A home will truly feel like yours if it works for how you live.”

Shea recommends taking the extra time to find storage pieces that can work in your current rental and beyond or investing in a lounge chair that you know you’ll want to plop into every day. The good thing about investing in your rental is that if you do need to move, you can always take things with you. 

“We always encourage our rental clients to purchase unique, beautiful dishware and glassware,” Shea says. “You can pack them up if you leave, and a thoughtful dinnerware collection can really make your whole home experience feel personal.”

Add Window Treatments and Wallpaper to Your Space

In a recent rental project, the first thing Shea’s team did was swap out the lighting to fit the client’s needs. The “landlord special” light fixtures typically found in rentals often drain a space of character and interest, Shea shared, and so swapping out lighting is normally her team’s first go-to. 

Noelle Harvey, a designer at Sunday House and a member of TALD, also shared some key upgrades you can easily do (some in a weekend) to make your rental feel special, from hanging a fun wallpaper, upgrading your window treatments, and adding plants. 

“We love livening up a single wall or nook with high impact peel and stick wallpaper,” Harvey says.

Window treatments can have a much bigger impact than people expect. I love a good curtain to add some warmth to a room, and this can be a super cost-effective way to change things up.

“We call [window treatments] the eyebrows of the room,” Harvey adds. “The best ones add texture and depth to the space. If you can’t drill into the wall, use tension rods to hang curtains and window coverings.”

Try Updates You Can Always Reverse

In my own experience as a renter, I’ve lived with the mentality that I can do anything in my apartment as long as I can fix it back.

Over the years, I have: installed peel-and-stick tiles in my kitchen and entryway, installed vinyl flooring on top of my rental’s existing flooring, repainted walls several times, changed cabinet hardware, purchased my own appliances, installed peel-and-stick wallpaper in closets, and hung plenty of photos and posters with nails. 

Getting permission from your landlord is a great rule of thumb to save yourself from any future headaches, but some projects, like swapping hardware, can be easily reversed while still giving your space a unique look.

It’s not enough to simply live in your space. You deserve to feel at home wherever you choose to live without any fear holding you back.

So go buy those new window treatments, finally get rid of those white walls, and start turning your rental into a forever home.