Renting an apartment or a house can be a wonderful way to accomplish many goals – attend school or fulfill your responsibility to a temporary job, transition into homeownership, or just “test” an area out before you make a decision to live there full time. Whatever our reasons for renting, a lease does not mean that the property that we are occupying is any less our home than it would be if we owned it. For many renters, however, there is the challenge of turning a house that is not technically their own into something that feels very much theirs in terms of personality and style. To this end, many renters look to décor to help them make the transition and turn their rental house into a home that is reflective of them.

Some of the things that renters can do to help liven up their rental property and turn it into something that is more in line with their own personal style includes:

– Paint. Painting walls is an inexpensive way to quickly achieve an overall transformation in a home. Check with the owners/landlord first to make sure that you are permitted to paint. It may be that the regulations stipulate that you paint the walls white again prior to you vacating the rental property, but this is a small price to pay for being able to make your home more livable with some temporary color.

– Furniture. A smaller rental can quickly become overwhelmed with larger furniture so choose wisely those pieces that will suit your home without overtaking the space.

– Artwork. Hanging items that you love on the wall is an easy way to really transform the entire house affordably and quickly. While many people will easily think of pictures and photographs to hang, they may also want to consider clocks. By hanging a wall clock in an entranceway, using mantel clocks as portable and affordable decorative items, and even considering the purchase of a grandmother clock for a living room, renters will not only have something special with which to decorate their rental space, they will have something permanent to take with them along to their next home.