Whether you’re a renter or an owner who’s still in search of their “forever home,” making your living quarters feel homey—when you know you aren’t actually staying long—can be a bit of a challenge. But we promise, guys: With a few clever, low-lift updates, you can totally give a temporary abode loads of personality and pizzazz. Here are our five favorite tricks in the book.
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How to Personalize a Home (When It Isn’t Yours to Keep)
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Published Jul 1, 2019
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Swap Out Generic Lighting Fixtures
Reminder: 99 percent of the time, you can trade out generic, preexisting fixtures for fabulous statement lighting of your choice. All you need to do is clear the change with your landlord (if necessary), then hire a handyman or electrician to come make the swap for you. (Their average hourly rate is around $100, btw.) You can’t ask for a more transformative upgrade!
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Give The Space A Signature Scent
Just like a spritz of your favorite perfume makes you feel like your best self in the morning, scent is a super powerful tool for creating a sense of identity within the home, too. Our best advice? Look to the new Glade® PlugIns® Scented Oil, which offer the most adjustable warmer, long-lasting (like, up to 50 days long) fragrance and a vibrant slew of scents to choose from—like the ultra-transportive Hawaiian Breeze™. (Sense of place, achieved.)
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Decorate Like A Gallerist
Nothing will make you feel more at home than being surrounded by your personal collections of artwork and keepsakes—so whatever you do, don’t let them linger in storage. Fill your walls with paintings, garnish your surfaces with treasured tchotchkes, and generally, adopt a gallerist’s approach to creating beautiful displays throughout the home. Say it with us now: vignette (your new favorite word).
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Dress Up Your Walls With Removable Wallpaper
Aspirations for a bigger home one day are no excuse to live through bland, colorless walls. In fact, paint jobs and removable wallpaper are generally very welcome updates from landlords. While you can’t take ’em with you when you leave, they truly take a room from blah to beyond. In other words, they’re cosmetic updates that are well worth the splurge.
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Buy Forever Pieces, Regardless
When you know you aren’t staying forever, it might feel tempting to buy inexpensive furniture suited to that particular space. But knowing you won’t be taking a piece with you when you leave will only enhance any transitory feelings. Instead, focus on finding furniture that you’re downright obsessed with. You may not be in your forever home yet. But hey, at least you have your forever reading chair.
