Decorating your rental on a budget can be a challenge. While your landlord might not let you paint your walls or use nails to hang your paintings, there are still many ways to decorate your house that are affordable and can turn your temporary abode into a home.
Moving house can feel like a chore. It’s tempting to want to furnish your rental in one go by buying cheap items from op shops or Kmart.
But, before you take out your wallet, take a step back. Take your time to find the right furniture for your home. Shopping slow is better for your budget and will stop you from buying things you don’t need.
Take your time to scour Facebook Market Place, Trade Me or garage sales on Facebook and find pieces that fill a space or have a purpose.
Once you get a new piece of furniture, live with it for a few weeks before buying your next piece. This way, you’ll avoid buying furniture that doesn’t work well together, is too big in the space, or doesn’t meet your requirements in terms of storage or usability.
While you might not be able to paint your walls, paint is the perfect way to spruce up any old furniture you’ve just bought.
Thrift-flipping furniture is a great way to upcycle. It can also make cheap furniture look more expensive and give your flat a cohesive look. Coffee tables, bookcases, dining tables, sideboards and drawers are all items that are easy to find and easy to flip.
Bunnings sells cans of paint for as low as $10. You might need to do a little prep work by sanding down the furniture and removing any wood stains or old paint first.
It's easy to find rental-friendly advice online, however high shipping costs and lack of availability can make some products hard to find in New Zealand. Fortunately, Kmart has you covered. They recently introduced a range of peel-and-stick tiles and wallpaper.
If your bathroom or kitchen is more ugly than attractive, peel-and-stick tiles are a way to give your room a makeover without risking your bond deposit. Simply stick them on and peel them off when you’re ready to move out. Who knows, you might even inspire your landlord to give your bathroom or kitchen a proper makeover.
Bringing light to a space can change the way you feel. Most rentals don’t have enough lights, and the lights that do exist tend to have old or mismatched shades. If you can afford to, replace the shades with matching ones.
A more affordable option is to buy floor lamps and table lamps for your common areas. You’ll flood your rooms with more light and add to the general interest of the room. A large floor lamp is a great way to bring versatility to a room while providing practical use too.
If you rent in New Zealand, it’s likely your curtains or blinds are as old, mismatched, or threadbare. One easy way to make a space look more put together is to replace your old curtains.
Spotlight, Briscoes and The Warehouse have many budget options that will instantly improve the look of your space. This is a low-effort, low-budget way to make your room look nicer. You can take them with you when you leave.
Simply fold your old curtains up and store them somewhere safe until you’re ready to move out. Curtains can make a big difference in the quality of your sleep. If your current curtains don’t block out enough light, invest in some blackout curtains to improve your sleep as well as your decor. White net curtains can also make your rental look out of date. Remove them or replace them with a modern, plain alternative. Just remember to rehang the original curtains when you move out.
Thrift stores are a mecca for affordable art and picture frames. You can easily replace the artwork with images you like or upgrade the frames with a lick of paint. A pair of brightly coloured pillows can add interest and vibrancy to your living room for less than $50. Plants are another low-cost way of adding to your home's decor without spending a lot of money. You can even upgrade old pots with a lick of paint.
Use Command hooks to fix the artwork or simply lean the artwork up against the wall. This can add interest to your space and still looks fantastic.
Remember to keep your plants off the carpet or floor at all times. Water can seep through into the flooring and ruin your chance of getting your bond back.
Rugs are the perfect way to add interest, create warmth, inject personality into a bland room, or cover ugly carpets or tiles. Since rugs are usually expensive, this could be an item worth thrifting.
Alternatively, affordable furniture retailers such as Mocka, Kmart and Society6 are worth checking out for affordable rugs and runners.
Whether you are moving into a new rental or need help getting furniture delivered to your home, Wise Move is here to make getting your furniture delivered easier. From home movers to TradeMe delivery, we provide affordable moving options to help you furnish your rental on a budget.
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