3 Tips for Renters

Happy Friday, friends! Today I want to share with you three things I've learned from renting. A lot of people in our life stage are renting, and it can sometimes feel like a drag to not be able to do exactly what you want with your place, but there are definitely ways around that, and even bonuses to renting as well!

1. Put stuff on those walls!
Nothing says "renter" like empty walls. So one of the quickest and easiest ways to make your rental feel like home is to hang stuff up! It's super easy to take down when you move, and there's not a whole lot (if any) repair work before you leave. Photos, paintings, prints, and other various wall hangings can do wonders to an otherwise empty or disorganized feeling space. You can share stories through your wall hangings. You can convey style and mood. You can create a color scheme or a theme. Wall hangings are important, people. Need some inspiration? In case you missed it, awhile back I posted about 5 ways to fill your walls. I'd say that's a pretty good place to start. ;)

2. Embrace the awkward
Pretty much anytime you rent, you're going to have something about the place you don't love. That's probably true of when you buy too—but then you can just demolish, re-finish, or otherwise completely change that little bit of awkward going on. But when you're renting, your best bet is to embrace it.

Check out the creepy sweet angel shelf going on in our bathroom... once paired with a little bud vase in similar colors it's not quite so weird. And see that cut-out in our kitchen? Yeah, it's a window into the second bedroom. Why is it there?? We have no idea [although I speculate it was to pass food through to a prisoner, buttttt....]. So we put up some scrapbook paper and use it as a shelf for cookbooks. Boom. Awkward embraced.

3. Become friends with your neighbors!
Okay, so this tip obviously doesn't have anything to do with decorating, but it has tons to do with making your apartment/rental feel homey! The great thing about rentals, is that they are often apartment complexes or duplexes, or if you're like us, a four-plex! This means you're living super close to at least a few other people, if not a whole building of them. I think this is the perfect time to practice making friends, since seeing someone in the hallway is much easier than walking across the street and knocking on someone's front door.

And take it from me, becoming friends with your neighbors can be so much fun! We just had our upstairs neighbors over for a game night last night and we had a blast [hey K&M if you're reading this!]. The best part? You don't have to bundle up and brave the cold to hang out! :)

What tips and tricks have you learned from renting?