It’s natural to want to decorate your apartment in a way that reflects your personal style and taste. But since you’re a renter, you can’t make too many major (re: permanent) changes to your space.
But that’s just fine! You can still make small scale changes that leave a lasting impression on you and your guests.
How so? Keep reading, and we’ll tell you about five small decor changes that will make a big impact on your apartment.
1. Removable Wallpaper
Removable, adhesive wallpaper is a quick and exciting way to add a pop of color to walls. Choose one with a bold pattern and cover an entire wall or just a segment to highlight a specific area.
Unlike traditional wallpaper that you glue to walls, and rip off to remove, removable wallpaper is non-permanent. It doesn’t leave a nasty glue trail behind or destroy existing paint.
To add it to your place, you simply remove the adhesive backing and apply the sticky side to the wall of your choice.
Not feeling ready to commit to removable wallpaper on your lovely walls? You can simply line your bookcases with a printed wallpaper for an unexpected pop of color that won’t be overwhelming.
Read Also:
- Removable Wallpaper: The Best Decorative Element for Interior Spaces
- How to Purchase the Best Knobs & Pulls for Your Drawers?
- Decorating Ideas: 9 Things You Can Frame Besides Pictures
- Decorations to Get Your Apartment Holiday Ready [7 Crafts]
- 8 Incredible Metal Decor Ideas for Your Home
- 6 Amazing Home Decor Ideas on Budget
2. Add Eclectic Throw Pillows
Covering sofas, chairs, and beds with colorful throw pillows is a classic design technique. It offers you the chance to spruce up a room in a cute and quirky way.
They not only brighten your apartment with a cool color or pattern but if you buy some that are textural as well, they’ll also add depth to the room.
Because there are endless styles of throw pillows or throw pillow covers, it’s easy to find plenty of options that will fit your budget and design style. You can find plenty of choices at big box stores and small, bespoke virtual stores alike.
Like pillows, colorful and textured throw blankets are a smart way to make an impact on a room. And as an added bonus, stocking up on all these pillows and blankets will make your space pretty cozy, too!
3. Switch Out Door Knobs
Door knobs are a dime a dozen in most apartments. But that doesn’t have to be the case in yours! It’s easy to find cheap and unique door knobs to replace the ones that came with yours.
All you need are new, stylish knobs, a screwdriver, and a few minutes. Just make sure to set aside the ones that came with your apartment and switch them back before moving out!
If your apartment is on the larger side, you may become overwhelmed quickly with the number of knobs you have to switch out. Never fear, just invite a few friends (and their screwdrivers) over and make it a group DIY activity.
If you end up loving the look, go a step further and also replace your drawer and cabinet handles and knobs. It’s a surefire way to make your apartment uniquely, unquestionably, impactfully yours.
4. Incorporate Metallic Accents
When wielded correctly, the metallic decor is a sophisticated way to make a big impact in a room. You can use metallic bookends, lighting fixtures, furniture hardware, and plant vases.
Metallics are typically gold, silver, and brass, although you can sometimes find colored metallics. You’ll want to pick out a couple of metallic decor pieces that match the rest of your things. Avoid metallic pieces that look cheap; there are plenty of those, too!
Whatever type of metallic you prefer — just don’t go overboard. A few hints of metallic placed carefully across your apartment can add a bit of sparkle and catch the eye. When used sparingly and at different ends of a room, it can balance and refresh the space.
Remember, though, that it’s very possible to overuse metallics. You can probably picture it, a small room glaring with retina-burning metallic in each corner.
It gets worse: too much metallic may make your apartment look like an out of place knockoff of Warhol’s Factory.
Just a few words of caution!
5. Vignettes
Home decor vignettes consist of several items grouped together to create a charming scene. They are often highly graphic and may denote a hobby or specific design style.
Common vignettes include clusters of framed photographs in one area of an apartment. Or maybe you have a nifty geode collection that you keep together on a shelf.
Although interior designers may relish using random pieces in their work, vignettes should be personal to you and your life.
Alternatively, you can create a vignette of items that aren’t seemingly related at all. The idea behind this is to choose an anchor item that is the vignette focal point.
Then you add a couple of smaller items to highlight it. It’s always best to create vignettes in groups of three or five, as they’re more acceptable to the eye.
The items may complement each other, or they may be in stark contrast. The choice is yours to make.
Conclusion
When you live in an apartment, there are only so many changes you can make. But that doesn’t mean these small tweaks can’t leave a significant impression!
Let’s consider these small decor change ideas again:
- Use removable wallpaper
- Add throw pillows and/or throw blankets
- Replace doorknobs with more exciting options
- Add pops of metallics
- Create charming vignettes
You can use as many of these small decor changes as you like. Just make sure any changes you incorporate aren’t permanent. You’ll definitely want to get your security deposit back before you move out someday!
And the beauty of these tweaks is that you can edit, change, or redo them as often as you like.
But in the meantime, these decor ideas will delight you with the huge improvement they make to your living space.
Author Bio:
Caitlin Sinclair is the Property Manager at Evolve South Bay with five years of property management experience and many more in Customer Service. She shares her passion for her community and looks forward to making Evolve South Broadway the place to call home.
