Find the best rental decorating ideas for your apartment and small space living. Lots of renter friendly DIYs and decorating tips for each room included!

Rental Decorating Ideas and DIYs

Resource List

Looking for resources to help you decorate your rental apartment or home?  Not allowed to paint your walls?  Are you unsure of how to optimize small living spaces?  On a limited budget?

As a military spouse who has moved 7 times in the last 10 years and decorated 6 rental homes, I have a lot of experience of dealing with landlord restrictions, small spaces, and even traditional Japanese homes for off base living.   (Yep, we have lived in two cities in Japan!)

Find my top tips and tricks for people just like us!  Don’t wait any longer to make your rental feel like home.  The tips are great for on base housing and off base housing military friends! 

Rental Decorating Ideas for Your Walls

Have you heard of removable wallpaper?  It has to be my favorite thing to use to cover rental walls (and other surfaces).  It can be a little costly so check out how I used a limited amount for a big impact.  Looking to spend just a couple of dollars?   Try creating a geometric wall pattern with washi tape for pennies.

Other ways to cover those boring white or beige walls is to create large wall art treatments.  I’ve done many gallery walls but I love thinking outside the box with creative and cheap solutions for my rentals.  One solution is to use inexpensive paper fans with command strips for a hole free wall art.  Another favorite DIY, thrift store baskets stained to match your decor can make a gorgeous focal point.

The easiest method for creating vignettes and covering walls without hanging anything is to simply lean art on furniture , shelves, or even the floor.  Using large pieces are perfect for this but can be pricey.  Here are a couple of inexpensive solutions.  Try framing a pretty printed paper in large poster frames, use two for a bigger impact!  Repurpose a thrift store frame with DIY paper art.

Rental Decorating DIYs to Cover the Eye Sores

Do you have fuse boxes in odd places?  Maybe ugly hoses and cords in the laundry?  Try these temporary solutions for creative ways to hide uglies.  Embrace oddly placed eyesores with a gallery wall.  Create shelves plus hide hoses and wires with baskets.

Rental Decorating Ideas for Small Spaces

All of our rentals have been under 1500 square feet for our family of (plus two pets).  Coming up with pretty and practical storage solutions are a must.  Check out these posts for small small solutions.

Optimize a small master bedroom with creative storage solutions and decor.  (I’m a huge fan of putting dressers in closets to free up bedroom floor space when possible.)   Keep your closets decluttered and organized.

Divide living areas into different zones for multitasking.    Help your child keep a clean and organized room.

Find room my room DIYs/decor and more rental friendly decorating ideas HERE.