We rent our homes & these are five DIY ways we made them our own WITHOUT losing deposits
IF you’ve ever rented a property before, you’ll know what it’s like to live in fear of losing your deposit.
And while we’d love nothing more than to display lots of lovely family photos on the walls, we’re too scared to even use Blu Tack on the walls in case it ends up costing us a few hundred pounds when we move out.
Sound familiar? Well just because you don’t technically own the space you live in, that doesn’t mean you can’t put your own stamp on it.
Here Fabulous shares the interior design tips that’ll spruce up your rented home without getting in your landlord’s bad books.
1. Peel-off Wallpaper
Every time we open TikTok these days, we’re bombarded with videos showing how vinyl can completely transform your kitchen counters.
But did you know you can achieve similar results with your walls too?
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Okay so we’re not telling you to plaster vinyl all over the place (as that’ll almost certainly lose you your deposit) – instead, invest in some peel-off wallpaper.
Savvy DIY fan Shayna Alnwick has racked up over 318,000 followers on her Instagram account The Flipped Piece – and she’s a HUGE fan of this tip.
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She told Fabulous: “I’m a big fan of anything peel and stick!
“I love adding ‘peel and stick’ wallpaper on my walls to give the space an entire new look on a budget without having to paint.
“It’s easy to remove once you move out and leaves your walls good as new.”
In November last year, the professional furniture flipper showed fans how she completely transformed a plain white room in her rented home for just £55.
She explained: “Let me show you the easiest renter-friendly hack ever.
“Get yourself some peel and stick wallpaper – I got this one from Amazon, it’s matte black and I love it.”
Unlike traditional wallpaper where you have to apply layers of paste beforehand, Shayna stuck this straight onto the wall and used a dry cloth to make sure there weren’t any lingering bubbles.
As Shayna wanted to give the room a bit of character, she then bought some styrofoam from B&Q to create the look of coving.
She continued: “This weighed nothing – it was as light as a feather.”
After sticking it to the wall with double-sided tape, Shayna then filmed in the gaps with caulk.
“Now you have the perfect accent wall,” she said.
And when it’s time to move, the wallpaper and faux-coving won’t damage the walls either.
2. Switch up the lights
Is it just us or has every rented place we’ve ever lived in had horribly harsh lighting? Well naturally, it’s not wise to go tinkering around with the light fixtures.
That said, there IS a way to switch things up (pun intended) and make your living space a bit cosier.
Explaining how she’s achieved corners of mood lighting in her home, Shayna urged fellow renters to invest in some battery-operated puck lights – which you can buy for as little as £15 from Amazon.
The interiors expert said: “A renter friendly hack I love is puck lights! Every renter should know about them.
Using floor lamps and table lamps to give a great ambience – cannot beat mood lighting!
Victoria Kember
“I love puck lights as you can add lighting into dark spaces without any hard wiring.
“I also like to install sconce lights on my walls and where a normal lightbulb should go, I use double sided adhesive to attached puck lights and you have a custom built-in light with battery operated puck lights!”
Alternatively, interior designer Victoria Kember suggested: “You can switch the bulbs to ‘warm’ white, however, I never use the ‘big’ lights.
“Using floor lamps and table lamps to give a great ambience – cannot beat mood lighting! Oh, and light multiple candles in the evening!”
3. DIY Crittal Windows
Crittal windows and shower screens are all the rage on Instagram right now – and as they can be VERY pricey, we never bothered entertaining the idea of installing them in our rented place.
But savvy DIY fan Michaela Shoebridge – who boasts 197,000 Instagram followers – has revealed how you can achieve the same effect on a budget.
And the best part is, it’s SO easy to remove.
Walking her followers through the process in an Instagram video, Michaela started by painting her window frames black – which you’d need to run by your landlord first.
Next, she gave the windows a good clean and then used plain black wasabi tape to create the grid effect.
She wrote: “It’s so easy to apply or remove, so you can have a play around and see what design you like the most. Plus they’re so easy to maintain.”
The clip ends with Michaela spraying glass cleaner over the tape – which didn’t come away with wiping.
4. DIY Radiator Covers
If your rented place hasn’t been renovated in a while, then your radiators are probably still painted in some eye-catching colour that was all the rage in the 70s – avocado green or baby pink, anyone?
Well luckily for us, Michaela also has a top tip for this too.
When they moved into their new place, the DIY fan and her partner weren’t particularly keen on the 4m radiator that is the same length of the window – so they decided to create their own wooden cover on a budget.
She explained: “We used MDF for building a frame first.
“Once the frame was up, we decided to create a panelling effect and covered it in timber slats.”
To finish off they, painted it an off-white shade to tie into their neutral interior style.
5. Get around the no-drill rule
As a general rule, drilling into the wall to hang artwork is generally a bit of a no-go when you’re renting.
However, interiors expert Victoria Kember – who co-founded Kerv Interiors – says there is still a way to reflect your personality within your four walls.
She explained: “White walls don’t necessarily mean no personality. When living in rented accommodation myself, I used large artwork lent up on a chest of drawers in the bedroom to bring colour.
“This can also be the same for mirrors – there are alot of ‘leaner’ style mirrors on the market at the moment. Use any available surface space to add items you love.
“Spend money on accessories you love. All these items you can take with you. Even placing artwork on the floor – sounds mad but it works!”
For more home stories, this home design guru revealed you shouldn’t throw your leftover wallpaper away – here’s how to use it in OTHER places.
And this interior designer shared her five hacks that will instantly make your home look expensive.
Plus this home stylist’s simple trick will spruce up your bedroom at a super affordable price.