How to make a rental property your own?

purplecow1977

Will be living in a rental property. What sort of things can I do to make it 'mine'? I'd love to hang things up, but don't want to drill holes! Are there things that can be stuck on without taking the paint off the walls when taken down? Any other advice on making it my home? Thanks.

omb0wyn5ehpij9

purplecow1977 wrote: »

Will be living in a rental property. What sort of things can I do to make it 'mine'? I'd love to hang things up, but don't want to drill holes! Are there things that can be stuck on without taking the paint off the walls when taken down? Any other advice on making it my home? Thanks.

For hanging up pictures, I have used these Command strips and found them excellent. They didn't leave any marks on the wall when being removed

athtrasna

purplecow1977 wrote: »

Will be living in a rental property. What sort of things can I do to make it 'mine'? I'd love to hang things up, but don't want to drill holes! Are there things that can be stuck on without taking the paint off the walls when taken down? Any other advice on making it my home? Thanks.

Soft furnishings, rugs, cushions, free standing frames, bedding etc is the easiest way to do this. Places like tk maxx are great for finding bits and pieces to personalise a property.

zedhead

I would also second the recommendation for command strips. We also took down some of the art the landlord had put up and replaced it with our own photos/art. We've stored theirs in the back of one of the wardrobes to put back up once we leave.

El_Duderino 09

Pictures are a really good way to make it your own.

If the pictures are light you can use those pin nails. A tiny dab of caulk will fill the hole and make no difference.

If the walls already have patches that have been painted over, then I wouldn't mind about using screws. You can caulk them over and use a tiny dab of paint to smooth the look on the wall. You can buy caulk in white or magnolia in diy shops and it only costs a couple of quid. Easy peasy

If it's a freshly painted pristine wall then that's a bit different so if ask the landlord.

dennyk

Just ask the landlord if they mind you hanging up some pictures with nails. As long as they aren't really heavy, a standard picture hook with a small angled nail will work fine to hang most any pictures on sheetrock/drywall, and, assuming you don't have kids running about banging into the pictures and scraping them against the walls or something, it'll just leave a tiny nail hole that's hardly even visible as-is and can easily be touched up with a dab of caulk and a drop of paint if needed.

Edit: If you have concrete or true plaster walls, don't try to use hooks with nails; they obviously won't work in concrete and will likely crack plaster. Either use an adhesive hanger on these for lightweight pictures (make sure it's safe to use on the surface in question) or discuss with the landlord in detail about whether drilling and installing proper anchors is an option (probably it won't be, but it doesn't hurt to ask).

Elliott S

purplecow1977 wrote: »

Will be living in a rental property. What sort of things can I do to make it 'mine'? I'd love to hang things up, but don't want to drill holes! Are there things that can be stuck on without taking the paint off the walls when taken down? Any other advice on making it my home? Thanks.

I've just got permission from my landlord to put up more picture nails on the walls and to use those 3M Command hanging strips (these are supposed to be not strip the paint off the walls but sadly I've seen them do just that). We only have three picture nails in the whole place and about fifteen painting and photos that need a home. I was fully prepared for him to say no but just thought I had nothing to lose in asking. He agreed without any humming and hawing. My dad is a joiner and is going to help me do a proper job of it.

Why not ask your LL if you can do this? He/She can only say no!

Like zedhead, we took down and stored some of the LL's art and used the nails for a few of our own pieces. And it's a small touch but fridge magnets really give a homely feel. You can get really nice ones too. Also, cushions and nice lighting. I also have a stuffed broccoli person called Barbara Broccoli in my kitchen.



EDIT: I see others have recommended the 3M strips. Beware, I've seen them strip paint quite badly!

Gumbo

As a landlord, if my tennant asked me could the drill holes etc I would have no problem if the filled and touched up when they left. Or if it is to hang shelves ect, then they leave the shelves or doc the area.

Discuss with landlord, and see where you get.