This blog post is about how to decorate a rental apartment!

A rental apartment isn’t really yours, and obviously because of that you can’t extremely change it or do whatever you want with it’s interior.
BUT, it doesn’t mean that you can’t make your apartment feel like home by changing things that will make your place feel like your own!
In this blog post, we are going to cover the best ways to decorate a rental apartment, while keeping it rental-friendly, and still switching things up!
Of course, if some of these ideas require you to ask permission from your landlord, ask them and don’t do any changes before you get a green light 🙂
Let’s get started!
Note: This site contains affiliate links, view our disclaimer for more information.
HOW TO DECORATE A RENTAL APARTMENT

Free download
ROOM MOODBOARD CANVA TEMPLATE
1. paint the walls!
You should always consider starting off with painting the walls of your space! You can completely paint the apartment walls (if you have permission to do so), or you can even paint one accent wall in the space to spice things up.
Another option, of course with permission, is drawing a wall mural as an accent wall. I did it in my last bedroom (with permission from my landlord), and it turned out so pretty!
2. Wall Paper Accent Wall
Another beautiful option for an accent wall is sticking a beautiful wall paper to one wall in your room/living room/whatever room you are decorating.
Make sure though you get a rental-friendly wall paper that can come off easily when you move out.
3. Decorate Your Walls
Make your apartment feel like home by decorating your walls with gallery walls/mirrors/and more.
Fill up your walls and add a personal touch to your space with beautiful decorations!
4. Switch Light Fixtures
Sometimes apartments don’t come with nice light fixtures. In any case, one of the best space-changing hacks is upgrading your lights to cute light fixtures!
5. Switch Out Door Handles
If you don’t like the door handles in your apartment, and it is easy to switch them out, you can get cute door knobs on Amazon and switch them with yours.
Just make sure to keep somewhere the old ones so you can switch them back when you move out!
6. Upgrade Your Kitchen
Sometimes you just find the almost perfect apartment. But it just doesn’t have the cutest kitchen you imagined having.
So, no worries, there are a few easy and rental-friendly ways to fix that!
First of all, I do recommend discussing this with your landlord, if you’d like to paint your kitchen cabinets and completely change things.
But in any case, here are a few fun and easy ways to upgrade your kitchen until you move out:
- Paint your kitchen cabinets – if your landlord agrees, you can paint your kitchen cabinets.
- Decorate kitchen walls with peel & stick backsplash tiles – if your kitchen doesn’t have backsplash tiles, you can upgrade your kitchen look with rental-friendly peel & stick backsplash tiles. They are so many cute ways to do it, and you can even do a colorful backsplash design, or go for a textured white backsplash option as well.
- Switch Out Kitchen Cabinets Handles – if you don’t like your current kitchen handles, you’ll be surprised to discover what a huge change switching your kitchen cabinets handles can do!
When I moved into my first apartment, I didn’t really like the kitchen cabinet handles. They weren’t that bad, but they didn’t match my aesthetic either.
So I got these kitchen cabinets handles from Amazon, and it made a huge difference!
Just reminding – remember to keep the old handles so you can switch them back when you move out.
Follow us on TikTok @homestylingbymaya for more home decor ideas, first apartment finds & moving tips, shopping recommendations, and more!
7. Focus On The FURNITURE
The best way to decorate a rental apartment is actually just focusing on the furniture.
Meaning, buying cute furniture pieces, getting unique and eye catching pieces that will help you make your apartment feel like home, and bring your personal touch through the furniture pieces.
8. Use Bookshelves Instead Of Shelves
If your landlord doesn’t allow holes in the wall, it means that you probably can’t hang up floating shelves.
A cute option instead of that, is getting some bookshelves and decorating them with cute home decor accents, books, and more.
9. Hang Up Curtains!
I never thought how much of a change it will be to add a long sheer curtain to my living room, before actually getting one!
Apparently, hanging up curtains actually make a huge difference in making your apartment feel like home.
It really completes the space, makes it cozy, pretty, and put together.
10. Bring In Some Life With Indoor Plants!
I’m OBSESSED with plants, and especially with indoor plants since they bring so much life and color into the space!
You can combine them by getting hanging plants, floor plants, or regular plants to decorate around your place.
For my flower lovers, who don’t want real flowers that will eventually die, I recommend getting real-looking artificial flowers, putting them in a pretty vase, and decorating with them as well as a centerpiece.
11. Get a Full-Length Mirror
First of all, mirrors are pretty in general and always make a great decor piece.
But getting a full-length mirror can also help your room feel bigger and brighter.
You don’t need to hang it up if you can’t, you can lean a large mirror against a wall and make a cute corner out of it.
12. Cozy Up Your Space!
Nothing makes me feel like home than having a cozy space! Making your place cozy and warm is so important!
I feel like getting a nice area rug, and for your living room, throwing a cozy throw blanket and throw pillows on your couch can make a huge difference.
In general, I feel like rugs, blankets, and pillows, are perfect for decorating your place and making it feel more cozy and welcoming.
And that’s it for today! I hope you found some fun ways to decorate your rental apartment 🙂
This blog post was about how to decorate a rental apartment!