How to Decorate a Furnished Rental (with Tipi )

Sharing easy tips on how to decorate a furnished rental  and make it feel like your own. This post has been sponsored by Tipi .

For a lot of people, renting is the only option, especially if you happen to live and work in a city like London. And even then, there are still a wide range of challenges that you might face as a tenant. Sky high rents, hidden fees and costs, ever increasing security deposits, and strict landlords who refuse to allow the freedom to decorate how you choose.
 

INTRODUCING TIPI – A NEW WAY TO RENT IN LONDON

When Tipi got in touch asking if I would be interested in restyling one of their furnished apartments, my interest was very much peaked. I hadn’t heard of them before, but after a little researching of my own, I realised that I rather liked the ethos of this brand.

Here was a property management company that for once, was actually listening to renters and what they needed. It seemed for every renting woe (big or small), they had found a solution to counteract it. Below are just a few examples:

• Pet friendly apartments
• 24hr support for residents
• Stylish and very high quality furniture packages
• NO deposits or hidden fees
• Social spaces (like a gym, rooftop terrace and communal garden) and secure spaces for car parking
• All inclusive bills and expenses
• Amazing location !Situated in Wembley Park – the area has got everything you need!

And the most important of all – the ability for residents to personalise apartments to suit their own individual style. Of course this is the part I LOVED the most. I talk about this a lot, both in my new book and on my renting home tour series #howirent, but your surroundings play a huge part in your mental health.

Decorating is a form of expression. And that freedom of expression should be accessible to all, regardless of wether you own a home or not.
 

FERRUM BUILDING – DESIGNED FOR A NYC LOFT EXPERIENCE.

The space I was asked to style was the living/dining in one of their newest building Ferrum. Ferrum has a very distinctive New York loft vibe to it, with high ceilings that showcased exposed steel and copper pipework, dark rustic wooden surfaces and industrial style high quality furniture co designed by John Lewis and partners. It is without a doubt, a fantastic foundation for any renter looking to live comfortably and stylishly.

The space included a kitchen area, dining area, and living area. It was a good size, with large windows looking out on to iconic views of London. My task was to carry out a styling revamp using accessories from John Lewis and Partners, to show residents how to inject colour into an already  furnished rental apartment like this one.

Note: As mentioned above, Tipi are happy for tenants to decorate, but advise that if they are going to hang art or shelves, that they need to use one of their contractors to do so.

Below are some before and after shots of each area, and my tips on decorating an already furnished rental apartment.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience . Please see my disclosure page here

WATCH MY FURNISHED RENTAL MAKEOVER VIDEO HERE

1. THE KITCHEN AREA

BEFORE:

AFTER:

CUSTOM STICKERS:
The biggest change in this area, was the addition of custom stickers to the tiles. I hand cut circles, semi circles and lines from black fablon paper and stuck them at random on the metro tiles. I wanted to demonstrate how easily plain looking tiles could be updated with a little creativity. These can be easily peeled off should you wish to remove before you move out. And of course – you can use other colours too!

SELF ADHESIVE HOOKS:
I spray painted standard self adhesive hooks copper (to match the pipework on the ceilings) and attached them to the wall to hang small items. There are some places I feel you should always try to avoid drilling holes, and kitchen walls and tiles are one of them.

DECLUTTER COUNTER TOPS:
Whatever I felt didn’t need to be in plain view, I placed inside the kitchen cabinets. And the things I decided to keep out, I made sure were cohesive to the kitchens current design. Having an organised and uncluttered surface can make a huge difference to the overall look of a kitchen .

I grouped together chopping boards, stored food produce in glass containers and hung cooking utensils on hooks.

OTHER USES FOR LARGE APPLIANCES:

The fridge in the kitchen was supplied by Samsung which meant it was fancy looking already. However, the addition of magnets helped to soften the look so that it wasn’t just a huge black contraption in the kitchen.

1. John Lewis & Partners Fusion Gold Edge Patterned Plates
2. Joseph Elevate Silicone Kitchen Utensils
3. House by John Lewis Round Cork Placemats
4. Croft Collection Glass Jar with Oak Wood Lid
5. House by John Lewis Airtight Stainless Steel Lid Glass Storage Jar
6. Croft Collection Oak Wood and Marble Chopping Board,

 

2. THE LIVING AREA

BEFORE:

AFTER:

REPLACING THE RUG
This was another small change that made a huge difference. From the before pictures, you can see that the previous rug had been rather small. The one I chose to replace it was much larger, with bolder colours and pattern.

A rug should fit the size of your seating area and be as large as possible within it. Ideally, all the furniture should sit on the rug, or at least the front legs.

SOFT FURNISHING
Every renters guide you read will always tell you to switch out soft furnishings when you can, and it really is the best advice! When buying cushions and throws, I chose colours based around the sofa, rug and existing features in the living space like the rustic brown ceiling.

RENTER FRIENDLY FEATURE WALL
Every room needs one – especially if the only wall that can be a feature also happens to be the TV wall. I created an abstract circle mural on the wall using black and white contact paper (you might notice that I continued this semi circle theme on to the blinds) . I hung wire baskets as shelves too for additional storage and to distract away from the black hole that was the TV.

A GALLERY WALL THAT ISN’T ONLY MADE UP OF FRAMES.
I included a5 sized clip boards to give this gallery wall a little more depth. The largest print is actually a  LEON tea cloth. This print, brings the colours of the space together well.

SHELFIE STYLING AND PLANTS

I dotted indoor plants (you can buy gorgeous real life plants from John Lewis via their partners The Little Botanical) around the living space, on tables, and on the shelves – including a rather large cactus that I knew wouldn’t requite too much maintenance

Forget #seflies, it’s all about #shelfies now.

Styling a shelf in a rental home is the best way to display and showcase items that are important to you. As seen below, I rearranged the shelving, by grouping together books, and other small items for a minimal clean look. I spy my book – you kind of cant miss it ha!

1. John Lewis & Partners Icon Ikat Rug, Paprika
2. House by JohnJ Lewis Stackable Wire Basket
3. John Lewis & Partners Faux Fur Sheepskin Rug, Grey Tip
4. A5 sized clipboards
5. LEON Tea Towels, Orange, Set of 2
6. John Lewis & Partners Cat Nap Framed Print,
7. strong>House by John Lewis Pathways Cushion, Dusty Green
8. John Lewis & Partners Linen Cushion, Auburn
9. Design Project by John Lewis No.196 Cushion
10. John Lewis & Partners Jute Pouffe

 

3. DINING AREA

BEFORE:

AFTER

RE POSITIONING FURNITURE

Just because furniture has been placed in a certain way when you begin a tenancy, doesn’t mean it has to stay that way . I re-arranged the dining table from its previous slanted position to face the wall with the black radiator. I switched around chairs and slipped the a rug underneath it all.

CLIPBOARD GALLERY WALL
This was quite quick to put up as I used the pre-existing holes that were already there (however these can be hing with self adhesive strips if needed). Creating a clip board gallery wall like this gives you the freedom to change art -depending on the mood.

You can display anything from recipes you want to try, kid’s drawings, tickets to an upcoming event, family photos… etc.

FOLDING CHAIRS ON THE WALL

Bike rack hooks are great for hanging heavy items like chairs. I added two hooks in the dining space for folding chairs , should there ever be a need for more seating options.

ADD COLOURFUL TABLEWARE

1. Louis De Poortere Heriz Gold Dust Rug
2. House by John Lewis Buiani Folding Chair,
3. A4 sized clipboards
4. Bike hooks
5. Broste Copenhagen Almas Medium Hanging Pot,
6. Ana Zaja Petrak – Pickles Unframed
7. John Lewis & Partners Ribbed Table Runner,
8. Fabienne Chapot Cheetah Side Plate
9. House by John Lewis Metal Hooks,

So what do you think of this makeover of a furnished rental space? Have you found this useful? Leave me a comment below! You can also see more details about by clicking here.

***This post has been sponsored by Tipi . I received payment for my time styling, and creating this post. I only partner with brands I LOVE and think you will LOVE too! All ideas, photos and opinions are 100% my own (unless otherwise stated).