Across the globe, countless people relocate to different cities for various reasons. While relocating to a new town or city, buying a property is not the immediate option for the most. Buying a property takes a lot of effort and time. So, initially, most people choose to rent a place rather than buy. In big cities, renting a big house can be very expensive. So, renting a home is a good starting point.
Renting a small place is advantageous in many ways. Staying in a big city can be heavy on the pocket, including higher rent and day to day expenses. Sometimes, one cannot rent a bigger house in big cities. If one takes a tiny place on rent, they need to pay less rent.
A tiny house is affordable but uncomfortable because it is very cram-full. So, does this mean that one cannot be happy in a small place? Not necessarily that has to be true. Using simple tips and tricks can make a small house can be made to look more spacious and cosier. Below are a few tips on projecting a small-rented home to appear big than what it is.
- Don’t stuff the house with too many things: It may not be clear how spacious it will look after moving all the furniture into the house by looking at an empty property. Empty spaces look big but may look cramped after putting furniture and other household items into them. To avoid this, tenants may think of bringing the things which are absolutely required, as stuffing the place with too many things will only make it more uncomfortable to live in. Hence it is advisable to move into the house with minimum but essential stuff and give away the unnecessary items.
- Make use of foldable furniture: With a bigger house, you may not have to give a second thought, but the furniture in a small house will cramp for space. Try not to bring heavy furniture to the small rental home. It provides a very bulky look to the room, and it will look the small house look even smaller. To work around this issue, look for a foldable furniture option. For example, the foldable table can be used when required, and when not in use, it can be folded to the wall or kept aside in the storage area to free up the space. This will provide more room to move around.
- Make use of light colour curtains: To make the rooms feel wider, use light colour curtains because dark colours give a bulky and cramped outlook. If the rented property is already equipped with bright colour curtains, you can change them and put light coloured curtains for the living room and bedroom. This will make the room feel open and more prominent. Even for the bathroom, you can choose a light colour bath curtain. You can put aside the existing curtains and put them on when you move out of the property.
- Make use of light colour walls: While moving into the rented property, most likely, you will not be given an option to choose the paint colour for the walls. Bright colours don’t reflect much light and make small spaces look even smaller. Check for the possibility to get the property walls painted with light and fresh colours before moving in. If the landlord doesn’t agree to your proposal, get permission to change the wall colours by bearing the expenses on your own. Alternatively, you can use delicate colour wallpapers to lower the costs. It is less expensive compared to the painting of a house. While moving out, if the landlord doesn’t want to keep the wallpaper, you can take it out. You will get the wallpapers in the market which you can put on the coloured walls, and when you remove them, it will not damage the wall’s original colour. If you don’t want to do it for the whole house, you can choose a particular room, for example, the living room or select a specific wall and put the light colour wallpaper.
- Use hanging racks: You can place hanging racks on the top of the wall; it can lengthen the space of the room and ultimately will give the feel of a bigger room. If the shelves are placed at the lower side of the wall, it will provide a shortened outlook. You can use shelve frames in all the house rooms, e.g., kitchen, living room, bedroom. Kitchen shelves can be used for storage; in the living room, you can place paintings and books on the shelves, giving a lovely look to the room.
- Try to use maximum storage available: To keep the open space, use maximum storage available in the rental home. The storage under the bed or sofa and the storage space under the stairs can accommodate lots of your things that you can arrange adequately and keep more space open, giving a broader look to the rooms.
- Keep furniture at ample distance from the wall: People often rest their furniture touching the wall without noticing that it makes the space look smaller. Try moving your furniture like the sofa or dining table a bit away from the walls. It will free up the area and give it a more oversized outlook. Also, try to arrange your furniture in such a manner that you get more walking space.
- Use mirrors: Getting mirrors on the walls may give a modern look. You may not have to take special permission to add mirrors to the rented property. Mirror reflection provides a particular illusion, and if kept near the windows and allowed to reflect the light in the whole room, this will act as an expander of the room.
- Use lights to brighten up the rooms: Try to use white lights to brighten up the place, which will automatically help you make rooms look bigger and cosier. Natural light is always a better option than artificial lights, but you can always use lights to make rooms look beaming when it is not possible.
Indeed, these simple tips can’t be compared with the consultation one can get from a professional interior designer. But, with the rented property, you may not want to go that route and burden your pocket. The above simple tips are proven and have more to do with common sense. They are not connected to designing a house with any specific style. The only concern here is to help anyone with a smaller home to make it appear big. It is always recommended to talk with your landlord before making any changes that need permission.
Image Source: Freepik