Nosy landlords or landladies, restrictive rules and maintenance issues are all some of the challenges that are faced when the home you live in is leased. However, a lot of us spend the better part, or sometimes all, of our adult life living in rental homes. So it’s important to work within the limits given to you when you are decorating a house, flat or apartment that isn’t yours.

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By far the biggest challenge is creating a space that is a reflection of your own personal taste without the freedom to make changes to the structure. ‘You can choose your own furniture,’ says Tash, a Store Manager, ‘but you can’t do the things that pull it all together, like use paint or wallpaper or an oyster light, for example.’ Not being able to put hooks in the wall is a common frustration in decorating rental properties. And, although temporary hooks are available, they vary in their effectiveness. Cheryl, an artist, told me ‘One time, I put up a group of frames on the walls and they all gradually fell to the floor.’

Alternatives exist. Look at your furniture in a different way; shelves on a bookcase may be able to be adjusted to become display cases and a side table or mantle piece could be a practical place to put a large picture that you can’t bear to hide.

My good friend Jasmyne has a yen for older apartments and says they often come with a picture rail or ledge, expressly for display purposes. Hooks in strange places can give you the inspiration to place a feature piece where you otherwise wouldn’t have looked. For example, in the ceiling of Cheryl’s spare room, a random hook is used to hold a large origami sculpture giving a chandelier effect.

It’s definitely not all doom and gloom. Decorating a rental property has its upsides. As Jasmyne, whose decorating style I have always admired, tells me; the challenge of being creative within parameters helps you to develop your own style. There’s often the other financial issues that may come with renting, she continues, so searching for furnishing bargains at swap meets and op shops encourages the development of a very individual and often eclectic style because you end up with unique, one of a kind pieces instead of filling your house up with furniture that everyone else already has.

Most rental properties have a neutral colour palette so you learn how to use rich colours in paintings, furniture and other pieces, such as throws and cushions. Your relationship with your landlord or landlady can, potentially, be a positive one too. Sometimes all you need to do is ask for permission to make a change and as long as you either change it back, or it increases the value of the property, your landlord will be more than happy to grant it.

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