Personalizing one's space turns an apartment into a home

By the time the rental and utility deposits are paid, there may not be much money left for apartment dwellers to spend on decorating their new homes. But there are ways to make a design statement in a rental property, no matter how small the space or meager the budget.


According to LivingApartments.com, the first step in deciding how the new home should look is to make space. Decluttering the paper piles, organizing collections that have gotten out of hand and clearing surfaces such as desktops and the coffee table go a long way to making an apartment look larger and cleaner.


One of the most inexpensive decorating moves that can make a big impact is choosing a paint color that expresses the apartment dweller's personality, whether it be a bold hue, a sunny pastel shade or a contemporary neutral such as steel gray. As interior redesigner and stager Julie Danad told the website, "Choose a complex color. This simply means if you would use several different words to describe the color, than it is probably complex. "


To turn an apartment into a home means showing one's personal interests and tastes in the selection of art work, colors and furniture. "Pay attention to the difference between clutter and emptiness, between large and small spaces, and try to get a sense of how you react to the overall room," advises RentalDecorating.com. "The idea is to create a home that is an expression of your inner being, so every time you step inside, it will really feel like you are coming home."

The kind of window treatment chosen for an apartment should complement the décor of the various rooms, but also be practical for the person who lives there. Soft sheer shades, for instance, have a contemporary look. They also have a practical side for use wherever media and computers are used because they can cut the glare on viewing screens.


Bamboo woven wood blinds have a natural look and go well in an apartment that has many houseplants and warm earth tones. Custom drapery offers the greatest ability to personalize a look with a wide range of fabrics, textures, patterns and colors to offset the style of a room.


Taking a cue from nature ensures that an apartment's style never becomes boring. By making seasonal changes in accent pillows, art work or collectibles, the look of an apartment becomes rejuvenated.