Interior Design Tips: How to make a your rental apartment feel like a home

Elissa Morgante, AIA

Elissa Morgante, AIA
Founding Partner at Award Winning Chicago Architects, Morgante Wilson

Nov 25, 2014 - 5 min read

Interior Design Tips: How to make a your rental apartment feel like a home

This month, I’m delighted to share with you an excerpt from a recent interview I did about how to furnish a rental apartment so it feels like home. Whether you’re a young professional just starting out, or someone who prefers the flexibility associated with an ownership-free lifestyle, the fact is that if you pay rent to a landlord you’re most likely familiar with impersonal spaces. You know what I mean: boring boxy rooms, bland white walls, and blah beige carpet. While it may be difficult to envision rental apartments as cozy, inviting, and personal, the truth is there are a handful of simple interior design tips you can use to make even the most generic space feel like home. Read on to learn more!

You advocate “furnishing for flexibility.” What do you mean by that?

EM:

What I mean is that if you’re going to move around frequently, you’re probably going to want to be unencumbered by your stuff. Before you buy anything for your apartment, ask yourself if it will fit in the trunk of your car.

It’s hard to imagine a couch fitting into the trunk of a car.

EM:

Exactly! Which is why I advise collecting smaller, iconic pieces that communicate your personal style and travel easily. Instead of investing in an expensive sofa, buy something basic – perhaps from a resale shop – and put your money toward a really special bookshelf or armchair instead. That way, as you move from apartment to apartment, you’ll have one special piece that instantly says “home” the minute you put it in place.

What else should I buy?

EM:

A lamp and an interesting accent table next to that chair give you an instant reading nook – again, one that will cozy your apartment, and one you can take on the road with you.

A rug is another example of a furnishing item that can deliver visual impact but still be convenient to transport. Lay something with graphic appeal, or unexpected color, on a hardwood floor or over carpet, and you make an instant statement about your sense of design. You also lay the groundwork – no pun intended – for immediately making a lackluster space feel like your own.

What can a renter do to enliven those plain white walls you mentioned?

EM:

Since you probably can’t paint your walls, you have to think of temporary ways to transform them. Investing in a significant piece of art is one way to do that, especially since art can also contribute color – and again, it will almost certainly pass the car-trunk test.

Another good idea is to hang something meaningful, like a piece of fabric found on your travels, for instance, or a grandmother’s quilt, on a bedroom wall to create the idea of a “headboard.” Next time you move, hang it again and suddenly that impersonal bedroom feels like your bedroom.

Everything you’ve mentioned so far would be really easy to move.

EM:

If you move around a lot, you probably don’t want to be burdened with lots of big furniture pieces – they’re a hassle to move, and they’re expensive to move.

But if you have a few signature pieces that add character and are easy to transport, then you have the makings of an interesting interior no matter where you go. Focus your budget on those pieces, and your generic apartment will soon feel like home.

Great tips, Elissa. Thank you.

EM:

My pleasure.

I hope you enjoyed this insight into a different area of the housing market than Morgante Wilson Architects typically serves. Though we’re more often associated with luxurious, single-family residential projects the fact is that everyone can relate from some point in their life, or perhaps has a son or daughter about to embark on this lifestyle.

Still, if you’re ready to enter the world of homeownership and are thinking of remodeling – or even building new – give us a call. We can put nearly three decades of residential interior design experience to work for you!



Elissa Morgante, AIA

Elissa Morgante, AIA

Founding Partner at Award Winning Chicago Architects, Morgante Wilson