Renting Your Dream Home

Owning your first home can be quite a thrill. You look forward to taking this blank canvas and imprinting it with your own personality and style. It is you who picks the colors of your walls. You decide whether to take out a wall or put in another window. Making decisions for curtains, and what can be hung on the wall, all belong to you. But.... what if you don't own your home? Well, don't despair! You can still have your dream home in a rental. As a long time renter, I have found many alternatives to creating my dream home.

First, lets understand what I mean by home. I believe your home is anywhere you live more than sixty days at one time. Thus, this would include a rental house, an apartment, condo, summer cabin, or even a room in your parent's home. True, there are certain challenges to face in each of these situations, but you don't have to allow them to be an obstacle. An obstacle is something that is in the way of you reaching your goal. A challenge is a test of your skills and thinking ability to overcome an obstacle. It depends on how you choose to look at it. By meeting these challenges, you can still add your own personality to your home. We also want to remember that where we live is a reflection of who we are. So what do you want to reflect of yourself in your rental dream home?

Second, is developing an honest and trusting relationship with your landlord. You have to give the landlord time to learn that you can be trusted and that you care about his investment (the rental property). Also, I've been very successful, by letting the owner know up front that I have a desire to personalize my space. I usually have a sample of the type of hardware I use on the walls, as well as, a list of the type of personal touches I had in mind. Though he may not approve of your request in the beginning, he may be willing, to reconsider after you have proven yourself to be a worthy tenant.

But, in the meantime, there are things you can do that won't violate your contract. Keeping in mind your contract restrictions, you will want to make out a plan for your décor. If you have pictures that you wanted to hang but its not allowed, can you place them around the room on a window ledge or chair rail? Remember this may only need to be a temporary solution, in hopes your landlord will be willing to compromise at a later time. You can also buy or build an easel to stand in a corner and hold a large print picture. Don't forget your flat surfaces. Create little groupings of similar items to form vignettes. To bring some color and life to those dull beige blinds, you can use a decorative valance scarf. There are magnetic brackets that you can buy which attach to the blinds' hardware to hang your valance. Don't like the color of the carpet? You can buy a room size rug to cover it completely or if that's not in the budget right now, how about a smaller one to go under a table as an accent piece. If your style is country, you can have many small rugs tossed around the room.

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