EXCLUSIVE FROM iDADA: Styling your rental property on a budget
Rental properties are intended to appeal to the broadest possible audience, to rent quickly for the owner.
It may therefore be challenging to think of ways to personalise your newly rented property to ensure that it feels like your home.
This inspirational iDADA guide works with you to show you how you can achieve a comfortable, stylish and highly personal home.
Colour
Colour is such an intensely personal expression of your design character. In general, lighter colours reflect light, are easy to live with and show off the architecture of a home beautifully.
That said, within the palette of neutrals and whites, if used in combination, there is no need for your interior to ever be bland. Think about what features you want to emphasise and which ones you would rather have fade into the background. As always and particularly regarding the use of colour, ensure that your landlord or letting agents are happy for you to proceed.
Display
A room without any display of personal life such as photographs, drawings, mementos, objects and such like, can feel a little ‘soul-less’ rather like a long stay in a hotel – enjoyable but not ‘home’. Remember that you are in a rental property and cannot just bang holes in the wall!
Kitchens and bathrooms
In a rental property, the kitchen and bathroom are the most challenging rooms to personalise due to their ‘fitted-ness’. However, some things are achievable, effective and cost-efficient.
Just follow the golden rule… Don’t, Move, Anything, Major!
By that we mean don’t even think of moving any pipework, toilets, sinks, baths, washbasins, shower inflow and outlets (a new shower head though is easily achievable) and don’t move any electrics and certainly not by yourself. Electricity and water do not mix!
Ask your landlord if, for example, you wish to move a heated towel rail and, even better, ask him for the number of his trusted tradesmen.
Soft furnishings
‘Soft’ furnishings are the textiles that can add personality, warmth, colour, texture and a transformation in the acoustics of a room, softening and dampening sounds and adding a layer of sensory comfort.
They are perfect for adding personality to a rental home and, of course, can all be taken with you when you move, to be redistributed throughout your new home. Without any soft furnishings at all, a room can be quite uncomfortable, as anyone who has eaten on a tiled-floored, hard-seated, bare-windowed restaurant can testify. As one disgruntled diner put it: “The noise dear, The noise!”.
Are you considering selling this spring? Book your valuation here.
This article was originally published by BriefYourMarket and is reproduced here with their permission.
For more company news and insights from Pygott & Crone, click here
Latest news
Understanding rent reviews and increases
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 introduced a clear and structured framework for rent increases in England's private rented sector that every tenant should understand.
Mortgage rates and refinancing decisions
Mortgage rates continue to be one of the biggest considerations for homeowners, buyers and landlords planning their next move.
Price your home right: The foundation of success
Every detail in a property sale—from photography and listing descriptions to viewings and negotiations—operates within the framework created by the asking price.
First-time buyer essentials: What you need to know
First-time buyers accounted for approximately 36% of all mortgaged property purchases in the UK in 2025, making them the largest single group of buyers in the market.
